Times Chennai E-paper, March 25, 2009

8/14/2019 Times Chennai E-paper, March 25, 2009

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VOL: 2 ISSUE 61 March 25, 2009

New Delhi, March 25e Supreme Court todayclined to pass status quoder as demanded by twonior IPS officers againstem on March 18, as theyre at the helm of affairs

February 19 whenennai police stormed

a d r a s H i g h C o u r temises.The police on

bruary 19 bruta l lyhicharged and damagede vehicles, chambers ofwyers, court rooms andsaulted some of the Highurt judges.

A b e n c hcomprising Chief JusticeK G Balakrishnan andJustices J M Panchal andA K Ganguly fixed April 6for hearing of the petitionf i l e d b y M r A KVishwanathan, who wasA d d i t i o n a l

Commissioner, Chennaiat that time and MrRamasubramani, whowas posted as JointCommissioner on the dayof occurrence.

A three-judgebench of the High Courthad directed the state

government on March 18to place the two officersu n d e r s u s p e n s i o n ,following which TamilNadu lawyers called offtheir indefinite strike andresumed work.

Senior counselShanti Bhusan appearing

for the two police officerscontended before thecourt that the two policeo ff i ce r s have beendirected to be suspendedby the High Court underpressure from the BarAssociation in the statedespi te the f inding

recorded by formerSupreme Court judgeJustice B N Srikrishnathat no action can betaken against any of thepolice officer under thesecircumstances.

F o r m e rAdd i t i ona l So l i c i t o r

General Vikas Singhappeared for anotherpolice officer.

A battery ofsenior lawyers led by LNaageshwar Rao and MN Krishnamani stronglyopposed the plea forstatus quo as raised by

Mr Shanti Bhushan andinformed the court thatthe state government hastill date not complied withthe directions of the HighCourt and neither of thetwo petitioners have beensuspended till date.

The apex court

also declined to pass anyorder on the plea of thepetitioners as well asstate government statingthat no contempt noticeshould be issued to thestate government for notcomplying wi th the

directions of the HighCourt.

The Court told thepetitioners, ''let us see thereaction of the stateg o v e r n m e n t . ' ' T h eSupreme Court, however,issued notices to state ofTamil Nadu, State Chief

Secretary, State HomeSecretary, DGP and TamilN a d u H i g h C o u r tAdvocates Association onthe petition filed by the twosenior officers against theirsuspension ordered by theHigh Court.

hennai, March 25:dia has urged Sri Lankafulfill its commitments to

e Tamil population thereth proper devolution of

powers to the provinces,according to Pr imeMin i s t e r Manmohan

Singh.In a letter to

Ta m i l N a d u C h i e fM i n i s t e r a n d D M KP r e s i d e n t M

Karunanidhi, copieso f w h i c h w e r ereleased to the media

here today, Dr Singhsaid India also asked

Sri Lanka to fulfill itsc o m m i t m e n t o fensuring equality and

equal rights for Tamils asis the case of other

citizens of Sri Lanka.' ' S r i Lankan

P r e s i d e n t M a h i n d aRajapakse has veryrecently reaffirmed hisc o m m i t m e n t t o a

devolution package,which, he said, will fully

satisfy the Tamils,'' headded.

Mr Rajapaksehad also said steps in thisdirection were being

taken immediately.''We may wait

and see what steps areactually taken,'' Dr Singhsaid in his reply to theFebruary 22 letter written

by the Chief Minister.T h e P r i m eMinister said,' ' d u r i n gdiscussionsw i t h S r iL a n k a , w eh a v econsistentlyp r o p o s e dt e m p o r a r ycessation ofh o s t i l i t i e s ,which couldbe utilised tof a c i l i t a t emovement of

t h e T a m i lp o p u l a t i o nout of the wara f f e c t e da r e a s t osafety zones,where properrehabilitationfacilities couldbe arranged.''Observing thecondition of

thousands of innocentTamils who becomeunfortunate victims ofthe on-going conflict wasindeed pitiable, the

Prime Minister said inaddition thousands ofothers outside the warzone lived in makeshiftcamps, where, too, theconditions were hardly anybetter.

Stating India wasin constant touch withLankan authorities, DrSingh said contacts werebeing mainta ined a tseveral levels, includingthe highest.

India's ForeignSecretary recently met hisLankan coun te rpa r t ,D e f e n c e S e c r e t a r y,Secretary to President andalso President Rajapakseat Colombo.

''Our concernsregarding the plight of the

Tamils were explicitlyr e i t e r a t e d . C e r t a i nsuggestions to amelioratetheir conditions werep roposed , t he mos timportant being an offer toset up a Field MedicalUnit/Hospital to cater to thecivilians and internallyd i s p l a c e d p e r s o n sevacuated from the warzone.

''The Sri Lankans ide has r e spondedenthusiastically to this offerand the field hospital hasbeen established and it is

functioning well,'' he said.

