Jaya asks Congress to sever ties with DMK, join AIADMK

NEW DELHI: In an apparent move to woo Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa said Congress should dump DMK and dismiss the Karunanidhi govt in Tamil Nadu.

"No one can save DMK anymore. DMK's chapter is over. But, if the Congress thinks that it can lift and rescue DMK from the quicksand it has fallen it will also get caught and sink," Jayalalithaa said at a party function, reported PTI.

In significant remarks apparently aimed at Congress, Jayalalithaa said "those who will come with us will gain and those who will not be with us will lose."

She said she was giving this suggestion to Congress for the sake of old friendship.

The AIADMK has had tied-up with the Congress in the past and is now allied with the Left parties and the MDMK for the coming elections.

In the last Lok Sabha elections, the DMK-led alliance, which included Congress, Left, MDMK and PMK, swept all the 39 seats blanking out the AIADMK-BJP alliance.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Jaya-asks-Cong-to-sever-ties-with-DMK-join-AIADMK/articleshow/4154549.cms

Mumbai attacks: Pakistan seeks custody of Kasab

ISLAMABAD: Identifying Ajmal Amir Kasab as the "prime suspect" in the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan has formally requested India to hand over the lone gunman captured alive during the terror strikes to facilitate "successful" prosecution of other accused arrested in this country.

"The government of Pakistan has formally requested the Indian government to hand over the custody of Ajmal Kasab because he is the prime suspect and the rest of these suspects, they are abettors, they abetted the crime," deputy attorney general Sardar Mohammad Ghazi said.

Ghazi, who has been appointed the special public prosecutor for the trial of Pakistani suspects linked to the Mumbai attacks, said it would be difficult to prosecute the other accused if Kasab is not handed over to Pakistan.

"I am sure the Indian government is going to look into it, they are going to take a decision because without having the custody of Ajmal Kasab in Pakistan, I think it will be very, very difficult to prosecute the rest of the suspects," he said.

Ghazi said he hoped to work in cooperation with Indian authorities to prosecute the persons arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of links to the November 26 Mumbai attacks. "I am sure better sense (will prevail) and we get the custody of Ajmal Kasab and we are able to conduct the trial successfully," he said.

India has ruled out the possibility of handing over Kasab to Pakistan. After weeks of denial, Pakistan last month acknowledged Kasab as its national.

Pakistani authorities have taken into custody six suspects, including Lashker-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and its communication expert Zarar Shah, though their exact legal status and whereabouts are surrounded by confusion.

An anti-terror judge remanded one of the suspects — LeT activist Hamad Amin Sadiq — to the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency for 15 days recently.

Asked about his mandate, Ghazi said he would "be expected to conduct the trial of the Mumbai suspects and bring them to justice after...exchanging evidence (with) India and after talking to the Indian counterparts".

"Let me see what the evidence is like, we'll be expecting cooperation from the Indian side also," he said.

"It is not a case which has taken place here in Pakistan. There are chains of events in India," he said, adding that Pakistan had been informed by the Indian government that there "are lots of suspects in India also".

"We will try to see what evidence India provides to us because the evidence on both sides is very important...on the basis of the joint evidence, we are going to bring the suspects to justice."

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2611-Pakistan-seeks-custody-of-Kasab/articleshow/4150644.cms

Sanjay Dutt starts poll campaign

LUCKNOW: Bollywood star and Samajwadi Party's candidate-to-be from Lucknow, Sanjay Dutt, kicked off his poll campaign here Wednesday with hundreds of his fans thronging the city streets to catch a glimpse of the man they call "Munnabhai".

Accompanied by wife Manyata and Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, Sanjay straightaway went to meet a family in the Jopling Road locality with whom his father Sunil Dutt stayed while he worked as an anchor with the All India Radio (AIR).

Sunil Dutt lived with the family of Captain Rizvi in the narrow Ganne Wali lane in Aminabad for nearly four years till 1951. However, owing to security reasons Sanjay was not allowed to enter it.

"Hundreds of people lined up the lane which is merely 2-3 feet wide. Owing to a heavy rush and security reasons, Sanjay is expected to visit the lane sometime later," said Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary.

Sanjay and Manyata were showered with red rose petals while they met the captain's family at Jopling Road. Calling Manyata its daughter-in-law, the family also gave 'muh dikhayee', a post-marriage ritual in Hindu families where money is gifted to the bride after seeing her face.

"I am quite happy to visit the family with whom my father cherished some memorable moments," Sanjay told reporters.

With the family members, he also went through some black and white photographs of his father.

After meeting the family, Sanjay along with his wife and Amar Singh headed for the Samajwadi Party office on Vikramaditya Marg. He will meet party workers to formulate strategy for the upcoming April-May Lok Sabha polls.

Sanjay is popularly called "Munnabhai" after a character he played in a film. Though convicted for arms possession in the 1993 Mumbai blasts, he has been picked by the Samajwadi Party as its candidate from Lucknow.

Soruce:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

1B visa ban for bailed-out US firms irrational: Montek

NEW DELHI: The government has termed as "economically irrational" the provisions that debar US companies from hiring people holding H-1B visas if they take help under $787 billion economic bail out package, which President Barack Obama has signed into law.

"I think it is an indication of protectionism and interestingly it is an extremely bad decision," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told reporters on Tuesday night even as several MPs demanded that the government take up the matter with Washington.

"The decision says that if you have a company that needs assistance it must not hire H-1B visa workers, which really means if you have a company that is weak and you want to assist it you are going to deny it the opportunity to hire cheaper labour. To my mind it is economically irrational," Ahluwalia said.

"This is the beginning of what could be an irreversible slide into protectionism which happened in 1930," he added.

Meanwhile, several parliamentarians led by MP and chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on industry V Hanumantha Rao wrote to external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee requesting that the government intervene to protect the interest of Indian non-immigrant workers in the US who go there on H-1B visas.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/H-1B-visa-ban-for-bailed-out-US-firms-irrational-Montek-/articleshow/4150753.cms