Mumbai, Maharashtra BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari today told the visiting Pakistani journalist delegation that if the BJP-led NDA came to power in the next general elections, they would continue with the policies adopted by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee while dealing with Pakistan. 'We will continue the same policies which were in use from 1998 till 2004 but were backtracked by the UPA in last eight years,' Mr Bhandari told the delegation of journalists during an interaction. The 17-strong media delegation from Pakistan, made up of representatives of various main line newspaper and TV channels inlcuding Dawn, Jung, ARY TV and Geo TV, are visiting Mumbai and Pune between May 21 and 27. The visit by the Pakistan delegation reciprocates a visit of 23 Mumbai Press Club members to Karachi in November, last year. ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, BJP leader Sanjay Joshi, bete noire of the Gujarat chief minister, on Thursday resigned ahead of the party national executive meeting beginning here, a move seen as an effort by the party president to buy peace with Narendra Modi. "Joshi, who was invitee member of the national executive, has in a letter to party president Nitin Gadkari said that he is relinquishing his post in the larger interest of the party," BJP sources said hours before the inauguration of the two day conclave. The move by Gadkari is significant as the shadow of Modi could have hung over the conclave as speculation had mounted over the Gujarat strongman's absence amid no official word from Gandhinagar. Modi had also not attended the last meeting of the National Executive held in Delhi in December apparently peeved over the induction of Joshi into Uttar Pradesh election campaign by Gadkari. He had also not campaigned in the UP polls. As per official programme, Modi will be in Udaipur in Rajasthan today to attend the birth centenary celebrations of Maharana Pratap and will be returning to Ahmedabad. As per his associates in Gandhinagar, Modi could make it to Mumbai tomorrow in view of the ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, The Air India crisis entered its 10th day Thursday as the impasse between agitating pilots and the management continued and the carrier's losses mounted to Rs 188 crore. "We are currently operating under the contingency plan, in which we are operating a bare minimum number of international operations by clubbing flights to destinations in Europe and the US," a senior official of Air India's operations arm told IANS. "We have lost about Rs.188 crore due to ticket cancellations, unused labour and with a bulk of our Boeing-777 fleet grounded. Our losses per day stand at Rs.13 crore," the official said. The airline has deployed the Airbus family of aircraft such as A320, A321 and A330 for international routes. It is only operating eight of its 17 Boeing-777 aircraft which are normally manned by the striking pilots belonging to Indian Pilots Guild (IPG). The carrier's low-cost international wing, Air India Express, is also facing the brunt of the agitation. The strike and the subsequent flight cancellations by the airline have disrupted holiday and other travel plans of hundreds of people. The development comes a day after cracks reportedly appeared ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, Four international flights were cancelled and several domestic flights re-scheduled Saturday as the Air India pilots continued to strike for the fifth day, leaving passengers stranded at the airport terminals. The flights cancelled by Air India include Mumbai-London-Mumbai, Mumbai-Riyadh-Mumbai, Mumbai-Newark-Mumbai and Mumbai-Delhi-Shanghai-Delhi-Mumbai. Several domestic flights have also been cancelled and rescheduled as the stand-off between the pilots' association and the management continued on the fifth day. On its part, the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), while accusing Air India management of backtracking on its commitments sought Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh's intervention and appealed him to "open negotiation channels" to resolve the crisis. Management of Air India has taken action against 71 pilots in four days and also written to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asking it to cancel the licenses of 11 office bearers of the IPG whose services have been terminated. The carrier has also chalked out a contingency plan to restore partial international flights starting Monday. Trouble started for the airline Tuesday when pilots ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, A large section of Delhi-based pilots of the Kingfisher Airlines, rostered for flights, called in sick Wednesday midnight onwards. Mumbai-based pilots joined the agitation Thursday evening. There was no perceptible impact on the airline's flight schedules or passengers though. "The airline management roped in pilots who also hold managerial positions to fill in for absentee pilots. As the carrier operates a skeletal flight schedule, these pilots could handle the workload," said a source. From Mumbai airport only one flight, the morning one to Chennai, was cancelled and it was for operational reasons, said a Mumbai International Airport spokesperson. The airline spokesperson was not available for comment. Kingfisher is now the smallest airline in the country in terms of market share with its operations down to 110 daily flights compared to 400-odd daily flights it operated last summer. The pilots' agitation could cause flight delays and cancellations if it continues beyond 48 hours. "The airline cannot roster its handful of management pilots everyday. They would have to give them their mandatory rest. That is when the airline will find it hard to maintain its flight ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, Kingfisher Airlines has said it is not aware of any alleged analysis of financial records by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. “Kingfisher Airlines is not aware of any alleged analysis of financial records of Kingfisher Airlines by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, nor is it aware of any alleged analysis report," said Prakash Mirpuri, Vice President - Corporate Communications,The UB Group / Kingfisher Airlines Limited. "In fact, Kingfisher Airlines has received no communication in this regard from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. In the circumstances, Kingfisher Airlines will not speculate or comment on the alleged contents of an alleged report of which it has no knowledge whatsoever," he said. "Kingfisher Airlines is also not aware of any alleged letter allegedly written by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Kingfisher Airlines has not received any communication from the Serious Fraud Investigation Office in connection with any of its Accounts," said Mirpuri. "Kingfisher Airlines has requested the media house which ran this story to kindly disclose to it the source of its alleged information in this regard ...