Devolve power to Tamils,India tells Lanka

Madras HC violence: SC declines officers' status quo plea


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Times Chennai E-Paper March 25, 2009ge 2

hennai, Mar 25: Theadras High Court hasdered notice of motion onwrit petition challenginge es tabl ishment ofiversity constituentlleges under public-vate partnership (PPP) Anna Un ive r s i t y,

o i m b a t o r e . W h i l edering notice yesterday,stice K Suguna directede University to fileunter within two weeks.

In its petition, thes s o c i a t i o n o fa n a g e m e n t o f

o i m b a t o r e A n n an i v e r s i t y A f f i l i a t e dolleges, represented by

s p r e s i d e n t , Jdhanandhen, submitted

at a new scheme oftablishing engineeringlleges under the 'Public-ivate Partnership' wastroduced following asolution passed by thendicate in February.e petitioner said the

oposal was opposed toe principles laid down by

the High Court and theSupreme Court relatingto the establishment ofcolleges for teachingtechnical subjects.These colleges would beoutside the purview of theAll India Council forTechnical Education, hesaid.

The s chemeenabled the privatemanagement to admit 20per cent of students on itsown and 80 per cent ofthe seats would bee a r m a r k e d f o r t h euniversity. An additionalten per cent seats wouldbe created to enable thegovernment to admitstudents at its discretion.

The associationsaid the scheme wouldbe in force for nine years.Thereafter, if the staffmembers opted, AnnaUniversity, Coimbatore,was bound to take all ofthem as its employees.However, discretion wasg i v e n t o p r i v a t e

managements and staffmember s t o e i t he rcontinue the scheme orremain with the privatemanagement or to go tothe university.

It prayed thecourt to issue a directionto call for the records ofthe university relating tothe establishment of thecol leges under thescheme and quash thesame.

The matter hasbeen posted for hearingon April eight.

-Agencies

HC orders notice to varsity

Chennai, Mar 25: TheMadras High Court todayissued notice to the TamilNadu Government on apetition, challenging thedetention of PeriyarDravidar KazhagamPresident Kolathur Maniunder the Nat ional

Security Act (NSA).A d m i t t i n g aHabeas Corpus Petition(HCP) filed by P SPalanisamy, brother ofMani, a Division Benchcomprising JusticesElipe Dharma Rao and RSubbiah, directed the

state government to file areply within four weeks.

In his petition,Mr Palanisamy submittedthat his brother wasdetained under NSA dueto political motive by thepolice.

Contending that

the district collector hadno power to pass NSAorder, he said only thecentral government hadthe powers to detain aperson under NSA, andsought the court to setMani at liberty.

H e w a s

ew Delhi, March 25:he Supreme Court todayserved its verdict on thesue whether Tamil Naduh i e f M i n i s t e r Ma r u n a n i d h i , U n i o n

hipping Minister T Raalu and four others areble to be prosecuted forntempt of the Court foreged violation of theex court order, dated

eptember 30, 2008,recting the DMK and itsies not to enforce state-de bandh on October 1.

The ruling DMKd its allies had given all for the state-widendh in support of their

mand for the speedyo m p l e t i o n o f t h etusamudram Project.

The project hadt a road block because ofe proposed demolition ofe Ram Setu, whichindus be l i eve wasnstructed by Lord Ramreach Sri Lanka to free

s wife Sita from theptivity of demon kingavana.

The apex courtd issued showcausetices to Mr Karunanidhi,r Baalu, State Chiefcretary L K Tripathi,ate DGP and the Stateansport Minister and theate Transport Secretaryr not implementing therections of the apexurt, issued during aecial sitting on a Sunday.

A b e n c hmprising Justices B N

Aggarwal and G SSinghvi reserved theverdict on the contemptof court petition, filed byAIADMK ch ie f andformer Chief Minister JJayalalithaa, who hasalleged that the entirestate was paralysed onOctober 1 despite theapex court directions tothe contrary.

The petitionerhad also contended thatMr Tripathi had toldmedia on October 1 thatonly about 50 transportbuses plied in the statewhen it had a fleet ofabout 30,000 buses.

According tothe petitioner, no actionwas taken against theleaders, who enforce theb a n d h c a u s i n gtremendous hardshipand harassment to thepeople of the state.

Loss of severalcrores of rupees wascaused to the stateexchequer and thegovernment connivedwith the organisers of thebandh and no action wastaken against a majorityof the state governmente m p l o y e e s , w h oabstained from work onthat day.

Mr Baalu hadalso made derogatoryremarks against JusticeAggarwal for passing theorders on Sunday.

-Agencies

HC issues notice to TN govt ondetention of Kolathur Mani

arrested on March 2 for hisalleged support to thebanned LTTE.

Dindigul policehad registered a caseagainst him for addressinga meeting recently insupport of the LTTE in thename of espousing the

cause of Sri Lankan Tamils.A special policeteam from Dindigul went toKolathur and arrested Manifrom his house and laterdetained him under NSA.

-Agencies

SC reserves verdict onKarunanidhi, Baalu

for contempt


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Times Chennai E-Paper March 25, 2009age 4 National

ew Delhi:, March 25 :he Nationalist Congressa r ty (NCP) , a keyember of the Congress-d United Progressivel l i a n c e ( U PA ) , o nednesday declared itspport for Manmohan

ngh as the grouping'sime ministerial candidater the Lok Sabha polls.

