‘I would have killed Osama myself if had a chance’

Islamabad: Pakistan’s top diplomat in the UK, High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hassan, has said that he would have himself assassinated former al Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, if he had the chance to do so.

“We’re not opposed to eliminating these al Qaeda chaps. We were not opposed to eliminating Osama bin Laden, because he was declared an international terrorist. If I were there I would have killed him myself,” the Daily Times quoted Hassan, as saying.

Hassan said that his country remained committed to combat al Qaeda terrorists and extremism, as thousands of Pakistani civilians and soldiers had died in terrorist attacks since 9/11.

He also accused the United States of “talking in miles” when it comes to democracy but “moving in inches”.

“We are fully for democracy, we want democracy, we support the Arab Spring, we are opposed to military interference in Egypt. All of these things are very good. They are music to my ears. But when it comes to real politics they are different. [US Secretary of State] Hillary Clinton has really supported democracy. But she is one person,” he said.

Hassan said that the American officials have always maintained a habit of dealing with ‘one man’ rather than institutions and never allow a matter to be debated in their Parliament, as they wish to abstain from being accountable.

“There are so many pillars of power in the United States, and they act differently. The United States, if you look at Pakistan’s 65-year history, has always preferred to deal with one man rather than with institutions. They would never like a matter to go to Parliament, to be debated there, for issues to be accountable to Parliament and the people, they don’t want that, they want one man,” he added.

Source: zeenews.india.com

Home Minister Shinde to visit Pune today

Mumbai: Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde is scheduled to visit the blast sites in Pune on Saturday.

Shinde is likely to review the security situation at a meeting with top officials here.

Four low-intensity explosions took place in the busy J M Road area in Pune on August 1.

Shinde, who took charge as Union Home Minister the same day, was supposed to visit the city that evening, but the visit was cancelled.

Source: zeenews.india.com

Saina Nehwal loses in semis but still in hunt for bronze

LONDON: Outclassed by a clearly superior rival, Saina Nehwal on Friday tamely lost to the top-seeded Yihan Wang of China in the women’s singles semi-final of the Olympic Games, acknowledging later that the Chinese was “too fast” for her.World No 5 Saina, the first Indian to reach the Olympic semi-final in the shuttle game, was beaten 13-21 13-21 by the world’s top women’s badminton player in a match that lasted 42 minutes before a packed Wembly Arena where Indian supporters outshouted the Chinese but that too did not help.

Saina can still hope to win an Olympic bronze in a play-off with yet another Chinese player Xin Wang, who was defeated by compatriot Li Xuerui in a closely fought second semi-final 22-20, 21-18, played immediately after Saina-Yihan clash. The Indian will meet the World No 2 Chinese in the play-off on Saturday.

Clearly off colour, the Hyderabadi girl was never in the match except for brief moments in the second set. She was unable to draw her rival into rallies and could not hold her service for long.

The taller Wang moved swiftly on the court, never allowing Saina to engage in rallies which is her strength. The longest rally of the match lasted 38 seconds and the average rally just 10 seconds.

Acknowledging the superiority of Wang, the disappointed Indian said later that she was too fast for her while she herself was not moving so well on the court.

“Wang was simply too fast for me. I was not moving well on the court and she exploited that. I made some errors in crucial stages which did not help me,” she said.

“I tried hard in some areas but she just did not allow me to settle down and engage in rallies. She was finishing off quickly and was coming upto the net to attack. I could not counter that kind of a game,” Saina expplained.

Asked if she had not had enough recovery time for the match after her yesterday’s quarterfinal win, Saina said that was not an issue at all and that she had had enough recovery time.

Up against the top seeded Chinese, Saina committed too many unforced errors to see her dream of winning an Olympic gold medal come crashing.

There was very little margin for error for Saina as Yihan was sharper, more accurate and also used her powerful smashes to outwit the Indian.

