Two days after the MDMK general secretary Vaiko warned the government of a bloodbath if the Tamil Lankan issue was not resolved, he went on to say that he was not afraid of being arrested.

This comment has come after an FIR was issued against him under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Law. The FIR also mentions that Vaiko's speech was aimed at threatening the unity and integrity of the country.

But this is what Viako has to say on the FIR, "I love my motherland and I am not scared of getting arrested. I am prepared to face any charges."

Earlier on Wednesday, Vaiko has warned the Tamil Nadu government saying, "It has been quite a long time and we have forgotten what happened in Sriperumbudur. The tigers of freedom and Prabhakaran reside in every Tamilian's heart. If anything happens to Prabhakaran there will be bloodbath in Tamil Nadu."

Demanding a separate Eelam nation, he said, "A sovereign, independent Tamil Eelam nation, a separate nation is the only solution to the burning ethnic problem of the Tamils in the Island. Today again we have adopted a resolution reiterating our stand.

He hoped that his statement will make him the champion of the Tamil cause. But it's something that embarrasses his own ally, AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa.

The Deputy Election Commissioner JP Prakash said, "That is a law and order issue which the state government has the sovereign power to handle."

FROM Iraq, it came to Home minister P Chidambaram's press conference, but even before the drama of Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar had subsided, yet another shoe has been hurled at yet another Congressman. This time the person at the receiving end has been noted industrialist and Congress candidate from Kurukshetra, Navin Jindal.

Jindal was addressing a meeting at his constituency in Kurukshetra, in Haryana, when a retired school teacher in the audience hurled a shoe at him. It is still not clear why the shoe was thrown, although the form of protest seems to have caught on fast.

Reacting to the incident, Jindal said, "I was really surprised. But I have personally forgiven him. I have nothing against him. It would be best that such incidents should not be given importance. This is no way to protest in a democracy."

According to reports, the teacher was terminated from school on grounds of bad behaviour.

THE strong political formation among foes-turned-friends, Laloo, Mulayam and Ram Vilas Paswan are almost confident that they would be able to have a significant say in the government formation process at the Centre after the elections.

Speaking at its first show as the 'Fourth Front' in Uttar Pradesh, the three leaders addressed a joint rally at Saifai in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, claiming that the next government at the Centre cannot be formed without them.

The troika, comprising RJD, LJP and SP, was formed in March 2009, and will contest 120 seats in the three states. The leaders repeatedly said that the new coalition is part of the UPA, and will work together to stop communal forces from coming to power.

In the rally, Laloo Prasad Yadav said,"Three brothers have come together, not only to win Lok Sabha elections, but also to fight communalism. We will show our strength in the cow belt."

The three joined hands after the Congress said it would not have a nationwide alliance. After Saifai, they are planning to hold joint rallies in Varanasi, Lucknow and several places in Bihar, sources said.

JAGDISH Tytler's political fate has got a reprieve till April 28, as the Karkardooma court has adjourned the hearing in the 1984 Sikh riots case. The hearing, scheduled on Thursday has been hogging national headlines ever since a journalist threw a shoe at Union Home minister P Chidambaram in the Capital on Tuesday. meanwhile, the Congress has reportedly Jagtish Tytler to withdraw his candidature on moral grounds.

Sources say, senior Congress leaders are of the view that unless the party took a conscientious view of the controversy created by the show-throwing incident at Home minister P Chidambaram's press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday, it may run the risk of alienating the entire Sikh community on the eve of the elections, which the Congress can ill afford.

Earlier, there were reports that Tytler's fate would be decided in a Karkardooma courtroom on Thursday morning, when the additional chief metropolitan magistrate Rakesh Pandit takes a decision on the closure report of CBI that has given a clean chit toCongress leader Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar in the anti-sikh riots of 1984. The court can either accept the report and discharge the leader or reject it and order re-investigation.

The verdict has assumes tremendous significance after the freak show-throwing incident at Home minister P Chidambaram's press conference in the Capital on Tuesday re-ignited the sentiments of the Sikh community over the CBI clean chit to the tainted Congress MP.

The dramatically changed circumstances in Delhi, Punjab and other Sikh pockets in neighbouring states now pose a serious threat to the Congress unless the party considers withdrawing the candidature of Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. According to sources, the party is waiting for court's verdict. If it goes in Tytler's favour, then Tytler deserves a chance. But if the verdict goes against him or even if the court orders further inquiry, then it's very likely that Tytler may have to withdraw.

Congress Spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said, "When the time comes to make a very clear statement, that will be made. At this point of time, I would like to confine myself to saying let us wait and see what happens."

While the Congress is dragging its feet, the opposition is prompt in its response. Protests continued in Punjab on Wednesday and the Congress was accused of being anti-Sikh.

Congress is deeply worried about the political fallout not just in Delhi, but more in Punjab where the party hopes to increase its tally. The pressure is mounting especially for those party leaders who are contesting from Delhi and have a sizable Sikh population in their constituencies.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal, on Wednesday, said "A ticket to Tytler is not the issue. People like him should be put behind bars."

