Mayawati has cancelled the allotment of land for a railway coach factory in Sonia Gandhi’s constituency Rae Bareli, just three days before the Congress chief was scheduled to attend a ceremony at the site to mark the beginning of construction.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister’s decision is being seen by state Congress leaders as a move targeted at Sonia Gandhi. She is believed to have been unhappy with a rally Sonia Gandhi held last month in Dadri against land acquisition from farmers in Badalpur, Mayawati’s village.

Considered a dream project of the Congress chief, the rail factory with an investment of Rs 1,689.25 crore was expected to provide employment to at least 10,000 people from the area.

The move marks a new low in the relationship between Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress-led coalition at the Centre, which she had supported from outside till early this year. It is expected to raise the temperature in the run-up to the general elections next year.

But state government officials said Mayawati’s order on Saturday canceling the allotment of 189.25 hectare near Lalganj had everything to do with opposition from villagers.

Principal Secretary (Information) Vijay Shankar Pandey told reporters on Sunday that the government’s decision was based on the district magistrate’s report about resentment among farmers over the acquisition of land.

The government had allotted the land on May 19 this year.

Rae Bareli district magistrate Santosh Srivastava in his October 10 report to the state government said that “land acquisition could lead to law and order problems in Rae Bareli”, Pandey said.

The DM said the proposed factory required nearly 700 acre land and farmers were afraid that their land might be acquired for the purpose.

Pandey added that instructions had been issued for the arrangement of alternative land for the project. “As of now there is no land for the project,” Pandey said.

Reacting sharply, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) spokesman Akhilesh Pratap Singh said: “The decision had once again demonstrated that the BSP government was against development of the state.”

Local Congress leaders said though Sonia Gandhi won’t have the Bhoomi Pujan of the rail project to attend, she might still address a scheduled rally at Lalganj on October 14. “Sonia Gandhi’s programme is still on. It may take place in some form or the other,” said Kishori Lal Sharma, a party leader making preparations for the rally.

UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi said people of Dehar, Sohawal and Bannamau villages had given their consent in writing for the acquisition and that the “state government’s move will stall development”.

She said the state government had not given the go-ahead to three other projects being set up in Rae Bareli.
 

Australia captain Ricky Ponting said India had a negative approach during the drawn first Test on Monday.

“We were the only ones trying to take the game forward,” said Ponting after India finished on 177-4 having been set an unlikely winning target of 299.

“We played aggressive cricket. I am not surprised by the way they played, the Indian team play a lot of drawn games. We dominated this Test match.”

The sides now head to Mohali for the second Test, which starts on Friday.

Ponting said he went into the final day in Bangalore expecting “a really good contest”.

“We got some extra runs we thought might have needed. We gave it our best shot with the ball but we just didn’t create enough opportunities,” he added.

“We could not win it at the end, but it was a pretty good start to the series for us.”

India paceman Zaheer Khan, who was man-of-the-match after claiming five wickets in the tourists’ first innings and also scoring an unbeaten 57, said Australia’s failure to force victory meant they would be under more pressure in the rest of the series.

“They know they can’t take our 20 wickets. They couldn’t get me and Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh) out, what else do you want? They are under pressure, we know that,” he said.

“On a fifth day wicket their spinners couldn’t do us any harm. That tells everyone what their spin attack is all about.

“Even their pacers, they didn’t look like getting a wicket, especially on the fifth day on a wicket like this.”
 

– By Sagar Satapathy, Editor-in-Chief (Breaking News online)

There has been a huge hue and cry over the financial health of ICICI Bank during the recent market meltdown. The ICICI Bank suffered huge losses, causing panic among the investors. But everyone forgot that ICICI Bank remains a big power in the banking sector and it has enough money to overcome any temporary crisis.

The rumours, speculations and all permutations and combinations proved wrong, as the ICICI Bank led the market surge yesterday. Only a few days ago, situation was so bad that ICICI Bank MD and CEO KV Kamath, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and the RBI had to step in to assure the investors of ICICI Bank’s stability and growth.

It is not known whether some vested interests played the spoilsport by indulging in a malicious campaign against the ICICI Bank. But the bank proved anyone wrong and emerged as a strong force to reckon with in the banking industry. ICICI Bank not only managed to generate trust and confidence among its investors, but led the way in market surge. As a result, other banks such as HDFC Bank, SBI and others also witnessed good results.

The ICICI Prulife from ICICI Prudential still remains a big hit among the investors. The ICICI Prulife is rated high among other insurance and unit-linked products. It has been a huge relief to see ICICI Bank on top again. Millions of investors in India can now feel safe and secure. Their money should be always safe with ICICI Bank. There is no doubt about this.
 

Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways have entered into a code sharing alliance. The two airliners signed a pact for common fuel management, ground handling, network rationalisation and cross-crew use. They will also work together on cross-sales and staff training. The new alliance between Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines has much significance, as it does not have any equity implication.
 

The National Integration Council (NIC) meeting was dominated by the issues such as terrorism and anti-Christian violence. While the UPA leaders tried to focus only on anti-Christian violence and Communalism, the BJP-led NDA tried to take a swipe at the UPA government on the issue of rising terror activities in the country.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh expressed deep regret and anguish over the communal violence in Assam, Orissa and Karnataka. The NIC adopted a resolution condemning all acts of violence and terrorism and resolved to deal with such activities firmly. Gujarat CM Narendra Modi stole the show by taking the UPA government into task on the issue of terrorism. The BJP CMs demanded a tough terror law, which was rejected by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil.

On the expected lines, Samajwadi Party, CPI and CPM warned against targeting the Muslim community as terrorists. The Prime Minister also supported their views. The NIC meet also witnessed a war-of-words between Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil.

Naveen Patnaik refuted all charges against his government and revealed that Centre had delayed sending forces to tackle the communal violence. Later, he urged everyone to forget all political difference and work together towards the growth and development of all sections of the society.

The NIC, which met after a gap of 3 years, is comprised of 146 members including all Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, leaders of national and regional political parties and eminent personalities. Senior BJPO leader, former Deputy PM and leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, LK Advani, who was invited as #134 to the NIC meet, did not attend, taking it as an insult to his stature. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Jaswant Singh was also not invited to the NIC meet.
 

Even as the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court ordered a stay on the cancellation of land allotment for Sonia Gandhi’s dream Rail Coach Factory in Rae Bareli, Mayawati sprung another surprise by imposing Section 144 in Rae Bareli on the eve of Sonia Gandhi’s rally.

The government has denied permission for the rally citing law and order problem. The latest development could lead to a bitter face-off between Maywati and Sonia Gandhi.

Mayawati took this decition after some congress minister supports the terrorist. And may be possible that sonia will announce some fund/relief for terrorists. So Mayawati impossess Section 144 in Rae Bareli. As we know that Arjun Singh, Amar singh Supports the terrorist and blam on Delhi Police and ignore the death of mohan chand sharma ( who died in fighiting with terrorist in jamiya nagar). We are very happy and with Mayawati for imposing Section 144 in Rae Bareli. Mayawati and Narendra Modi only two breave leaders in India rest of all are bharwa(hijra).
 

Paul Krugman, a Professor at Princeton University, United States, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics. Paul Krugman is an Op-Ed columnist for New York Times. Mr. Paul Krugman received the Nobel Prize for Economics for his commendable work on international trade and economic geography.

Paul Krugman developed models that explained observed patters of trade between the countries. He also explained what goods are produced where and why. Paul Krugman’s theories explained why worldwide trade is dominated by a few countries that have similar policies and why some countries import the same goods they export.