Read Full Story

Patna, RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Monday targetted chief minister Nitish Kumar over the centenary celebrations in Mumbai, saying that the JD(U) leader has "hurt the prestige and sentiments of Bihar" by kneeling down before MNS leader Raj Thackeray. Apparently referring to the chief minister's emissary Devesh Chandra Thakur who conveyed to Thackeray that the programme was purely socio-cultural and politics was not on the agenda, Prasad accused Kumar of "hurting the prestige of Bihar". "Nitish has hurt the prestige and sentiments of Bihar by kneeling down before Thackeray and his conditions on his visit to Mumbai," Prasad told reporters here. "Nitish conceded all the conditions put by Raj Thackerary for attending the Bihar Divas programme in Mumbai yesterday," Prasad claimed. Stating that Bihar is known for its glorious past, the former Bihar chief minister said, "We should not buckle under pressure and kneel before anyone's diktat." He also criticised Devesh Chandra Thakur, a ruling JD(U) MLC, for allegedly 'stage-managing' a truce between Kumar and Thackeray. Prasad alleged that Kumar was celebrating Bihar Divas overlooking poverty and deterioration in law and ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, In fresh trouble for members of the scam-tainted Adarsh Housing Society, the Enforcement Directorate has issued notices to the society and its members, asking them to furnish information regarding payment towards the purchase of flats. The directorate began its probe into allegations of money laundering and benami transactions after facing severe criticism from the Bombay high court for failing to initiate an inquiry despite receiving information from the CBI. The agency then issued summons to the members of the society, ED sources said. While some members had furnished the replies, others were still awaited, the sources said, adding that those arrested by the CBI had sought more time to comply to the ...
Read Full Story

New Delhi, Challenging parliamentarians to issue privilege notices, Mumbai members of India Against Corruption (IAC) have initiated a 'referendum' to gauge support for Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal. The campaign started on Sunday and raised the issue of Kejriwal's stand on criminal charges against 162 sitting parliamentarians. Kejriwal has been slapped with privilege notices for "insulting" parliamentarians. The survey is expected to target 50,000 people at public places like train stations, malls and parks. IAC Mumbai head Mayank Gandhi said, "We have put a mirror to the people and are trying to see if people support Arvind's stand." Mumbaikars will be asked to text the answer to the query - "Who has insulted Parliament? The 162 MPs who have serious charges of murder, rape etc and MPs who throw chairs on each other, watch blue films, tear bills, display cash or Arvind Kejriwal who stated the above facts." Kejriwal has in recent speeches raised the issue of pending criminal charges against 162 sitting parliamentarians. When asked if the referendum could work against Kejriwal, Gandhi said, "We are not afraid of privilege notices. In fact we welcome them. ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, Pointing out several lapses in land management in Mumbai, for reasons ranging from official ineptness to collusion, the comptroller and auditor general's report said, "Being a premium asset with increasing value, land management is to be dealt with judiciously. However, neither the government nor the collector has any database of land." The report, yet to be tabled in the assembly, exposes selective allotments made by several state ministers, not the least former CM Vilasrao Deshmukh. According to the report, a 23,840 sq m plot in suburban Borivali was allotted to the Manjara Charitable Trust by the government on September 28, 2005, when Deshmukh was the state's CM, for opening a dental college at an occupancy price of Rs 6.56 crore. Deshmukh is a patron of the trust. "It was noticed that out of four applicants for the plot, the CM approved application of the Manjara charitable trust in preference to the other three applicants without assigning any specific reason," the report, whose purported contents were given to the media in a CD by the opposition, said. No work was carried out for four years after taking possession and in 2011, the trust wanted to alter the ...