Hate speeches and offensive rhetoric are in vogue this election season as the latest one from MDMK leader Vaiko hits the Election Commission . Vaiko has threatened the Tamil Nadu government of a "bloodbath in South India" if LTTE chief Prabhakaran was harmed.

Using the waning battle as a poll plank in Sri Lanka, he said, "If anything happens to LTTE leader V Prabakaran, there will be a bloodbath in Tamil Nadu."

Vaiko was arrested by the AIADMK government in 2004, under the anti-terror law POTA for his pro-LTTE speech.

He said, people of Tamil Nadu must remember Rajiv Gandhi's assassination and warned that "India will not remain one country if the government refuses to intervene and stop the war against the LTTE".

The Union Home Ministry has warned that the LTTE might target several Indian VVIPs, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls.

According to sources, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a general advisory to state DGPs, especially of the southern states, to be extra cautious about the security cover provided to Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul and Priyanka, during their campaigning trips.

The Gandhi family's roadshows have already been curtailed in view of the heightened tensions due to threat from militants. There are concerns that several LTTE rebels, including its top leadership, might infiltrate into India, if it hasn't so far.

The Centre has already issued an advisory to the police chiefs to review the security of 11 Chief Ministers of different states, who are facing threat from terrorists and Naxals. The list incorporates Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Parkash Singh Badal (Punjab), Raman Singh (Chhattisgarh), Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee (West Bengal), Mayawati (Uttar Pradesh), Naveen Patnaik (Orissa), Ashok Chavan (Maharashtra), Narendra Modi (Gujarat) and Omar Abdullah (Jammu and Kashmir), official sources said.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said, "We have specific intelligence that infiltrators will try and disrupt elections; they will try to cause violence when the election process is on in the country. Plans of leaders are drawn up after taking into account the state, town and the time. That means they will mostly address rallies and meetings but I can't rule out road shows -- mostly they will address rallies and meetings."

Congress candidate and former UN Under-Secretary General , Shashi Tharoor, has slammed the Left parties for calling him an American agent, saying the same parties had unanimously supported him when the US had vetoed his candidature for the UN Secretary General post.

Tharoor, who is locked in a tight battle against a CPI leader for the Lok Sabha seat from Thiruvananthapuram, is campaigning hard to get rid of the outsider tag and establish his Malayali credentials.

Talking to mediapersons, Tharoor said, "This is not something new from the Left. They have often dragged down opponents by hurling baseless charges to skip on issues like of development."

He added, "Frankly, there is an irony in it. When America vetoed my candidature for the UN Secretary General's post, Prakash Karat, the general secretary of the CPI(M), wrote an article in Peoples Democracy condemning the American stand. But without any embarrassment these people now go on saying that I am an American agent."

Tharoor, who speaks in fluent Malayalam at campaign meetings, said he was not expecting some personal advantage from politics but only asking for an opportunity to serve his home state. He also rubbished the charge that having lived abroad for long, he has no real grasp of the problems here.

The leader, clad in a khadi dhoti and pristine white shirt, said he was confident that he can be a more effective representative of Thiruvananthapuram in Parliament.

Even as Delhi Police let off the journalist who hurled a shoe at Union home minister P Chidambaram in a press conference on Tuesday, repercussions of the Sikh community's angst over the clean chit to Jagdish Tytler have now forced the Congress party to sit up and take note. The Congress indicated on Tuesday that it was open to reviewing the candidatures of Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, who were facing allegations of involvement in the anti-Sikh riots in 1984.

Hours after the incident, party spokesperson Ashwini Kumar said, "Congress is a large party and it takes considered decisions at appropriate time. Let us see what solutions emerge in the future." In the wake of the shoe-throwing at Home Minister P Chidamabaram, a section of Delhi unit of Congress demanded reconsideration of candidature of Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler.

Kumar was asked to comment whether the party would withdraw nominations to Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, a demand also made by the BJP. Earlier a senior Congress leader from Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee said, "A large number of Sikhs in the country are already seething in anger for the last 25 years since the 1984 riots. Instead of pacifying them, the party has added to their agony by giving Lok Sabha tickets to Kumar and Tytler from South Delhi and North-East Delhi parliamentary seats."

Another leader from DPCC said, "The incident, involving a Sikh journalist hurling a shoe at Chidambaram, has polarised the community across the country, stepping up demands for withdrawal of the nomination of the two accused leaders." The Congress leader cautioned that ignoring the sentiments would hurt party's poll prospects not only in Delhi but throughout the country.

BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani filed his nomination today amid tight security, seeking re-election from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat. Advani is seeking a fifth term from Gandhinagar, after his victory from this constituency in 1991, 1998, 1999 and 2004. The constituency would go to polls on April 30 in the third phase. His main rivals are Congress nominee Suresh Patel and noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai, who is making her electoral debut as an independent.

