The government on Saturday heaved a sigh of relief with the Samajwadi Party clearly indicating that it would back it in a trial of strength in Parliament as the Bharatiya Janata Party mounted pressure asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] to immediately seek a vote of confidence.
A day after sewing up a deal with the Congress on the Indo-US nuclear deal issue, SP general secretary Amar Singh said, "Communalism is a bigger threat than imperialism. If our friends from the Left want to defeat the government with the Bahujan Samaj Party and the BJP, we don't want to say anything. But we can't do this work."
Amar Singh, who stopped short of formally announcing that SP has wrapped up a deal with the Congress, said, "L K Advani is a bigger threat than George W Bush [Images]."
On another day of hectic political activities, BJP's prime ministerial candidate Advani said the government has been reduced to a minority and demanded that the prime minister immediately seek a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha.
Brushing aside Advani's demand, Congress said, "No one has withdrawn support to the government. So, where is the question of trust vote?"
Party spokesman Manish Tiwary accused Advani of trying to create instability ahead of the prime minister's visit to Japan [Images] for the G-8 Summit early next week.
On their part, the Left leaders on Saturday met Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu in Kolkata to apprise him of the July 7 deadline given to thw government to specify whether it is going ahead with the nuclear deal.
The Left with 59 members in Lok Sabha have threatened to withdraw support to the government if it approaches the International Atomic Energy Agency to firm up a safeguards agreement.
Accusing the Congress of precipitating a crisis by rejecting the Left's July 7 deadline to the United Progressive Alliance government to specify its plan on the nuclear deal, the Communist Party of India on Saturday said this could prompt the Left parties to withdraw support even before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's [Images] return from G-8 summit in Japan [Images].
"If somebody wants to precipitate a crisis, we might have to withdraw support from the government even before the Prime Minister returns from Japan," CPI general secretary A B Bardhan told a press conference when asked to comment on the rejection of the deadline by Congress spokesman Manu Singhvi on Friday.
The Left parties have said they would withdraw support the moment the government went ahead with operationalising the nuke deal.
On reports that Singhvi had described the setting of the deadline as 'discourteous,' he said, "We did not want to pull the rug from the government. Who is teaching us courtesy? We don't want lessons in courtesy from the Congress."
He said it was decided in the last Left-UPA meeting that before going to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the government would show the text of its proposals to the Left parties but had not done so.
Asked what the Left parties would do if the government ignored the July 7 deadline, Bardhan said they would meet either on July 8 or July 9 to decide the next course of action.
On Bharatiya Janata Party president Lal Kishenchand Advani's demand that the Manmohan Singh government should take a confidence vote in the wake of the Left's threat of withdrawal of support, Bardhan said the government should seek it once the Left parties formally withdraw support.
Bardhan said the political uncertainty at the Centre and the government's "failure" to check the price rise had raised BJP's hopes of coming to power. "But there are enough secular forces in the country to ensure that the communal forces are kept out of power."
Asked whether the Left parties would be politically isolated if it withdrew support from the government on the nuclear issue and not on price rise, Bardhan replied in the negative, saying, "As far as the Left is concerned, isolation means isolation from the people. There is no isolation."
He avoided a direct reply when asked whether the Left parties had foreseen that Samajwadi Party, once close to the Left, would lend support to the UPA government. "The SP is an independent party and has a right to take independent decisions. As for us, we do not go for friendships with certificates, like in marriages."
In reply to a question, Bardhan expressed confidence that his party would do well in the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal despite its poor show in recent panchayat and municipal elections. "In the Lok Sabha polls, people will be with us as long as we are with the people."
Accusing the Congress of precipitating a crisis by rejecting the Left's July 7 deadline to the United Progressive Alliance government to specify its plan on the nuclear deal, the Communist Party of India on Saturday said this could prompt the Left parties to withdraw support even before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's [Images] return from G-8 summit in Japan [Images].
"If somebody wants to precipitate a crisis, we might have to withdraw support from the government even before the Prime Minister returns from Japan," CPI general secretary A B Bardhan told a press conference when asked to comment on the rejection of the deadline by Congress spokesman Manu Singhvi on Friday.
The Left parties have said they would withdraw support the moment the government went ahead with operationalising the nuke deal.
On reports that Singhvi had described the setting of the deadline as 'discourteous,' he said, "We did not want to pull the rug from the government. Who is teaching us courtesy? We don't want lessons in courtesy from the Congress."
