Debunk BJP, Left propaganda on N-deal: Sonia

Debunk BJP, Left propaganda on N-deal: Sonia NEW DELHI, Sept 13: Asserting that the Indo-US nuclear deal “fully protects” India’s strategic needs, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today asked her party leaders to debunk the “false propaganda” being spread by the BJP, Left and other political opponents. Congratulating Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his “leadership and sustained efforts”, she said “the success of negotiations (at the NSG and IAEA) is a clear vindication of his conviction, which I share, that this agreement fully protects our strategic requirements and is in the best interests of our nation and the people.” Addressing the Congress Working Committee meeting here, Gandhi said it was “imperative for us to debunk the false propaganda being spread by the BJP, the Left parties and other political opponents.” Maintaining that the country would benefit from the renewed international cooperation that the nuclear deal would unleash, Gandhi asserted “the world will also gain from our enhanced expertise.” Noting that there were economic, technological and political dimensions to the Indo-US agreement, she said in terms of economics, “our power generating capacity will increase very substantially. From a technology perspective, it will propel us to the forefront of research and development. “Politically, the special status of India and its capabilities in the nuclear field have finally been recognised by the world,” the Congress President said. She also thanked party colleagues and UPA allies for working hard and standing with the government when the Left parties withdrew support on the deal. Firmly ruling out any division of Jammu and Kashmir, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said there was no question of pandering to separatists. “I unequivocally reject the notion of a further division of Jammu and Kashmir which has been advocated by the RSS. There is also no question of pandering to or being soft on the separatists,” she said in her address at the meeting of the Congress Working Committee here. “Let me categorically state that the people of all regions of Jammu and Kashmir are part of India. If any section feels alienated, it is incumbent upon us to deal with it most sensitively,” Gandhi said. Expressing hope that the recent settlement on the Amarnath land row would lead to return of peace in the state, she said it was a matter of “deep anguish” that the earlier normalcy and peaceful situation should have taken “such a painful turn”. Gandhi said there had been a marked improvement and development in the state in recent years and the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Package and programmes and initiatives at the state level “were making a decisive impact.” “Normalcy had returned, a fact borne by the strong revival in tourism, for instance,” she said. With elections round the corner in six states this year, the Congress today accused the BJP and the Sangh Parivar of launching a vicious campaign for the sake of votes and asked partymen to expose their designs. In her opening remarks at the Congress Working Committee meeting here, party President Sonia Gandhi said “whenever elections are held, the BJP, the Bajrang Dal, the RSS and the VHP launch vicious campaign for votes and this should be exposed.” She asked partymen to effectively combat this “malicious propaganda”. The meeting attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief Minister of party-ruled states, union ministers and senior party leaders discussed preparations for upcoming assembly polls. The leaders found it necessary to gear up party’s booth committees on the lines suggested by A K Antony Committee on revamping the Congress. PCC chiefs and CLP leaders of poll-bound states of Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram expressed their views on party’s poll prospects and efforts to galvanise the organisation. In the backdrop of a fresh controversy triggered by US President George Bush’s contention on fuel supplies, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to allay any concerns, asserting the 123 agreement is binding on all parties concerned. Singh said that there is no cause for concern on any aspect of the Indo-US nuclear deal, said a party leader who attended the day-long deliberations. The Prime Minister said an international agreement is binding on all parties concerned. This assumes significance as it comes in the backdrop of Bush’s memorandum to the US Congress in which he said the 123 agreement records certain political commitments concerning reliable nuclear fuel supply assurances but does not transform them into legally binding commitments. Singh said there is no restriction on India’s right to conduct a nuclear test in future. The observation by Bush on fuel supplies on Thursday kicked a controversy here with Left parties and BJP accusing the UPA government of misleading the country. India is apparently unhappy over Bush’s observation and Ministry of External Affairs yesterday issued a statement, asserting that the 123 agreement, once operational, will be a “legal document” in accordance with “well-recognised principles” of international law and the Law of Treaties. The MEA asserted that India’s civil nuclear cooperation with the US will be “guided” only by the 123 agreement which clearly spells out the respective rights and obligations of the two countries. Noting that Congress gives no quarter to those who wage war on the country, be they terrorists or secessionists, Gandhi said, “but we must also never under-estimate the long-term damage caused by communal and parochial forces of any kind that incite hatred wilfully and cynically provoke violence.” “At stake here is the very unity and integrity of India,” she said, adding that the CWC was meeting against the backdrop of “growing and deliberate communalisation in different parts of the country.” She reminded the Congress leaders that it is “the basic constitutional and ideological obligation for us” to ensure that each and every citizen is able to lead a life of security and dignity. (PTI)