"We have alreadypported his candidature.PA's candidate (primeinister) is Manmohanngh," party general

secretary D.P. Tripathitold news agency.

C o n g r e s spresident Sonia Gandhihad said here on Tuesdaythere could be manycontenders for the post of

pr ime minis ter, butnobody measured up toManmohan Singh.

Congress andN C P h a v e a l r e a d yannounced a 26-22 seat-sharing agreement forMaharashtra.

Asked about the primeministerial ambitions ofNCP leader SharadPawar, Tripathi said: "Noquestion about it."

Pawar had saido n M a r c h 1 3 t h a tMaharashtra should be

given a chance to occupythe prime minister's chair,like leaders from AndhraPradesh, Gujarat andKarnataka.

Tripathi's viewi s c o n t r a r y t o h i scolleague and seniorleader in the party P.A.S a n g m a , w h o o nM o n d a y s u p p o r t e dPawar for the post ofprime minister.

Sangma hadtold reporters in Shillongthat Pawar was the mostdevelopment-orientedleader and there wasnothing wrong if heaspired to be primeminister. Tripathi said theUPA should contest pollstogether.

-Agencies

NCP backs Manmohan Singhas Prime Minister Allahabad, March 25: In

a setback to VarunGandhi, the AllahabadH i g h C o u r t o nWednesday dismissedthe BJP candidatespetition seeking quashing

of an FIR filed against himfor his alleged hatespeeches in Pilibhit.

Varun had onMarch 19 knocked thedoors of Allahabad andD e l h i H i g h C o u r t sseeking quashing ofcharges against him andprevent his possiblearrest.

The Delhi HighCourt had then grantedVarun anticipatory bailrestraining the policefrom arresting him till the

Allahabad HCs decisionon the BJP candidatespetition in connectionwith his alleged anti-Muslim speeches.

However, theAllahabad HC todayrejected Varuns plea,saying there was no needto stay his arrest due tothe anticipatory bailgranted by the Delhi HC.

In its order, ad i v i s i o n b e n c hcompr i s ing j u s t i ce sImtiyaz Murtaza and SCNigam said, The petitionstands dismissed.

Varuns lawyershave now reportedlydecided to move theSupreme Court.

The Elect ionCommission has alreadyfound Varun guilty ofm a k i n g t h e h a t espeeches, and advisedthe BJP not to field him as

a candidate in the LokSabha polls.However, the

BJP has rejected theECs advice, insteadterming the decision asbiased. Varun has alsoslammed the EC for notgiving him a fair hearing.The FIR against Varun

was filed on March 17 atBarkheda Police Station inPilibhit under Sections 153A (promot ing enmitybetween different groupson ground of religion) and188 (disobedience to orderduly promulgated by apublic servant) of IndianPenal Code and Section125 of the Representationof the People Act.

V a r u n h a dalleged in his petition thatthe FIR, which was lodgednine days after he hadmade the speeches, was"a part of a politicalconspiracy to spoil" hispo l i t i c a l c a r ee r and"tarnish" his "secularimage".

H e h a d a l s oclaimed that the videofoo tage o f a pub l i cmeeting, on the basis ofw h i c h t h e E l e c t i o nCommission has taken the

action against him, "hasbeen tampered with" anddid not contain his voice.

V a r u n h a dapproached the Delhi HCsince the provision for bailwas not available in UttarPradesh.

-Agencies

Hate speech: Varun likely to move SC

orakhpur, March 25: esident Pratiba Patil onednesday handed outandards to the IAF's 108

q u a d r o n a n d 1 0 5el icopter Uni t a t attering ceremony herearked by acrobat icsplay of the force'scraft.

Patil gave awaye s t a n d a r d s i n

cognition of the selflessd committed services byth the units to the countrythe last 50 years.

The Pres identso described the units as

Aapastu mitram", (a friendthe time of need).

Speaking on thecasion, Patil said the

armed forces are wellcapable of defending theborders of the country "ifa conflict is thrust upon

us". "We do not wishto be involved in anyconflict, but should it bethrust upon us... ourarmed forces will rise tothe occasion and bringglory to the nation," sheadded.

Patil releasedan information brochureand a commemorativecover issued by theMilitary Postal Serviceson the occasion.

A c r o b a t i cdisplays by Chetak andCheetah helicopters and

Mirage 2000, MiGs andSukhoi 30 jets were theother highlights theceremony. Air refuelling

capacities of IL 78 andparachute jumping by thefamed Aakash Ganga airso ld i e r s we re a l sodemonstrated on theoccasion.

The ceremonywas attended by Chief ofAi r S t a ff A i r Ch ie fMarshall Fali Homi Major,chief of South WesternCommand K D Singh andchief of Central AirCommand P P Rajkumarapart from Uttar PradeshGovernor T V Rajeshwar.