At a rally before filing his nomination papers, Advani raked up the issue of black money. He said, "if voted to power, our party will bring back the black money from Swiss bank and utilize it for the development of our country."

Advani added, "Lakhs and crores of rupees of India are kept in foreign countries. If we pursue the matter, there will be no difficulty in the progress of the country." He also promised to make "the 21st century, the century of India" if his party was voted to power.

Advani also thanked Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi saying, "If I am on the top, it is due to people like Narendra bhai, who have laid this foundation."

After filing his nomination papers, the saffron leader stated, "I have filed my nomination for the fifth time in Gandhinagar constituency. People of this constituency have voted for me in the past and I am happy that I am the party candidate for the fifth time"

LK Advani, who was accompanied by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, said "we have provided good governance and worked for the development and welfare of the people of the country whenever we came to power."

Union Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav has landed himself into a political controversy for his verbal attack on BJP leader Varun Gandhi.

Laloo Yadav, in an election rally in Bihar, had said on Monday that he would have "crushed" Varun Gandhi under a road-roller for his anti-Muslim speeches if he had been the country's Home Minister.

The RJD president now faces arrest for threatening to kill Varun Gandhi. He is trying to make the most of the present controversy. After Varun, Laloo has also taken on another BJP firebrand, Sushma Swaraj. He has called her Pootna, a legendary demoness.

The BJP had reacted sharply to Laloo's comments on Varun Gandhi. Senior party leader LK Advani said Laloo's statement is tantamount to making a hate speech.

But a day later, Laloo has now clarified that what he meant was anyone indulging in communal politics will be bulldozed legally. He defended, "I didn't mean what has been circulated in media. What I meant to say was that I would have finished Varun politically."

Earlier, his wife Rabri Devi had courted controversy over derogatory remarks against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in Chapra. "Matters against both these leaders are also being investigated by the Election Commission," sources said.

CLOSE on the heels of what was seeming to be a major flashpoint in the making, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh, who had threatened to quit the party over his differences with party colleague Azam Khan, climbed down from his belligerent posturing and said "everything is normal."

Talking to the mediapersons on Tuesday, shortly after his remarks in the backdrop of what he called "abuses" hurled at him by Azam Khan, which had suggested a rift in the party, Amar Singh said, "I can leave the world but I can't leave the party."

He clarified there were no more differences in the party over actress- turned-politician Jayaprada being fielded from Khan's hometown in Rampur.

Earlier, the two senior leaders of SP had been locked in an uneasy Relationship, ever since Khan, an influential leader in western Uttar Pradesh, started campaigning against Jayaprada's candidature in Rampur from where she had won in 2004.

Amar Singh said in the strongest remarks yet on his role in the SP, "I know where I stand. The day I feel I have had enough, I will say goodbye to Mulayamji and leave the party."

BJP president Rajnath Singh, on Monday lashed out at the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh and the Congress party, for "harassing" Varun Gandhi, ahead of the elections. The party leader was speaking to mediapersons after met the saffron poster-boy in Etah jail where the Pilibhit candidate is behind bars after being held under the National Security Act.

After meeting him in jail, Mr Singh said that his party will not remain silent. He also said that politically and legally, BJP is standing with him. There was heavy security outside the jail and Varun has been kept in a separate jail due to reports of a threat to his life.

Meanwhile, Varun Gandhi's alleged hate speech and then the BJP's defence of the young leader has left some party's allies worried that it's going back to the Hindutva line. Rajnath Singh now seems to be trying to address those concerns without alienating the party's Hindu voter in turn making some cryptic comments on Mandir and Masjid while campaigning," sources said.

"You may go anywhere in the world, Ram was born here. Let Ram Mandir be built in Ayodhya, after that we will work towards building a mosque wherever you wish. We will get it done," said Rajnath Singh, president."

Earlier, several party leaders, including Venkaiah Naidu, Kalraj Mishra and BJP state president Ramapati Ram Tripathi, had met Varun Gandhi.

Senior Congress leader and the External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, on Sunday admitted the possibility of the party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) forming the next government with the support of the Left parties, saying "everything is possible".

Responding to mediapersons about the Congress' relations with Left parties, Mukherjee said, "I am not an astrologer, I cannot predict what is going to happen. In the realm of politics everything is possible."

Mr Mukherjee was speaking after the release of a Congress party document (a development report card) titled, "30 years of Left front rule in West Bengal".

He said the Congress did not have any pre-poll truck with the CPI(M) in the past but added it had a tie-up with small Left parties in the past elections.

Talking about the Third Front, he said, "My conviction is that having limited number of seats and very little presence at the national level; and being unable to project a prime ministerial candidate, they don't have national impact. They are like six characters in a play in search of one playwright."

Pranab also denied all reports of the disintegration of the UPA. Reacting to the emerging differences between the Congress and allies like the NCP, RJD, LJP, he said these were all regional parties and hence there could be no adjustments with them at a national level.

