Came in mail:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Plea to dismiss $100 mn lawsuit filed to defend Sonia
FPJ Delhi bureau Publication: Free Press Journal
June 1, 2008.
http://www.freepressjournal.in /01062008/P1_2.htm
From Our Delhi Bureau, New Delhi (1 June 2008)
A lawsuit by the Congress supporters seeking damages of US $100 million from the Hindu leaders in the United States for an offensive full-page advertisement in The New York Times during Congress President Sonia Gandhi's October visit gained momentum this month.
The Indian National Overseas Congress (INOC) that had brought the lawsuit before the Supreme Court of New York in March further amended it on May 23 to seek damages for allegedly defending Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul and the Congress Party and it was countered with an affidavit sworn in by Daniel J Kornstein on Friday on behalf of two Hindu leaders of North America implicated in the case.
The offensive advertisement was published by Forum for Saving (Mahatma) Gandhi's Heritage on October 6 on the occasion of Sonia Gandhi attending the UN's observance of the international non-violence day.
Daniel J Kornstein has asserted in the affidavit on behalf of the Hindu leaders, Narain Kataria and Arish Sahani, that neither the advertisement names INOC nor it concerns it in any way nor has it established actual malice to warrant the lawsuit. He has questioned INOC's locus standi on the ground that it is not defamed in any manner to claim damages.
<b>The legal experts in Delhi say the American law requires the libel suit by only the persons concerned whose reputation has been damaged and as such the case won't stand unless Sonia Gandhi or an office-bearer of the Congress joins the lawsuit through an amended petition</b>.
<b>To nail that possibility, Kornstein's affidavit stresses that Sonia Gandhi is not a plaintiff and further quotes INOC President Surinder Malhotra affirming in an interview to Rediff India Abroad that "the party in India has nothing to do with this lawsuit" and claiming that he was "duty-bound to take this action" as he was "morally responsible to save the honour of our party president."</b>
The Hindu organisations in the United States are, however, not taking lightly the lawsuit as they have already started raising funds through an Internet website, hindusupportfund. org, to fight out what Kornstein describes as an attempt "to muzzle and punish Congress critics in America. He describes the advertisement as "in essence a protest" and asserts that such action is fully protected by the First Amendment to the American constitution.
There were demonstrations before the UN during Sonia Gandhi's visit and the advertisement was issued to assert that she was not related to Mahatma Gandhi and she was "attempting to misappropriate his name for political mileage and international legitimacy.
In the lawsuit, the INOC sought to assert that the advertisement contained false statements regarding Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and made direct accusations of misconduct against the Congress Party.
The counter-affidavit, however, asserts that the statements at issue in the advertisement were "constitutionally protected core political speech, based on official documents and previously published reports and therefore not made with "actual malice." The statements, moreover, are regarding Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party, none of whom is the plaintiff, the defence attorney affirms.
The ad says nothing about INOC, but instead merely restates wellknown kinformation about Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party in India," the counter-affidavit said. The lawsuit had objected to the advertisement asserting in bold type that "Sonia's violence spans politial, spiritual and physical spheres. Sonia locked then Congress President (Sitaram Kesari) with party goons in a toilet and declared herself party president."
The counter-affidavit, however, quotes an article published in The Hindu on October 26, 2000 on how Kesari was humiliated, roughed up by goons in AICC and removed as the party President in 1999 to install Sonia Gandhi as the president. It goes on to point out that the issue is still being discussed in the Press and quotes the newindpress. com of December 26, 2007 in support.
Defending another accusation against Sonia Gandhi that she has looted the country on a large scale and violated multiple laws of the country with impunity, the counter-affidavit says the lawsuit is silent about the mention in the same paragraph about her family friend Quattrocchi. It says the paragraph merely reiterates what is published in the article titled "The Q Files" in India Today of January 30, 2006.
It goes on to point out that the complaint also did not challenge many more reasons mentioned in the advertisement to show Sonia Gandhi had benefited at public expense. Nor does the complaint challenge the statement that her late husband Rajiv Gandhi is alleged to have received secret payments from KGB and had a secret Swiss account of 2 billion dollars.
On Sonia's claim to have a degree from Cambridge University despite not studying beyond high school, the counter-affidavit says she had herself admitted this in an affidavit dated April 3, 2004 before the Election Commission of India in which she describes her education qualification as "certificate in English from Lennox Cook School, University of Cambridge, completed in 1965....
The complaint also objected to the advertisement stating that "Her son Rahul projected as next Prime Minister of India was detained by FBI with large unaccounted cash at Boston in 2001." The counter-affidavit says the advertisement "merely reiterates what has filled the press for years" and in support quotes an article in The Hindu on September 30, 2001 titled "Was Rahul Gandhi detained by FBI?" The article had stated that the US authorities do not take anything by chance and it had detained Rahul for about an hour at the Boston airport early that week.
On the complaint objecting to the advertisement calling the Congress Party as "pro-terrorist, " the counter-affidavit said it only expresses the opinion that India is suffering as a result of "pro-terrorist policies." It goes on to assert that the "pro-terrorist policies" are those that benefit terrorists, even if unintentionally. In support, it quotes two write-ups in Times of India and Economic Times. These and other issues raised in the complaint that was modified on May 23 are countered by the defendent Hindu leaders' attorney, seeking dismissal of the lawsuit demanding the damages of US $100 million (Rs 400 crores).
Why is Sonia, Chairperson of UPA and confidant of commies reluctant to fight terror?
  * 'Sonia Gandhi is controlling a secret account worth 2 billion dollars in a Swiss Bank in her son's name...'
  * 'Sonia Gandhi controls at least as much within'
  * 'Her son Rahul projected as next Prime Minister of India, was also detained by FBI with large unaccounted cash at Boston in 2001'
<b>Â Â * 'A suit has been filed in the high court in Lucknow seeking information about the alleged detention of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and his Colombian girlfriend by the FBI in 2001... He was found in illegal possession of about $200,000'</b>
Quoted in the 'Brief and the Affidavit' in $100 million libel lawsuit which was filed May 30, 2008 in the Supreme Court of the State of New York by the law firm of Kornstein Veisz Wexler & Pollard, LLP, attorneys for Narain Kataria, Arish Sahani, et al.) See also: http://www.americanthinker.com /articles.php?article_id=4836 http://www.americanthinker.com /2005/09/sonia_gandhis_reluctan t_war_on.html
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Question to legal gurus:
Is it possible to turn the table around by suing INOC for trying to malign the organization that put the advertisement?
These morons should think twice before arbitrarily filing suits.
<!--QuoteBegin-shamu+Jun 3 2008, 02:23 AM-->QUOTE(shamu @ Jun 3 2008, 02:23 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Question to legal gurus:
Is it possible to turn the table around by suing INOC for trying to malign the organization that put the advertisement?