He said it was decided in the last Left-UPA meeting that before going to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the government would show the text of its proposals to the Left parties but had not done so.
Asked what the Left parties would do if the government ignored the July 7 deadline, Bardhan said they would meet either on July 8 or July 9 to decide the next course of action.
On Bharatiya Janata Party president Lal Kishenchand Advani's demand that the Manmohan Singh government should take a confidence vote in the wake of the Left's threat of withdrawal of support, Bardhan said the government should seek it once the Left parties formally withdraw support.
Bardhan said the political uncertainty at the Centre and the government's "failure" to check the price rise had raised BJP's hopes of coming to power. "But there are enough secular forces in the country to ensure that the communal forces are kept out of power."
Asked whether the Left parties would be politically isolated if it withdrew support from the government on the nuclear issue and not on price rise, Bardhan replied in the negative, saying, "As far as the Left is concerned, isolation means isolation from the people. There is no isolation."
He avoided a direct reply when asked whether the Left parties had foreseen that Samajwadi Party, once close to the Left, would lend support to the UPA government. "The SP is an independent party and has a right to take independent decisions. As for us, we do not go for friendships with certificates, like in marriages."
In reply to a question, Bardhan expressed confidence that his party would do well in the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal despite its poor show in recent panchayat and municipal elections. "In the Lok Sabha polls, people will be with us as long as we are with the people."
The United Progressive Alliance government will sign the civil nuclear deal with the US in time 'come what may' and there was no threat to the Manmohan Singh [Images] government, Union Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said in Raiganj on Saturday.
"There is absolutely no threat to the UPA government, which will sign the nuclear deal with the US in time, come what may. There is no hesitation in this regard," Dasmunsi, information and broadcasting minister, told reporters.
Ruling out immediate Lok Sabha polls, the minister accused 'a section of the media' of spreading 'disinformation' about early polls and termed the reports as 'misleading and confusing'.
"Lok Sabha elections will be held as per the schedule," he asserted.
Without naming either Communist Party of India-Marxist or the Bharatiya Janata Party for mounting moves to topple the UPA government, he said, "UPA, under Congress, will complete its full term."
Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh on Friday made it clear that they favoured the Indo-US nuclear deal as they met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] and Congress President Sonia Gandhi [Images] over the issue.
After their 30-minute meeting with the Dr Singh, Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh appeared convinced that the nuclear deal is in the interest of the country and said they would try to convince other United National Progressive Alliance constituents on the issue.
The party, whose 39 MPs in Lok Sabha would be crucial for survival of the government if the Left parties withdraw support, is likely to announce its decision on supporting the UPA in a couple of days.
The SP leaders said former president A P J Abdul Kalam had on Thursday elaborately explained to them the benefits of the deal and allayed fears about the national sovereignty or foreign policy being compromised.
"We have been opposing it (nuclear deal) as we did not have any new details. But now these new details have come," Mulayam Singh told reporters.
"We have not committed anything so far. We have shared our perception, which we gained through Kalam, with the prime minister," Amar Singh said, adding the same perception would be shared with other UNPA constituents.
Asked whether SP would be able to bring around other UNPA constituents to its position, Mulayam Singh sounded hopeful.
On SP's opposition to the deal in Parliament as well as outside, Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh suggested that the party was not aware of the full details of the agreement as "there were no formal or informal talks with anyone (in the government) on this issue. Nobody in the government talked to us."
Amar Singh said the SP had formed its position on the nuclear deal on the basis of details given by Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Prakash Karat and newspaper reports.
Mulayam Singh said the "new details" that the party was looking for had come from the Prime Minister and the national security advisor.
Referring to the clarification given by Kalam, Amar Singh said the former president had emphasised that there was "no question of national security being compromised" by the deal.
Kalam also said that the nuclear deal will be useful for medicine and agriculture besides being clean source of power, Amar Singh said.
The former president also cleared doubts over the cost of nuclear energy in the backdrop of fears that it would be expensive as compared to hydro-power, Amar Singh said.
Kalam also counselled the SP leaders that the nuclear deal should not be bogged down in "narrow sectarian" policies, he said.
Washington, July 4 (ANI): Indian grad students studying in the US are finding the summer hard.
Those who chose not to go back to India for the summer break, hoping to get summer jobs, are finding that for the first time there are no jobs...not even in grocery stores and fast food eateries.