-Agencies

President awardsstandards to IAF units

Srinagar, March 25: The

I n d i a n A r m y o nWednesday said thatm i l i t a n t s f r o m t h eLashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)terror outfit, along withsome other fore ignultras, were involved int h e g u n b a t t l e w i t hsecurity forces in Jammuand Kashmirs Kupwaradistrict.

The LeT hasa l s o o w n e d u presponsibility for thefierce encounter, warningthat such attacks wouldcont inue on Indiantroops.

Addressing thepress, Brigadier GeneralGurmeet Singh said thateight Army personnel,including a Major, werekilled in the gunfightalong with 17 terrorists.He added that thecombing operations werestill on.

H e f u r t h e r

stated that a majority ofthe terrorists trying toinfiltrate the region hadbeen killed, adding thatthe remaining ones, ifa n y , w o u l d b eneutralised.

According tohim, the dense forests inthe area impeded thecombat operations as aresult of which theencounter, which beganon March 20, went on forsix days.

The Brigadiersaid that high-order armsa n d a m m u n i t i o n srecovered f rom thet e r r o r i s t s i n d i c a t ePakis tani he lp . Theterrorists couldnt haveaccessed the weaponrywithout state backing, heasserted.

Cautioning thatmore militants werewaiting to infiltrate, the

Army spokesman added

that they were ready totackle all the challenges.He further stated

that the Army had accurateinformation, backed byhuman intelligence fromboth the sides, regardingthe movement of theterrorists.

The gunf ightswere first reported onSaturday and followed across-border exchange offire between Indian andPakistani troops that lefto n e I n d i a n s o l d i e rwounded.

The latest deathtoll was the highest inmonths in the troubledregion and came at a timeof heightened tensionsbetween the nuclear-a r m e d n e i g h b o u r sfollowing last November'sdeadly Islamist militantattacks on Mumbai.

-Agencies

LeT involved in Kupwaraencounter: Army

ew Delhi, March 25: Thehratiya Janata Party onednesday slammed theSP-led government intar Pradesh for refusinggrant permission to the

ffron party which hadanned to s t a r t i t smpaign from Azamgarh.

The Azamgarhstrict administration hase f u s e d t o g r a n t

rmission for the electionllies on March 28.h o u g h , w e h a v eoposed three alternativenues for this. But theministration has citedcurity reasons for this,JP spokesperson Balbiru n j h e r e s a i dednesday.

B J P ' s p r i m eministerial candidate LKAdvani was scheduled toaddress three meetingson March 28 in UttarPradeshs Azamgarharea, which had been innews for wrong reasonsfol lowing arres ts ofcertain youths on terrorcharges.

Significantly, the

district witnessed arrestof certain youths of aparticular community inconnection with the BatlaHouse encounter

E a r l i e r , t h eIndian Premier League(IPL) was called off due tosecurity reasons and willrallies of leaders like L K

Advani be cancelled now,Punj asked.

Advani was toaddress the meetings atKushinagar, Maharajganja n d A z a m g a r hconstituencies along withfirebrand leader YogiAd i tyana th , who i scontesting from theGorakhpur parliamentaryseat, they said.

A l l t h e s econstituencies, part of theGorakhpur division, willgo to polls in the first ofthe five-phased electionson April 16.

BJP has fieldedRamakant Yadav fromthe Azamgarh seat.

Azamgarh admin refuses permissionfor Advani rallies

The complete half yearly magazinefor professional Educationfor details call

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Times Chennai E-Paperrch 25, 2009 Page 5World

Pithiviers, March 25 :Talks were to resume onWednesday at a plantrun by U.S. company 3Msouth of Paris wherestriking workers wereho ld ing t he i r bos shostage.

The workerswant better severancepackages for those beingla id off and bet terconditions for those whokeep their jobs.

A b o u t 2 0workers took the directoro f 3 M ' s F r e n c ho p e r a t i o n s , L u cRousselet, hostage onTuesday at a factory inPithiviers.

Talks amongw o r k e r s a n dm a n a g e m e n t w e r esuspended overnight,

but were to resumeWednesday. The topregional labor official wasnamed to mediate in thetalks.

T h e F r e n c hdivision of 3M - a

diversified manufacturerknown for Post-It notes andScotch tape - recentlyannounced layoffs amongits 2,700 workers at 13French sites. Among thosetargeted are 110 of thePithiviers factory's 235workers. The Maplewood,Minnesota-based 3M isalso planning job cuts atfacilities in the UnitedStates and other developednations.

``We will go to theend to get what wedeserve, ' ' said Jean-Francois Caparros of theForce Ouvriere labor union.

The 3M workershave been on strike sinceFriday.

C o m p a n yspokeswoman CatherineHamon said Rousselet was

blocked from leaving thefactory Tuesday afterarriving from 3M Franceheadquarters near Paris.She said he had not beenthreatened with violence.

-Agencies

Talks to resume on freeing3M France executiveashingto n March 25 :

ter urging the Americanblic to support hiso n o m i c p o l i c i e s ,

esident Barack Obamaads to the Capitol on

ednesday to pitch hism b i t i o u s b u d g e toposals to his formere n a t e D e m o c r a t i clleagues.