These morons should think twice before arbitrarily filing suits.
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I have to laugh hard when I think of these INOC morons. By filing the lawsuit against the advertisement in the first place, they have attracted the attention of more people to the issues concerning Antonia Gandhi and her family. Even those, who had not heard or seen the advertisement protesting Antonia's visit to the US have now been exposed to the controversies surrounding her regime in India. In fact, thanks to her moron sycophants, the hostility and unrest among Indian public against Antonia's autocratic regime is now becoming public knowledge, among both Indian and non-Indian communities in the west.
Instead of being pleased, I would imagine Antonia, on the contray, has now even more reasons to be annoyed and worried, because a lot of information on her and her family's ill-doings , where previously unknown to many, is being made known to the western public, because of the INOC lawsuit.
I would definitely think it worth the while for the organization that had placed the advertisement in the first place to take full advantage of the publicity generated by the lawsuit in educating the world on Antonia's autocratic and oppressive regime. In fact, the case should be presented as a classic example of the attempts by her and her group to stifle and silence any dissent againt her rule and to curb the democratic process in India.
Filing a counter-suit as a protest against the attempts of the INOC, which is a part and parcel of Antonia's oppressive regime, will serve to highlight the tendency of the Congress party under Antonia's leadership to push the country in the direction of total dictatorship.
Email:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->MARK YOUR CALENDAR â SAVE JUNE 22ND (SUNDAY)
NRIs FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH â
RALLY ON JUNE 22ND (SUNDAY) FROM 10:30 AM TO 01:00 PM
AT HINDU TEMPLE AUDITORIUM,
45-57 BOWNE STREET, FLUSHING, NEW YORK 11355
A group of several Indian Community leaders from Long Island, Queens, New York, in cooperation with Dr. Narendra Kukur and Animesh Goenka, under the banner of NRIs for Freedom of Speech, have planned to organize a fund raiser in support of Narain Kataria, Arish Sahani (President and Vice Present of Indian American Intellectuals Forum, respectively), et al. who have been sued in the amount of $100 million by Indian National Overseas Congress in the Supreme Court of the State of New York for putting an ad in The New York Times relating to Sonia Gandhi, UPA Chairperson.
They have planned to advertise in almost all the Indian newspapers in USA. The ad is set to appear next week.
Dr. Subramanian Swamy has kindly consented to come all the way from India to address the gathering. Names of other speakers are being finalized.
You are not only cordially invited but also urged to SAVE JUNE 22ND (SUNDAY), for participation in the rally with your family and friends, to express your indignation and disgust at muzzling the freedom of speech guaranteed under the American Constitution.
Your presence is more important than your check. Hence make sure to join us and raise your voice against the intimidation and coercion of Hindu leaders in this country.
For more information, please also visit our website: HinduSupporFund.org. If you want to contribute to the fund, please draw a check in the name of Hindu Support Fund and mail it to:
Hindu Support Fund, 41-67 Judge Street (5P), Elmhurst, NY 11373.
We will be grateful if you could circulate this memo to your group and urge them to join in the rally. If not inconvenient, please also let us know that it has been done.
Narain Kataria
Arish Sahani
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>âStaleâ case in Indian Court; not so stale in US court â I</b>
V Sundaram
<i>Narain Kataria is on record saying: â The Hindu is very angry, and when he rises all you people will not be safeâ¦â</i>
When Dr.Subramanian Swamy filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India last year, against Sonia Gandhi for having given a sworn affidavit relating to her fictitious and fraudulent educational qualifications not obtained from the University of Cambridge in England, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court viewed it as a âSTALE ISSUEâ. Perhaps for the Supreme Court of India, proven fraud in this simple issue of academic qualification of Sonia Gandhi, was a stale issue. Perhaps her political survival in the murky whirlpool of Indian politics was a sublime issue from the point of view from our highest judicial tribunal. The total gigantic global fraud of Super- Sonia Gandhi has been graphically exposed by Kornstein Veisz Wexler & Pollard, LLP, a Firm of Attorneys in New York, appearing for defendants Narain Kataria and Arish Sahani, in a counter petition they have filed in the Supreme Court in the State of New York on May 30, 2008.
Â
Here is the lurid story relating to the different deadly dimensions, reprehensible ramifications and malignant manifestations of the global fraud called Sonia Gandhiâthe self-proclaimed and self-appointed Chairperson of the UPA Co-ordination Committee. A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR LIBEL LAW SUIT HAS BEEN FILED AGAINST HINDU LEADERS NARAIN KATARIA, ARISH SAHANI AND BHARAT BARAI IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK BY INDIAN NATIONAL OVERSEAS CONGRESS INC. (INOC), NEW YORK FOR ALLEGEDLY DEFAMING UPA CHAIRPERSON Sonia GANDHI BY RELEASING A FULL PAGE ADVERTISEMENT IN THE NEW YORK TIMES ON SATURDAY OF OCTOBER 6, 2007 DURING HER OCTOBER VISIT TO THE US.
INOCâs complaint states that the said âadvertisement contained false statements regarding the professional activities of Sonia Gandhi, Chairwoman of the Indian National Congress Party, her son Rahul Gandhi and direct accusations of misconduct against the Indian National Congress Party itselfâ. INOC claims that these statements defamed it. The plaintiff Dr Surinder Malhotra, Chief Executive Officer of INOC states in the complaint in New York Supreme Court that false statements have been made in the advertisement about his boss Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi in The New York Times on Oct 6. INOC has hired a law firm, which had represented Ariel Sharon of Israel against Time magazine.
Â
To fight this lawsuit, Hindu Leaders Narain Kataria and Arish Sahani have retained the law firm of Kornstein Veisz Wexler & Pollard, L.L.P, which is known for its proven track record of excellence and caliber to represent them. Bharat Barai has claimed that he is not involved in anyway with the advertisement and is independently pursuing against the lawsuit filed by INOC New York. It is understood that one of the defendants Dr Bharat Barai has decided to counter defamation suit against the Indian National Overseas Congress for adding his name. He says he has nothing to do with the advertisement nor he had designed and paid for it and termed it as frivolous. His name does not figure in the list of contacts given in the advertisement.
Â
All the top Hindu Leaders of America have clearly understood the Islam-embracing, Christianity-coveting and Hindu-hating machinations and maneuveres of Sonia Gandhi and her menacing UPA Government in New Delhi. All of them have rallied behind the three Hindu Leaders Kataria, Sahani and Bharat Barai and have stated in unison: âIt is unfortunate that Malhotra and Sonia coterie do not recognize that the freedom of expression is the First Amendment right of every US citizen. What could be the motive behind this lawsuit? All the material in the advertisement in question is available in public domain and has been published in several media for long time. It is incomprehensible as to why this lawsuit has been filed on frivolous groundsâ. Hindu Leaders Kataria and Sahani are also leaders of Overseas Friends of Bharatiya Janata Party in the US besides running the Indian American Intellectuals Forum. They also founded Forum for Saving Mahatma Gandhiâs Heritage before the arrival of Sonia Gandhi to United Nations last year.