The 22-year-old committed too many unforced errors to lag 6-11 at the interval in the first game. Although Saina tried to come back with the help of some brilliant net play, the Chinese employed some immaculate placements and powerful smashes to lead 1-0.

In the second game, Saina tried to match her superior rival and did trouble her to enjoy a one-point lead at the break. But the tall Chinese used her height to advantage and was also very quick on the court.

She mixed her repertoire of strokes to incude the Indian to commit errors and moved ahead.

Yihan anticipated the shots and was better prepared and, with Saina hitting wide and long, the Chinese registered three straight points after moving into the match point to cement her place in the finals.

This was Yihan’s sixth victory over Saina in as many encounters.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Team Anna’s decision to join politics irks backers

New Delhi: It seems that Team Anna’s decision to enter politics has not gone down well with some of the supporters.

Reports claim that some supporters of Anna Hazare at Navsari in Surat have burnt posters of the social activist and India Against Corruption.

In fact, former Karnataka Lokayukta and Team Anna member Santosh Hegde also said yesterday that he does not support Anna Hazare and his team floating a political party, but would campaign for candidates who identify themselves with his movement against corruption.

There was a section of the volunteers of India Against Corruption at Jantar Mantar, who were cheering Anna Hazare during his fast, protested the team’s decision to take a political route.

Around 50 volunteers reportedly submitted their identity cards with the management of India Against Corruption and refused to turn up at the event.

Reports also said some of the volunteers were also beaten up for displaying placards requesting Team Anna not to join the politics.

However, Team Anna has given assurance to dejected volunteers that Arvind Kejriwal would meet them soon.

On Friday, Team Anna moved towards forming a party to fight the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but Anna Hazare made it clear that he will not launch a party or contest elections. Ending their ten-day fast at Jantar Mantar, the team declared that “people” will decide on their candidates and fund their elections.

“We will have to throw this government out. It is a long fight. This is not a party. It will be a movement from the streets to Parliament.”

“Parliament has to be purified. There will be no high command. People will decide the candidates and they will fund it,” Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal announced.

What did Anna Hazare’s Jantar Mantar fast achieve?

Team Anna’s latest fast at Jantar Mantar was initially greeted by a tepid response by the aam admi and the media. After the high-voltage show at Ramlila Maidan last year, the camera lights had dimmed. Adding to the concerns of the anti-corruption crusaders was the absolute thumbs down by the government; no one from Lutyen’s Delhi appeared to be interested in them anymore.

The same ruling establishment which had wooed and ‘saluted’ Anna for his indomitable spirit and called him too ‘valuable’ for the nation, completely ignored him, a year after Parliament adopting a ‘sense of House’ resolution on the Lokpal Bill.

Although, the movement did gain pace after Anna Hazare himself took to the stage and began fasting along with others, it is clear that the latest round of fast did not really have the kind of action that they had hoped for.

Fact is that Team Anna was on the backfoot and had no strategy to counter the Congress led UPA government’s wait and watch game. One could almost feel them rubbing their hands in glee. As they say – Time is a great leveller.

Given the above scenario, Anna called off his ten day fast on Friday along with his key aides Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai and made an announcement which has started off a national debate.

Just before breaking his fast, Arvind Kejriwal revealed what we all had anticipated. “We will form our own party, the name and the manisfesto of which will be decided by the people.” So finally Team Anna has taken the all important plunge.

The question is whether Anna and his men had any options left? With nothing much happening this time around, they could not have simply called off the fast without a face-saver. And this declaration of providing a political alternative was probably the best option left for them.

Critics of Anna and his team like senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh have maintained throughout that the movement had political aspirations. In fact it was also being said time and again that people like Kejriwal were using the diminutive man from Realegan Siddhi for their personal ambitions.

When Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said that they always knew that Team Anna were inspired by politics and that it was good that whatever the intention was it had come out clear, one could almost feel the sense of victory for the Congress party. Also it may have given them a sense of confidence. After all political arena is the grand old party’s area of strength but appears to be completely alien territory for Anna’s motley group.