Governor calls for ‘spirit of accommodation’ to break deadlock KOLKATA, Sep 13: With talks to resolve the the Singur deadlock failing to make any headway, Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi stepped in for the second time today saying a solution can still be found and asked all sides to show a “spirit of accomodation”. “I believe, given the will, a solution can still be found in a manner that accords with the law, safeguards the interests of farmers, of the small car factory and, going beyond, help in establishing the farm-factory balance that we so vitally need,” he said. The Governor’s fresh bid comes a day after West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s efforts to resolve the Singur tangle failed to make any breakthrough. The CM’s offer of 70 acres within Tata Motors project to ‘unwilling’ farmers and compensation to those whose land fell outside was rejected outright by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee at a face-to-face meeting . The Trinamool chief wants return of 300 acres. “Through the Singur discussions on September 5, 6 and 7, I saw earnest participants showing a rare spirit of accommodation. That spirit needs to be operationalized”, the Governor said through a statement released by the Raj Bhawan. With differing interpretations coming out of the understanding brokered by the Governor to end the stalemate between the state government and Trinamool Congress last week, the Tatas have sought clarity before resuming work at the Nano plant in Singur which remains suspended for the last 15 days. (PTI)

1920 another horrible horror tale After Phoonk, you’d think the possessed woman was a thing of the past. But wait, it's time for another lady to elevate far beyond her bed in a horizontal high that gives you a crick in the neck. 1920 is Phoonk in Scotland (or whichever foreign scenic spot), where the devil catches hold of the leading lady as she rests her head on the rattling bed, moved back by almost a century. Screenwriter Vikram Bhatt attempts to thrust a weight over the theme of exorcism by taking the supernatural theme to British India. So we have soldiers, mutineers, rebels and renegades popping into the Scottish scenario like random guests at a outdoor masquerade party. And then we have a doctor mentioning a certain ‘Dr Sigmund Fried’ who is doing research somewhere far away from this film’s horrific domestic tussles, researching on the human psychology. By the time we get to the grisly climax with flying chairs and human limbs, writer-director Bhatt, trying to do a ‘razz-matazz’ to his supernatural hit Raaz five years ago, is on to a bigger formula. The holy chants of the Christian priest (Raj Zutsi, trying hard to pronounce Latin correctly and translating it promptly into English and Hindi) merge into the chants of the ‘Hanuman Chalisa’. This is secularism gone supernatural. There’s something terribly artificial about implanting a historical element into a tale that essentially wants to tap the most primitive and primeval fears of the audience. Rather than going into a tale of betrayal during times of cruel colonialism, Bhatt’s narrative should have just stuck to its gory guns. Then maybe, just maybe, the B and C centre audiences who got the jitters watching Phoonk would’ve trembled at the diabolic toss and turn that the love birds experience in a verdant castle that is supposed to be situated somewhere in India in the year 1920. So panoramic and National Geographic is the view that we often want the lead pair (both wooden and uninspired even when the ghouls provoke them into animated retaliation) to just move out of camera range. Alas, 1920 has a scary story to tell. We are scared all right. Though for reasons other than the ones Bhatt would want us to be. (IANS)

Astra anti-aircraft test-fired successfully BALASORE (ORISSA), Sept 13: India today successfully test fired the indigenous air-to-air anti-aircraft missile Astra that is capable of ducking radar eyes and attacking enemy targets up to 110 kms. The Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile which can carry a 15-kg warhead for use by the Indian Air Force (IAF) was launched from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Orissa. The missile is proposed to be integrated with combat fighter aircraft Sukhoi-30 next year after more trials. Astra is a high-end tactical missile capable of engaging and destroying fast-moving aircraft at supersonic speed. The futuristic missile was test-fired from a launcher in the launch pad number 2 of the ITR complex at about 1205 hours. After data analysis of the flight test, another test may be conducted in the next couple of days if needed, defence sources said. “Before being made full operational, the complex missile system would undergo some more trials, though test on its navigation, control, air frame, propulsion