Another prominent Hindu leader of New York has spoken out against INOC (which is only a proxy for Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi): âThis lawsuit is not just against a few individuals, but against the entire NRI community. The sinister motive behind the lawsuit is to demoralize Hindu leaders in this country, gag their voice, make them financially bankrupt, harass them and frighten them into submission. One more reason for this insidious attempt could be to muzzle the dissenting voices against Sonia dynasty outside India where freedom of expression is guaranteed under Constitutionâ.
Narain Kataria and Arish Sahani have been fighting for Hindu causes for decades. They have made it clear that they will not succumb to such pressure tactics. Narain Kataria is a retired and 78-years-old man, endowed with indomitable spirit, unshakeable courage and resolute determination. He has boldly declared that he would pursue this case even if he has to withdraw from his Pension funds. Sonia Gandhi and her anti-Hindu men seem to be under the mistaken impression that they can blackmail and intimidate Kataria and his friends. They have chosen INOC as their nodal agency for putting down Kataria and others for having shown the political and moral courage to raise their voice on behalf of the Sonia-besieged Hindu Community in India. In recent years, Kataria has emerged as the most prominent Hindu leader in North America by organizing protest rallies against Sonia Gandhi in front of United Nations, MF Hussain for depicting Hindu gods in nude and many other like public causes on behalf of oppressed Hindus and suppressed Hinduism in India. It is a happy augury for the Hindus of India that Kataria and Sahani are receiving enthusiastic support from UK, Europe, Middle East and African nations. Friends of Hindu leaders in different parts of the World have formed a Committee to collect donations and have set up a fund to fight the case against INOC of New York on behalf of Kataria and Sahani and their friends.
Dr. Babu Suseelan has said that for the last few years, Indian American Intellectual Forum in New York is in the forefront in exposing the corrupt and immoral practices of the Congress Party and its Italian catholic leader Sonia. Narain Kataria, Arish Sahani and Indian American Intellectual Forum members have expressed concerns about Jihadi terrorism, Soniaâs deceptive statements about her background including her education and corrupt practices of the Congress Party. Indian American Intellectual Forum and its leaders have been trying to inform Hindus on the corrosive, violent, and immoral effect of the Congress Party. The public is aware of the fact that Indian American Intellectual Forum is one of the most important organizations devoted solely to finding and amplifying sane and progressive voices on behalf of the forces of consolidation of Hinduism. The Congress Party leaders are offended by the growth of Indian American Intellectual Forum and its leaderâs claim to the high moral ground.
Â
To conclude in the clinching words of Dr. Babu Suseelan: âNow Sonia and her ilk have filed a law suit against Narain Kataria and Arish Sahani, leaders of Indian American Intellectual Forum. It is an act of cold-blooded strategy to silence Hindus. It is directed not merely against Indian American Intellectual Forum, Narain Kataria, and Arish Sahani but it is directed against all Hindus. It is a sinister strategy to silence, intimidate, threaten and coerce all Hindus around the world. With this lawsuit, Congress bullies actually think they can fool, frighten and intimidate Hindus around the world. What is more? This legal intimidation has galvanized Hindus around the world and they have determined with all its strength to stop Soniaâs plan to export the Congress culture sewage to the rest of the world. The lawsuit also exposes the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of the Congress Party headed by the Italian Catholic Soniaâ.
Â
The counter petition filed by Kornstein Veisz Wexler & Pollard, LLP, a Firm of Attorneys in New York, appearing for defendants Narain Kataria and Arish Sahani in the Supreme Court in the State of New York on 30th of May 2008, in response to the Libel petition filed by INOC New York, brings out the Himalayan misdeeds and acts of corruption of Sonia Gandhi and her family. This petition will be examined thoroughly by me in these columns in a serialized manner to bring out the stern, grim and scorching public truth about Sonia Gandhi â todayâs Mahatma Gandhi of Congress Party.
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Price of the deal= $10B for mother and family and $3B for figurehead all in small country famous for money laundering.
unk* wants it back.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>âStaleâ case in Indian court; not so stale in US court â II</b>
V Sundaram
The Law does not impose upon any person absolutely entitled to a hearing, the burden of voluntary intervention in a suit to which he is a strangerâ Honourable Justice Louis D. Brandeis
Sonia Gandhi seems to be in a state of self-deluded vanity, imagining that she can terrorise all the Hindus of the World into a state of crawling submission. She and her partymen seem to be under the impression that they can treat the Hindus of India and the World outside, the way in which Hitler and his Nazi goons treated the Jews of Germany from 1934 to 1945. Dr. Subramanian Swamy in his website has graphically documented and exposed the Nazi antecedents of Sonia Gandhi and her family.
The Secretariat of the United Nations (Dis-United Notions!) disgraced themselves when they invited Sonia Gandhi last year to address them on Mahatma Gandhiâs message of peace and non-violence. When she went to New York in October 2007, there were massive street protests of Hindus and Hindu Organizations and black flags were shown to her. The Hindus of America have come to understand that Sonia Gandhi is functioning not as a representative of the Indian State but as a representative of the Pope in Rome whose only aim is destruction of Hinduism and religious promotion of Christianity in India. The whole world knows that Sonia Gandhi has contempt for the letter and spirit of the Indian Constitution. These long-held pent up feelings among the Hindus of America came into the open during Soniaâs visit to New York last year. Narain Kataria and Arish K.Sahani, are two of the great American Indian warriors fighting for the protection of Sanathana Dharma and Hinduism against the organized onslaught of Sonia Gandhi and her Islam-embracing, Christianity-coveting and Hindu-hating Congress Party and the dastardly UPA Government in New Delhi. These two public-spirited Indians in USA had taken the initiative of inserting a full-page advertisement in New York Times on October 6, 2007. The main objective of this advertisement was to bring out all the known facts and bitter truths about the shady and dubitable political record of Sonia Gandhi in India. The New York Times advertisement can be seen below:
Indian National Overseas Congress, Inc. (INOC) is functioning as a political agent toady of Sonia Gandhi and her Congress party in USA. INOC filed a libel complaint petition against Narain Kataria and Arish K.Sahani in the Supreme Court in the State of New York, seeking sanction of damages to the tune of $100 million for defaming Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party in India, through a full page advertisement in New York Times referred to above. I reliably understand that the Legal and Acceptability Department of the Office of New York Times had carefully discussed the contents of the full-page advertisement with Narain Kataria and Arish K. Sahani, before giving their legal and commercial clearance for the publication of the advertisement in question.