It’s not just the Congress, to take Team Anna on in their own turf and in their own background will be something parties cutting across political lines will not mind.

But the moot question is whether this experiment of Anna’s men will succeed or is it embarking on a path of destruction? Politics is a different ballgame altogether. And that too in a country like India where caste and religion play an important role in electoral politics.

However, Team Anna can take solace from the fact that the last couple of state elections have shown, albeit slowly but surely, that the voting pattern of the country is changing. The last elections in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh did bring to light the fact that people are voting on the plank of good governance and development. And if Team Anna can convince the electorate that they can clean up the system, the people of this country who are fed up with deep rooted corruption may give them a chance.

Will Anna be able to provide a formidable front in 2014 is a matter for posterity? However the immediate challenge that will confront them will be how to embark on the road to electoral politics. It will be anything but a smooth ride. It will be bumpy and pull of potholes.

The transition from being a pressure group to a political front will not be easy. What will the organisational structure of the front be? Questions will arise on ways to fund the elections and the task of finding more than 500 ‘clean’ candidates who can win. Also the team has to be prepared to take in criticisms just as any political outfit is criticised if they are found wanting. Apart from their views on corruption and Lokpal, the team will have to make their stand clear on a host of issues confronting the country. For starters, they have to start talking in one language and their intentions have to be pure.

Post Script: But as Ghalib said – Ek aag ka darya hai aur doob ke jaana hai. Likewise the team has to prepare themselves on a war footing to jump into the political cauldron of India. However, let us not be cynics and let us give Anna Hazare and his band of soldiers a chance. In a democratic country like ours everyone has the right to form a political party and fight elections. After all there are more than 60 political parties and seven national parties in India. There is surely space for one more, especially one which promises to be different.

Whatever the outcome or fate of Team Anna may be, one thing is sure – we are in for interesting times ahead

Source: zeenews.india.com

Assembly results major blow for Congress, Rahul

New Delhi: Congress leaders admitted they were stunned as results from five state elections showed the party faced defeats in Punjab and Goa and a poor showing in Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress was on top in Uttarakhand but short of an outright majority. The only good news came from Manipur, where the Congress was set to sweep and retain power.

Congress leaders quickly rushed to insulate their star campaigner in Uttar Pradesh and general secretary Rahul Gandhi from criticism, saying that a wide variety of factors were to blame for the multiple disaster.

“We are very surprised, we are shocked,” Congress leader and Minister of State for Science and Technology Ashwani Kumar said.

“This calls for very serious reflection and introspection on what went wrong,” he added, disappointment writ large on his face.

“This calls for very serious reflection and introspection on what went wrong,” he added, disappointment writ large on his face.

Congress chief spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi was downcast.

The results in Punjab, where the Akali Dal-BJP combine is set to retain power, a first in the state for any ruling party, were “extremely baffling”, he said.

“I am very disappointed,” he added, commenting on the overall outcome of the February-March polling in Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Goa.

Rajiv Shukla of the Congress struck a different note: “We are not happy but you cannot say it is a pathetic showing.”

Political pundits and opposition activists heaped scorn on the Congress and its leadership.

A Congress source admitted to IANS that the results were “a major blow” and were partly a result of the corruption charges faced by the Congress-led government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“There is no doubt that corruption played a big role in voters’ thinking,” said the source not willing to be identified.

The source said the Congress also blundered by injecting “communal politics” towards the end of campaign in Uttar Pradesh when it promised to reserve special job quotas for Muslims.

Marxist leader Suhasini Ali said the Congress blundered by not projecting anyone as a possible chief minister even as it sought a clear mandate from voters.

“Then the central government’s non-performance and price rise are also factors,” she said. “As for the 22 Congress MPs who won in 2009, they were a huge disappointment for their electorate.”

Sudheendra Kulkarni of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) underlined that there was “a very strong anti-Congress sentiment” in almost all the states that went to the polls.