Employers cut 62,000 jobs in the month of June as soaring fuel prices and a slowing economy forced companies to reduce costs.
The US Department of Labour reported that the economy has lost about 438,000 jobs since the beginning of the year. The unemployment rate was at 5.5 percent.
Amar, a sophomore student at George Washington University, realized that he could not stay in DC this summer and went home to Karachi.
The eatery he was working in the downtown area shut down when the owner was unable to make his lease payment.
"The collapse of the housing bubble is slowly sinking more and more sectors of the economy," said Dean Baker , co-director of the Centre for Economic and Policy Research.
The Labour department report states that 5.4 million Americans , about three percent of the workforce were working part time either because their hours had been cut, or because they could not find full time employment.
Charles Page, a real estate agent in Centerville, Virginia once sold 5-6 million dollar homes. In barely a year, he has gone bust and now works for a realty company, that too part time.
The political criticism of the economy has been bipartisan.
Senator Obama said yesterday " The American people are paying the price for the failed economic policies of the past eight years, and we can't afford four more years of the same."
Not to be outdone by the Democratic candidate, Senator John McCain said: "We must enact a jobs-first economic plan that supports job creation, provides immediate tax relief for families, enact a plan to help those facing foreclosure, lower health care costs...."
Across the political spectrum, there is concern growing into a near panic that the there is need for a more aggressive action by the federal government to prod economic growth. by Smita Prakash
Shirish B. Pradhan Kathmandu, July 4 (PTI) Authorities in Kathmandu's Central Jail in Nepal have clamped down on Charles Sobhraj's free style frolicking with his 20-year-old new love, whom the celebrity criminal plans to wed after his release. Sixty-four-year-old Sobhraj has been 'engaged' with Neha alias Nihita Bishwas and plans to marry her when he is released from the Nepal prison, where he is languishing since September 2003.
Nicknamed the 'Bikini killer' and 'Serpent', Sobhraj has been accused of luring young women and killing many of them. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a District Court in July 2004 on charges of murdering an American and a Canadian tourist in Kathmandu in 1975.
Meanwhile, the jail administration has "restricted" the open display of love between Sobhraj and his young lover, often in front of prisoners and jail staff. The administration has now forced the "Bikini killer" and his lover to go indoor.
"He can meet people, but there must be some norms that has to be followed," a jail staff said. A Nepali language daily, 'Naya Patrika', said Nihita even complained to the Director General of the Jail Management that she had been barred from spending private moments with her lover.
"We have restricted such acts inside the jail but we have allowed Nikita to bring food for him," he was quoted as saying by the Nepali daily. Nihita, with a Nepali mother and a Bengali father based in Kathmandu, frequently comes to meet Sobhraj, jail officials said.
"The girl every day brings food for him and they share the food together," one of the staff said.
Virtually reaching a point of no return on the nuclear deal, the Left parties on Friday said they would vote against the United Progressive Alliance government in Parliament in case of a confidence motion if it took the next step to operationalise the agreement.
Congress rejects deadline set by Left parties
"If there is a vote of confidence in Parliament on the issue, the Left will vote against the government. But we will do so only after the Government formally conveys its decision to proceed with the deal," CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat told the Outlook magazine.
His CPI counterpart A B Bardhan, in an interview to Times Now television channel, however, did not say whether they would join hands with BJP to bring down the government in case of a confidence vote but made it clear that they would pull out if it went to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Mulayam meets PM, Sonia, to back N-deal
Karat said the Left would also launch a nationwide campaign against the Congress asking people to defeat the party in the next elections for compromising with national interests. "We will link this to inflation and rising prices."
Bardhan, on the other hand, said, 'we have sent them a letter on Friday and given them three days time that you tell us by the 7th (July). We will meet on the 8th or 9th. We will withdraw support if they give us a reply that they are going ahead, because every step is in that direction.'
Why PM and Karat should read this
The CPI leader said then the Left parties would go to the President and 'give her the letter withdrawing support. It will bring them down to a minority.'In the interview, Karat said his party never expected to break with the UPA on a foreign policy issue. 'We had not thought the break would come on a foreign policy issue and American imperialism at that. We thought it would be on domestic policy. But since July 2005, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] went to Washington, it (nuclear deal) has been running thread of the conflict. Two years ago, we knew this was an issue on which we would not compromise,' Karat said.