INOC in USA and Sonia and her Congress henchmen in India thought that they could browbeat Narain Kataria and Arish K.Sahani into meek submission by filing a case against them in the Supreme Court of New York. Narain Kataria and Arish K. Sahani have accepted the brazen challenge of INOC and Sonia Congress and they are fighting out their case in the Supreme Court of New York. They have requisitioned the services of a firm of Attorneys called Kornstein Veisz Wexler & Pollard, LP, 757 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017 to fight this illegal and uncalled for case filed by the Plaintiff INOC Inc. (Index No.103664/08) The Defendants in this case are: Mr.Narain Kataria, Mr.Arish Sahani, Mr. Srinivasa K. Murthy, Indo Caribbean Council NY Inc., and John Does 1-100.
Kornstein Veisz Wexler & Pollard, LP, have filed a Memorandum of Law on behalf of Defendants Kataria and Sahani in Support of motion to dismiss the libel Petition of INOC in the Supreme Court in the State of New York on 30th May 2008. As a civil servant, I have dealt with several types of Memorandum of this kind. I must say that this Memorandum will stand the strictest judicial scrutiny in any Court of Law in any part of the World. Incisive logic, sharp, clear and rapier-like presentation of points of criminal and constitutional law, an iron determination to put across precise statements of point of view rooted in jurisprudence, equity and natural justice and above all a burning desire to fight the dictatorial anti-Hindu forces represented by the INOC in a liberal and free country like America â these and other sterling characteristics of this Memorandum leave a lasting impression upon the souls of all genuine lovers of freedom and liberty who are fully aware of the tyrannical ways of Hitler-like Sonia Gandhi and her Congress Nazi goons in India.
Here are a few introductory flashes from the Memorandum of Law brilliantly prepared and presented by Kornstein Veisz Wexler & Pollard, LP, in the Supreme Court of New York:
âThis libel case arises from a high-handed, authoritarian effort by supporters of the most powerful political party in India â the Indian National Congress Party (âCongressâ or âCongress Partyâ) once led by Mahatma Gandhi â to muzzle and punish Congress Party critics in America in a manner Mahatma Gandhi would not approveâ.
In their Memorandum under Gandhi and Free Speech, they have stated that âAs a barrister as well as the founder of modern India, Gandhi well understood the fundamental importance of freedom of expression and the crucial right to criticize those in power. Gandhi wrote in 1922 âLiberty of speechâ means that it is unassailed even when the speech hurts; liberty of the Press can be said to be truly respected only when the Press can comment in the severest terms upon and even misrepresent mattersâ. (Ref. Gandhi, âLiberty of the Pressâ, Young India, Jan. 12, 1922, reprinted in XXII The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi 17 6 (No. 74) (1966).
The Attorneys for Kataria and Sahani have stated that Mahatma Gandhiâs Principles have been betrayed by INOC Inc. They have said that Mahatma Gandhiâs enthusiastic support for free speech gets an ironic twist from this ill-conceived political libel case. âEighty-six years after Gandhi wrote âLiberty of the Pressâ, a New York corporation that purports to speak for Gandhiâs own ruling Congress Party seeks to subvert and diminish freedom of the press by using American libel law to stop criticism of Party leaders published in a political advertisement in the New York Times. Plaintiff, Congressâs self-appointed proxy, has sued three Americans by name, one organization and 100 John Does for $100 million. Gandhi would be embarrassed, saddened and appalled at plaintiffâs misguided effort, to silence and intimidate critics of Indian government leadersâ.
Our First Amendment Violated: âNot only does this lawsuit betray Gandhiâs bedrock political principles, but it also violates our basic law and heritage. It seeks to punish pure political speech, which enjoys the highest protection under both the U.S. and New York Constitutions. âThe maintenance of the opportunity for free political discussion to the end that government may be responsive to the will of the people and that changes may be obtained by lawful means ... is a fundamental principle of our constitutional systemâ. (Ref. Stromberq 2v. California, 283 U.S. 359, 369 (1931)]. The defendants have wrongly been sued for exercising their prized American privilege to speak oneâs mind, although not always with perfect good taste, on all public institutions. (Ref. Bridges v. California, 314 U.S. 252, 270 (1941)]. This case must be considered against the background of âa profound national commitment to the principleâ that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officialsâ. [Ref. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 270 (1964)].
Then the Attorneys have argued that this Petition filed by INOC Inc. should be dismissed without much ado. âWhy this Action Should Be Dismissedâ? To protect the cherished rights enshrined in the First Amendment, and to avoid a dangerous precedent that would encourage other such misguided political libel suits, this action should be dismissed for three reasons.
1.The allegedly libelous statements are not âof and concerningâ the plaintiff, who therefore lacks standing to sue. Plaintiff is the Indian National Overseas Congress, Inc. (âINOCâ) but the statements are about Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, and the Congress Party â not the plaintiff (In my view a typical Congress slavish benami like any other Union Cabinet Minister!!)
2.The statements at issue are constitutionally protected core political speech, based on official documents and previously published reports (about Sonia Gandhi, Congress Party, Rahul etc. etc.) and therefore not made with âactual maliceâ. [Ref. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, supra]. âThey cannot be the basis of a libel claimâ.
3.âFinally, the statements are either true, not defamatory, non-actionable opinion, or rhetorical hyperbole, and for that reason too are not libelous.
Each of these grounds alone warrants the amended complaintâs complete dismissal. Together, they make an overwhelming, clear and convincing argument for that relief, now, at the outset of this litigationâ. [Ref. Khan v. New York Times Co., 269 A.D.2d 74, 75-78, 710 N.Y.S.2d 41, 44 (1st Depât 2000)].
What is this pseudo-secular anti-Hindu lawsuit really about? It seems it is intimidationâintimidation of anyone inclined to raise questions or express concerns about the Italian Catholic Sonia who heads the slavish and dying Congress Party. It is meant to silence her critics. Faced with the cost and time of defending themselves, plus the emotional drain the threat of lawsuit poses, the intent is to make the defendants like Narain Kataria and Arish K.Sahani give up, shut up and go away. Their message to the Hindus of the World is: HINDUS OF THE WORLD UNITE! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT YOUR CHAINS
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<!--QuoteBegin-ramana+Jun 5 2008, 04:48 AM-->QUOTE(ramana @ Jun 5 2008, 04:48 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Price of the deal= $10B for mother and family and $3B for figurehead all in small country famous for money laundering.
unk* wants it back.
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I am waiting when they will start spilling beans, one by one. Lot is going on behind walls and door.
