Nepal Prime Minister comes under fire

Fresh trouble mounted for Nepal Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai a day after he was reduced to a caretaker. A case is filed against him in the Supreme Court terming his move of assembly dissolution and announcement of assembly elections in Nov as unconstitutional. 

 He appears to have lost ground after Constituent Assembly dissolution. Thousands of students and youth have come out on streets in Kathmandu burning effigies of Bhattarai, demanding his removal towards formation of national consensus government.

 Nepal President Rama Baran Yadav Tuesday directed Bhattarai to serve as caretaker Prime Minister till the new government is formed

The President Statement, recommending all the political parties to move ahead through consensus in view of political crisis in the country, was issued after series of consultations he held with senior lawyer and members of Nepal Bar Association.

 Nepal's four major political parties met Sunday in an effort to build consensus on the constitution drafting before midnight deadline and ward off dissolution of the Constituent Assembly. Failing to promulgate the Constitution, the Constituent Assembly was dissolved, pushing the country into a fresh political crisis.


The Constituent Assembly was elected to a two-year term in 2008 to draft a new constitution but has not been able to finish the task within stipulated time. Its tenure has been extended four times. The Supreme Court two weeks back rejected a three-month extension proposed by the cabinet and asked political parties to complete it by May 27 deadline.

The four main parties’ attempt to resolve differences over whether the states proposed in the constitution should be determined on the basis of ethnicity proved to be a failure.

 Baburam Bhattarai Sunday morning called on President Ram Baran Yadav and briefed him about the latest political development. The President asked Bhattarai to finalize the constitution in order to avert the dissolution.

 Observing the political crisis in Nepal, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Syed Akbaruddin said, "We are closely monitoring developments in Nepal. We note the new Constitution could not be promulgated within the extended term of the Constitution Assembly.”

 While responding to a media query on recent developments in Nepal, he said,"We have confidence in the democratic commitment and wisdom of the people of Nepal, which has led to considerable progress of the constitution making process."

 "We hope that the political parties of Nepal would continue to be guided by the spirit of consensus and peaceful dialogue in their efforts to transform Nepal into a stable, democratic and prosperous nation," he said, adding that India stands ready to assist, according to the wishes of the people of Nepal.

Manmohan invites Suu Kyi to India

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today invited Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to India.

Discussion between the two lasted for 45 minutes on the last day of his visit to Myanmar.

 ”I sincerely hope that she will find it possible to visit India soon. In this context I have handed over to her the invitation letter to deliver the next Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture which is a very prestigious lecture. Mrs. Sonia Gandhi has written an invitation letter to Madam (Suu Kyi) to do us the honour to deliver this lecture in India. ” said Singh.

 Admiring her struggle and determination in inspiring millions of people, Singh held that he believed Suu Kyi would play a defining role in National Reconciliation launched by Myanmar President Thein Sein.

 "We in India are very proud of the very long-standing association with her (Suu Kyi) and the members of her family," Singh said.

 Myanmar democracy icon Suu Kyi in principle accepted the invitation and said,” I am very gratified by the invitation to deliver the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture, and I hope that I will be able to take up this invitation before too long. ”

 Nobel laureate Suu Kyi recalled close association she and her family had with Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and other Indian leaders. “My parents were great admirers of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and other Indian leaders, but we were particularly close to Panditji as I was taught to call him from a very young age. “ said Suu Kyi.

 "India and Burma have been friends not only because of geographical proximity but also because of shared values, heritage and fight for independence," she said. Suu Kyi emphasized on the need of exchanges between the two peoples as this would form the basis of true friendship between countries.

Tomfoolery is indeed fun

Why do we watch sitcoms? For information? No. For education? Nope. For awareness? Certainly not. We become couch potatoes only for three reasons, testified by Vidya Balan, ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT AND ENTERTAINMENT. But of late certain TV shows are produced not for the purpose of entertaining the viewer but to defraud him. One such show is "Bollywood Dhamaal" aired everyday on E24 at 10 pm. Viewers are shown a picture of an actor from the Indian film industry and are asked to guess the name of the personality. This picture has some part of the face hidden or is a combination of two half faces. Zoom also has a similar show for the 11 pm daily slot. The picture is clear to the extent that even a seven-year-old kid can guess the name of the celebrity. Yesterday, while surfing through the entertainment channels, I decided to sit through this show for once. This time, they showed picture of Akshay Kumar with only his eyes hidden.