View: Dr Singh, lead or leave
When asked whether the Left now stands politically-isolated with the Samajwadi Party moving closer to Congress, he said they had not expected Mulayam Singh Yadav to cross over, noting that the UNPA will now disintegrate.
'We don't like to lose allies, but we cannot be opportunistic on policy issues,' Karat asserted.
'We were never part of the UNPA. We merely cooperated with it on issues. With SP taking the position it has, the UNPA will now disintegrate,' he said.
The CPI-M leader noted that a third alternative can only emerge through agreement on a common policy framework and not through electoral compulsions or exigencies.
The market declines three days in a row due to record high oil prices, surging inflation, rising interest rates and political uncertainty
Mumbai: The S&P CNX Nifty on Tuesday dropped further by 143.80 points to end 3,896.75 the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on all-round heavy selling pressure from investors on the back weak European cues.The market extended the decline for a third day in a row as the market sentiment remained edgy due to record high oil prices, surging inflation, rising interest rates and political uncertainty.
European markets tumbled by 1.3 per cent to 2.4 per cent in their early trade this afternoon.The 50-issue Nifty moved in a range of 4,075.40 and 3,878.20 before concluding the day at 3,896.75, a net fall of 143.80 points or 3.56 per cent over previous close of 4,040.55.As many as 1,118 shares declined, 112 advanced and 18 ruled steady with 172 securities have hitting their price bands.The CNX Nifty Junior declined sharply by 316.45 points to 5,916.75, the Bank Nifty by 294.20 points to 4,732.85, the CNX Midcap by 245.90 points to 4,992.95, the S&P CNX Defty by 148.15 points to 3,110.40, the CNX 100 by 144.00 points to 3,682.25, the S&P CNX 500 by 127.55 points to 3,075.80, the Nifty Midcap-50 by 109.05 points to 1,847.80 and the CNX IT by 92.95 points to 3,906.45.Top Five S&P CNX Nifty losers were RCOM, Relinfra, Suzlon, M&M and SBI.
While, gainers were HCL-Tech, Tata Comm and NTPC.Total turnover on NSE was firmed up to Rs 12,072.33 crore from Rs 11,450.59 crore on Monday. A total of 5,825.09 lakh shares changed hands in 55,91,787 trades. Total market capitalisation stood at Rs 39,36,029 crore.
If Monday saw long queues in front of most of the petrol bunks in the city of Chennai, Tuesday saw most of them closed with the sign, 'No petrol. No diesel.'
It was a nightmarish day for all the motorists in the city with long queues at almost all the bunks blocking the traffic and making the already chaotic traffic of Chennai worse.
Tuesday early morning also saw long queues in front of many of the petrol bunks but it slowly disappeared. There was less chaos as most of the bunks had run dry.
A press release from Indian Oil Corporation [Get Quote] said that the supply problem was temporary and that it was due to the delayed receipt of diesel supplies through coastal tankers by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd [Get Quote]. This had depleted the stocks of diesel with the company. It also resulted in the diversion of BPCL's customers to the outlets of IOC and HPC.
Though Tuesday is comparatively calm, petrol bunks fear that Wednesday will be manic.
The government order transferring 100 acres of land to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board was revoked by the Jammu and Kashmir [Images] government in Srinagar [Images] on Tuesday to defuse the snowballing situation in the Valley over the past week, which claimed four lives besides injuring 300 others.
The decision to annul the order was taken by the state cabinet which met at the residence of Chief Minister Ghulam [Images] Nabi Azad immediately after his return from Mumbai.
An official spokesperson said, "The land allotment order has been cancelled by the state cabinet. The government has decided it will not interfere in the conduct of religious ceremonies by the board. The state tourism department will identify as per requirement, places from Jammu to the cave shrine to raise facilities for the annual yatra."
The land cancellation, however, caused a backlash in winter capital Jammu where, since Monday, violent mobs clashed with the police and brought life to a grinding halt.
The forest land allotment controversy erupted soon after the state cabinet took a decision in May last to transfer 100 acres of land to SASB for raising temporary structures to facilitate the yatra.
The decision led to opposition from various separatist groups who demanded the immediate revocation of the order. This demand was also endorsed by the Congress's coalition partner, the Peoples Democratic Party, as well at a later stage.
The simmering discontent and the allegations that the land transfer would lead to an ecological disaster in north Kashmir's Baltel area led to massive protests that continued to shut down the valley.
The situation also led to the exit of the alliance partner PDP from the government, reducing it to a minority.