SP holds Congress, Arjun responsible for AMU tangle
Demands special Parliament session
<b>
LUCKNOW: Holding HRD Minister Arjun Singh responsible for the Allahabad High Court verdict scrapping minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), the ruling Samajwadi Party on Monday charged the Congress with drawing political mileage from the tangle.</b>
SP general secretary and State Urban Development Minister Mohammad Azam Khan said here that Congress and the HRD Minister should be held responsible for the AMU episode. ``When everyone knows that without amending the Constitution the minority status of the university would be struck down, then why did the Centre not do the needful,'' he questioned. ``The Congress was only trying to derive political mileage from the issue and they are waiting for the right time to go for the amendment to the Constitution,'' he alleged.
Accusing Mr Singh of backstabbing the minorities, Mr Khan said the HRD Minister was also responsible for issues like imposition of emergency in 1975 and Ayodhya demolition in 1992, as on both occasions, the then prime ministers had acted on his advice. Demanding that the UPA Government at Centre immediately convene a special session of Parliament to amend Articles 25, 29 and 30 of the Constitution, the SP leader said the HRD Ministry should quickly work upon it. UNI
June 15, 2008
<b>A weak and paralysed UPA government is a threat to the nation, must go</b>âL.K. Advani
Opposition leader Shri L.K. Advani after describing the enormous psychological impact of Karnataka victory on the party workers, pointed out finger towards the ruling UPA for its continuous failures in respective elections. He said: âThe Congress partyâs being in power at the Centre for four years has not helped it even one bit in any of the states. Is this not a severe indictment of the partyâs central leadership? Is this also not a proof of the total and irrefutable failure of the UPA government? Doesnât it show that neither the Congress partyâs dynastic leadership nor the track record of the Prime Minister and his team inspire any confidence among the people of India? All except the sycophants of the âDynastyâ can see this reality.â
Attacking Dr Manmohan Singh for his bleak performance and for losing control over the council of ministers, Shri Advani said: âThe Prime Minister never had any control either over his council of ministers or over the larger administrative set-up. Now his government presents the picture of an entity that is paralysed, unable to take any right decision, every minister acting more or less independently, and many ministers acting in a manner that has converted governance into pure commerce.â The character of the UPA government can also be judged by its attempt to undo the greatest achievement of the Vajpayee government in the area of national securityânamely, making India a nuclear weapons state by conducting nuclear tests in May 1998. Clearly bending under foreign pressure, UPA leadership did not even deem it necessary to observe the 10th anniversary of Pokharan-II. On the contrary, its spokesperson had the temerity to state publicly that there was no need for celebration since sanctions were imposed on India as a consequence of the NDA governmentâs action. When such is the warped mindset of the government, it is hardly surprising that it has sought to disarm India of its strategic defence capability through the flawed Indo-US nuclear deal, he said.
Shri Advani accused the UPA of stalling the development of the nation and questioned its motive and asked: âCan India be safe; can India progress and can India ever become strong if we have a paralysed government led by a visionless party, headed by a powerless Prime Minister, and supported by a bunch of opportunists whose faith in democracy itself is suspect?â
The prime ministerial candidate of the NDA applauded party chief Shri Rajnath Singh for his assessment of the party after the Karnataka elections and said: âShri Rajnath Singh rightly observed, after the results of the Karnataka elections were known, that the BJP and the NDA are âfrontrunnersâ in the next parliamentary elections. However, being a âfrontrunnerâ is not enough. The challenge before our party and our alliance is to transform the reality from being a âfrontrunnerâ into being seen as a âclear winnerâ.â He added that once the BJP is seen as a âclear winnerâ, it is bound to have a positive effect on the size and strength of the NDA. âWe can expectâin fact we are confidentâthat more parties will join our alliance,â Shri Advani stated.
Suggesting the task ahead of the party Shri Advani said: âAnother important task before us is the need to intensify mass-contact programmes, in which it should be our endeavour to reach out to every section of society, including those, such as Muslims and Christians, who have so far remained aloof from the BJP. We should emphasise that our party seeks the all-round development and participation of minorities in a non-divisive and integrative agenda without recourse to appeasement or religion-based reservations,â he added.
When all decision on economy comes from 10 Janpath, Foreign policy is decided by media or foreign handlers, no hope or scope for congress.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>The party continues </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Next Government will have to settle the bill
Despite the Prime Minister's call for austerity,<b> Congress Governments across the country are on a spending spree.</b> In his address to the nation following the recent fuel price hike, the Prime Minister had taken cognisance of rising inflation and ballooning global oil prices. There is little doubt that inflationary pressures are fairly serious and call for emergency containment measures. Yet most surprisingly, they have had little effect on Congress Governments. After the Prime Minister's speech, Union Ministers had lined up to cancel foreign trips and Chief Ministers had begun to voluntarily surrender their extra security cars. Yet these were nothing more than expressions of sycophancy, a hallmark of the Congress. What the Government is actually doing is doling out one sop after another. <b>For example, in Madhya Pradesh, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath has been promising free electricity to farmers if in the next election a Congress Government is voted to power. Additionally, he has promised five horsepower pumps to farmers and single point power connections to those below the poverty line. Also, the Union Government has decided to expand the scope of the hugely flawed farmers' loan waiver scheme. Undoubtedly, it is the business of Governments to come up with schemes that ameliorate the sufferings of the under-previledged. Yet the timing of all these schemes is very suspicious</b>. For one, the Congress has suffered a series of losses in Assembly elections. For another, there are still a number of Assembly elections due in 2008 as well as the Lok Sabha election in 2009, if it is not advanced.
<b>It is clear that the Congress is offering electoral sops to the populace. It is hoping to benefit in the upcoming elections as a result of these packages</b>. This is most unfortunate. These schemes are mostly unworkable and add up to bad economics. With global inflation and rising prices, it is legitimate to ask where the Government expects to get the funds for these cockamamie schemes. On the one hand it is unlikely the UPA will deliver satisfactorily on all these sops, on the other it is clear that the Prime Minister has decided to leave the successor regime with an economic problem of gargantuan proportion. In short, it is a recipe for unmitigated disaster -- for the present as well as the coming years. The last time the Congress left the bill for the babalog's party to be picked up by the successor Government, India had to pay a terrible price -- the nation's gold had to be pawned. Recall the mismanagement of the Rajiv Gandhi years and compare it to the mismanagement of the UPA years: You will find remarkable similarities which should cause worry.
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Recouping the Central authority
Harish Khare
There is a dangerous paralysis at the very core of the ruling arrangement. It is up to Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi to assure the citizens that they have what it takes to govern effectively.
Two Saturdays ago, a senior prime ministerial aide sent out an SMS, breathlessly inviting attention to an opinion piece by the editor of a newspaper. The sum and substance of the much-recommended column is that the Manmohan Singh government has done great work but somehow failed to impress the country with its competence and accomplishment. And, if there is anyone to blame for this regrettable state of affairs, it is the Congress. This view is of a piece with the bel ief that the government has been held back by the party, especially in the matter of the India-U.S. civilian nuclear deal; some friends and admirers of the Prime Minister have even gone to the extent of taunting him to resign rather than let a timid party leadership prevent him from consummating a historic deed.
