Obama, celeb like Britney

White House contender John McCain invoked gossip-page perennials Britney Spears and Paris Hilton on Wednesday to portray Democrat Barack Obama as a vapid celebrity who was unfit to lead.

The McCain campaign and Republican Party rolled out a concerted offensive to allege that Mr Obama, fresh from an overseas tour, was keener to soak in the adulation of adoring crowds than to offer real solutions for US voters. Mr Obama hit back to accuse Mr McCain of promoting no positive ideas about how he might address challenging issues.

“It’s beyond dispute that he’s become the biggest celebrity in the world,” Steve Schmidt, a senior adviser to Mr McCain, told reporters as the campaign unveiled a national television ad called “Celeb.” “The question we are posing is this, is he ready to lead yet? The answer that we will offer to the American people is, no he is not,” he said.

Karat: No vote for UPA

The CPI(M) has ruled out supporting the Congress in forming a government at the Centre, indicating that the rift between the Left and the UPA on the issue of the nuclear deal cannot be wished away.

“If you think we are going to support a Congress gov ernment, I don’t know, I think people will accuse us of opportunism,” the CPI(M) general secretary, Mr Prakash Karat, told Malayalam television channel Kairali TV on Thursday.

Mr Karat hoped the Left parties would be able to present “some third force” in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

He clarified that the Left’s idea of a third force should not necessarily mean a third alternative that is propped up to fight elections. “The third alternative has to be in terms of policies,” he said.

Mr Karat was evasive about the issue of projecting BSP supremo Mayawati as a prime ministerial candidate.

“We don’t look at it in terms of individuals being projected as Prime Minister,” the CPI(M) leader told the channel.

SI can become DSP after six years

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday held that a police inspector (civil) who completed six years of service is eligible to be promoted as deputy police superintendent.

A division bench comprising Justice Ghulam Mohammed and Justice C.V. Ramulu on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by Mr E. Shankar Reddy and others challenging the orders of the AP Administrative Tribunal on this issue. The bench upheld the orders of the APAT saying that the tribunal was right in holding that the seniority is altogether different from the eligibility criteria as per the Rule 5 (F) of the AP Police Service Rules.

SP asks for oil, telecom

The Samajwadi Party, set to join the Manmohan Singh government, is mounting pressure for the petroleum and communications portfolios. It has accepted it will not get home, and since party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav (who would have been its candidate for that key portfolio) is not keen to become a minister, it is not pressing the matter.

“Jab netaji (Mulayam) ko mantri banna hi nahi, to ho-me ministry le kar kya kar-en,” a senior SP leader said.

The party is also pushing for Rampur MP Jaya Prada for the women and child development ministry, replacing Ms Renuka Chowdhury. If it gets petroleum, it will nominate general secretary Amar Singh for it.

The communications portfolio is a tricky matter, since it is not held by the Congress. The DMK’s A. Raja is the minister, and the Congress might find it difficult to take it away from its powerful southern ally.

The SP is talking to the Congress leadership about bifurcating food and agriculture, held by NCP chief Sharad Pawar. The idea is to carve out food and civil supplies, and give it to Mr Ram Gopal Yadav.

Centre lax in tackling terrorism, flays BJP

BJP senior leaders Ch Vidyasagar Rao and N Indrasena Reddy have lambasted the Centre for failing to tackle the illegal immigrants’ intrusion from Bangladesh into the Indian cities even as they called for revival of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota) to rein in the growing terror menace in the country.
After taking part in a rally in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, Vidyasagar alleged that the Old City in Hyderabad had become a major hub for intruders from Pakistan and Bangladesh. “There is enough evidence to show that the roots of terror elements are deeply entrenched in the Old City,” he said and flayed the Majlis party for turning the Old City into a ‘prohibited zone.’
He demanded that the YSR government institute a commission of enquiry to look into the antecedents of those living illegally in Hyderabad in general and the Old City in particular. “It is found an estimated 1.2 crore people have so far illegally entered Assam alone,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP national secretary Indrasena Reddy demanded that the union government revive Pota in the light of grave threat to the nation’s internal security from terrorist outfits. He flayed the UPA government for abolishing the Act only to woo the minority community. “If we demand revival of Pota, the government says we are anti-Muslim. We are not against Muslims but against the Afzal Gurus and Muzibs who are trying to disturb the very fabric of the country through violent means,” he added.