Congress-turned-Samajwadi Party politician Shahid Siddiqui said the Congress leadership’s “ostrich like attitude” and “refusal to learn” from previous mistakes were major factors.

Minister Ashwani Kumar added: “We (Congress) need to strengthen our organisational structure.”

Apart from Uttar Pradesh, where Rahul Gandhi’s 200-plus election rallies were expected to give the party a major boost, the Congress was also stunned that it was unable to dislodge the Akali-BJP combine in Punjab.

The Congress-led government was expected to be voted out in Goa but was in the reckoning for power in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, though not in the manner it would have desired.

Insurgency-hit Manipur was its only saving grace, with the Congress-led government getting an emphatic mandate for five more years, decimating a coalition of several opposition parties.

Source: Zee News

UP Polls Results Live: Elephant gives way to Cycle

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party’s elephant has given way to Samajwadi party’s cycle in Uttar Pradesh, emerging trends in Assembly elections 2012 counting indicate. The Samajwadi Party has emerged as the single largest party but appears set to fall short of majority in the politically-crucial state. The ruling Bahujan Samaj Party is a distant second while the Congress and the BJP are engaged in a neck-to-neck race for the third spot.

Riding on the Cycle, the Mulayam Singh-led party is leading in 192 out of the total 403 seats, as per the latest trends available at 11.45 am. However, the big question now is – will the Congress go back on its grand standing and extend support to the SP to form the government in UP.

Riding on the Cycle, the Mulayam Singh-led party is leading in 192 out of the total 403 seats, as per the latest trends available at 11.45 am. However, the big question now is – will the Congress go back on its grand standing and extend support to the SP to form the government in UP.

Mayawati, despite registering impressive performance in spearheading economic growth in UP, is on her way out. The BSP is ahead in 101 seats. As per reports, Mayawati will head towards the Raj Bhavan at 3.30 pm to tender her resignation.

The Congress, for which the elections have been a high-profile affair after Rahul Gandhi himself steered the poll campaign, is leading in 51 seats – a marked improvement from the 22 seats it has in the outgoing Assembly.

The BJP has also done well in the state with it being ahead in 48 seats. Others are ahead in only 11 seats.

Among the prominent SP candidates who are leading include Mulayam Singh Yadav’s brother Shivpal Singh Yadav, Brahmashankar Tripathi, Abhay Singh, Mata Prasad and Veer Singh.

From the BJP who are on course to victory include Kalraj Mishra, Avadhesh Kumar, Daddan Mishra, Devendra Singh, Mahesh Kumar Sharma, Nawab Singh Nagar and Ramapati Shastri.

However, UP Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi is trailing from Lucknow.

Besides UP counting of votes is underway in Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.

The results will decide the fate of candidates in a total of 690 assembly seats — 403 in UP, 117 seats in Punjab, 70 in Uttarakhand, 60 in Manipur and 40 in Goa.

The elections, which have taken place in the middle of the last Lok Sabha election in 2009 and the next in 2014, are being considered some sort of “semi final” for the UPA and NDA.

Source: zeenews

Team Anna should be flexible, says Left

New Delhi: Hitting out at the Standing Committee and the government, Left leaders on Sunday rejected the panel’s Lokpal draft submitted before Parliament.

Taking part in the ‘Lokpal debate’ being held here at Jantar Mantar, where Anna Hazare is observing a day-long fast, general secretary of the Communist Party of India, AB Bardhan thanked Team Anna and the common public for “allowing” political leaders for discussion on a public platform.

Addressing the huge gathering Bardhan urged Team Anna to be flexible, saying all the points of Jan Lokpla Bill cannot be accepted.

Divulging his party’s stand, Bardhan said Group A, B, C and D employees should come under Lokpal. Interestingly, the Parliamentary Standing Committee’s Lokpal draft excludes Group C and D staff and recommends they be covered under the Chief Vigilance Commissioner.