If only the calculus of listlessness could be explained away all that simply! Admittedly, a lack of synergy between the government and the party has been built into the very design of the present ruling arrangement; and, there has been no dearth of mischievous voices, in and outside the government and the party, wanting to exploit this division of responsibility and authority.
Now consider this: everyone in New Delhi and Srinagar knew that the term of Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Lt. General (retd.) S.K. Sinha was coming to an end on June 3. All these years, the UPA government had sullenly put up with the general-turned-politician-turned-governor. It could not summon up the courage and clarity to find a replacement for him lest it be accused of easing out an âL.K. Advani appointee.â Three cheers for bipartisanship in a sensitive State. But inertia and listlessness have become so embedded in the minds and habits of those who preside over the Centre that came June 3 and there was no replacement. It took a week after that before the Centre announced that the President was pleased to appoint the distinguished public servant, N.N. Vohra, Governor. And now comes the really interesting part. It seems no one in New Delhi deemed it necessary to tell Gen. Sinha of Mr. Vohraâs appointment; and, for days the incumbent pretended to be unaware that a replacement had been found. The Union Home Ministry was at its witsâ end about how to end the stalemate. Finally, a date of departure for Gen. Sinha had to be bargained.
Moral of the story: Among an undemanding Prime Minister, an unimaginative and unengaged Home Minister and an uninterested Congress president, the aura of the Central authority has been allowed to get diminished in the minds of all those who do not wish India well. The total abdication of responsibility and authority witnessed in the Sinha-Vohra episode gets replicated a hundred times every week in key areas of governance which demand application of mind. Observers are sad that the ruling arrangement at the Centre is running out of steam.
This virtual collapse of ministerial leadership and initiative is producing its own crop of collateral damage. The relationship between the Ministers and the bureaucracy, the key element in governing this vast nation, has become dangerously frayed. With the possible exception of the Finance and Agriculture Ministers, no Cabinet member is able to command the loyalty, attention and imagination of the senior bureaucrats. It is not that the bureaucrats are partisan to the BJP; it is just that they are no longer impressed with the intellectual calibre and political acumen of most Cabinet Ministers.
And without the active and willing assistance of senior bureaucrats, the Ministers cannot and do not steer effectively their vast administrative instruments towards collective policy objectives. Massive public resources are getting neither optimally used nor honestly spent. This, in turn, has produced a politically damaging trust deficit.
When the Congress and its Left allies were voted to power in May 2004, the nationâs expectation was that with Dr. Singh at the head of the government, the UPA regime would be able to restore the citizenâs faith in the competence and compassion of the public institutions. Sadly enough, this faith stands betrayed, largely because the leadership â read the Prime Minister and the Congress president, together and individually â remained indifferent to the very notion of ministerial performance and accountability. And now with a raging inflation and a global oil crisis, the government seems helpless.
On top of this, the two leaders have failed to impose a commanding narrative on the governing arrangement and its political objectives. Even the Congress Ministers discovered the joys of unilateralism and self-aggrandisement. The interesting innovation â the Core Group â in decision-making turned out to be a damp squib, but it is being allowed to linger on lest its members get shown in a less than favourable light. There has been no joyful camaraderie at the very core of the ruling arrangement; now it has become a forum for procrastination.
The unintended but disquieting outcome of this arrangement is an unhappy message: both outsiders and insiders have discovered that the democratic process and its openness can be made to work against the best national interest. This has consequences for the Indian state, given our uncertain and unstable neighbourhood, and an exacting globalised international environment. Those who seek to challenge the authority of the Indian state or those who do not wish India well can feel emboldened to take advantage of the paralysed decision-making in New Delhi.
Is it possible to recoup the Central authority assuming, of course, that the Sonia Gandhi-Manmohan Singh team is aware of the depleting efficacy and that the twosome wants to set things right? To be sure, the long-term interests of the Indian state and the forces and ideas that abide by those interests will not permit this procrastination for long. If the Congress leadership is unable to safeguard those interests, the polity will devise a different ruling constellation, capable of meeting (often conflicting) demands of a buoyant economy, an assertive middle class, an energetic media, a vigilant civil society and an increasingly restless rural citizenry.
Leadership imperative
The leadership imperative in a crisis situation is to reach for reserves within, and to tap, to use a Churchillian phrase, the nationâs âvital and vibrant energy.â To be sure, the outsider may not always be aware of the structure of constraints and opportunities confronting national decision-makers. The difference between failed and successful leaders is the ability and daring to convert weaknesses into strengths, liabilities into assets.
The immediate task before the Sonia Gandhi-Manmohan Singh team is to send out an unambiguous signal that the two of them are singing from the same prayer book; this must be made clear to not only those outside the ruling arrangement but also those within the government. There has been too much pussyfooting around for too long. Diarchy is defensible, duality of purpose or ambition is not.
To begin with, there has to be a comprehensive purge at the very top of the government and the party. The tired and the failed ministers and managers need to be sent packing, irrespective of their age or past loyalties. The same goes for the recalcitrant; those who are not willing to subscribe to the team leadership structure have no place in the dressing room. How and at what pace the country ought to be governed can no longer be a private argument between the Prime Minister and the Congress president; there is a very inconvenient third party âthe voter.
And, sooner rather than later, the voters will have an opportunity to make up their minds on whether to renew the mandate of those who have presided over the Centre so fitfully and so reluctantly. The voters have formed a reasonable judgment about the promise and performance of the UPA regime; and the verdict cannot be very reassuring. Unless, of course, the Sonia Gandhi-Manmohan Singh team is able and inclined to respect the democratic sensibilities and to tell the voter that it has the team players who have the stamina, skills, age and hunger to want to keep pace with a changing India and a changing world.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Dr 11 per cent </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Manmohan must call polls
In a season when inflation has been on an inexorable forward march, it was only to be expected that it would touch double digits at some point. Admittedly, this happened about a week or two earlier than anticipated. This past Friday, the inflation index jumped to 11.05 per cent, the highest in 13 years. <b>The spectre of stagflation -- of a tapering growth rate combined with inflation -- haunts the economy, bringing back memories of the fallow 1970s</b>. For the generation that started going to work after liberalisation and 1991, this is the first experience of a price shock. It will take some getting used to, and will demand a price: In terms of growth rate, sentiment and politics. The third is particularly crucial as, in an election year, <b>the Government seems to have lost control and appears paralysed by inflation</b>. Admittedly, the major factors driving inflation are beyond domestic control. There is little the UPA Government could have done to prevent the surge in international oil prices, for example, or the drought in Australia that led to a global wheat scarcity. Yet, where the Government has made spectacular mistakes is in promoting a culture of profligacy. <b>Statistics establish a direct correlation between States where outflow of National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme funds has been highest and inflation</b>. From loan waivers to expending handsome, unprecedented tax accruals on wasteful giveaways, the UPA has squandered money and triggered a fiscal crisis. The money could have been better spent, for instance, in infrastructure augmentation that would, in turn, have spurred further growth. In terms of commodities like cement, the Government is a beneficiary of price hikes because it calculates excise duties ad valorem. If it wanted to reduce prices, it could simply have cut excise duties -- but that would have entailed genuine belt-tightening, rather than a bogus austerity regime. Such steps wouldn't have completely rolled back inflation, but the economy would still have been booming, incomes would still have been rising, the demand curve would still have been moving up. Instead, having first poured liquidity into the market with its populism, the UPA is now squeezing growth with exorbitant interest rates. Pessimism is breeding pessimism and the economy is entering a medium-term vicious cycle.