Obama told ationally televised newsnference on Tuesdayening that the mainrust, if not all the details,

his massive budgetoposal is moving thetion in the right directionturn around the ailing

onomy. ``This budget isseparable from thisc o v e r y, ' ' h e s a i d ,

because it is what lays theundation for a secure andting prosperity.''

O b a m a a l s oaimed early progress ins aggressive campaign toad the United States out

its worst economic crisis70 years and declaredat despite obstaclesead, the U.S. is `movingthe right direction.''

T h e n e w snference came at avotal moment in Obama's-day presidency. Ononday, his administrationesented its plan to revivee U.S. financial system.st month, Obama signedo law an $787 billiononomic stimulus plan.n d D e m o c r a t s i n

ongress are preparingdget proposals that willrgely determine howuch of his agenda will bessed, which includesajor initiatives to reforme health care system,prove education and

duce global warming.Obama's budget

s ignited a firestorm ino n g r e s s , w i t hpublicans assailing it forcord spending anddget deficits. Democratse generally supportive,o u g h s o m e h a v encerns over the deficitures.

M e a n w h i l e ,bama is preparing for aropean trip next week

at includes a Londonmmit on the globalonomic crisis, while,

way from the economy, announcement is expectedFriday on a revamped

. S . s t r a t e g y f o r

A f g h a n i s t a n a n dPakistan.The p re s iden t a l sodefended the U.S. dollarin the wake of China'ssuggestion for a universalcurrency, saying: ``Thedollar is extraordinarilystrong right now,'' and `Ìdon't believe that there isa need for a global

currency.''Obama, just 64 days inoffice, urged patiencewith his presidency, notonly in trying to lift theUnited States out of therecession, but also inseeking peace betweenIsrael and Palestiniansand in preventing Iranfrom developing nuclearweapons.

``This is a bigocean liner. It's not aspeedboat. It doesn't turnaround immediately,'' hesaid.

Obama remainswidely popular, but haspassed through sometumultuous weeks. Then e w s h a s b e e ndominated by outrageo v e r b o n u s e s t oexecutives at bailed-outinsurance giant AIG.R e p u b l i c a n s h a v ea t t a c k e d O b a m a ' ss p e n d i n g p l a n s a swasteful and too costly.A n d s o m e k e yc o n g r e s s i o n a lDemocrats have resistedO b a m a ' s c a l l s f o rextending middle-class

tax cuts and a ``cap-and-trade'' program to fightglobal warming thatwould let companies buyand sell a limited numberof permits to pollute.

O b a m adefended cap-and-tradeas the best way to movetoward cleaner energy,but noted `there are a lotof technical issues thatare going to have to besorted through.''

He also said heexpects ``serious effortsat health care reform,''but not lawmakers 'a p p r o v a l o f e v e r yproposal in his $3.6trillion budget.

Obama usedthe 55-minute newsc o n f e r e n c e 's l a s tquestion, on Middle Eastp e a c e e f f o r t s , t osummarize his strategy ofpressing his main goalswhile letting critics nibbleat the margins if theymust.

O n t h ee c o n o m y . O b a m adefended the steps hisadministration has taken

to counter the recessionand an unprecedentedcredit crisis.

O b a m a s a i dteachers and others have

jobs today because of thee c o n o m i c s t i m u l u smeasure, and the UnitedStates is ``beginning tosee signs of increased

sales and stabilizedhousing prices for the firsttime in a long time.''

But he said full-f ledged recovery ismonths away, and headded, `Ìt will takepatience.''

At the sametime, he said, ``we're in abetter place because of

the decisions that wemade.''O b a m a

criticized the $165 millionin bonuses paid toexecutives at insuranceg i a n t A m e r i c a nInternational Group Inc.,although his commentswere somewhat toneddown.

``Bankers andexecutives on Wall Streetneed to realize thatenriching themselves onthe taxpayers' dime isinexcusable, that thedays of outsized rewardsand reckless speculationthat puts us all at riskhave to be over,'' he said.`Àt the same time, therest of us can't afford todemonize every investoror entrepreneur whoseeks to make a profit,''he said.

Pressed on whyhe seemed to delaybefore condemning theAIG bonuses, Obamasaid, `Ìt took us a coupleof days because I like toknow what I'm talkingabout before I speak.''

While the newsc o n f e r e n c e w a sdominated by domesticeconomic issues, Obamaa l s o t o u c h e d o ninternational matters.

Asked about thedrug violence in Mexico,O b a m a p r a i s e dP r e s i d e n t F e l i p eCalderon's efforts to stopdrug gangs, adding ``weneed to do more to makesure that illegal guns andcash aren't flowing backto these cartels.''

He said he stillbelieves it is possible toachieve peace betweenIsrael and Palestinians,even as a hard-line Israeligovernment takes shape,though `ìt's not easierthan it was.''