He also criticized the BJP for making tall promises in its manifesto which, he said, the party will not be able to meet. He elaborated by saying, "Performance and commitment are two different things. Today BJP is committing to give rice at Rs 2 per kg. The same commitment was made in Karnataka, but two budgets have come in that state and nowhere can we find this allocated in the budgets."

Amid all the stress and political mudslinging that comes as a package before the elections, comes some much-needed humour too, as Bharatiya Janata party's candidate from New Delhi, Vijay Goel, made it evident, when he goofed up in an election rally on Monday, when he said he would do "everything possible to ensure defeat" in the Lok Sabha elections.

Mr Goel, addressing a rally at Safdarjung in the capital, said "I will do everything possible to ensure defeat of BJP in Delhi. We will work together to ensure their defeat." However, soon after realising his mistake, Goel clarified that it was a slip of the tongue.

Embarrassed BJP leaders including General Secretary Arun Jaitley and senior leader V K Malhotra, who were there at the dais, looked at each other when Goel made the blunder.

Days after the Supreme Court disbarred Sanjay Dutt from contesting the Lok Sabha elections by refusing to suspend his conviction in the Bombay blasts case, the Samajwadi Party has now fielded socialite and former Miss India winner, Nafisa Ali, as its candidate from the prestigious Lucknow seat.

The candidature of Nafisa Ali was announced by party General Secretary Amar Singh and Sanjay Dutt at a press conference in Lucknow on Sunday.

"Congress had alomost finalised Nafisa Ali's name for Lucknow. But I am honoured that when I asked Nafisa to contest the Lucknow seat on a ticket instead of Sanjay Dutt, Nafisa said she believes in the policies of the Samajwadi Party. So she agreed to contest the Lucknow seat on SP ticket," said Amar Singh. Reacting to queries from the media, Ali said: "I am happy to have been selected by SP to represent Lucknow. I have a long association with the city and I will combat all those who have a communal agenda. I will win from here."

Earlier, Nafisa had contested as Congress nominee from Kolkata seat in the last elections.

In a significant setback to the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Lok Jan Shakti Party alliance in Bihar, tainted RJD MP Pappu Yadav has revolted against the Lalu-Paswan regime and walked into the Congress camp on Sunday.

Pappu's wife, Ranjita Ranjan, who is a Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MP from Saharsa, has also joined hands with the Congress and will contest from Supaul constituency as its candidate. Saharsa has since ceased to exist as a constituency after delimitation. She had earlier refused the Paswan-headed LJP's nomination. Ms. Ranjan also resigned from the primary membership of the LJP before joining the Congress.

LJP chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan recently declared her name from the constituency from where she will now contest as a Congress nominee.

Addressing a press conference, Ms. Ranjan said she believed that the Congress was "a principle-based party and I am greatly influenced by the style of the functioning of Sonia Gandhi."

Pappu Yadav was reportedly upset with RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav over ticket distribution. He wanted a ticket for his sister, but was refused by Lalu, which reportedly triggered the revolt.

"I will tour Bihar to campaign for the Congress' victory and defeat of communal Bharatiya Janata Party and its poll allies," Pappu Yadav told reporters.

Earlier, the Patna High Court had rejected Pappu Yadav's plea to suspend his conviction in a murder case so that he could contest the Lok Sabha election.

India's Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, on Monday, filed her nomination papers as a candidate from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat here in presence of her son and party's general secretary Rahul Gandhi and close family friend Satish Sharma. She reached the office of the returning officer at around 1220 hrs IST and filed four sets of nomination papers for the poll that is scheduled for April 30 here.

Earlier in the day, the Congress chief had flown from New Delhi to the airstrip at Fursatganj, about 15 km from Rae Bareli. Her cavalcade passed through the most thickly populated parts of the town, and was greeted with showers of rose petals and loud cheers from supporters who had lined up along the streets.

Elegantly dressed in a beige saree, the Congress leader first visited the party's central office, where a havan was performed - a ritual held every time she files her nomination. She then went to file her nomination.

In what seems to be developing into a mother of all battles, UP Chief Minister Mayawati has hit back at former Union minister for environment, Maneka Gandhi, for her remarks against her and questioned her upbringing of Varun.

Following the controversy over the Etah jail authorities refusing her permission to meet her son, Varun, Maneka had remarked that Mayawati wouldn't understand a mother's pain since she was not one. Mayawati said that if she was a good mother she would have inculcated the right values in Varun.

Commenting on Maneka, Mayawati said, "Had Maneka inculcated good values in her son he would not have to spend nights in jail. She must apologise not only to me but to the entire nation for her shameful and unfortunate comments. Maneka forgets that even without being a mother you can understand pain of a million people just like Mother Teresa did."

Justifying the action of the Pilibhit district administration to charge Varun under NSA, Mayawati said, "Maneka is so absorbed in her love for her son that she forgot that if there were any communal riots over Varun Gandhi's statement, many mothers would have lost their sons."