The Congress is responding with panic. With its twin planks of deft macro-economic management and concern for the common man (the 'aam admi') having been knocked down, <b>the ruling party is unsure of when to time the election</b>. Will the storm pass or does worse lie ahead? A good kharif crop may see rice prices fall, but other commodities, from steel and cement to pulses and edible oils, will not be tamed as easily. Meanwhile,<b> the Prime Minister has gone virtually incommunicado</b>.<b> He has decided he can't do much about the economy so he may as well resort to brinkmanship on the nuclear deal.</b> The Left is up to its usual coercive tactics. UPA allies say one thing one hour and the other the next. As for Ms Sonia Gandhi, nobody knows her mind. With this political configuration in charge, inflation cannot be combated. Political instability will only breed further problems. The answer lies in a fresh start and, inevitably, another election. The Manmohan Singh Government has outlived its utility. It can't douse the fires, so let it leave the kitchen. <!--emo&  --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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<b>UPA Governmentâs conflicting approaches</b>
<i>Fear over persisting world inflationary pressures</i>
The prospects for the 2008-09 agricultural season commencing on July 1 are being carefully assessed in government, the Planning Commission, industry and farm circles. There is anxiety to know whether the uptrend in output of food and cash crops witnessed in the previous three seasons will be sustained.
A further improvement in food and cash crop yields is considered imperative as prices of agricultural products and crude oil are soaring in world markets and the Indian economy has to be insulated to the extent feasible from external inflationary pressures. The all time record of 227.3 million tonnes for foodgrains in 2007-08 has enabled the Agriculture Ministry to procure large quantities of wheat and rice through the Food Corporation and State agencies. This has enabled significant additions to buffer stocks after providing for a larger offtake through the public distribution system and under the various programmes of the Central and State governments.
<b>Promising outlook</b>
The monsoon for the kharif season arrived a little later than usual in Kerala. But it has become active in other parts, with copious rainfall received in the North East and North India with the exception of some portion of Rajasthan, two weeks earlier than scheduled. The weather experts forecast a normal monsoon for the whole season. While it is too early for a reliable assessment, estimates of the total output for the whole year vary in wide limits from 228 million tonnes to 235 million tonnes.
If these estimates are realised, procurement of fine cereals can be easily 50 million tonnes and moderate imports of edible oils and pulses. Cotton exports can be sizable though textile circles complain that their interests are not safeguarded and that even efficient units are unable to secure reasonable profit margins. However, the weakening rupee will push up the cost of imports of edible oils and pulses as also crude oil and petroleum products in deficit.
Against this background, it will be reasonable to expect that open market prices will tend downward and the inflation curve can flatten and even come down from the 13-year high of 11.05 per cent touched during the week ended June 7. The jump under this head by 2.30 percentage point was due mainly to hike in the administered prices for petro products and other uncontrolled items.
But the rise of more than two percentage points has shocked business circles. It is feared that persisting world inflationary pressures will pose new challenges for the UPA government. The Finance Ministry and the monetary authorities are confused after the latest developments. The adjustments in excise and import duties by Finance Minister P Chidambaram and cut in sales tax rates on petro products by several States have not had the desired impact as the rupee depreciation has had a queering effect.
<b>Cash crunch likely</b>
The monetary authorities on their part have been trying to minimise the hardships from rising inflation with a hike in cash reserve ratio on two occasions and increase in the reverse repo rate by 25 basis points to 8 per cent. The latter increase could very well have pushed up deposit and lending rates of many banks. But in view of the sluggish growth in fresh credit and the depressing performance of industry, the State Bank of India and other major banks are wary about raising the rates. It is felt that the impact of the higher repo rate will be absorbed and existing levels maintained.
However, a cash crunch is feared during the busy season as the impact of the loan waiver scheme will be serious if the Finance Ministry does not provide equitable additional liquidity to the banks concerned.
<b>RBI can help</b>
The monetary authorities should therefore keep a watch on the developments and prevent a squeeze developing in the money market early next year. In any event, a liberal approach will have to be adopted by the Finance Ministry as well as the Reserve Bank as industrial output has not been rising at the desired rate.
While it may become necessary to augment bank funds with the desired adjustment in cash reserve ratio later, it is baffling why the UPA government has not adopted measures for reducing the deficits in essential commodities and helping the sugar industry in respect of utilisation of by-products. The Agriculture Ministry has been dragging its feet and the importance of ethanol for the countryâs energy security has not been fully recognised.
The growth process also can be sustained by providing the required additional working capital of the petro and fertilizer sectors and other industries like steel, cement, chemicals and pharmaceutical, which have been affected by escalating costs.
The foregoing clearly emphasises the importance of adopting an integrated approach by the authorities concerned for raising the export potential and moderating imports of products not available locally in the required volume.
P. A. SESHAN
<b>The two major economic concerns</b>
âThe state of government finances ought to cause far greater concern than it does nowâ
Record global oil prices are threatening the macro economy in more potent ways than through inflation.
<b>OIL SHOCK:</b> B. K. Chaturvedi, Member, Planning Commission, is heading a high power committee to examine the financial position of oil companies.
With so much, mostly adverse, news about inflation, it is possible to think that there are no other major economic concerns. The spotlight on the price situation is perhaps inevitable. Every Friday when the inflation numbers are out, the markets, consumers and the political parties react. The Government, represented by the Finance Minister, is always on the defensive.
Especially, last Friday when inflation breached the double digit mark and jumped to 11.05 per cent. It may be tempting to think that once inflation comes down in the foreseeable future all our economic problems will come to an end. Unfortunately this is not true. Rising inflation is a symptom and it has its origins in a number of domestic and global factors. At this juncture there are two other macro economic developments that will have major negative connotations for the economy long after the present bout of inflation is contained.
Slipping on fiscal front
The state of government finances ought to cause far greater concern than it does now. To begin with, it is not at all transparent. Even as the government claims adherence to the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, the size of the deficits has been increasing. As is well known the government has been resorting to the bond route, which is really a form of booking major items of expenditure outside the budget.