O b a m a a l s osaid the world's view ofU.S. global leadership isrising because of stepst a k e n b y h i sadministration. He saidt h e r e h a s b e e n arestoration of confidencein the ability of the U.S. toassert global leadership.Obama stepped to the

microphone one day afterh i s a d m i n i s t r a t i o nunveiled a plan to meltthe credit freeze byhelping banks shed badl o a n s . U n d e r t h ep r o p o s a l , t h egovernment will financethe purchase by privateinvestors of as much as

Obama claims progress toward economic recovery$1 trillion of the $2 trillionin bad assets still held bythe nation's banks, in thehopes of freeing banks tobegin lending more freelyand churn up economicactivity.

O b a m aendorsed the requestTreasu ry Sec re t a ryTimothy Geithner made

to Congress earlierT u e s d a y f o rextraordinary authority tot a k e o v e r f a i l i n gcompanies like AIG,much as the FederalDeposit Insurance Corp.now does for banks.

`Ìt is preciselybecause of the lack of thisauthority'' that AIG'sproblems threatened tobring down the entireU.S. economy, he said.To p D e m o c r a t s i nC o n g r e s s r e a c t e dpositively to the proposal,although it is not clearwhen legislation might beconsidered.

O b a m a w a squick with a retort whenasked about Republicancriticism of his budget,with its huge projecteddeficits.

``First of all,''Obama said he inheriteda deficit of over $1 trillionfrom his predecessor.And secondly, he said theRepublicans have yet tooffer an alternative to hisown tax and spendingplan.

B e f o r eO b a m a ' s n e w sconference , SenateRepublican leader MitchMcConnell cast thepresident's proposedbudget as an over-spending, over-taxingdisaster. An analysis byt h e n o n p a r t i s a nCongressional BudgetOffice released lastF r i d a y e s t i m a t e sObama's budget wouldgenerate deficits totaling$9.3 trillion over the nextdecade.

`Ìf these plansare carried out, we runthe risk of looking like aThird World country,''McConnell said.

Obama's jobapproval rating is 63percent, according to theG a l l u p p o l l i n go r g a n i z a t i o n . T h a tn u m b e r h a s b e e nrelatively stable recently,down from the 68 percentwhen the president tookoffice mostly on a loss ofs u p p o r t a m o n gRepublicans.

At the news

conference, Obama saidthe American people areassessing his ability onhis skills and work, notthe color of his skin. Hesaid there was justifiablepride in January, when hewas inaugurated as thefirst black president.

-Agencies

L a h o re , M a rch 25 : Former Pakistan PrimeMinister and PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) chief NawazSharif has expressedc o n c e r n o v e r t h er e l e n t l e s s m i l i t a r yin t e rven t ion i n t hecountrys politics.

Sharif said thatstability in Pakistancannot be achieved untilthe Armys intervention isstopped.

We have to

stop military interventionforever. There must be nomilitary intervention in thepolitics in future, TheNews qouted Sharif, assaying.

C o m m e n t i n gover a history of militarycoups that Pakistan has,he said: A country wheret h e r e i s m i l i t a r yintervention after everyseven to 10 years andmartial law is common,the situation is veryserious.

Sharifs call forno military interferencecomes at a time when it isbeing widely reportedthat the Chief of the ArmyStaff General AshfaqPervez Kayani hadrestrained from taking

over the reigns of Pakistanduring the recent politicalcrisis.

S h a r i f c a l l e dupon all political parties ofthe country to join hands topull Pakistan out of thecrisis which it is facing atthe moment.

He also urged theinternational communityincluding the United Statesand Br i t a in t o he lpPakistan over come thedifficult situation andagreed upon a need of a

revamped strategy for thewar on terror in the region. T h e n e w U Sadministration has takencharge and Pakistan ishappy to sit with alls t a k e h o l d e r s a n dformulate an effectivepolicy on the war againstterror, Sharif said.

Replying to aquestion that whether hewould like to see himself asthe next Prime Minister ofthe country, Sharif said:People would take thisdecision, as they haveelected me twice as primeminister and chief minister.If they give me the honour Iwould be happy to servethem.

-Agencies

Military intervention inPak politics must

stop forever: Sharif


6/8

Times Chennai E-Paper March 25, 2009Page 6 B u s i n e s s

umbai, March 25: Theock market bellwethernsex rallied for the thirdaight day, adding 197ints, on heavy buying ine country's most valuedm Reliance Industries,sides blue chip realtympanies.

T h e S e n s e x ,hich tested an intra-daygh of 9,700 points, endedth a gain of 196.86 points9,667.90. It touched they's high of 9,706.47 andow of 9,430.45.

The wide-based

National Stock Exchangeindex Nifty also endedhigher by 45.65 points to2,984.35, after rising to2,996.50 and a low of2,923.30 points.

Trading activitypicked up on favourablereports in the market-h e a v i e s t R e l i a n c eIndustries as also secondb i g g e s t s o f t w a r eexporting firm Infosys onstrengthening dollar.

RIL was up 5.63percent at Rs 1,533.40following reports the

company has reachedagreement with fertiliserfirms on sale of gas fromits eastern offshore KG-D6 fields. Realty indexclosed up 6.32 percent at1,691.67 points, with DLFsurging 6.22 percent atRs 176.65.