Along with Bardhan, Communist Party of India (Marxist) member Brinda Karat said that their parties want inclusion of the Prime Minister under Lokpal.

Both the Left leaders disagreed with Team Anna’s point of view of bringing judiciary under Lokpal, saying that a judicial commission and a strong Judicial Accountability Bill should be made. Justifying his party’s stand Bardhan said that judiciary has always been an independent institution and its independence should be maintained.

Taking on the corporate sector, Karat said that there is a nexus between the government and corporates. Liberal policies have been introduced to favour corporates which is further increasing corruption, she said demanding corporates should be brought under Lokpal.

The CPI(M) leader also said that a separate grievance redressal bill should be brought in, but agreed with Team Anna’s demand for inclusion of citizen’s charter under Lokpal.

Karat said that her party has rejected Parliamentary panel’s draft and party MPs have submitted their dissent notes.

She expressed disappointment over other political parties of not favouring vote, speech and conduct of MPs in the House to come under Lokpal, adding that her party is the only one which wants Parliament’s members be included under the ombudsman bill.

On the issue of bringing CBI under the purview of Lokpal, Karat said that the country’s premier investigating agency’s corruption wing should be brought under the ombudsman.

Join my fight for Lokpal: Anna to political parties

New Delhi: Thanking the political leaders for coming and taking part in the debate on Lokpal at Jantar Mantar here, anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare on Sunday requested the political parties to join him on the streets in his campaign for a strong Lokpal Bill.

The Gandhian, who is on a day-long token fast, told the supporters that all politicians are not corrupt and there are good people in politics as well. However, he added that criminalisation of politics is a concern.

The noted social activist said that the entire nation is watching, adding he will again court arrest and appeal for ‘jail bharo aandolan’ if a strong Lokpal Bill is not passed in the Winter Session.

“Not a single jail should be left empty,” he said, to a thunderous applause from his supporters.

“The government should listen to the voice of the people. Agitation will continue for a strong Lokpal,” Hazare added.

He told the politicians – including Arun Jaitley of the BJP, Brinda Karat of the CPI(M) and AB Bardhan of the CPI — to fight for a strong Lokpal inside the Parliament and force the government to pass an effective law.

“You fight inside Parliament, we will fight outside. If the government disagrees you should join us in street protests,” he said.

The politicians earlier backed Hazare on having a strong ombudsman with the Prime Minister under its ambit but cautioned him not to be rigid on his version of the bill.

Source: Zeenews

To inform Parliament which states backed FDI in retail:Sharma

New Delhi: Accusing BJP of U-turn over its stand on FDI in retail, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said on Saturday the government will place before Parliament records showing which of the states have supported opening of the sector to foreign investment.

“Let Parliament start the debate. When MPs ask this question we will set the record straight… BJP has made a 360 degree turn on this particular issue,” he told reporters after meeting a farmers’ delegation from Haryana.

Sharma said, “We have letters (from states). There are letters which the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has; there are letters which the Standing Committee of Parliament has. Parliament will get to know and whatever documents we have… we will place it before MPs.”

BJP Vice-President Shanta Kumar has since rebutted the charges that Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh were in favour of foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, which is dominated by small kirana shops.

“Yesterday, an attempt was made to spread the wrong impression that Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh gave their support to FDI in multi-brand retail. I have talked to the Chief Ministers of both the states and they said this is not true,” Kumar said yesterday.

Sharma said while the Centre respects the right of the states which do not want the FDI in retail, but those “states who do not want it, cannot deprive those states who want it”.

He said it was “unprecedented” that executive decisions are being questioned. “We are a Constitutional democracy and this should not have happened… We have done it after consultations… trying to generate an understanding a consensus,” he said.

The minister said farmers have welcomed it and they want the government to stand firm, “because they feel it is in their interest”. He said they also raised problems relating to high-cost of diesel and fertiliser and the Prime Minister would be apprised of these issues.