She said that no one would be allowed to vitiate the law and order situation in the state irrespective of their parties and position. Earlier on Friday, Maneka had attacked Mayawati for targeting her son and attributed political motive behind the move to keep him in jail during election time.

THE Election Commission has taken cognizance of the display of arms and ammunition during election procession in Sultanpur district, and directed the Uttar Pradesh government to launch a special drive and intensify the unearthing and seizure of unlicensed weapons.

EC's principal Secretary Shangara Ram said, "Display of arms in a poll procession in support of a candidate during campaign is tantamount to threat and intimidation to voters."

He added, "the Commission directs that no individual or group of persons can be allowed to display arms during a procession on any meeting in support of candidate, under any circumstances."

According to the poll bodies, a drive should be launched to unearth and seize unlicensed arms and ammunition in order to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future. The state police should carry out a very thorough search of unlicensed arms and places of illegal manufacture of arms and ammunition and the persons involved should be arrested.

The EC's secretary said, "While unearthing and seizure of unlicensed weapons is a normal ongoing responsibility of the police, it shall be vigorously intensified during the election period."

IN A major setback to the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Nationalist Congress Party(NCP), on Saturday, announced its decision to contest all 26 seats in Gujarat, indicating that the tie-up between the two parties in the state had broken.

NCP has declared candidates for eight seats in Gujarat. These candidates will file their nominations on March 7. The party will announce more names in its second list.

Accusing the Congress for the break-up, state NCP president Jayant Patel said, "I have declared eight candidates for the Lok Sabha seats. The Congress has behaved in an arbitrary way. It has declared candidates for 25 out of 26 seats in their own way and said that they have kept Surat for us.

We had demanded two seats of Rajkot and Ahmedabad (West). Now, we will fight almost on all the 26 seats."

An NCP spokesperson said, the state assembly elections in 2002, when the two parties had fought separately, the results were affected with almost 15 seats going in favour of BJP due to split in secular votes. In 2004 Lok Sabha elections and 2007 state assembly polls, the Congress and the NCP had fought in an alliance to stop the division of secular votes.

Commenting on NCP's decision to contest all 26 seats in Gujarat, the Congress spokesperson Arjun Modhvadia said, "This is an unfortunate development as we are an alliance partner at the national level. But, I don't think that it will affect poll results in any way."

THE UP government on Friday buckled under political pressure and allowed Maneka Gandhi to meet her son Varun in Etah district jail, after the district authorities had hurriedly denied her permission citing the jail manual and provisions of the National Security Act, under which varun is detained.

On Friday morning, when Maneka Gandhi reportedly informed the Etah district administration about her plans to visit Varun in jail, the authorities turned down her request, which created a huge furore in local BJP circles.

The issue gathered steam when Maneka, while talking to reporters, hit out at the UP government and Chief Minister Mayawati, calling the restriction as "frivolous" and "a result of political vendetta". She also went on to say that if Mayawati was a mother she would have understood her pain.

Later, some local saffron leaders came out with plans for widespread agitations beginning Saturday morning. The state government, in no mood to grant them a political mileage, issued a written clarification stating that no restrictions whatsoever had been imposed on Maneka meeting her son.

Shortly after the order was issued, the office of Etah DM Gaurav Dayal informed Maneka that she may meet Varun on Saturday.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has ruled out riding the world's cheapest car, the Tata Nano, calling it having been built with the "blood of people".

Participating in a phone-in programme for a Bangla television channel, Mrs Banerjee said, "Which car I ride is my fundamental right. But I will not ride the car which has been manufactured with the blood of people." She also added, "I think the entire show of the Nano launch is a mere election propaganda. They have sent only three cars to Kolkata. The cadres of Communist Party of India-Marxist are driving them. Now people will book the cars by paying Rs 3,000. Then there will be a lottery, and nobody will get the cars. And then these so-called Nano cars will vanish."

Replying to a query whether she will allow Tata Motors to return to Singur if her party came to power in the state, Banerjee said: "I will first go through the contract they have signed with the West Bengal government and then decide."

Previously, Nano was scheduled to roll out from Singur. But from May 2006, when the state government announced the Tata Nano project, Singur turned into a battleground for about two and a half years. After that, the Tata Nano project shifted to Gujarat.

She said her party will take a decision on whether to join the central government after the Lok Sabha elections. "We will hold wideranging discussions in our party, as also with our sympathisers on this. And rather than me, there are others in the party who can be made ministers," said Banerjee.

She criticised BJP's candidate Varun Gandhi for his alleged hate speeches, saying he needed to rectify his ways to stay in politics. Whatever he had said was not proper. At the same time, she felt, it would be wrong if the authorities are vindictive towards him.

Making his electoral debut, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will file his nomination papers from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency on Saturday at Sultanpur, the district headquarter. However, his mother and Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi will file her papers for the Rae Bareli seat on April 6.

However, there would be no public meeting in both Sultanpur and Rae Bareli after the process. The Amethi constituency goes to polls on April 23 and Rae Bareli on April 30.