Currency notes were withdrawn from many places: Panel

As the committee of Lok Sabha on Wednesday began its investigation into the cash-for-vote scam, its first tentative finding seemed to undercut Congress's assertion that the entire amount allegedly offered to three BJP MPs as advance of Rs 9 crore bribe to switch their loyalties had been taken out from the State Bank of Indore's New Market, Bhopal, branch.
Sources said that members of the panel who examined the slips on the wads of currency notes displayed by the three BJP MPs -- Ashok Argal, Mahavir Bhagora and Faggan Singh Kulaste -- found them to have been withdrawn from branches of banks in Noida, Faridabad, Gurgaon and other places. Congress leaders, speaking on the condition of anonymity, had emphasised the link of bundles of currency notes to BJP-controlled Madhya Pradesh to suggest that the whole scam had been stage-managed by the BJP to defame the UPA government.
Senior party leaders had even suggested that the money was ferried to the Capital on the eve of the trust vote at the instance of a BJP chief minister.
Significantly, while the panel favoured a comprehensive probe into the allegation which tainted Manmohan Singh government's victory in the July 22 trust vote, its members recognised that it might not be possible for them to quiz either Amar Singh, SP general secretary and the alleged bribe-giver, or Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, since both were members of Rajya Sabha, without the consent of the Chairman of the Upper House.
The members, who decided to take the help of technical experts to scrutinise the phone records of persons named by the three BJP MPs, noted the view of Kaul and Shakdhar -- experts on parliamentary procedure -- that Lok Sabha can exercise no jurisdiction over the members of the other House without the consent of its Chairman Hamid Ansari.
The first hearing by the panel coincided with V K Malhotra, deputy leader of BJP in Lok Sabha and party's representative on it, saying that he would approach Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to expand the committee to make room for two more representatives from NDA -- BJD's Brajkishore Tripathi and Shiv Sena's Anant Geethe --along with CPI's Gurudas Dasgupta and NCP's Shriniwas Patil.
In another development, while the panel decided to summon CNN-IBN, which collaborated with the three BJP MPs in the sting on the UPA's alleged attempt to bribe them but later decided not to air the contents of the CD, the news channel cited legal opinion to justify its decision.
The committee will meet next on August 4 and the three BJP MPs are likely to be summoned on August 7. The committee's term is coming to an end on August 11 and it may try to give a report by then to coincide with the monsoon session.
As per the complaint, Sanjiv Saxena, identified by the three BJP MPs as Amar Singh's aide, arrived at 4, Ferozeshah Road in a white Gypsy car (DL-2CS-8562), which was noted down by the staff at the residence. He had walked in with the bag which contained Rs 1 crore in 10 bundles of Rs 10 lakh each.

Amar backs Mamata to take on Left in Bengal

With CPM general secretary Prakash Karat joining hands with BSP supremo Mayawati soon after Mulayam Singh Yadav extended support to the UPA, Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh on Wednesday didn’t miss the opportunity to call on CPM’s arch rival and Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee at her Kolkata residence to checkmate the Left.
“Mamata shouldn’t feel alone. I will come down to Kolkata whenever she calls me and our 56 MPs will stand by her when she will raise the demands of Singur farmers,’’ Singh said, while promising to join the Trinamul’s rally on September 1 against the entry of big business in retail.
At a joint press meet with Mamata, Singh stepped up the ante against the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government. “The Left in West Bengal are taking a right turn. In fact, Mamata has taken a profarmer stance and has also stood by the hapless traders threatened by the entry of big business in retail trade. Now, I’ve decided to join hands with her. If Leftists like Aparna Sen can do so, what’s the harm in my supporting her struggle for the poor,’’ said he.
In return, Trinamul wanted Singh to take up the issue of the forcible land acquisition in Singur with Prime Minister . “We talked politics. I requested Amarda to take up the matter with the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi. We aren’t opposed to industries, but the state government should return the land of the farmers unwilling to part with their land,’’ Mamata said.

Cong, Chiru camps vie to woo DK

Even as D K Adikesavulu Naidu is keeping the cards close to his chest, both the Congress and Chiranjeevi’s yetto-be-launched party camps are eager to take the Chittoor MP into their fold.
A team of Congress leaders from Chittoor district led by deputy speaker G Kuthuhalamma met Adikesavulu Naidu on Tuesday evening to convince him to join the Congress.
Talking to ‘TOI,’ Tirupati MLA M Venkatramana said: “As per the party high command wish, we met the Chittoor MP to invite him to join our party. He said he would take a decision only after discussing the issue with his family members, followers and well-wishers.”
However, rumours were rife that the Congress leaders went to meet DK to dissuade him from joining Chiru’s party. On the other hand, though the Congress is welcoming DK into its fold, the followers of former MLA of Chittoor, C K Jayachandra Reddy, are opposing the move since there has been a rivalry between DK and CK. Recently, a case was booked against DK’s son for an alleged attempt on CK’s life. Chiranjeevi’s followers are also sparing no efforts to woo DK.
Meanwhile, DK received the fax copies of his voting during no-confidence motion which clearly stated that he had not voted for the UPA, as alleged by some TDP leaders. DK is likely to exhibit the papers before media on Wednesday to prove his ‘innocence.’

