Nalini-Murugan’s daughter appeals to Rahul

“I do know what exactly it feels like missing your loved ones. I [have] been going through the same pain without both my parents. I believe my parents are innocent — they have suffered 23 years”

“I would like to thank Sonia Gandhi for reducing my mom’s sentence and Priyanka Gandhi for forgiving her. I feel terrible for her father’s loss,” said Harithra, the 22-year-old daughter of Nalini and Murugan who are serving a sentence for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. She wrote this in a gmail chat with The Hindu on Thursday night from the university accommodation she shares.

“I do know what exactly it feels like missing your loved ones. I [have] been going through the same pain without both my parents. I believe my parents are innocent — they have suffered 23 years. Not just them, but me too, [despite] not having done anything wrong! I kindly request Rahul Gandhi to please forgive my parents and let them be free — for my sake‬.”

Ms. Harithra, who did not wish to disclose the city in the United Kingdom where she is studying nor the name of the University where she is currently pursuing a degree, told The Hindu that she was “very upset to read the news this morning of a [court] stay against my parents release”.

“It was awful. I was excited that they were finally gonna (sic) be with me. Today, it has just gone away,” Ms. Harithra said.

She wanted to give her parents the message that she loved them very much. “Please be strong and take care. I will always be waiting for you,” she said.

Ms. Harithra came to the U.K. in 2006. She did her schooling in Scotland and moved to England for her university. She has not seen her parents since then, but writes to them every month and receives letters from them every two weeks.

If she had three wishes what would they be? In response, Ms. Harithra wrote: “1. Have my parents back and live with them. 2. I wish Rajiv Gandhi had not been murdered and [had] lived happily with his family too 3. I wish nobody dies in assassinations! We live in peace and harmony.”

Ms. Haritra wants to do a Ph.D. in medical physics, and not in medicine. “I can’t stand blood,” she said.

“TBH (to be honest), I don’t understand politics,” Ms. Harithra said. She added: “Thanks each and everybody who supported reducing my parents hanging to live sentence! It meant the world to me having them alive.” She also requested support for their release. “I have been suffering without them for the past 22 years,” she said.

BJP EXCLUSIVE CAMPAIGN RALLY IN TAMIL NADU N OTHER STATES

The BJP’s strategy to raise its vote share in Tamil Nadu to 16 per cent by enlisting the support of smaller regional parties and caste-based groups was apparent at Narendra Modi’s recent rally in Vandalur. Yet, despite the apparent support, Modi’s ability to connect to India’s multi-cultural and linguistic population remains unclear.

Having elbowed my way into a packed suburban train to reach Vandalur in Chennai’s southern outskirts — where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organised a huge rally on February 8 — one sensed it was much more than the saffron party cashing in on pre-election fever.

Despite it being an off-peak hour on a Satruday, most compartments were breathlessly crowded. Scores of young men with BJP flags and pamphlets on hand, overseen by their local netas, pushed their way into to the train’s coaches, raising patriotic slogans like Bharat Maata Ki Jai. Many other passengers jostled for space amid this babel of voices. The students were visibly excited about travelling to catch a glimpse of, and listen to, Narendra Modi, the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate.

The students, who were in their early 20s or even less, mainly drawn from Chennai’s more politically proactive colleges, including Pachaiyappa’s College, Presidency College, and the Government Arts College, will be first-time voters in the 2014 General Election to the Lok Sabha. History must be amused at its own past. For, students from these institutions once nurtured the anti-Hindi agitation led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in the mid-1960s. The success of that agitation became a game-changer in the State’s politics, having a long term bearish impact on the prospects of the national parties. And today, the saffron party appeared to appeal to the present generation of students, from these very institutions.

Curiously, a Campco chocolate bar was the conversation piece during that one hour train journey, to gauge the feelings of those students taken in by Mr. Modi’s charisma. It unwittingly came in handy not only as an instant ionizer to improve the air quality in the compartment, but also as a lesson in sharing small things.

My memory took me back to Campco (Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative), a success story of a cooperative that flowered in the early 1970s. This was a unique initiative to save the crisis-hit arecanut farmers in Mangalore area of South Karnataka and the adjoining belt of North Kerala.

I quickly realised that the chocolate bar could establish bonhomie with the travelling youth. I passed on a couple of the Campco pieces to the half-famished looking students and our conversation got easier. Campco reminded me of the Anand pattern of dairy development in Gujarat, thanks to the visionary zeal of the late Varghese Kurien, decades before the BJP or Mr. Modi came on to the political scene there. Other States later went on to emulate the Anand model, I told the students. But such things seemed to hardly interest today’s youth rushing to see the ‘new iron man’ from Gujarat, as one of them put it, with the rally organisers projecting Mr. Modi as being on par with Sardar Patel and Swami Vivekananda. Huge cut-outs of the trio at the venue of the rally at Vandalur said it all.

“A family friend near my house, a Modi supporter, asked us to come along today and that’s why we are going,” said one of the boys in the group who is in his second year, studying B.Sc. (Maths) in Pachaiyappa’s College. Interestingly, his father is a “staunch Congress supporter”, he confided. “But then, why Modi,” I asked. “He will do good things,” pat came the student’s reply. Beyond that the youngsters seemed to be indifferent to other issues.