THE Bharatiya Janata party relased its election manifesto on Friday, outlining the party's resolve to bring in a tougher law to fight terrorism. The manifesto document was released by party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, in the presence of senior leaders, including BJP's prime ministerial candidate Lal Krishna Advani and party president Rajnath Singh.

Speaking on the occasion, Advani said that the manifesto is the BJP's way to build an ideal state. He added that there is no need of Article 370, which means no special status should be given to Jammu and Kashmir. He reiterated that the BJP would be fighting the polls as NDA, despite releasing a separate manifesto.

The BJP manifesto says the party will try to bring in a tough POTA-like law and will take strict measures against the terrorism and any element that threatens the security of India and its people. Advani further quoted, "We have released BJP's manifesto, but we are fighting polls as NDA. We will release an agenda for the NDA after discussions with allies."

Talking to mediapersons at the event, Advani attacked the Third Front by calling it a fallacy and denied the existence of a non-BJP and non-Congress combine. Senior party leader and former Union HRD minister Murali Manohar Joshi said that the Chandrayaan mission was a result of the Vajpayee government's efforts and the BJP would take it further.

BJP president Rajnath Singh said that the party supports the formation of smaller states, including Telangana. Apart from this, the BJP manifesto says that no one will be allowed to touch the Ram Setu and a new route will be found. The party has promised to provide rice and wheat to people below the poverty line at Rs 2 per kg. The manifesto also calls for better roads in villages and taking strict steps for bringing back illegal money in foreign accounts.

It also talks about the armed forces' demand of one rank, one pay. It says that the BJP will implement the same. In addition to this, the party promises to try and bring in tax breaks for armed forces. Apart from these, the BJP manifesto also promises special employment schemes for the youth.
BJP Manifesto

SENIOR BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu has alleged that Varun Gandhi was being harassed and tortured in the jail. After meeting Varun in Etah District jail, Naidu told reporters on Thursday, "Varun Gandhi was kept in a small cell, where he could not see anyone. Inhuman treatment is being meted out to him. He is being harassed and tortured."

Claiming it to be a conspiracy of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress, Naidu also accused the government of Uttar Pradesh for manipulating the CD containing Varun's speech.

Naidu alleged that the underworld was planning to attack Varun. "There is a security risk for the leader in the wake of reports that a gang of underworld don Chhota Shakeel had planned to attack him. There is a danger to Varun's life," he added.

Noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai on Thursday filed her nomination from Gandhinagar as an independent candidate against the BJP's prime ministerial nominee L.K. Advani. Filing of nominations had opened in the state on Thursday with the Election Commission issuing notification for filling up 26 seats with polling scheduled on April 30.

Ms Sarabhai said, she was contesting the polls to give democracy back to the people of Gujarat. "I am here on the plea of the people of the state to contest the polls," she told reporters outside the collectorate.

Besides Mallika Sabarabhai, Mahavirsinh Gohil filed as Congress candidate for Bhavnagar, and Dhirubhai Patel of BJP for Valsad. Last date for filing of nominations is April 9 and scrutiny would take place the next day, while April 13 is the last date for withdrawal. Counting of votes will take place on May 16.

SENIOR BJP leader and the former external affairs minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, who is under Election Commission scanner for allegedly distributing cash at an election meeting in Barmer in Rajasthan, is likely to contest from Darjeeling. The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which has been fighting for a separate Gorkhaland state in northern West Bengal, has decided to support him, said a top GJM leader.

GJM press and publicity secretary Benoy Tamang said that the decision was arrived at following a meeting between the GJM top brass, including its president Bimal Gurung and secretary Roshan Seth and BJP's senior leader L.K. Advani in Delhi on Thursday.

Tamang said, "The BJP has told us that it is in favour of smaller states and its manifesto will reflect this stand. We think this is positive for us and our Gorkhaland demand."

The GJM is leading the movement for Gorkhaland, which it says should be carved out of Darjeeling district and parts of neighbouring Jalpaiguri district.

The threat of underworld don Chhota Shakeel to eliminate Varun Gandhi has compelled the Centre to upgrade his security status, from X category to Z category, allowing him to avail cover of 13 cops and an escort vehicle round the clock once he comes out of jail in Uttar Pradesh.

Varun Gandhi, apprehending threat to his life in the wake of recent controversy following his alleged hate speech, wrote a letter to Union home minister P Chidambaram on March 20, requesting upgradation of his security status. While making his request, Varun even invoked his family background. He said, "In view of the family history, I feel you will appreciate the gravity of the situation."

According to sources, Chidambaram had immediately marked Varun's letter to officers concerned in the ministry, asking them to take proper action. The home minister also informed Varun about the move through a letter on March 20 itself, they added.

Earlier, the UP government booked him under National Security Act (NSA) for the alleged hate speeches. A court in Pilibhit had granted him bail in two separate cases relating to the alleged hate speeches but the leader remains in jail because of the NSA case.

