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SC bans offensive political ads on TV

          New Delhi: Clearly peeved by the ongoing "mudslinging" by political parties in the run-up to general elections to be held from April 20, the Supreme Court today banned the telecast of all political advertisements on cable network and TV channels offending the "morality, decency and religious susceptibility" of viewers. Ordering the Election Commission to monitor the political parties on this score, the three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice V.N. Khare nullified an Andhra Pradesh High Court order that had allowed the airing of political advertisements. Apart from Chief Justice Khare, Justice S B Sinha and Justice S H Kapadia accepted Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee's submission to enforce a ban on "political mudslinging" through surrogate advertisements. In an interesting twist, the court also sought a response from the Election Commission by Monday on the question whether the money spent on advertisements by candidates for the election could be included in his or her election expenses. Expenses are at present limited to Rs.25 lakhs per Lok Sabha constituency and Rs.10 lakhs for Assembly seats.

Advani, Sonia trade charges over foreign origin (Go To Top)

          Chittorgarh/Solapur: It was a clear case of old wine in a new bottle on Friday, with both Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani and Congress president Sonia Gandhi trading charges again over the foreign origin issue. Advani, however, opted to take the issue to an altogether different plane, when he figuratively rapped both Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister Sushma Swaraj for their personal remarks against Sonia Gandhi, saying that the issue should be tackled as a political rather than a personal one. Talking to reporters in Chittorgarh on the 21st day of his Bharat Uday Yatra, Advani said that the Congress had been affected the worst by this issue. Modi's remarks on Sonia in Gujarat evoked resentment from top BJP leaders in the state, who advised restraint. Swaraj had also attacked Gandhi's foreign origin and criticized her anglicisation of common Indian terms.

         In Solapur, Sonia Gandhi said that regardless of whatever her political opponents said of her foreign origin, she had full faith in the people of the country to make the right choice at the right time. ''Regardless of what the BJP say, people have a mind of their own and I have full trust that they would make the right choice,'' she told reporters at Solapur Airport before embarking on her ten-day Jan Sampark Abhiyan in Vidarbha. She was apparently giving a rejoinder to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's demand for a debate at yesterday's rally in the Dhanu parliamentary constituency near Mumbai on the issue of persons of foreign origin holding high posts. "It only shows that they have no issues to speak about. They had done this to Indiraji and Rajivji but the love and affection people had for them remained the same," she added. The Congress is contesting 26 seats in Maharashtra, NCP 18 and the rest is left for smaller allies. The Congress president later left for Bidar in Karnataka from where she would fly to Nagpur and then to Chandrapur to begin the second day of her road show in Maharashtra.

Pawar, Laloo file nominations (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The presidents of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Sharad Pawar and Laloo Prasad Yadav, filed their nomination papers for the general elections today. Pawar filed his nomination for the Baramati constituency from Pune, a day after taking part in a joint rally with Congress President Sonia Gandhi in Sholapur. Laloo Yadav filed his nomination papers from Chapra, a seat that he had won in 1977. His opponents include Union Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy of the BJP, who won from here in 1996 and 1999. Meanwhile, Pawar is to undergo a major surgery in Mumbai on Saturday.

Kollam's auto drivers to boycott polls (Go To Top)

         Kollam: Around 10,000 aggrieved auto rickshaw drivers here have threatened to boycott the national elections. They have announced that they and their families would not vote as they have been let down by different political parties and leaders alike. "Auto rickshaw drivers used to belong to trade unions affiliated to the state's ruling Congress party or the Opposition Left parties. But over the years, they have failed to address our problems. Youngsters, who are fed up of being unemployed, are driving three wheelers as a source of income. But with the prices of petrol and other things shooting up, we are finding it very difficult to meet our daily needs. The political leaders heading the unions do not bother about solving our problems. So we have decided to boycott the polls," Bhadran, an auto driver said.

          Kerala, the most literate state, has the highest number of educated unemployed people. Auto drivers, most of them graduates, took to driving three wheeler auto rickshaws, as they were unable to find any jobs to look after their families. Auto and taxi drivers in the state have also been complaining about police harassment. However, Quilon's (Kollam) sitting lawmaker P. Rajendran blames the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the centre for the existing malaise. "As a lawmaker I have some limitations. The state and the federal governments are responsible for the issues that the auto rickshaw drivers have raised. I am confident that the Left Democratic Front has always stood for the rights of the poor and the downtrodden. So, I do not think that they would boycott us," Rajendran said.

          The faction-ridden UDF is running a neck-and-neck fight with the LDF in the state. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) also has fielded its candidates in all 20 constituencies. The BJP has not yet succeeded in opening its account in the state. It hopes to cash in on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's popularity and the development works its government had done in the country. The 20 parliamentary constituencies in Kerala go to the polls on May 10.

Candidate in poll fray despite losing 23 times (Go To Top)

          Behrampore (Orissa): People find unique ways to enter the record books. One such is K Shyambabu Subudhi who has decided to contest this year's polls in spite of 23 previous unsuccessful attempts. Subudhi is set to fight the election as an independent to the Lok Sabha from Berhampur constituency in Orissa. Subudhi, a homeopath by profession, has forfeited his deposit in all the elections that he has fought so far. He first entered the electoral battle in 1957. He has contested for Aska and Berhampur parliamentary constituencies, besides several assembly seats. Blaming his loss on the money power of his opponents, he has his hopes pinned on an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for his losing streak. "If I am defeated again by the money power, then also I would not have any regrets. I will be happy that definitely my name can be enrolled in the Guinness Book of World Records," he said. "He has already contested 13 times. He is so confident that even after so many defeats he is still contesting the elections. So, we should vote in his favour", said Naresh, a local. Subudhi's past rivals have included former Prime Minister P.V Narasimha Rao and a former state chief minister.