That was a partial, yet fairly strong indication of the mood of the young voters today, as the saffron brigade makes a concerted effort to break into the nationalist-minded constituency in Tamil Nadu, which had traditionally voted the Congress and its regional allies in a Lok Sabha election. The exceptions were the two successive elections in 1998 and 1999 when former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee led the BJP-headed National Democratic Alliance, when the BJP made a small dent. But the Tamil youths are still hazy, more seeming to go by a bandwagon effect as shown by a large presence of students at the Modi rally.

Looking for allies

“An estimated over one lakh people have thronged the venue from the southern districts alone, Kanniyakumari in particular, and are waiting to hear Narendra Modi since morning,” claimed Sankar, a party volunteer from Villupuram. Bus-loads of volunteers from the State’s western districts — where the backward caste Gounders are the dominant community — lend weight to claims by sources in the State Intelligence and the party that the BJP, even before firming up its poll allies in the State, are eyeing nine of the 40 Lok Sabha Seats (39 in Tamil Nadu and the lone constituency in Puducherry). Four of these constituencies are in the Coimbatore-Salem-Erode-Karur-Namakkal belt where the Goundars have a sizeable presence. One faction of the Kongu region caste grouping, the Kongu Naadu Makkal Desiya Katchi led by Easwaran, has already tied up with the BJP.

Clearly, as both the main Dravidian parties, the DMK and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), shunned any pre-poll pact with the BJP, the saffron party has begun to stitch together an alliance with the major OBC groups across the State, including the Nadars and Thevars, and more locale-specific groups like the Sourashtra community, predominantly weavers, in Madurai. Together with the support of some of the smaller regional parties like the Vaiko-led Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), BJP campaign managers claimed, “we have already raised our vote-share in Tamil Nadu from just 3 per cent to 16 per cent.”

In fact, senior BJP leader from the State, Ela. Ganesan, addressing the rally, said that though the party’s initial plan to make the Vandalur rally a joint launch campaign did not fructify they have ‘almost completed’ the alliance formation. The Indiya Jananayaka Katchi (IJK), whose leader, Pari Vendar, is also the moving spirit behind the private SRM University near Chennai, and who seeks to rope in professionals, scientists, achievers in various fields and students to politics, vowed to play a fair friend of the BJP.

The OBC-Vanniyars dominated Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) led by S. Ramadoss — a factor to reckon with numerically in north and north-west Tamil Nadu — is also expected to join the BJP-led alliance in the State. The 16 per cent vote-share that the BJP’s campaign managers are now touting includes the individual vote-shares of all these smaller parties and caste-based outfits.

A few BJP functionaries from the western districts, requesting anonymity, conceded, “Sure, the BJP candidates will this time poll more votes in Tamil Nadu due to the Modi factor, but that is not enough. The major vote-banks are with the two main Dravidian parties, the DMK and AIADMK; and this is our problem now as to win seats we need a proper alliance.”

Going by Mr. Ganesan’s remark at the rally, the BJP by now seems to have given up its efforts to woo the actor-turned-politician Vijayakant-led Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), which pulled off an impressive anti-corruption rally near Villupuram recently but has not announced any decision on the alliance issue.

The DMDK often says that it has about 10 per cent vote-share in the State now, but any party could find the DMDK leader’s style of functioning annoyingly tiresome. “Vijayakant keeps his potential allies in a tantalizing wait till the last minute and may even go it alone,” says the veteran politician Panruti S. Ramachandran, who recently quit the DMDK “for good”. He now plans to campaign for the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK, which has just inked a poll alliance with the two main Left parties, the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist). [At the time of writing, the DMDK and the Congress are exploring the possibility of an alliance that could later get bigger with the DMK.]

However, showcasing its new alliance arithmetic has been just one facet of the BJP’s poll strategy in Tamil Nadu so far. It is at best to reinforce its big picture of a wider national acceptability that Mr. Modi has seemingly gained in recent months, mainly on the planks of development, fighting corruption and repositioning India as the focus of regional security, politically and economically.

State-specific issues like federalism, repeated attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lanka Navy, inter-linking of rivers or the demand to reintroduce prohibition in the State — which Mr. Modi has successfully introduced in Gujarat — are dovetailed into this larger architecture, based on a grandiose image of Mr. Modi as an achiever.

At Vandalur, the stage was feverishly set in a regional setting for a ‘clean chit Modi’ — an appellation that has been in currency since the report of the Special Investigation Team probe into the 2002 post-Godhra communal violence cases in Gujarat — by the earlier party speakers who showered glowing encomiums on him to preface his growing acceptability.

From likening Mr. Modi’s political rise as someone from a most backward community to the social justice agenda of the social reformer Periyar, and to the political legend M.G. Ramachandran, who rose from the ranks as the true friend of the poor and the downtrodden — the chai waala not excluded — State BJP leaders including Dr. Tamizhisai Sounderrajan vied with one another with apt metaphors to endear Mr. Modi to the Tamil Nadu voters.

Thus, when Mr. Modi arrived to speak, it was his virulent attack on the Congress-led UPA Government on all fronts including the price rise and the plummeting Indian Rupee that completed the picture. Tactically, he did not even mention the AIADMK or Ms. Jayalalithaa in his 65-minute speech, though he took pot-shots at the Congress and the DMK’s role in the 2G spectrum scam.