He was shifted from Pilibhit to Etah jail on Tuesday night following intelligence inputs that underworld don Chhota Shakeel was hatching a conspiracy to kill him after he made hate speeches in his constituency

On Wednesday, Varun moved to the Supreme Court challenging the state government's decision to slap NSA against him. His counsel Sandeep Kapoor quoted, "We have filed a petition in the apex court for quashing of the NSA order."

The counsel urged that the BJP leader should be released from jail as the procedure for invoking NSA was not duly followed by UP government. He said it has been stressed in the petition that "there is no case made out against Varun under NSA".

CLOSE on the heels of the Supreme Court's decision to bar actor-turned-politician Sanjay Dutt from contesting the Lok Sabha elections this year, the Samajwadi Party has appointed him as its new general secretary.

Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, after making the announcement, said "Sanjay Dutt will now campaign actively for the Samajwadi Party." Dutt thanked Yadav, saying, "Mein dil se kam karoonga aur sach ke liye kam karoonga."

Earlier, Mr Dutt, who has been convicted and sentenced to six years in jail under the Arms Act in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast case, blamed the Congress for reportedly sidelining his father Sunil Dutt.

He added, "Nirupam has now been given ticket by Congress. Had my father known this he would have been very unhappy."He also clarified that he campaigned for Congress leader Priya Dutt because she is his sister.

WITH just a fortnight to go before the Lok Sabha elections, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj, in an honest admission on Wednesday, said she was not confident of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) getting a majority.

Sushma Swaraj, who is the party's in-charge for Madhya Pradesh, said in Bhopal: "I am not sure if the NDA will get a majority." However, she said, "if the NDA emerges as a single largest coalition after the elections, it could form the government with post-poll alliances."

Swaraj reiterated that there was no confusion in the party over the issue of Varun Gandhi, the party's candidate in Pilibhit who has been jailed under the National Security Act (NSA) for his alleged inflammatory speeches, nor is the party distancing itself from him. The former Delhi chief minister was addressing a press conference in the state capital.

Interestingly, most BJP spokespersons politely declined to comment on Sushma Swaraj's statement. Swaraj said the party disapproved of the alleged "hate speeches", if he had made any, but was against the discriminatory treatment meted out to him by the Election Commission and the slapping of National Security Act (NSA) on Varun Gandhi by the Uttar Pradesh government.

Accusing the Election Commission of adopting double standards on the issue, the BJP leader said "people like Mukhtar Ansari and Atiq Ahmed" were allowed to contest polls in this country while it was advised that Varun Gandhi should not be fielded. "There should be one yardstick".

On Sanjay Dutt not being allowed to contest from Lucknow on a Samajwadi party ticket, she said: "It hardly makes any difference because the BJP will win the prestigious seat and the voters in Lucknow see the BJP candidate Lalji Tandon as their representative." She also added that Vajpayee's absence was being felt "very much" by the party but added that his blessings and guidance are with us.

Indicating feasible political alignments, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, whose party is one of the prominent constituent of Congress-led UPA, will attend a Third Front rally in Bhubaneshwar on Friday, sources said.

The general secretary of NCP Mr Tariq Anwar said, since the party had a seat-sharing agreement with the ruling BJD in Orissa, Pawar will go to Bhubaneshwar on Friday to share the platform with the CPI(M) chief Prakash Karat among others.

"Our alliance with NCP is for Maharashtra. But it is for them to introspect as to what kind of message they are sending by sharing the dais in Orissa," Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said.

Pawar said, there is nothing wrong in taking part in the rally. For the first time, he will be sharing the dais with leaders of the Third Front which was launched in Tumkur in Karnataka last month.

The decision of Pawar to attend the rally came a day after NCP caused a flutter in UPA when the party refused to accept Manmohan Singh as the prime ministerial candidate of the UPA.

CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury said Pawar's move was inevitable after the Congress took the stand that it will only have state-level alliances with its allies.

MIM shows its secular face, gives ticket to Hindu
IN A move that would surely create waves in political circles on the eve of elections, the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which has a stronghold in Hyderabad's old city region in Andhra Pradesh, has for the first time ever, given a ticket to a Hindu. The party, founded by the Late Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, is now led by his son, Asadududin Owaisi.

Owaisi's move in fielding Muralidharan Reddy from Rajendra Nagar contituency, is being seen as significant in view of the recent constituency delimitation exercise of the Election Commission, which has thrown a constituency within its stronghold of the old walled city of Hyderabad, which has a Hindu-majority electorate. Given the 60:40 ratio of Hindus and Muslims in the constituency, the MIM had little choice but to break with tradition and post its secular credentials, more in order to reach out to the electorate in its own stronghold area.

Speaking to the media, Mr Owaisi says, "We are a pro-minorirty party but that doesn't stop us from giving tickets to non-minority. We have always encouraged people to come forward." "Asaduddin has given me a ticket on the principle that Hindus and Muslims are all brothers," said Murlidharan Reddy.