         The show went on and on but no one in India could guess it to be Akshay. As many as 20 people from all over the country called and came up names such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Irfan Khan, Raghuvir Yadav etc. After the presenter gave a clue that the name of the actor begins with 'A', the answers that came were hilarious, starting with Aditya Pancholi, Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal, Aditya Chopra, Asif Sheikh etc.

Apparently, the calls were made from the studios of the show by the people of their own production team. If you call the number flashing on the screen, you are charged Rs. 12 per minute. You will not be connected immediately to the anchor but will be put on a long hold. While on hold, you would be asked questions such as whether you like a particular song or a movie or would like to listen to Bollywood gossip. While you are negotiating there, the producers are making the moolah at the rate of Rs 12 per minute.
But indeed the role of the anchor is commendable. She has no script in hand and no teleprompter. Dressed in flashy outfits, she goes on weaving meaningless sentences around the one-liner "Come on, pick up the phone and guess the celebrity." But she manages to say the same sentence in a thousand different ways.
At times, she goes silent and starts moving fingers through her hair or her itsy bitsy dress. It is also a delight to see her scratching her arms or rubbing her hands together or tapping her forehead in between bouts of silence. But mind you, not everyone can do this.
The prize money is Rs. 50,000 at the time the show starts but suddenly in the middle of the show, the amount is raised to Rs. one lac and towards the end of the show, it is further increased as per the whims and fancies of the producers. Most interestingly, just two to five minutes before this circum wraps up, the prize money is reduced to a ridiculous Rs. 4000. Just when half a minute is left, a caller (perhaps the producer himself) invariably manages to "supply" the right name and gets the prize of Rs 4000.
If you see someone making a guess of Sridevi over the picture of Anil Kapoor, wouldnt that be entertainment. For sure, it would be. Tomfoolery is indeed fun!

Living Nature

Dog: Man's best friend

Parties oppose petrol price hike

Indian state-run oil firms Wednesday announced the sharpest ever hike in petrol prices to offset growing losses caused by subsidized rates, rises in the international oil price and a sinking rupee. Petrol prices are hiked by Rs. 7.54. The increase is put at 6.28 rupees excluding local sales tax or VAT which will mean a 7.54-rupee hike for consumers in cities such as New Delhi from Thursday including taxes.

	Yesterday's price (Rs)	Today's price (Rs)
Delhi	65.64	73.18
Mumbai	70.65	78.57
Chennai	69.55	77.53
Kolkata	70.03	77.87

Country's largest refiner, Indian Oil Corp, in a statement, said it was compelled to hike the price after sustaining losses of 10.5 billion rupees since the start of the current financial year.

"Given the losses being incurred, the company is compelled to increase the price of petrol by Rs.6.28 per litre (excluding VAT/Sales Tax) with effect from midnight," it said.

"This excludes losses already suffered till date during current financial year 2012-13, which would require an additional increase of around Rs.1.50 per litre in selling price of motor spirit (MS) for balance part of the year," Indian Oil Corp said. 

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee upheld that the decision was taken by oil companies as petrol is a deregulated commodity

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government deregulated petrol prices in 2010 in a reform aimed at reducing the massive subsidies it pays to state-run fuel refiners which rely on imported energy.

NDA to protest

Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) opposed the steep hike and called for a nation wide bandh on May 31.

NDA convenor and Janata Dal (United) President Sharad Yadav said that all the partners of the opposition alliance have been consulted in this regard and the alliance will urge other parties also to join in and support the bandh.
He enquired why the hike in petrol prices was not announced when Parliament was in session and why oil companies did so the very next day after the session got over.
"Government has washed his hands off the decision on price hike but in reality it happens only when the Government wants. The Government will also be increasing prices of diesel and LPG after the Presidential elections get over," Yadav said.
He accused the Government of its failure in checking prices of essential commodities.
"Common people are suffering due to wrong policies of the UPA Government. Prices of commodities are rising uncontrollably making it difficult for an average Indian to make both ends meet," he said.
This Government is pro-rich and not bothered about the poor, he charged.

 BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar described the hike in petrol price as “atrocious and unbelievable” and demanded immediate roll back.

He termed hike in fuel prices as the gift of UPA II government to common man on its 3rd anniversary.

"If the Rupee is depreciated, it is not the fault of the people. It is due to wrong economic policies followed by UPA government. It is the punishment to the people for wrongdoings of UPA," he said. 

Mamata against, but not to withdraw support 

West Bengal Chief Minister   Mamata  Banerjee  criticized the hike, calling it unjust and unilateral but simultaneously making it clear that her party would not withdraw support from UPA Government.

 "It is unjust and unilateral. We think it is an easy option to burden the people. We cannot accept the price hike burden on the people," Mamata told reporters. 