Tactical blunder

Nonetheless, for all his masterly generalities, Mr. Modi missed out on two crucial aspects at the rally. First, his jibes at the “Recounting Minister in Delhi from Tamil Nadu” (an apparent reference to the case challenging the election of the Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, from Sivaganga constituency in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls), for all the economic misery the country faced, met with a prompt rejoinder from Mr. Chidambaram on how Mr. Modi got his basic facts, both on the poll petition and on the economy, wrong.

Even if this were to be brushed aside as Mr. Modi’s rhetorical flourish on Tamil Nadu soil, the second one was a tactical blunder. The BJP’s Prime Ministerial aspirant chose to be politically correct by beginning his speech with some catchy poetic lines in Tamil, but quickly switched over to his robust Hindi in a State where language continues to be an emotive issue even if no longer a defining one.

In fact, the moment Mr. Modi began speaking in Hindi, people started leaving the venue in droves. All the rapport that his supporters had till that point assiduously built with the crowd seemed to melt away in minutes. But an oblivious Gujarat Chief Minister happily continued in that vein until he launched his diatribe against Mr. Chidambaram in English.

Though Mr. Modi could have easily alternated between English and Hindi to keep his audience in good humour, which is what political leaders from the north usually do when they come down south for campaigning, his Vandalur rally eventually ended up as a classic case of missing the wood for the trees.

It was here that his more experienced and sagacious counterpart, M. Venkiah Naidu, former BJP national president, unwittingly scored over Mr. Modi’s rhetoric. An alliteratively witty speaker as always, without losing his political traction, Mr. Naidu made the right noises for the BJP, substantially in English and rounded off his speech in Telugu, an acknowledgement of the fact that Greater Chennai has a substantial Telugu-speaking population.

This is one strand of political accommodation, the spirit of give-and-take, which Mr. Modi may have to learn if he is eyeing the political top job in a vast, multi-linguistic, multi-cultural nation. Perhaps, that is for another rally.

Politically fraught issues- President Barack Obama

Pressed by North American allies on an array of politically fraught issues, President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to press ahead with stalled efforts to expand trade agreements for the Americas into Asia and overhaul fractured U.S. immigration laws. But Mr. Obama made no promises to frustrated Canadian leaders about his long-anticipated decision on the Keystone XL pipeline.

Closing a day of talks with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, Mr. Obama said the North American partners must maintain their “competitive advantage” on trade, in part by expanding into the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region. While Mr. Obama acknowledged that “elements in my party” oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, he disputed the notion that Democratic concerns would derail the agreement.

“We’ll get this passed if it’s a good agreement,” Mr. Obama declared during a joint news conference with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The North America Leaders’ Summit often referred to as the “Three Amigos” meeting coincided with the 20th year of the North American Free Trade Agreement among the three countries, a deal that has vastly expanded cross-border commerce in the region but which remains a contentious issue in the United States over its impact on jobs and on environmental protections.

Trade experts say the agreement is due for an upgrade to take into account the current globalized environment and to address issues not touched in the original pact. But rather than reopen NAFTA, the three countries are instead relying on negotiations underway to complete the TPP, which is a trade bloc of 12 countries in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.

Pena Nieto heralded the “innovative spirit” that spurred NAFTA and said new trade agreements “are bound to go beyond and enhance all together the progress that each one of our countries has made.” And Harper made clear that he was “focused on bringing those negotiations to a successful conclusion.”

Despite the widespread agreement on trade, there were some sources of tension between the North American partners on immigration and the Keystone XL pipeline, both sensitive political issues in the United States.

In Mexico, government officials and the public alike are eager for progress in overhauling U.S. immigration laws. The prospects for sweeping legislation this year has dimmed in recent weeks, with many House Republicans unwilling to tackle the issue in a midterm election year.

Still, Mr. Obama declared, “Immigration reform remains one of my highest priorities.”

For Canada, a key source of frustration with the U.S. has been the Obama administration’s long and drawn out review of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil from tar sands in western Canada 1,179 miles to Nebraska, where existing pipelines would then carry the crude to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. Canada has been pushing the U.S. for years to approve the pipeline, but environmental groups oppose it, and Mr. Obama has said he won’t approve it if it increases greenhouse gas emissions.

A Nebraska judge on Wednesday struck down a law that allowed the pipeline to proceed through the state, a victory for opponents who have tried to block the project.

While Mr. Obama acknowledged that the U.S. review has been “extensive,” he defended the process, saying “these are how we make these decisions about something that could potentially have significant impact on America’s national economy and our national interests.”

A final decision on Keystone isn’t expected until this summer, at the earliest, meaning the verdict could potentially come in the run-up to November’s midterm elections, in which energy issues are likely to be a factor in some key races.

“My views in favour of the project are very well known,” Mr. Harper said.

Events elsewhere in the world competed for the leaders’ attention, most notably the violence that erupted in Ukraine as the government of President Viktor Yanukovych cracked down on protesters. Mr. Obama warned that there would be consequences if the clashes continued. Mr. Obama cautiously noted reports of a truce between the president and the protesters, saying it “could provide space for the sides to resolve their disagreements peacefully.”

Mr. Obama spent just about nine hours in Toluca, the Mexican leader’s hometown, with Air Force One touching down Wednesday afternoon and returning to Washington shortly after the evening news conference.

Aam Aadmi Party FIR ON SHEILA DIKSHIT ON CORRUPTION CHARGES

Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday moved the Supreme Court challenging the decision to impose President’s rule in Delhi on the recommendation of the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung alleging it was done to protect Congress leaders and former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit from corruption charges.