"Asaduddin has given me a ticket on the principle that Hindus and Muslims are all brothers," said Murlidharan Reddy. Another factor which has motivated MIM to take other communities on board is that that party is, presently, facing tough competition for minority voters. Zahid Alik Khan, the editor of Urdu daily 'Siasat', is contesting against Owaisi with support from the TDP as well as the Left parties.

Khan said that his main fight was with the MIM who had done nothing for the country or for Hyderabad in the last 50 years. MIM is fighting for the first time after the death of its legendary founder President Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi. His sons are going all out to plug apprehensions and portray secularism and development, the two much ignored issues as their main agenda.

Sanjay Dutt alleges Congress conspiracy
Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, whose dreams of entering Parliament were dashed on Tuesday by the Supreme Court, has now accused the Congress of sabotaging his political dream. Coming down heavily on the Congress' keenness to oppose his plea before the Supreme Court, he said, the CBI would have only opposed his petition under orders from the government.

Seconding Amar Singh's statement that the Congress was targetting the Samajwadi party, which had earlier been evident in the party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav being accused of electoral malpractices, and now in the fact that Sanjay Dutt has been debarred from contesting elections.

The Supreme Court had on Tuesday, turned down Dutt's plea to contest elections from the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat on a Samajwadi party ticket and refused to suspend his conviction in a criminal case. "We are not inclined to suspend his conviction," said a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan. "It is not a fit case to grant stay of conviction," said the Bench, which also comprised Justices P Sathasivam and R M Lodha.

The court refused to stay Dutt's conviction, saying his case does not have parity with that of cricketer-turned-parliamentarian Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had resigned his seat after his conviction in a case of unintentional killing. Dutt has been sentenced to six years in jail by a Mumbai anti-terror court hearing the 1993 serial blasts in the city. As per electoral laws, a person convicted for a criminal offence and sentenced to jail for more than two years is barred from running for elections.

The Samajwadi Party wants to field Dutt, who was convicted for illegal possession of arms, from the Lucknow constituency, and he had already started campaigning there. Earlier, the Supreme Court had heard appeals both for and against Dutt's plea and reserved its ruling on Monday.

EC may rap Jaswant for distributing cash
Senior BJP leader and former Union external affairs minister Jaswant Singh may now be the latest politician to come under the Election Commission's scrutiny for violating the Model Code of Conduct. Jaswant Singh caught on camera on Tuesday, distributing cash among the people in Barmer constituency in Rajasthan. He was campaigning for his son, Manvendra Singh, who is the BJP candidate from Barmer. The EC has sought a report from the Barmer district magistrate on the incident.

Jaswant Singh, however, has denied any violation of the model code of conduct. Defending his act of distributing money as a family tradition, Singh said, "It's my family's tradition to help the needy. I am not a candidate, so how can I be guilty of violating the EC code?"

According to TV reports, Singh lashed out at the Congress, saying, "If Congress thinks helping the poor is a crime, I cannot help it, I'll continue to help them."

The administration of Rajasthan's Barmer district had sent a preliminary report to the Election Commission on the distribution of money by Jaswant Singh and will act as per the instructions of the commission, officials said on Wednesday.

BJP supremo L K Advani has said that the NDA, if voted to power, would bring back black money of over Rs 25,000 lakh crore stashed in Swiss banks to be used for development work in the country.

Accusing the UPA government of weakening internal security and shattering the country's economy, Advani said that his party had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make a demand at the G-20 meet in London for disclosing details of money deposited in Swiss banks.

While addressing a series of election rallies at Khariar, Paikamal, Sonepur and Cuttack in Orissa, he said, six lakhs villages in the country could get Rs 4 crore each if the money, deposited by politicians and others, is retrieved.

Mounting a sharp attack on the Congress-led UPA government, Advani charged that it had failed on all fronts as internal security had collapsed while inflation, corruption and poverty sky-rocketed during its rule.

He said, "UPA broke many records as inflation, corruption and poverty touched new heights. Driven by poverty and hit hard by price rise, many are committing suicide as the poor and farmers are being neglected.

Calling UPA a "sinking boat", Advani said "there is no UPA now. What is left is only Congress as most of its friends and allies have deserted the party one after another."

VARUN Gandhi's lawyers have now moved the Supreme Court to challenge the detention under the national Security Act, which is keeping him in jail, despite having got bail in all other cases.

Varun's lawyer, former additional solicitor general, Mukul Rohtagi, told a bench of Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan that he was in the process of filing a habeas corpus petition to bring Varun Gandhi to the court. The habeas corpus special petition is filed when a person goes missing and foul play is suspected. The bench assured Rohtagi that it would hear his petition on Thursday.

Varun Gandhi was arrested and later booked under the stringent NSA by the Uttar Pradesh government for "inciting violence" prior to his arrest Saturday. Earlier, Varun was quietly shifted to Etah Central jail from Pilibhit, after intelligence reports that underworld don Chhota Shakeel had planned to get the firebrand BJP leader eliminated.