T h e m a r k e tremained volatile asmajor players indulged inadjusting their pendingpositions ahead of theexpiry in current monthderivative segment.

-Agencies

Sensex up 197 pts, closes at 9,668

New Delhi, March 25:: S w i s s d r u g m a k e rNovartis on Wednesdaysaid it has made an openoffer to acquire anadditional stake of up to39 percent in its Indianunit.

The companywill acquire the stake

from public share holdersat Rs.351 per share.Tuesday's closing pricefor Novartis shares inIndia was Rs.275.60.

" S u c c e s s f u lcompletion of the offerw o u l d r a i s e t h ecompany's stake inNovartis India Ltd to

nearly 90 percent from thecurrent level of 50.9percent," the companysaid in a statement.

T h e o f f e rrepresents a total value ofaround Rs.440 crore ($86million).

-Agencies

Novartis to raise stake inIndian unit to 90 percent

w Delhi, March 25:nil Dhirubhai Ambanioup company Reliancefrastructure has said itould aggressively bid foro r e i n f r a s t r u c t u r eojects, claiming it has noue with finances as them is under-leveragedth unutilised capacity.

"Our capacity isder-utilised and we are

n d e r - l e v e r a g e d , "liance Infrastructure

hief Executive Officerli t Jalan told PTI,

aiming Reliance Infra ise largest developer ofad and highways projectsder the build, own,nsfer (BOT) scheme of

e government."The company

s achieved the financialosure of five major 400-m road projects involving

total of) Rs 3,150 crore

vestment in Tamil Nadu. Itfaring extremely well in lle sectors it forayed andans aggressive biddingor other infrastructureojects)," he said.

Financial closurea c h i e v e d a f t e r a

m p a n y p r o d u c e sidence o f b ind ingmmitment from banksd financial institutions fore funding of the project.

In the National CapitalRegion, the company hasunder taken projec tsworth Rs 7,800 crore witha concession period of 17years, Jalan said, adding,"We are executing two tofour laning of 27.5 kmG u rg a o n - F a r i d a b a dproject and upgradationof two lanes of 38.6 kmB a l l a b g a r h - S o h n aRoad."

Projects underpipeline include EasternPeripheral ExpresswayCovering 135 km andKrishna Walajpet projectcovering 150 km, headded.

Reliance Infra isthe country's first andonly pr ivate sec torbuilder and operator forMetro systems, he said.

"We are alreadyinto construction of the

first line of Mumbai Metrosystem stretching 12 kmsf r o m V e r s o v a t oGhatkopar. Besides, wehave also won the DelhiMetro's airport expresslink stretching at a lengthof 22.5 kms. The totalinvestment for these twoprojects is Rs 4,900crore," Jalan said.

A b o u t t h eMumbai project, he said,

"We are hopeful ofcompleting it in thesecond quarter of 2010-11, two years ahead ofthe schedule. The Rs2,350-crore project is tobe financed by way ofDebt, Grant and Equity in51:27:22 ratio."

" O u r D e l h iMetro project has totall e n g t h o f 2 3 k mconnecting New DelhiRa i lway S t a t i on t oDwarka through IGIAirport with 30 yearsconces s ion pe r iod .Project cost of Rs 2500crore would be met byDebt: Grant: Equity in2.33:0:1 ratio," Jalan saidadding, the financialclosure is expected bythe end of March 2009and the debt syndicationis in progress with AxisBank as lead lender.

The project isexpected to complete inthe second quarter of2010-11, before theCommonwealth Games.Now known as RelianceI n f r a s t r u c t u r e L t d ,Reliance Energy Ltd wasr e c h r i s t e n e d a f t e rdiversification in newers e g m e n t s o finfrastructure.

-Agencies

Reliance Infra to be moreaggressive: CEO

New Delhi, March 25The government hasapproved a proposal formerging BongaigaonR e f i n e r y a n dPetrochemicals into itsparent company, thestate-run Indian Oil Corp(IOC).

In a regulatorystatement Wednesday,IOC said BongaigaonR e f i n e r y s t a n d sdissolved and the mergerbecomes effective March25 following the filing ofthe amalgamation orderwith the Registrar of

Companies (ROCs) inShillong and Mumbai.

IOC will issue fourshares for every 37Bongaigaon Ref ineryshares, it said in thestatement.

-Agencies

Bongaigaon Refinery tomerge with Indian Oil

New Delhi, March 25Telecommunicat ionsservices provider TataCommunicat ions onWednesday sold part ofi t s s t ake i n g roupc o m p a n y T a t aTeleservices for Rs 424crore.

T a t aCommunications has a15 per cent stake in TataTeleservices. Japanesete lecom major NTT

Mumbai, March 25:The Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) will extend thebusiness offers of itsregional off ice andbranches of agencyb a n k s c o n d u c t i n ggovernment business onMarch 30 and 31 tofaci l i ta te receipt ofrevenue from the generalpublic.

The RBI, in anotification here, said this

Docomo is buying a 26per cent stake in TTSL.