The party contended the February 16 order imposing the President’s rule was with a motive to frustrate the ongoing investigation in those corruption cases in which FIR has been lodged by Arvind Kejriwal government.

“Apparently, the motive behind not dissolving the Delhi Legislative Assembly and holding fresh election is to allow a political party, which had badly lost the Delhi Legislative Assembly Election, held in December 2013 and of which several important leaders including the Ministers in central government and the former Chief Minster are facing serious corruption charges.

”....to govern the NCT of Delhi indirectly through the central government as the same party is presently in power in the Centre and also to frustrate the ongoing investigations in those corruption charges under the FIRs which were recently lodged by the Delhi Government.

“Thus, the aforesaid decision is not only arbitrary and illegal and in violation of the democratic rights of the citizens of Delhi but also malafide,” the petition said.

The order to impose the President’s rule was “illegal, arbitrary and in violation” of Article 14 of the Constitution as after the resignation of Arvind Kejriwal government neither BJP nor Congress was in a position to form the government and they had already expressed their unwillingness in this regard.

Further, the joint petition filed on the basis of newspaper reports and documents available in public domain by AAP and Saurabh Bhardwaj, who was the Transport Minister in Kejriwal Cabinet, raised constitutional questions to keep the assembly under suspended animation by ignoring the categorical recommendation of the majority government of the NCT of Delhi for dissolving the House.

petition said imposition of the President’s rule has denied the citizens of Delhi their democratic right to have an elected popular government.

“The aforesaid order also suffers from malice-in-law since whilst exercising the discretionary power, the constitutional authorities have failed to take matters into account which they ought to have taken into account and used this power for an unauthorised purpose,” the petition filed through advocate Kamini Jaiswal said.

“While imposing the President’s Rule on the NCT of Delhi, the 5th Assembly of the NCT of Delhi has not been dissolved.

The President of India while imposing President’s Rule under Article 239 AB (1) of the Constitution vide the impugned order suspended operations of clause 3(a), 4, 5 and 6 of Article 239 AA which are special provisions with respect to Delhi and deal with powers of legislatures, council of Ministers etc.

“Apart from suspending some of the provisions of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, but did not suspend the operation of the provision of clause 2 (a) of Article 239 AA which provides that there shall be a Legislative Assembly and thus, assumed power of legislatures, council of Ministers etc. without suspending Legislative Assembly,” the petition said.

“In the present case, it was incumbent on the President, after assuming to himself all the powers of the Lt. Governor to himself, of course with aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, to exercise the power to dissolve the Assembly especially since there was no possibility whatever of the formation of any other government since other main political parties (viz. BJP and Congress) had already expressed their unwillingness and inability to form a government,” the petition said.

TELUNGANA -Bill stuck in Rajya Sabha

BJP says statute amendment required on Governor’s powers

The Bill for the creation of Telangana, approved by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, hit an unexpected roadblock in the Rajya Sabha with the BJP insisting that without a simultaneous Constitutional amendment, the validity of the Bill could be challenged in a court of law.

The BJP stance forced the government not to introduce the Bill in the Rajya Sabha even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and several UPA ministers were busy holding consultations with BJP leaders to convince them that there was no need for a Constitutional amendment to create Telangana.

At the centre of the controversy is the interpretation on the special powers conferred on the Governor on issues related to law and order in Hyderabad, which would be the joint capital of both the successor States for a maximum of 10 years.

The BJP’s case is that special powers given to the Governor under the proposed Act are in contravention of the provisions of the Constitution as law and order is a State subject.

Though the government chose not to introduce the Bill in the Upper House, it was the cause for several disruptions on Wednesday. There was high drama in the Rajya Sabha with Telugu Desam Party member C.M. Ramesh pushing Secretary General Shumsher K. Sheriff in the morning hours, leading to immediate adjournment. The member later apologised and was let off without any action.

Besides a Constitutional amendment, the BJP also wants a special package for Seemandhra. After the Lok Sabha approved the Bill on Tuesday with the support of the BJP, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, while expressing unhappiness over the manner in which it was handled in the Lok Sabha, had announced that her party would move some amendments when it comes up in the Rajya Sabha. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who wants the Rajya Sabha to pass the Bill on Thursday, responded to the BJP’s demand by requesting the Prime Minister to give Seemandhra special category status.

SC summons Subrata Roy, Sahara group directors

Coming down heavily on the Sahara group for not refunding Rs 20,000 crore of investors money despite its order, the Supreme Court on Thursday summoned its chief Subrata Roy to be personally present before it and allowed SEBI to go ahead with the sale of companies’ properties.

The apex court also directed Ravi Shankar Dubey, Ashok Roy Choudhary and Vandana Bhargava, directors of its firms -- Sahara India Real Estate Corp Ltd (SIREC) and Sahara India Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHIC) -- to appear before it on February 26.

A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar also asked SEBI to sell the properties of the group whose sale deeds were handed over to the market regulator to recover Rs 20,000 crore.

“Those properties you can sell. We allow you to sell them and recover the money. If they are encumbered properties then you can file criminal case against the company. The case must be brought to a logical conclusion,” the bench said raising question on the way the group has been defying its order for the last one-and-a-half years.

The bench said SEBI can put those properties on auction and get the money.