The markets are nearing the bottom and the worst will be over soon. That's the overwhelming mood among a range of brokers, research analysts and fund managers, according to a poll conducted by Business Standard on a day the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex shed 499 points to close below 13,000.
Over 90 per cent of the 25 market participants in this dip-stick survey said the immediate bottom could come between 12,500 and 12,700 for the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index and 3,600 and 3,800 for the National Stock Exchange's Nifty.
Most respondents believed crude oil prices, which have risen 38 per cent between April and June, the biggest quarterly increase in nine years, and India's political stability will determine the course of the markets.
Most brokers felt that the valuations of many stocks have dropped to levels seen after the dotcom crash in 2001. This could attract some buying from foreign institutional investors (FIIs). They also expect crude oil prices to cool soon.
"There has been a crisis of confidence," said Motilal Oswal, chairman, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Oswal, however, felt that the market is close to the bottom and investors should look for buying opportunities.
Jignesh Desai, who heads institutional broking at SBI [Get Quote] Capital Market, said, "The market looks in oversold territory as most negative news flows have been discounted -- a view shared by Lalit Thakkar, Director-Research, at Angel Broking.
India's markets, in line with global markets, have been falling since January, when the crisis in the sub-prime or high-risk home loan market in the US saw significant write-downs by major US investment banks, causing foreign investors to pull back commitments to emerging markets in particular.
More negative news, such as steadily rising domestic and global inflation on the back of sharp rises in crude, commodities and food prices, has taken its toll since. On Tuesday, the benchmark indices closed at their lowest levels since April 2007.
For investors, 2008 is proving a nightmare so far. In sharp contrast to calendar 2007, when the Sensex rose a dizzying 6,500.08 points or 47.15 per cent, from 13,786.91 to 20,286.99, the benchmark index has dropped 7,325.31 points, or 36.11 per cent, since January, wiping out Rs 30,06,350 crore in market capitalisation.
Nilesh Shah, deputy MD, ICICI [Get Quote] Prudential Asset Management Company, said record high crude oil prices are the biggest factor for the market fall in recent months.
"FIIs are selling because higher crude oil prices pose a threat to inflation stability and the fiscal deficit. The market will bottom out when there is evidence that crude oil prices have reached their peak and are expected to come down," he added.
Manish Sonthalia of Motilal Oswal said the market is waiting for one positive trigger and this could push the Sensex up by 10 per cent.
Some respondents, however, still feel that the market has not bottomed out. A large foreign research house said the fall in the last 10 sessions is unprecedented on the back of heavy FII selling. "It's difficult to pinpoint a bottom level," he said.
Kamlesh Kotak, VP (Research) at Asian Market Securities, said the major reason the market is falling is the uncertainty surrounding the stability of the government. The United Progressive Alliance is facing pressure from the four left parties that support it in Parliament to jettison the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, raising fears of an early general election.
Kotak feels market may go below 11,000 before bottoming out. Nirmal Jain, CMD, India Infoline [Get Quote] adds: "Sentiment is very bad in India and this may lead the Sensex to touch 12,000. In the worst-case scenario, it may go even below that."
Political realignment over Indo-US nuclear deal appears on the cards as Congress makes hectic efforts to reach out to new parties, including Samajwadi Party, to bail out the United Progressive Alliance government in the event of withdrawal of support by Left parties.
'The people of India are for nuclear deal'
Samajwadi Party, which has 39 members in Lok Sabha, is gradually becoming a foe-turned-friend for Congress, which seeks to extend the lifeline of the coalition government headed by it if the Left pulls the plug.
Rashtriya Lok Dal Chief Ajit Singh, whose party has three members in the Lok Sabha, has already had a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi [Images] and H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal-Secular is also being seen as an ally by the ruling party.
View: Dr Singh, lead or leave
UPA sources say Samajwadi Party has been driving a hard bargain but SP leaders are coy about any 'deal' with Congress on the nuclear deal.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, government's pointsman on the deal, had a meeting with Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar [Images] on Tuesday, after which the two leaders left for foreign tours -- Mukherjee to Egypt and Pawar to Dubai.
'N-deal will affect Muslim votes'
While Left leaders are chalking out the strategy on July four, a section of UPA leaders are advising against angering the key outside supporters in view of the feeling that their help would also be needed after next Lok Sabha elections.
This section feels that the next meeting of UPA-Left committee could be held anytime between July 12 to 15.