"The companyhas received an amountof about Rs 424 crorepursuant to sale of itspartial holdings in TataTeleservices Ltd," TataCommunications said ina regulatory filing to theB o m b a y S t o c kExchange.

Of the 15 percent stake that Tata

w a s t o f a c i l i t a t eaccounting of all thegovernment transactionsof the current fiscal byMarch 31 and meet theprobable rush of taxpayers towards the end ofthe year.

The apex banksaid Special Clearing(with return clearing onthe same day) shall beconducted in the eveningor night of March 30 and

Communications holds, itwould be selling 0.6 percent to the Japanesec o m p a n y . T a t aCommunications did notreveal the size of its stake itsold in TTSL.

Shares of TataCommunications jumpedas much as 3.6 per cent totouch an intra-day high ofRs 531 on the BSE. It waslater trading at Rs 524.50,up 2.39 per cent.

31 with the approval of thepresident of Local ClearingHouses run by the RBI andAgency banks keeping inview the opera t ionalconvenience at the localcentres so that the clearinginstruments relating tog o v e r n m e n t r e v e n u ereceived from the publicare released and creditedto government account byMarch 31.

-Agencies

Tata Comm gets Rs 424 cr from

part stake sale in TTSL

RBI takes measures to

meet year-end rush

angalore, March 25 V-uard Industries Ltd, one

the leading electricallutions provider in theuntry, has announced

w o n e w p r o d u c t i o ncilities at Coimbatore inmil Nadu and KashiporeUttarkhand to produce

T and Wiring Cablesspectively.

A d d r e s s i n gwspersons here today PPrasad, Chairman of thempany, said that V-

uard has set up twoanufacturing facilities,oimbatore Plant for LTbles and Kashipore in

ttarachal for wiringbles.He said that while

oimbatore plant would gostream by this week

d, while the Kashiporea c i l i t y w o u l d b emmissioned on April

ght." W i t h t h e

mmissioning of the two

new units V-Guard,which produces eighte l e c t r i c a l p r o d u c t si n c l u d i n g v o l t a g estebalizers, now hasemerged as a NationalBrand," Mr Prasad said.

He said that theCoimbatore facility wascapable of producingAluminum and Copperwi th PVC of XLPEinsulted cables with acapacity to process 3000m e t r i c t o n n e s o fAluminum and 300metric tonnes of copperper annum.

Mr Prasad also

said that company haveinvested over Rs 45 croreto set up two newfactories which are readyand totally equipped forcommercial production.He said that the companyhad raised Rs 65 crorefrom the Equity marketlast year and about 75per cent of it had already

been invested and rest ofthe proceedings wouldbe deployed by the end ofnext fiscal year.

"Despi te theeconomic meltdown weh a v e m a n a g e d abusiness of Rs 289 crorelast year and it isexpected to cross Rs 320crore in the current year,"he said.

The companyemerged as one of thel e a d i n g e l e c t r i c a lsolutions provider ismanufacturing VoltageStabilisers, Pumps andMotors, Electric Water

Heaters, PVC WiringCables among others."We enjoy 15 per cent oftotal market share inVoltage Stabiliser, theflagship product of V-Guard," he said.

-Agencies

V-Guard announces commissioningof two new production facilities

Chennai, March 25 V-Guard Industries, thel e a d i n g e l e c t r i c a lsolutions provider, whichdiversified into setting upamusement parks, hasshelved its plans to set upone on the Mumbai-PuneHighway due to landacquisition problems.

The company,which was operating twoa m u s e m e n t p a r k s' ' W o n d e r l a n d ' ' i nBangalore and ''VeegaLand'' in Kochi had drawnup plans to set up atheme amusement parkin Mumbai wi th aninvestment of Rs 150 toRs 200 c ro re , bu tdropped it followingproblem in acquisition.

''As of now wecan't build the park...weh a v e d r o p p e d t h e

project'', said Mr MithunChittilappilly, ExecutiveD i r e c t o r , V- G u a r dIndustries, here whileaddress ing a pressconference in connectionwith the launch of twon e w p r o j e c t s a tC o i m b a t o r e a n dUttarakhand.

Asked about thestatus of the amusementpark project on theMumbai-Pune Highway,he said the companywanted to acquire 120acres of land, but ran intoproblems after acquiring50 acres.

There were alsolots of problems inconverting various typesof agricultural lands intocommercial lands, hesaid, adding ''we havedecided to drop the

project as it is unviablenow''.

H e s a i d t h ecompany wanted to buy120 acres of land at astretch, but in betweensome people had boughtthe lands. ''We tried tonegotiate with them, but itdid not work out'', headded. The companyproposes to sell off thepreviously acquired 50acres of lands. ''We aregetting offers'', he added.

He replied in thenegative when askedwhether the project wasbeing shifted to TamilNadu. ''You just take a fivehour drive from here toBangalore and we have anamusement park there,'' hesaid.

-Agencies

V-Guard shelves plans to set upamusement park


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Times Chennai E-PaperMarch 24, 2009 Page 7


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Times Chennai E-Paper March 24, 2009Page 8

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Times Chennai E-paper, March 25, 2009