“What is the difficulty in selling the property. Put it on auction and get the money. Forget about the value of the property,” the bench told SEBI after the market regulator said that let the company itself sell the properties and deposit the money.

“Our feeling is that they won’t do it and we don’t trust them so you do it,” the bench said.

The apex court in its judgement of August 31, 2012 had directed SEBI to attach properties and recover the money.

Pakistani government TO KILL OR DIE

The Pakistani government and media seem too preoccupied with granting olive branches to the Taliban, so much so that a slew of issues - from spiking fuel prices to minorities persecution - are going blithely unnoticed.

In Peshawar, a suicide bomber blew himself up killing four women, while two others who were strapped with bombs managed to escape. It is rare if something of this nature does not happen in Peshawar and even after the olive branch to the Taliban, the bombings haven't stopped. In Karachi, the regularity of violence has reached mind-numbing levels and not a day passes without killings despite the targeted operation.

The interior minister issued a statement banning the refurbishing of cars into bullet and bomb proof vehicles in that city. He was taking note of news that some companies in the country especially in Karachi were converting vehicles into bomb- and bullet-proof ones which are illegal. He was concerned that the level of safety in such converted vehicles is not guaranteed and rather can put precious lives in danger.

Those precious lives are already in danger and that's probably why it's easy to extort money from hapless citizens who are looking for a foolproof system to live and not be shot at or worse blown up. Can't blame them really. But a bullet-proof car did not help the trigger happy cop Chaudhry Aslam in Karachi who on the day he was killed didn't reportedly use his bomb proof vehicle for some reason. And it is from ashes that heroes are born like the teenager Aitzaz who stopped a suicide bomber outside his school and was killed or all the polio health workers who continue with their duties despite being petrified.

Another set of unlikely heroes are the marchers from Balochistan who are on their way to Islamabad from Quetta, demanding justice for the over 18,000 people missing. No one's paying much attention to them even though their stories are heart-rending and the missing persons and the newly discovered mass graves are grave violations of fundamental rights. No endless TV talk shows on the missing Baloch or 24 hour coverage.

Too much to expect

The Taliban talks dominate the headlines and so do talk shows on the much exhausted subject, despite the sense of déjà vu. While few believe this will bring peace, the exercise has to be carried out to the bitter end by everyone concerned, in a manner of speaking.

On the other hand, the gas and fuel shortage is reaching alarming levels. In the capital, it is common to see people scrounging for firewood or carrying large head loads of wood and sticks. Gas supply is erratic and if you cannot afford the diesel for a generator, or have a decent inverter, the only option is to burn something to keep warm. And now the capital development authority has decided to evict slum-dwellers after a high court order, making things even more precarious for those who barely eke out a living.

The circular debt for power is touching Rs.180 billion, six months after the government coughed up almost Rs.500 billion. Power shortage is acute and there is frequent load shedding. Long queues are not uncommon for CNG and people have to wait for hours for the rare opportunity to fill gas in their cars. With all its problems, some of it inherited from the previous regime, the government has embarked on some programmes for the youth and employment schemes. It is dead set on enforcing the rule of law, like all democratic governments are meant to.

But to showcase its noble intent, it zeroed in on former President General (retd.) Pervez Musharraf who has got himself admitted to hospital with a heart ailment and has not made an appearance in court. While he has been summoned again on February 18, with an assurance from his counsel, seeing is believing. The special court trying him for high treason has become a venue for slanging matches between the prosecution and the defence and the chief judge Faisal Arab has had to pull them up more than once for behaving like schoolboys.

The government's draft ordinance to given enhanced powers to the police and the security agencies also seems to be in trouble, with lawmakers opposing its stringent provisions.

Near the National Press Club, small groups of protestors gather each day. It's the displaced members of the Mehsud tribe one day, or the Shia community which is under threat the next, or the people who demand self-determination and an end to the human rights violations in Indian Kashmir or slum dwellers who are evicted or Christians who are persecuted. The groups are not large but determined and hope their voices are heard some day above that of the gun-toting Taliban and their supporters. That could be too much to expect.

CARTOON PM SINGH ON RAJIV GANDHI CASE

Post-release where will 4 Sri Lankans

“It is up to State government to take a decision’’

Where will the four Sri Lankans – Murugan, Santhan, Jayakumar and Robert Payas – life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, go in the event of their release?

This question is being discussed in legal circles in the wake of the State government’s announcement that the Cabinet had decided to release all the seven convicts in the case.

According to the director of the Prisoners Rights Forum, P. Pugalenthi, one possibility was that the Foreigners Act provided for the authorities to order the stay of the islanders at a particular place, such as a designated suburb, subject to certain conditions. For this, an order needed to be passed. The Sri Lankans could stay at the place, but should register themselves with the local police station. The authorities would impose conditions relating to their movements.

The other option was to put the four islanders in the Special Camp for refugees. It was now for the State government to take a decision in the matter, Mr.Pugalenthi said.

According to police sources, the four Sri Lankan nationals would have to be accommodated in special or ordinary refugee camps.

he practice has been that refugees with a criminal background are lodged in the special camps where free movement is restricted.

“While the State would not recommend their deportation, it is not possible to issue them a passport to facilitate migration to any other country. The only option is to house them in refugee camps. However, those having family or relatives in the State can stay with them,” a police official said.