Read Full Story

New Delhi, India's quest for justice for the Mumbai terror strike has been boosted with the US announcing a bounty of $10 million for 26/11 mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed as both countries renewed their resolve to defeat terror sanctuaries inside Pakistan and Afghanistan. The US Monday announced an award of up to $10 million for information leading to arrest and conviction of Saeed and $2 million for Hafiz Adbul Rahman Makki, under the Rewards for Justice programme. In her talks Monday, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman had conveyed to Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai the US' decision on two terrorists. "The foreign secretary expressed India’s sincere appreciation for the additional US step to target Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed and Abdul Rahman Makki as well as the LeT,” the external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said here Tuesday. The US announcement “reflects the commitment of India and the US to bring perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attacks to justice and continuing efforts to combat terrorism,” Akbaruddin added. "It also sends a strong signal to LeT as also its members and patrons ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, The rupee eased by 3 paise to Rs 50.26 against the dollar in early trade today on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market, following increased demand for the American currency from importers. Traders said apart from increased demand for the dollar from importers, dollar gains against other Asian currencies overseas mainly weighed on the rupee sentiment. Higher opening in the equity market, however, capped the rupee's losses, they added. ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, The service tax department has frozen some more bank accounts of debt-crippled Kingfisher Airlines for missing the deadline for clearing dues. Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher had been given time till Wednesday to pay Rs 10 crore as arrears, but it could not meet the deadline till evening. Following this, the department attached all the bank accounts of the airline. "The airline has been paying its dues so far at the rate of Rs 1 crore for every working day. Until this week, they have paid their dues but again missed the deadline," said a senior official of the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC), the apex body that administers indirect taxes. CBEC had frozen all bank accounts of Kingfisher earlier this year for nonpayment of dues, but lifted it after the airline started clearing it. Last week, the airline could not stick to the payment schedule, prompting the CBEC to freeze most of its accounts. Kingfisher was allowed to operate some accounts on the promise that it would pay up by February 29. A senior service tax official said the airline's management is in talks with CBEC officials to resolve the issue. Kingfisher declined to comment on the matter. The ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, The special investigation team of Mumbai Police on Friday simultaneously raided three properties of Congressman Kripashankar Singh in a disproportionate asset case. The SIT is carrying out the investigation against Kripashankar Singh over amassing assets worth Rs 300 crore, disproportionate to known sources of income. On February 22, the Bombay high court, after holding that prima facie case of criminal misconduct is made out against the Mumbai leader, ordered his prosecution. On February 22, the High Court, after holding that prima facie case of criminal misconduct is made out against the Mumbai leader, ordered his prosecution. "The Commissioner of Police Arup Patnaik shall obtain sanction from the government to prosecute Kripashankar Singh for criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The role of other respondents (Kripashankar's family) shall also be investigated into," a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Roshan Dalvi said. The bench had said Patnaik shall collect documentary evidence regarding all movable and immovable properties of Kripashankar and his family, including his wife, son and daughter-in-law, who will ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, A special CBI court on Wednesday convicted Abdul Karim Telgi and 11 others in one of the fake stamp paper scam-related cases but rejected an application seeking to make former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh an accused. Ram Ratan Soni, one of the accused, had alleged that it was during Deshmukh's tenure as state revenue minister that Telgi was granted the stamp vending license, so he be impleaded in the case. But the court rejected the plea. The court, however, sentenced Telgi to life imprisonment in cases registered at Colaba and Cuff Parade police stations here, and at Economic Offence Wing. The cases were later taken over by the ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, The special investigating team will probe the source of income of Congress leader Kripashankar Singh and his family members from 1994, when he became member of the legislative council. The SIT will start investigations afresh though they would refer to the findings of the state anti-corruption bureau and the income tax department, police said. The SIT appointed by Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik on the orders of the Bombay high court on late Tuesday registered the FIR against Kripashankar and his kin at the Nirmal Nagar police station at Bandra. "While working as a minister for home, food and drugs, Singh and his kin abetted each other for the commission of the said offences and, in furtherance, committed offences of criminal breach of trust by public servant, forgery for the purpose of cheating, destruction of evidence and thereby committed offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code," the FIR said. Sanjay Tiwari's writ petition is treated as the FIR. ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, Lenders on Wednesday asked RBI to clarify at what point can a onetime defaulter be considered as a standard borrower again. Banks also asked the central bank to reduce reserve requirements to ease liquidity. Bank chairmen present at the meeting said that they discussed a few stressed sectors. While they admitted that the amount of bad loans had risen, the general consensus was that it was still at a manageable level. In the meeting, RBI officials asked them to focus on recoveries of bad loans. Officials present at the meeting included those from SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, Andhra Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank, Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank. SBI chief Pratip Chaudhuri said there is a need to look at the possibility of restructuring smaller loans as ...
Read Full Story

New Delhi, The Enforcement Directorate has issued notices to two former executives of the UBS Switzerland to appear for evidence recording at Mumbai in the Hassan Ali money laundering case. The former executives are believed to have helped the Pune-based businessman Ali in his money laundering allegedly estimated at more than $8 billion. The income Tax had also served Ali with notices in the same case for recovery of Rs 70,000 crore, including penalty for tax evasion. The summons was issued after a Mumbai court allowed ED to investigate the former UBS officials under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). One of the UBS employees served UBS as its executive director and had been mentioned in bank documents recovered from Ali during search at his residence. Ali had allegedly been in contact with a Saudi arms dealer, and there were banking transactions that ED sleuths suspect could be commission he may have received in arms deals. The Mumbai court has asked the two former UBS officials to present themselves before investigating officers in the second week of April. Earlier, the agency had sought information from UBS and the Royal bank of Luxembourg in an ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) claimed to have busted a fake SIM card racket with the arrest of three persons from Jogeshwari on Saturday. This is the fifth fake SIM card racket to be detected in the city in the last four months. Acting on a tip-off, ATS sleuths raided Chaurasiya Communication near Ghaswala compound in Jogeshwari and arrested Manoj Chandan Singh, Ram Manohar Lalbahadur and Kaushal Sharma. Investigators said the trio has been selling active SIM cards without any verification. ATS chief Rakesh Maria said 175 SIM cards, 17 demo cards, seven rubber stamps, 23 photographs of different persons and PAN cards were recovered from the trio. The perpetrators of last year's July 13 triple blasts had used fake SIM cards to execute the terror attacks. The accused used to make copies of original documents submitted by customers, said the police, adding that they would then paste photographs of different people to create fake identification documents. The trio used these bogus papers to activate SIM cards. "We are now looking for more than 60 persons who had purchased fake SIM cards from the accused," said Maria. Last month, the police arrested SIM ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has blamed US-based NGOs for whipping up a campaign against the Russian-aided Kudunkulam atomic power station in Tamil Nadu, causing a major setback to the project. Singh, in an interview to the American journal 'Science' being published on Friday said, "The atomic energy programme has got into difficulties because these NGOs mostly, I think, based in the US, don't appreciate the need for our country to increase energy. The local NGO-led protests have stalled the commissioning of two 1000 mw nuclear reactors." TOI had first reported that foreign agents were behind the protests at Kudunkulam. Top officials of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) had hinted that the Intelligence Bureau had expressed suspicion that there was a foreign role in the demonstrations, but did not specifically identify any particular country. The atomic power plant's first unit was slated to attain criticality in November 2011, but got postponed following a series of protests from the local population.They feared that in the wake of the Fukushima accident, there was no guarantee that a similar thing would not happen at the Kudunkulam plant. Singh also ...
Read Full Story