She outrageously questioned why the price was hiked just a day after Parliament session ended.

She clarified her party was not consulted. "We have not been consulted on the price hike nor on the prevailing economic situation in the country. Why was there no consultation?" she said.

 Jayalalitha slams Government 

AIADMK Supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha slammed the Congress-led UPA government for hiking petrol price.

In her statement, she said, “It imposes an unbearable burden on the people, particularly the common people and the middle class is already reeling under the impact of high inflation. Is this the gift which UPA government wanted to give the people after completing three years in power?”

Karunanidhi demands roll back

 DMK president M Karunanidhi said his party was not consulted before decision was taken as it is not possible to discuss all the decision with alliance political leader and said he would urge the Centre for immediate roll back of this hike in petrol price. 

Have you ever seen this!

Turkmenistan signs deal with India, Pakistan

Source: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Turkmenistan today signed deal with India and Pakistan for proposed construction of 1680 km pipeline from Turkmenistan to India passing through Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pipeline can supply upto 90 million cubic meters a day. Prices and amount of gas for each country are not made public.
India was represented by state owned Gail Ltd while Pakistan was represented by privately run Pakistan's Inter State Gas System. Deal was signed in Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. Pipeline is projected to be operational in 2018.

Turkmenistan and Afghanistan could not reach sales agreement but signed memorandum of understanding on long term gas cooperation
It was widely believed that gas for this pipeline would be sourced from Daulatabad field on the southern border of Turkmenistan. An official from the state gas company said that a portion of the fuel will eventually be drawn from the vast and yet-to-be developed South Yolotan field near the Afghan border.

Cabinet approves TAPI gas pipeline

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to permit GA1L( India) Limited to sign the Gas Sale & Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with TurrnenGas, Turkmenistan's national oil company, for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline Project.

The estimated cost of the pipeline is US $ 7.6 billion and it would carry 90 MMSCMD gas.

The TAPI Gas Pipeline is envisaged to be 1680 Km in length (144 Km in Turkmenistan, 735 Kin in Afghanistan & 800 Km in Pakistan) with a capacity of 90 MMSCMD of gas, with 38 MMSCMD each for India and Pakistan and the remaining 14 MMSCMD for Afghanistan.

The pipeline from Turkeministan's South Yolotan field, now renamed as Galkynysh, will run to Herat and Kandahar province of Afghanistan, before entering Pakistan. In Pakistan, it will reach Multan via Quetta before ending at Fazilka (Punjab) in India.

The Pipeline is expected to be operational in 2018 and supply gas over a 30 years period.

ADB is playing the role of lead facilitator for the Project.

 The United States supports TAPI pipeline project as an alternative to Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline as the project would isolate Iran.

The Project will help to promote energy security of the participating countries and strength regional cooperation.

The provisions of the GSPA have been prepared to protect India's commercial interests as India is at the tail end of the pipeline. Afghanistan and Pakistan have committed to the safety and security of the pipeline through the Inter-Governmental Agreement and the Gas Purchase Framework Agreement signed among the four countries in December, 2010.

India was formally admitted as a member of the TAPI Project in April 2008 at a meeting held on 23 - 24 April, 2008 at Islamabad. Shri Murli Deora, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas represented India in the meeting. It’s worth noting that the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) project was initially conceived in the year 2002.

Amendment to Constitution underway to enable land exchange with Bangladesh

External Affairs Minister, Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, on Thursday (May 17) said that the government is drafting amendment to the Constitution to facilitate the exchange of enclaves between India and Bangladesh. There are 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in India.

In a letter to CPI leader Prabodh Panda, Krishna said, "The government is committed to the earliest implementation of the Protocol and Land Boundary Agreement that would result in exchange of enclaves."

The Protocol and the Agreement, signed between our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on September 6 last year require ratification by both governments.

Krishna held that the ratification necessitates an amendment of the constitution and preparatory steps to place a draft amendment bill before Parliament are underway.

His letter was in response to Senior CPI leader Prabodh Panda’s demand in Loksabha on May 3 for an answer from the government about the steps being taken to resolve Indo Bangla Enclaves issue.

Panda said that the number of Indians living in enclaves in Bangladesh was 37,100 and Bangladeshis living here was 14,200, as per the latest census carried out jointly by both countries.

Indian enclaves in Bangladesh occupy 17,149 acres of land while Bangla enclaves in India take up 7,110 acres of land, he said in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour.

Panda expressed his concern by saying, "These large numbers of people of both countries are deprived of political rights and they do not enjoy social facilities that are necessary for development of individuals in a free society."