Thanking the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for announcing the move to release the convicts, the Working Group on Human Rights in India and the UN national convener Henri Tiphagne said in case some of the convicts had no family or relatives in Tamil Nadu, human rights organisations like the People’s Watch would be willing to generously provide long-term shelters and surety for all those who required the same.

AIADMK Arputhammal meets Chief Minister JAYALALITHAA

For Arputhammal, who waged a long battle to save her son and one of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case A.G. Perarivalan, from the gallows, it was a dream come true when she went to thank Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

It was a dream, she told presspersons at the Secretariat on Wednesday, adding Ms. Jayalalithaa took her hands and asked her not to cry.

She broke down uncontrollably when she met the Chief Minister. Unable to keep her emotions in check even during the interaction with media, Ms. Arputhammal, who used various forums to seek support for her son, including participating in the recent Chennai Book Fair, said: “Soon after going to [CM’s chamber] I started crying. I told her I have been yearning for my son.”

“She asked me not to cry and said all was well now. When I turned to leave Muthalvar (Chief Minister) amma called me back and took photographs. Truly, I did not expect… and express my thanks to her,” Ms. Arputhammal said.

On those who offered support, she said: “Everyone. I don’t want to mention names as missing anyone would be a mistake. Instead of describing them as Tamil supporters, I will call them human rights lovers across the world against capital punishment.”

“But, the assistance and decision that Muthalvar Amma took no one can and I want to put it on record,” she said. “She understood the pain of a mother and offered solace… I can’t forget her help,” Ms.Arputhammal said. “I would like to go to Delhi and thanks all the lawyers, including Ram Jethmalani,” she added.

On whether Ms. Jayalalithaa mentioned the date her son and six other convicts in the case would be released, she said the Chief Minister said “everyone, including your son, will be released.” But as the television channels are saying, Ms. Arputhammal said, they will be released in three days.

Courageous decision

R. Arivanantham adds from Krishnagiri:

“I am unable to find any words of praise for Ms. Jayalalithaa, for her government’s courageous decision today to release not only my son, but also six others ( convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination),” said an emotional T. Gnanasekaran, father of Perarivalan.

Amid bursting of crackers and distribution of sweets to the neighbours immediately after the announcement by the Chief Minister, Mr. Gnanasekaran, who stays with his daughter in Krishnagiri, said he was overcome by joy by the government’s decision that followed the Supreme Court commuting the death sentence to life. On Tuesday, after hearing of the court judgment, Mr. Gnanasekaran said he now yearned for his son’s release from prison.

SWAMY :TN resolution on Rajiv killers illegal

Seeks President’s rule if Jayalalithaa does not listen

Stating that any move to release former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s killers would be “illegal”, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Thursday said that President’s rule should be imposed in Tamil Nadu if Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa did not “desist” from proceeding with the decision.

“I demand that the Centre issue a direction under Article 256 of the Constitution to the TN CM to desist from pursuing (the) illegal resolution on Rajiv’s killers,” Mr Swamy said.

“If she (Jayalalithaa) does not listen, then the state should be brought under President’s rule immediately,” he added.

The Supreme Court has stayed the release of those convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case saying there have been procedural lapses on the part of the Tamil Nadu government in the matter.

After the apex court commuted the death sentences of three of the convicts in the said case, the Tamil Nadu Cabinet had decided to release them and other convicts following due consultations with the Centre.

RELEASE FOR Rajiv GANDHI killers illegal

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa made it clear that her government will go ahead with the decision of the State Cabinet to release all the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, if the Centre failed to respond to its recommendation in three days.

“Whether the Centre responds to our recommendation or not, we will invoke the powers vested with the government and release them,” she said amid thumping of desk by the ruling party members and their allies in the Assembly.

She made these remarks when Puthiya Tamizhagam leader said DMK president M. Karunanidhi was also against death sentence.

“When the DMK was in power he had the opportunity to commute their death sentence. But Mr. Karunanidhi only recommended the case of Nalini, wife of Murugan,” she said.

Earlier in her statement, she said Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan preferred a petition in the High Court against the death sentence, because they came to a conclusion that neither the Centre nor the DMK government would taken any decision on their mercy petition. “When the case was heard in the Supreme Court, the Congress-led UPA government argued against commutation of death sentence.

Responding to DMDK member Alagapuram R., Mohanraj, who sought to argue that the Supreme Court had directed the State government and the Centre to release the three, Ms. Jayalalithaa clarified that the court had only suggested that the government could consider their release.

“After the Supreme Court delivered its judgement I held elaborate discussion and it was followed by the Cabinet meeting. Now the Cabinet has decided to release them,” she said.

CPI (M) whip K. Balakrishnan, CPI floor leader M. Arumugam, Samathuva Makkal Katchi leader R. Sarathkumar and others welcomed the government’s decision.

AIADMK Jayalalithaa DEALS ON RAJIV GANDHI CASE

Regardless of what the Centre decides on the release of Rajiv Gandhi case convicts, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister would have made her point. . If the Centre agrees to the release, she will be the one to reap the political benefits; if not, she will be the one that stood up and demanded it.

In 1991, the AIADMK won a massive mandate after the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, benefiting from the sympathy wave for the Congress with which it was in alliance.

Twenty three years later, and ahead of yet another general election, party leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa appears to have stolen a march on her political rivals in the State, this time by taking a step toward releasing seven persons convicted of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination .

From a hardcore critic of the LTTE, whose demand for the arrest of its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran won her praise in the 1990s, to lobbying for the freedom of those convicted of killing Rajiv Gandhi, Ms. Jayalalithaa has adopted a position she apparently believes will fetch her enough political traction in Tamil Nadu.

With the Human Right Commission readying to take up the issue of alleged war crimes by Sri Lanka in the military operations against the LTTE next month in Geneva, the State is certain to witness another round of Tamil nationalist activism to lobby for a strong stand by New Delhi against the Rajapkasa government.

Tamil nationalist groups have been demanding the release of the death row convicts in the Rajiv case for years. In recent times, that clamour has grown stronger with the mood in the State against the Rajapaksa government.

When the Supreme Court commuted the death penalty of Perarivalan, Murugan and Santhan in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case to life imprisonment and gave the option to the “appropriate government” to exercise its remission powers, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister was quick to seize the opportunity.

With her Cabinet adopting a resolution for the release of all seven prisoners, and the three-day deadline to the Centre for its consent, Ms. Jayalalithaa has decisively scored over the likes of DMK president M. Karunanidhi, who consider themselves bigger champions of the Tamil cause, and pre-empted the demands of Tamil nationalist groups.

Regardless of what the Centre decides, Ms. Jayalalithaa would have made her point. If the Centre agrees to the release, she will be the one to reap the political benefits; if not, she will be the one that stood up and demanded it.

The statement by Mr. Karunanidhi reflected her main rival's dilemma. He welcomed the decision, at the same time asserting that the credit for it could not go to the AIADMK alone.

“When I proposed idea of commuting their death sentence in 2011, she ridiculed it. Now,” said Mr. Karunanidhi, “she has taken a decision in favour of it. I welcome her stand.”

He even urged the Centre to give its concurrence to the Cabinet's decision.

Subramanian Swamy of the Bharatiya Janata Party, known for his views against the LTTE, said the move to release the convicts was “illegal”. He said the provisions of the law which Jayalalithaa government had invoked were applicable only when the commutation took place under very limited circumstances.

“The three-day ultimatum is empty as the Centre has made its mind clear. It is going for a review of the judgment. If the Centre objects to the release, Ms. Jayalalithaa might say she tried her best,” Dr. Swamy said.

For obvious reasons, the Congress, decried the release as an attempt to capitalise on Tamil nationalist sentiments. TNCC president B.S. Gnanadesikan said the decision to release the seven convicts was nothing but “competitive politics,” seeking to capitalise on Tamil sentiments.

Analysts said Ms. Jayalalithaa had taken a calculated risk, trading off possible disapproval from her traditional middle-class supporters, who believe in her anti-terrorism credentials, similar to the BJP’s, for what might be a bigger political gain.

“Even if the middle class turns against her, we should appreciate her move, because she has taken a risk,” said MSS Pandian, who teaches at Jawaharlal University.

Dindigul becomes Corporation

The Dindigul municipality has been upgraded as Municipal Corporation with effect from Wednesday.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa handed over the government order to Municipal Chairman G. Marudharaj. On receipt of the information, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam councillors celebrated the occasion by distributing sweets to the public and bursting crackers.

According to officials, the population of the newly created Corporation limits is 2.7 lakh.

The annual revenue to the exchequer is expected to be around Rs.30 crore.

The Chief Minister had announced at the Assembly on April 10, 2013, that the municipality would be upgraded as Municipal Corporation.

“Chennai Port-Maduravoyal Elevated Corridor” BY NHAI

The Madras High Court on Thursday gave its nod to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to recommence the 19-km long “Chennai Port-Maduravoyal Elevated Corridor” which was stalled by Public Works Department (PWD).

The project was mainly conceived for speedy evacuation of cargo from Chennai port. Work commenced in September 2010. The project was stalled in 2012.

By the January 28 letter, the PWD had sought revised Coastal Regulation Zone clearance for the elevated corridor and also said certain remedial measures such as dredging two metre beyond the outer column and construction of the retaining wall for three to four meters in the extended portion should be carried out.

Hence, NHAI filed a writ petition to quash the records of the Chief Engineer, PWD, Water Resource Organisation, Chennai Region, of January 28 this year and consequently direct the authorities to co-ordinate and take all steps to complete it within a planned time. A few other writ petitions were also filed in the Madras High Court seeking to direct the State government to allow the NHAI to proceed with construction.

The NHAI said it was aggrieved by the stumbling blocks put up by the Tamil Nadu Government for the due execution of India's first elevated project involving Rs.1,800 crore. It was the "motivated, tainted" action of the State Government which had led to the situation of stalling of the project work.

Setting aside the orders of the PWD, a division bench comprising Justices N. Paul Vasanthakumar and P. Devadass also directed the State government and all contesting respondents to extend full co-operation for continuance project which has been already commenced after obtaining clearance from Coastal Regulatory Zone Authority.

The Bench directed the PWD to co-ordinate and monitor free flow of water of Coovam River along with authorities. The State authorities should work in tandem with NHAI for the completion of the project.

AIADMK WELCOMES Panruti S. Ramachandran

Former minister and former deputy leader of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) in the Assembly, Panruti S. Ramachandran, joined the AIADMK on Thursday.

A press release from the AIADMK said Mr. Ramachandran met Chief Minister Jayalalithaa along with his wife Shanthi and son R. Sampath Kumar and became the member of the party.

An engineer by training, Mr. Ramachandran worked for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, before taking a plunge into politics.

