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Maharashtra CM likely to be from Congress

         New Delhi: NCP leader and Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Wednesday announced that his party and the Congress had reached a tentative agreement on which party would head the government in Maharathstra. Talking to reporters after late night meeting of NCP leader in the capital, Patel said that both parties had agreed that the next chief ministers of Maharashtra would be from the Congress and Deputy Chief Minister from the NCP. He said that a formal announcement would be made by Friday, and added that both parties had agreed to work on all issues relating to the state in unison. Patel comments were also endorsed by senior Congress leader Margaret Alva at a separate news briefing. Today decision comes after a 11-day stalemate over the chief minister's issue following assembly election in Maharashtra on Octover 13. Earlier this evening, The two warring parties had agreed to set up a coordination committee to monitor relations between them after the new government in Maharashtra is formed. Pawar met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee this afternoon and then had a fresh round of talks with top NCP leaders a short while ago for what is believed to be the final round of talks. The NCP leaders will formalize all arrangement at a meeting in Mumbai tomorrow.

An NCP-Congress coordination panel  (Go To Top)

        New Delhi: The tiresome political confabulations between Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party and Sonia Gandhi's Congress party over who will be the next chief minister of Maharashtra has had one positive fallout. The two warring parties have agreed to set up a coordination committee to monitor relations between them after the new government in Maharashtra is formed. This is being seen as a precursor to a breakthrough in a 11-day standoff between both. Pawar met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee this afternoon and then had a fresh round of talks with top NCP leaders a short while ago for what is believed to be the final round of talks. Senior NCP leaders have flown in to Delhi and will meet again today evening to finalise their strategy. All of them, including Pawar, are expected to fly back to Mumbai later today. The NCP leaders are likely to take a final decision on the Congress offer of three additional ministerial berths, including that of Deputy Chief Minister, a cabinet minister and a Minister of State. So far, the NCP has maintained that the Congress offer is unacceptable as it has won more seats than the Congress in the elections. But the Congress says that since the vote endorses a status quo, the party should have the right to retain the chief minister's post.

Pak pilgrims visit Kashmir's Hazratbal shrine (Go To Top)

        Srinagar: Twelve Pakistanis and several pilgrims from the Pakistan side of Kashmir visited the famous Hazratbal shrine on Tuesday. The pilgrims, who are on a three day visit, got a glimpse of a relic of Prophet Mohammed located inside the shrine and offered prayers at the site. "We will visit other shrines during our stay. We pray for restoration of peace in Kashmir. Also for peace and friendship bewteen India and Pakistan. Our visit has nothing to do with politics but it is purely a spiritual mission. We will help in making the relationship between the two countries better," said Bashir Ahmad Andrabi, the spokesperson of the delegation. The pilgrims are also expecetd to visit other religious shrines across India.

Delhi Govt. to amend Capital's Master Plan   (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: The Delhi Government has announced plans to amend the capital's Master Plan. With this move industries will no longer need to be closed down and is being seen as a possible practical solution to the vexed problem of relocation of industries from non-conforming areas. The Supreme Court had ordered that wherever industries in all residential areas exceeded 70 per cent of those areas, they must be shut down.

Cabinet extends Nanavati Commission's term  (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: The Union Cabinet today extended till December 31 this year the term of the Justice Nanavati Commission probing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots which broke out in Delhi and certain other parts of the country following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. "The Commission is likely to complete its inquiry by December 31 and no further extension is expected to be given" an official spokesperson said. The extended term of the Commission was to expire on November two. The spokesperson said since the Commission, which was set up on October three, 2000, could not complete the inquiry within the prescribed time, its tenure had to be extended from time to time.

Prithvi-III test-fired  (Go To Top)

        Balasore: India on Wednesday test fired the indigenously developed medium range missile "Prithvi-III" from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, about 15 km from here. The missile tested was the naval version of Prithvi which has a range of 250 to 300 km, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) sources said. It was test-fired from a simulated launch pad from launch complex III of the ITR at about 11.29 AM. DRDO chief and scientists who designed the missile, witnessed the test launch. Meanwhile, Pakistan reacted calmly to its neighbour's test on Wednesday of a nuclear-capable missile, while emphasising it did not want an "open-ended" arms race in South Asia. Foreign office spokesman Masood Khan said that Islamabad had noted the missile test and had prior information about it through Pakistan's mission in New Delhi. He said that Pakistan had also conducted similar tests to validate the technical parameters of its arsenal.

Bhopal tense over communal clashes  (Go To Top)

       Bhopal: Bhopal remained tense today as dozens of slogan-shouting protestors turned up for the funeral procession of a 17-year-old boy killed in police firing as clashes broke out between Hindus and Muslims. Trouble began on Tuesday afternoon, when a minor argument between teenagers from both communities snowballed into violence and scores of Hindus and Muslims came out on streets in the city's orthodox Shajahanabad area pelting stones and setting afire vehicles. Police said they were forced to open fire as the mob refusing to be bogged down by baton-charge and tear gas went on a rampage. Activists of Vishwa Hindu Parishad have raised a storm over the issue demanding immediate enquiry against the culprits. "There was no police. They kept firing indiscriminately," said Rajni Gaud, a protestor. "We want blood in return of blood. Small kids were playing when all this happened and its happened due to their revenge. There was no police there," added Vimla Pathak, another protestor. Curfew has been clamped all through the walled city and anti-riot vehicles manned the streets. "Till the time we feel that there is tension between the two communities, we will continue the curfew," said S. Srivastava, city's superintendent of police.

France backs India for UN Council seat   (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: France on Wednesday said it would support India's candidature for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. This was stated by visiting French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, who is currently on a two-day visit to India. "That is precisely why we in France feel that India has the rightful place in UN Security Council table, rightful place to discuss the issues, to establish a dialogue on these issues. And in the UN, precisely because the UN is the forum for international debate and international law," Barnier told reporters during a joint news conference with his Indian counterpart Natwar Singh. The council has five permanent members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- and 10 nonpermanent seats, chosen by region, five of which change hands every year. The Security Council is responsible for international peace and security, and its decisions can be legally binding on all U.N. members. France wants to boost commercial relations with India as well as between the European Union and India ahead of the EU-India summit in The Hague on November 8. On the table for discussion are also some hefty potential defence deals with India, notably a two-billion-euro (2.5-billion-dollar) proposal to supply six Scorpene submarines and 36 SM-39 missiles, a deal set up last year but awaiting final approval. Singh said India was closely working in cordination with France to fight terrorism. "India and France both agree that international terrorism is a serious challenge to open, democratic, multi-religious and multi- cultural societies. We have reiterated our determination to continue to work closely, to counter the menace of terrorism," Singh told reporters. India has been battling insurgents in northern Kashmir since 1989, where a bloody rebellion has killed more than 40,000 people. Separatists put the toll to 80,000. India accuses Pakistan of stoking the rebellion, Pakistan denies the charges.