and other sub-system have been validated,” said a source from the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) at ITR. The single stage, solid fuelled Astra missile “is more advanced in its category than the contemporary BVR missiles and it is capable of engaging and destroying highly manoeuvrable supersonic aerial targets,” the source added. DRDO scientists said the missile could intercept a target at supersonic speeds (Mach 1.2 to 1.4). Though the exact range of today’s trial has not been disclosed, scientists are working to ensure that Astra performs effectively at different altitudes - one cruising at an altitude of 15 km with 90 to 110 km range, another at an altitude up to 30,000 ft, having a range of 44 km and the third at sea level altitude with a range of 30 km. The last two experimental flight tests of Astra were conducted from the ITR launch complex at Chandipur on March 25 and 26 last year to study the ballistic performance and control of the missile at a low altitude and shorter range, the sources said. The missile is 3.6 meters long, 7 inches in diameter and has launch weight of about 154 kg, thus it is the smallest weapon of the DRDO’s guided missile development programme in terms of size and weight. It is capable of carrying 15 kg war head. Initially planned to arm Jaguar, MIG-29 and indigenous light combat aircraft, Tejas, DRDO officials are now concentrating that after user’s trial, the sleek missile would be integrated with Indian Air Force’s front line fighter aircraft like Sukhoi-30 MKIs and Mirage-2000. Aastra missile project is guided and led by the Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) under the DRDO. The prototype of the missile was first tested between May 9 and 12, 2003 from the ITR at Chandipur. (PTI) PM and Army chief discuss security situation in J-K NEW DELHI, Sept 13: The security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, and in Pakistan and Afghanistan came up for discussion when Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here today. Kapoor, who met the Prime Minister on Thursday, is understood to have briefed him on his recent visit to the UK to intensify the comprehensive defence cooperation pact with India, official sources said. The army chief went on a four-day visit in the beginning of this month. On the security scenario in the country, the sources said Kapoor briefed Singh on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the future security perception in the state where elections are expected to take place in the next few months. The heightened level of violence in the valley and increased infiltration bids by militants from across the Line of Control (LoC) also formed part of the briefing, the sources said. Kapoor is also understood to have briefed the Prime Minister on the situation in Afghanistan in the wake of reports that Pakistan Army was aware of the bomb attack plot on the Indian Embassy in Kabul. Regarding his UK visit, the army chief said India’s Mechanised Forces were for the first time training and exercising with the British Army troops and elaborated on his discussions with the army and UK Defence Ministry top brass. The recent visit of Israeli Army chief Maj Gen Avi Mizrahi also came up during the briefing. (PTI) Kareena excited to be shooting with Aamir on B’day NEW DELHI, Sept 13: Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor has many reasons to look forward to her birthday September 21 one of them being shooting with Aamir Khan, her favourite actor. “On my birthday I will be shooting for Rajkumar Hirani’s Three Idiots in Ladakh. And the best part is that I will be shooting with my favourite actor, Aamir Khan,” Kareena told IANS Saturday. Whether the actress will be sparing some time to be with fellow actor and beau Saif Ali Khan in the midst of her busy schedule is unknown, as she remained tight-lipped about her personal life. “My personal life is personal,” she said. When asked whether she is irritated with the media frenzy surrounding her relationship with Saif, Kareena said: “I am not irritated. But these things are personal. You guys (media) keeps hovering around us and keep taking pictures wherever we go.” Kareena, whose latest film Tashan was not well received by audiences, seemed upbeat about her forthcoming animation film with Saif titled Roadside Romeo. “The reaction to the trailers of Roadside Romeo is just great. In fact, when I saw the rushes in the theatre myself, I told Jugal (Hansraj) that we should make the film with real characters also because it is such a fun film,” she said. For Roadside Romeo, Kareena and Saif have lent their voices to animation characters. The film, written and directed by debutante Jugal Hansraj, is a co-production of Yash Raj Films and the Walt Disney Company. Kareena, who was in the capital to launch a Lambency Chandan Sparsh Spa, looked gorgeous in a peach anarkali suit with a shaded green dupatta. Kareena denied rumours that she has shot for a Rs.60 million song for Golmaal Returns and that she has signed a Hollywood project. “I have not done any such song and I have been offered one project but I am actually very happy doing Indian films. Its tough to do a Hollywood film - I mean the language and stuff, I can’t put on an accent. I would rather be the best here than go there,” she said. Besides this, the actress appreciated how the newly launched spa had state of the art technology to offer to its customers. “It’s seven star treatment at three star prices,” she said. (IANS)