He was a minister in the DMK government, but switched to the AIADMK launched by M.G. Ramachandran (MGR). He was also part of the ministry headed by MGR and had addressed the United Nations on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue.

He later joined the PMK and became a first MLA of the party. He could not continue in the party for long and launched his own outfit, before joining the DMDK. In 2011 elections he was elected form the Alandur constituncy, but resigned his post after differences with party leader Vijayakant.

Telangana bill Prime Minister Manmohan Singh speaks

Amid unprecedented bedlam and intense debating, the Rajya Sabha passed the contentious Telangana Bill

Telangana was all set to become the 29th State of the Union with Parliament on Thursday night approving a historic bill to carve it out of Andhra Pradesh amid vociferous protests by members from Seemandhra region as also from Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena.

The suspense over the passage of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2014 came to an end with the BJP backing the government on it despite raising several concerns.

Apparently responding to demands from Seemandhra MPs as well as from the BJP for “justice” to the region, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a six-point development package for successor States of Andhra Pradesh including grant of special category status including tax incentives to Seemandhra.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s request to the Prime Minister to give a special category status to Seemandhra for five years seems to have apparently clinched the issue and BJP came on board.

“I hope these additional announcements will demonstrate our steadfast commitment to not just the creation of Telangana but also to the continued prosperity and welfare of Seemandhra,” Dr. Singh noted.

A protective cordon was thrown around Dr. Singh as well as Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde by Congress members as members from Seemandhra region as also those from TMC and Shiv Sena stormed the Well with TMC members even tearing papers and throwing them on the floor. CPI(M) members walked out in protest.

The House looked like a virtual battleground during the five-hour proceedings, which saw seven adjournments as members resorted to slogan shouting and tore papers describing the bill passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday as illegal.

The debate also saw the government facing an awkward situation when Union Minister K. Chiranjeevi, who hails from Seemandhra region, opposed the decision on Telangna inviting ridicule from the BJP, which wondered whether a member of the Council of Ministers can oppose a decision taken by his own government without resigning from it.

As the bill appeared set to be a reality with most of the amendments moved by the the BJP either rejected or withdrawn, the CPI(M) and the Trinamool Congress alleged “nexus” between the ruling party and the main Opposition.

Minister Jairam Ramesh, who was a key person in the Telangana decision process as a member of the GoM on the issue, repeatedly made brief interventions to assuage the concerns of members on diverse issues.

Law Minister Kapil Sibal said time has come to create Telangana. “Time has come to take this historic decision... it is very difficult to satisfy all people of both the regions.”

Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien rejected demands for division taking the plea that there was no order in the House.

Unlike the Lok Sabha, where the bill was passed after a very brief discussion, the Rajya Sabha saw a threadbare debate spanning around three hours despite unprecedented protest with anti-bifurcation members storming the Well with huge placards sometimes even overshadowing the Chair.

Similarly, unlike the television blackout that was witnessed during the proceedings in the Lok Sabha, there was no such “technical glitch” on the Rajya Sabha TV, which telecast the proceedings live.

Commotion and high drama continued throughout the proceedings with Congress member K.V.P. Ramchandra Rao staging a sit in into the Well and Trinamool members shouting “tear and throw away”.

There was no suspension of any member from the House of the Elders on unlike what happened in Lok Sabha, where as many as 16 Seemandhra members belonging to various parties faced action.

The BJP, which supported the bill also demanded that Seemandhra region got justice and a “defective” legislation was not passed.

The principal Opposition party also deplored the government for badly handling the passage of the bill without taking the stakeholders on board.

“Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are both brothers and are Telugu speaking. Telangana people want Telangana, we are saying yes... We are not dividing the country, we are only dividing a State for speedy development,” BJP member Venkaiah Naidu said.

Mr. Naidu blamed the Congress for delaying creation of Telangana and playing “vote-bank” and “opportunistic” politics on the issue and said it is the “real culprit” in this whole process.

He also sought amendments to give special category status to Seemandhra and adequate financial package to address the revenue loss of the region.

Supporting his colleague, the Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley said, “We are in favour of creation of Telangana. But we want a lawful and legally sustainable bill be passed.”

“I am deeply disappointed the way the UPA government has done the creation exercise,” he said, highlighting expulsion of members in the other House, the State Assembly rejecting the proposal and others.

Replying to Mr. Naidu’s concerns regarding the resource gap arising between the notified date and appointed date for creation of Telangana, both Mr. Shinde and Mr. Ramesh assured him that Government will take care of that and quoted the Prime Minister’s statement in this regard.

In his statement, the Prime Minister noted that the resource gap arising in the successor state of Andhra Pradesh in the very first year will be compensated in the Regular Union Budget for 2014-15.

This gap may arise during the period between the appointed day and the acceptance of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations by the Government of India.

Concerns were also raised during the debate over Polavaram project, which Mr. Ramesh sought to explain.

Sitaram Yechury (CPI(M)) said, “There is match-fixing between the ruling party and the Opposition” adding that the Chair should not get into such “match-fixing”.

Trinamool members kept shouting “Congress-BJP bhai, bhai”. The party is concerned about the fallout of the Telangana decision on Gorakhaland issue. The hilly region of West Bengal is seeking separate statehood for long.

Similarly in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena has been staunchly opposed to any division of the State, where demands for creation of Vidarbha are raised occasionally.