Power crisis: ‘Worried’ YSR turns to Man

Worried over the serious power crisis crippling the state, chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on Tuesday sent an SOS to the Centre seeking the intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in getting allotment of Thadicherla coal block II, spread over Karimnagar and Warangal, to the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation.
Reddy, who reviewed the power situation here on Tuesday, wrote the letter to the prime minister explaining the critical situation the state is passing through with regard to the power sector.
He said while the present generation of thermal power was a little over 2200 MW, the power consumption in the state was around 7000 MW. Despite buying power and drawing from the central quota and overdrawing from the southern grid, the shortage reported on Tuesday was to the tune of 1200 MW.
Apart from meeting the present demand, what is causing worry to the government is the increasing demand for industrial power in view of the various mineral based industries such as alumina and aluminium plants, titanium, sponge metal and steel plants. Besides new cement plants are being built while the existing ones are expanding their capacity. Added to this, the state government is also embarking on several joint ventures with some new major industries, which require thermal power for captive consumption. To meet the future demand, the state government is in the process of promoting new thermal units which require coal.
Meeting the demand for coal to the existing thermal units itself is becoming difficult and most of the power stations are running on a very low coal reserves. Some units have stocks for just one day.
The Kothagudem and Rayalaseema thermal units have shut down one unit each for lack of coal resulting in further loss of power generation. It is in this backdrop that the state government has urged the Centre to speed up the process of allocating Thadicherla coal block II to APMDC.
The recent rains have not helped the power utilities as the shortage continues to rise and no inflows have been reported into Srisailam reservoir.

Rahul tells seniors, how to win polls

The AICC gener al secretary, Mr Rahul Gandhi, is a novice in politics when compared to senior Congress leaders from the state. That did not prevent him from giving tips to senior leaders on how to win elections.

The leaders who listened to him include the former Karnataka chief minister and AICC in-charge of AP affairs, Mr Veerappa Moily, the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, the PCC president, Mr D.

Srinivas and a group of Cabinet ministers.

Mr Gandhi explained his “strategy” to return to power while speaking at the PCC executive meeting. When some leaders revealed their anxiety over actor Chiranjeevi’s proposed political party and its impact on the Congress, Mr Gandhi said he was confident that Congress will continue in its position of strength as it has faced several such challenges in the past. Mr Gandhi was forced to speak about Chiranjeevi’s party as some leaders were afraid that the new outfit might win the support of the backward communities.

Mr Gandhi then asked the senior leaders to be cautious about last minute changes in poll alliances.

During his first ever visit to the Gandhi Bhavan, Mr Gandhi spent about oneand-a-half hours interacting with local leaders and office bearers.

The AICC general secretary, who arrived here on Saturday on a two-day visit, reached Gandhi Bhavan amidst tight security with even the media being barred from covering the event.

Later, Mr Gandhi met leaders of the Congress affiliated wings like the Youth Congress, Mahila Congress, Sevadal, legal and doctor cells.

Mr Gandhi even talked to district Congress presidents through tele-conference and enquired about the party’s chances of winning there. “He complimented the state government for its development plan,” revealed PCC president, Mr D. Srinivas.

However, Mr Gandhi was irked when Mahila Congress activists, including its president, started shouting slogans. He asked the Mahila Congress president, Mrs Ganga Bhavani, to stop shouting.

“Mr Gandhi told us bluntly that he did not come here to hear praises,” said a Mahila Congress activist who was present at the meeting.

The activists urged Mr Gandhi to take steps to increase the monetary support to a girl child to Rs 1.5 lakh.

BJP states on terror hit list

Intelligence agen cies are investigating if terrorists are making a conscious effort to target states ruled by BJP governments.

Intelligence Bureau sleuths have gone to Mumbai, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Bengaluru to track down hideouts of the Harkat-ulJihad-al-Islami (HuJI) and the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (Simi).

Intelligence sources say there could be different reasons for such targeting. In Gujarat it could be due to communal riots, in Madhya Pradesh due to the crackdown on Simi, particularly after the Jaipur blasts. The MP police had arrested top Simi leader Safdar Nagori and 10 of his men after the Jaipur attack.

In MP, steps are being taken to strengthen security in Bhopal, Indore and Ujjain, while a close watch is being kept on BJP-ruled Himachal Pradesh. Simi is learnt to have shifted its base to Karnataka following the MP crackdown, and later it again relocated to Karaikal (Puducherry) and Goa, official sources said.

The matter was discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by Union minister of state for home Sriprakash Jaiswal in Puducherry earlier this month, which was attended by the lieutenant-governor, the chief minister, chief secretary and DGP.

Will Chiru launch his party

The speculation surrounding Chiranjeevi's party launch continues to be a subject of hot discussion at both political and social parties. While a few believe that it will be launched on his birthday, August 22nd, industry sources claim that Chiranjeevi will announce his decision on 8th August and not Independence Day. The launch promises to be a gala affair with him revealing the flag and agenda of his party at a public rally. kin to do his job. To fit into his new political avatar.It is learnt that Chiru is seeking advise from personality councilors to make him aggressive and diplomatic. "He can take a moral high ground by meeting the demands of Nandini and invite Srija couple before setting out to campaign" reasons a political analyst who believes these nagging issues will put him on defensive until resolved.
The unfortunate clashes between fans over their respective castes added to the drama.Besides pacifying them Chiru needs to define the role of his huge following. Similarly, if the roles of his brothers and brother-inlaw remain undefined then it would create even more confusion (it is alleged that leaders like Mayawati and KCR insisted on a one-to-one meet instead of mediators). With Pavan Kalyan resolving to play an active role in inspire youth it becomes more of a necessity than choice. According to sources, Rajnikanth cautioned his friend to be more careful with strangers while touring prompting Chiru to form a security ring around him.