The latest price hike in the retail prices of petrol and diesel as well as cooking gas may be the most visible component of a package designed to bridge the gap between domestic and international oil prices. But without a generous dose of subsidies â given in the form of additional bonds to the public sector oil companies â mere price rise would have only touched the fringes of the problem. There were of course other measures such as cross subsidy by upstream marketing companies and rationalisation of taxes but the bond route has remained supreme.
<b>Burdensome bonds</b>
According to reports, the government will issue bonds aggregating nearly Rs. 110,000 crore this year to compensate the oil marketing companies. Bonds have also been issued to the Food Corporation of India (by way of food subsidies). Subsidies to fertilizer companies too are in the form of bonds. The government subscribed to the rights issue of State Bank of India by issuing bonds.
The government cannot hold on to the fiction that these items are âoff-budgetâ and hence do not come under fiscal deficit. The sheer size of the amounts involved precludes such a course of action. Realising this, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had said in his budget speech that the government would refer the entire subject to the Thirteenth Finance commission. But there cannot be any dramatic solution. Some future government will have to face up to the task of redeeming these bonds. Large fiscal deficits have always involved a transfer of the fiscal burden over generations.
<b>Eroded credibility</b>
The upshot for now, however, is that the governmentâs credibility in the public finance area has considerably weakened. That is as serious as the worsening financial situation. Not all the buoyancy in personal income taxes and corporate taxes can allay the serious apprehension over the fiscal deterioration. According to estimates, the gross fiscal deficit of the Centre and the States will increase to well over 7 per cent of the GDP in 2008-09 from an estimated 5.7 per cent last year.
Apart from the loss of credibility, there will be other negative consequences. The deficits are caused largely by increased subsidies. The governmentâs borrowings will go up, pushing up interest rates. Money supply will increase and inflation containment through monetary measures will become more difficult. Funds will not be available for infrastructure investment and for other essential areas. Economic growth will surely slacken.
The UPA Government not only legislated for fiscal rectitude but except for one year kept public finance on course by adhering to the targets. Incredible as it may seem it is seen frittering away all its hard won gains on the fiscal front.
Current account deficit
The external sector has been one area that has been in the pink of health, at least until recently. Even now one can argue that there is no threat to economic stability arising out of the external economy. Reserves continue to be healthy, well above $300 billion. The rupee is trading within a range. Exporters and importers do not apprehend any violent swings. Yet, there are lurking dangers. The current account deficit is widening on the back of a growing merchandiser trade deficit. Both these need not necessarily cause alarms. However, the following development should allay any sense of complacency. Recent data reveal that the trade deficit has widened despite a reasonably impressive export performance.
In April, exports in dollar terms grew by 31.5 per cent over April 2007. Global trade has been slowing down this year and it is going to be a challenge for the exporters to keep up the tempo. More to the point, imports of both oil and non-oil have been growing even faster. During April out of a total oil import bill of $24 billion, oil imports accounted for a third. Both in absolute terms as well as a percentage of imports, oil imports are set to rise. Merchandise trade deficit has widened to nearly $10 billion in April 2008, sharply higher than the $6.8 billion during the same time last year.
Worrisome as the increase is, it the almost near certainty of the trend continuing that should alert policy makers. Software exports and other earnings from invisibles will continue to be healthy but may not be able to reduce the trade deficit as substantially as in the past. The U.S. economic downturn will impact negatively on earnings from software. Hence, the current account deficit too will widen to an estimated 3 to 3.5 per cent by the end of year.
This is a real cause for worry, something that cannot be glossed over especially because capital inflows that have propped up the balance of payments cannot be taken for granted.
C. R. L. NARASIMHAN
UPA will come back to power'
Onkar Singh in New Delhi | June 23, 2008 18:13 IST
Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh on Monday declared that the United Progressive Alliance combination would return to power despite the Bharatiya Janata Party's claim that it was going to come to power.
He blamed the media for creating differences between the Left parties and the UPA. He was addressing mediapersons on the eve of three day ministerial conference on rural development to be held in New Delhi beginning from Tuesday.
"The media has been writing against the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. I am confident that sooner or later it would be sorted out," Raghuvansh said.
When asked why there were so many problems between the Left and the Congress and why they were meeting time and again, Raghuvansh said, "In democracy the political parties meet often to discuss various issues. We are not like the BJP where one man from the top issues a directive."
He dismissed the claims of Lal Kishenchand Advani that he would become the next prime minister of India.
"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] has led the nation and he will continue to lead the UPA," he said.
Raghuvansh declared that the Rashtriya Janata Dal was a secular party and this would be proved by the national executive to be held soon.
Talking about ministers from six nations participating in the conference on rural development, Raghuvansh claimed that the delegates from various nations have a lot to learn India's project on rural developments. Some of them according to the him were highly impressed by the Metro rail.
"I would like to put all of them on the Metro, but there are security problems. We will take them somewhere nearby and make big strides in various fields including women empowerment," Raghuvansh said.
Shakeel Ahmed, spokesman of the Congress party, admitted that Tamil Nadu chief minister being a veteran politician can contribute in solving the ongoing tussle between the UPA and the Left parties.
"Every politician has his own thinking and can contribute in his own manner," Ahmed said.
According to Congress sources the meeting between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and UPA alliance partners would take place on June 25 at 5 pm instead of 4 pm and it has not been postponed to June 28 as was reported in a section of the press a couple of days back.
"We have carried the Left parties with us so far and we would still like to carry them with us," Ahmed claimed.
He refused to name Dr Singh as the next leader of the Congress party should there be elections in case the government falls over Indo-US nuclear deal.
"We have a tradition that we do not project anyone as the prime minister. After the elections, the Congress parliamentary board will sit and decide who should lead the party," he said.
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This I called under influence.
Deccan Chronicle, 25 june 2008
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Big B gets back at channel
Â
Amitabh Bachchan does not need his blog always to get back at people. <b>A noted entertainment news channel which has just sprung up with the backing of the ruling party at the centre</b> was at the receiving end of Bachchanâs ire when a reporter from that channel went to meet Amitabh Bachchan at an event.
<b>Bachchan has been seething with anger at the kind of news coverage that the channel has been doing against him,</b> including the dig made at him for commenting against Shah Rukh Khan on his blog. He told the reporter, "I cannot give you an interview, because the people who own your channel have an agenda against me. Ask them about it," he told the unsuspecting TV journalist. <b>Interestingly Shah Rukh Khan is a 20 per cent stake holder of the channel</b> and one wonders whether Bachchan had even targeted King Khan as one of the people he was talking about. In the meantime the channel too is now contemplating changing its course and becoming a business channel.
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Which channel is this? So its INC funded channel in which according to above report, Shahrukh Khan is also a major investor. Gets more and more incestous.
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