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Karunakaran says, I could have been PM in 1991

     Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Rebel congress Leader K.Karunakaran has revealed that he could have become the Prime Minister of India in 1991 after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, but bowed out in the interest of the party. Expressing his disappointment over the treatment meted out to him by the central party leadership, the former chief minister of Kerala, said it was sad that the Congress no longer cared for his views. "The Congress High Command is acting only on the advice of the Chief Minister (Oomen Chandy) and the Pradesh Congress Committee(PCC) President Thennala Balakrishna Pillai. Both of them are the choice of the High Command.So, naturally and personally, I may have differences of opinion .But this is too much," Karunakaran said while explaining the reason behind his recent decision to quit the Congress and float the National Congress (Indira) his political party in the southern state.

     When asked to comment on reports that he had renounced the post of Prime Minister, he said: "That is not for publication. Our discussion within the party on this issue was not for publicity.It's private." Karunakaran also levelled corruption charges against Chief Minister Oomen Chandy with whom he has had a running feud. "Their feeling is Oomen Chandy Government is corrupt.I am also feeling so when I am getting reports from different way, parts of the city and different people.They want to say this government is corrupt and Oomen Chandy also does not deny though generally, he says no,no, there is nothing .But there are specific allegations against him.He has given me two MLAS. MLAS are not on tour, otherwise, the number of MLAS would have been higher," claimed Karunakaran. When asked how would he follow up the charges levied against him, he smiled smiled and said: "Do you expect a straight answer from me?If I want to effectively do it, I should not divulge how I am going to face it or how to proceed in it." Karunakaran floated a new party at a rally of his supporters in Thrissur on May 1. He said that the party would led by his son K. Muraleedharan, who assumed the mantle of president after being suspended from the Congress for six years for allege anti-party activities.

     The new party's tricolour flag has the charkha and picture of Indira Gandhi as symbols. Karunakaran said then that he would carry on with his efforts to cleanse the Congress in the State of its 'impurities', but refrained from making any critical remarks against All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief Sonia Gandhi. "You will have to face many difficulties in the coming days. But, drawing inspiration from the Congress ideals and firm commitment of the workers, we will go ahead," the senior leader had said then in his inaugural address at the Thrissur convention. "This is the time to form a new organization. By that, I mean, to go ahead by cleansing the organization of all the impurities that have crept into it," he said. "There is no question of ditching you. With your love, affection and sincere support, we will go ahead," he told the party workers. Karunakaran also recalled his long innings in the party since the Salt Satyagraha days and said that he would follow the footsteps of the Congress leaders of the past.

SC dismisses PIL on dance bar ban (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The Supreme Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) which was filed against the Maharashtra government's decision to ban dance bars in the state. Chief Justice R C Lahoti, Justice N Santosh Hegde and Justice G P Mathur said that the state government's decision was violative of fundamental rights of the bar girls. Earlier, Home ministry sources had stated the state's law department, entrusted with the task of framing guidelines to ban dance bars across Maharashtra, is finding it hard to justify the move under the existing legal provisions. "There is no provision for banning dance bars in the existing legal framework. Comprehensive changes are required in some of the acts to ensure that the ban stands the legal scrutiny in court," said an official source. Meanwhile,the court directed the petitioner to approach Bombay High Court under Article 226 for appropriate direction.

France to transfer nuclear technology to Pakistan (Go To Top)

     Islamabad: French Ambassador to Pakistan Pierre Charasse has said that France was engaged in working out cooperation in nuclear technology with Pakistan. He said that the co-operation which has been revived after a lapse of about 30 years, will enable Paris to provide Islamabad assistance to meet the latter's power needs. He said that France was prepared to help Pakistan in developing non-conventional means of production of power including power generation through nuclear and hydel sources, adding that France appreciated Pakistan's genuine needs of having more and more power as a result of its growing economic activities. He said that France has already helped Pakistan develop a hydel power generation unit in Kashmir with active assistance of another country, The News reports. He said that France was also actively co-operating with Pakistan in space technology, besides a number of other fields by providing it with advanced technology. He further said Franco-Pak co-operation in the field of defence was progressing steadily, adding that France was actively engaged in discussions over the sale of its state-of-the-art multi-role Mirage-2000 fighter jets. The defence co-operation, he added, also included a third submarine for Pakistan Navy under the transfer of technology agreement by the end of next year.

Pakistan to immortalise Musharraf in Rs 5000 notes (Go To Top)

     Lahore: If Pakistan has its way, then President General Pervez Musharraf will soon be immortalized in Pakistani currency notes. Ishfaq Chaudhry, the chairman of the Pakistan People's Movement, has moved the Lahore High Court to direct the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to imprint Musharraf's picture on currency notes of 5000 rupees denomination. He has also asked the Lahore High Court to restrain the SBP governor from printing these notes until the court decides the petition, reports Daily Times. He said that over 80 percent of the Pakistani people supported General Musharraf and his policies, adding that Musharraf was extremely popular with the Pakistani populace.

Pentagon to shut down 33 bases (Go To Top)

     Washington: The Pentagon has proposed the shutting down of nearly 180 US military installations from Maine to Hawaii, including 33 major bases. The proposal starts off the first round of base closures in a decade. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has also recommended a list of scores of other domestic installations, including 29 major bases, that will remain open but with fewer troops. Dozens of other installations will gain troops from other domestic or foreign bases. The plan calls for returning 13,503 troops from Germany and South Korea, and would take place over a period of six years.

Forex reserves down by 423 million dollars (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: According to the Reserve Bank of India's weekly statistical supplement released here on Saturday, India's Foreign Exchange (Forex) reserves has declined by 423 million dollars for the second consecutive week ended on May 6, 2005. On the week ended on May 6, the forex reserves stood at 141.475 billion dollars, a decline of 423 million dollars in comparison to previous week. For the reporting week the foreign currency assets stood at 135.584 billion dollars showing a decline of 366 million dollars. Gold reserves also dipped by 57 million dollars to 4.443 billion dollars while SDRs remained static at five million dollars. The country's reserve tranche position in the IMF stood at 1.443 billion dollars. According to the analysts, the fall in the reserves is mainly due to appreciation of the US dollar and other currencies like the Euro, Pound Sterling and Yen. During the fortnight ending April 29, aggregate deposits went up by Rs 5,330 crore (0.3 per cent) to Rs. 17,81,580 crore. The demand deposits were down by Rs. 10,004 crore to Rs 2,61,778 crore while time deposits were up by Rs. 15,334 crore to Rs 15,19,802 crore. Bank credit declined by Rs. 4,841 crore (0.4 per cent) to Rs 11,27,433 crore. Food credit rose by Rs 4,918 crore to Rs. 41,765 crore while non-food credit was down by Rs. 9,759 crore to Rs 10,85,669 crore. Loans and advances to the State Governments declined by Rs. 3,213 crore to Rs 1,480 crore. While loans and advances to the central Government showed a nil balance.

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