‘Sonia, Manmohan among 20 most powerful’ figured among Forbes

India's Congress party president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh figured among Forbes' list of world's 70 most powerful people in 2011 as US Barack Obama regained his position at the top.

Obama bumped Chinese President Hu Jintao from the No. 1 spot on the magazine's annual rankings to the third place with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin taking the second position.

Gandhi, 64, described as "India's most powerful politician (who) has twice refused to serve as prime minister, delegating that job to Manmohan Singh" dropped two notches from her ninth position last year to be ranked the 11th most powerful person and 7th powerful woman.

Manmohan Singh, 79, "the incorruptible Cambridge- and Oxford-educated economist (is) widely respected as the man behind India's economic reforms, which have led to the subcontinent's blistering growth over the last decade," too dropped a notch to be rated the 19th most powerful.

Other Indians on the list included Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani ranked 35th, India's top billionaire ArcelorMittal Chairman Lakshmi Mittal in the 47th spot and Wipro chairman Azim Premji at the 61st spot.

D-Company leader Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, "organized crime figure (is) suspected of involvement in both the 1993 and 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai" was ranked 57th, a notch behind Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence chief, Ahmed Shuja Pasha, while Pakistan army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, was ranked 34th.

Tibetan spiritual leader, Dalai Lama, 76, living in exile in India was ranked 51st, a notch behind former US President Bill Clinton.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel remained the most powerful woman at No. 4 on the list, as Europe's largest economy continued to wield its influence over the troubled European Union.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates is at No. 5 on the list while Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has skyrocketed from No. 40 to No. 9, sandwiched between US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (No. 8) and British Prime Minister David Cameron at No. 10.

The king of the world's largest oil producer Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud, came in at No. 6 and Pope Benedict XVI was No. 7.

New Apple CEO Tim Cook (58th), Chinese premier Wen Jiabao (14th), and new IMF managing director Christine Lagarde are among 14 newcomers.

Ten people dropped off the list, among them Oprah Winfrey, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Bin Laden, the late Steve Jobs and Julian Assange.

Indira Gandhi remembered on 27th death anniversary

 The country fondly remembered former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 27th death anniversary on Monday with President Pratibha Patil leading the nation in paying rich tributes to the departed leader.

Patil paid floral tributes at Shakti Sthal, the memorial of Gandhi, here this morning.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were also present on the occasion.

Delhi Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna, Union Ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh, Kamal Nath, KV Thomas, N Narayana Swamy and Krishna Tirath and senior Congress leaders Motilal Vohra, Manishankar Aiyar were also present.

Telangana crisis: Congress to hold further talks

The agitation for a separate state has gained further momentum with a shutdown called by Telangana groups across the region in Andhra Pradesh badly affecting life as the Congress core committee met in the national capital to discuss a report by state-in charge Ghulam Nabi Azad and decided to hold further talks on the issue.

A day-long shutdown called by the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) as part of the ongoing general strike for a separate Telangana state hit normal life in Hyderabad Friday. The shutdown was peaceful and near total in most parts of Hyderabad and its twin city Secunderabad as shops, business establishment and educational institutions were closed.

The JAC has also called for indefinite industrial shutdown in four of the region's nine districts from Oct 3 - Khammam, Warangal, Karimnagar and Adilabad.

The strike by government employees and workers of Singareni Collieries continued for the 18th day Friday while the strike by employees of the state-owned Road Transport Corporation (RTC) ensured the state buses remained off the road for the 12th day.

The strike by about 70,000 employees of Singareni Collieries has paralysed coal production in 50 mines spread over four districts. The strike has so far caused a loss of over Rs.300 crore and affected power generation in thermal power stations.

In New Delhi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi attended the party core committee meeting, held at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's official residence and attended by senior ministers and leaders.

Since the issue of Telangana is a highly complicated one, the committee has suggested further discussions in the party, in the government and between the government and other parties, an informed source told a news agency.

Friday's meeting discussed the report on the situation in Andhra Pradesh prepared by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is party in-charge of the state. However, the report was not categorical on a solution, sources added.

Azad had submitted the report to Gandhi earlier in the day. The report has been prepared after assessing the views of party leaders from various parts of the state.

Meanwhile, several MPs and leaders of the Congress have been camping in Delhi to persuade the leadership for an early decision. The situation in Telangana has been highly volatile in the past few days because of the resumed agitation for the statehood.

Several party leaders from Telangana region met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Thursday to press for for statehood for Telangana.

Congress MP from Nizamabad Madhu Goud Yaskhi told a news agency that there were indications the party leadership will take a decision in favour of a separate Telangana.

He said once a decision is taken by the Congress on demand for new state, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government will take it up further.

He said other parties such as Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) seemed to be waiting for the stand of the Congress.

Another party leader, K Keshava Rao, said that party leaders were keen to stay in the capital till a decision is taken on the demand for creation of new state.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhara Rao and other leaders of the Telangana movement Friday left for New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urge him to take an early decision on formation of a separate state.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, told reporters that the 30-member delegation would call on the prime minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and other key leaders Saturday.

KCR, a member of Parliament, alleged that the state government was trying to give a violent turn to the ongoing agitation.

Scams, cabinet tussle overshadow PM’s 79th B’day

A series of corruption scandals, a perceived decline in his 'Dr Clean' image, an increasingly belligerent opposition, reports of infighting in his cabinet... Prime Minister Manmohan Singh celebrates his 79th birthday Monday in a not too happy setting.

There is even talk that he might be shifted to Rashtrapati Bhavan next year.

An eminent economist-turned politician who ushered in the economic reforms in the early 1990s, Manmohan Singh is now widely perceived - particularly by the influential middle class that was once his strongest backers - as the head of a corruption-hit and controversy-ridden government.

Manmohan Singh himself admitted the change in public perception recently. In his interaction with a group of editors June 29, he said: "In the situation today, day in and day out, I think we are described as the most corrupt government."

Adding to his problems is the simmering infighting among cabinet colleagues as was revealed by the note indicting Home Minister P Chidambaram in the 2G spectrum allocation sent by the finance ministry headed by Pranab Mukherjee.

Several political analysts agree on the decline of the image of 'Doctor Clean', but Congress leaders say it was "part of opposition propaganda and media manipulation".

Mridula Mukherjee, professor in New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, said there was “corrosion in the image and effectiveness of Manmohan Singh".

"I think his tenure as the Prime Minister of United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-I was his peak time. The series of corruption scandals during UPA-II eroded Manmohan Singh's image too, though he brought the high standards of probity, honesty, integrity and hard work to the PM's post," Mukherjee said.

She felt that one cannot rule out the speculation that Manmohan Singh may be made President when Pratibha Patil demits office next July. "That is the only post he may accept or aspire at the age of 80 next year."

Kerala-based analyst K Sreekumar agreed. "This is probably Manmohan Singh's last birthday as Prime Minister, if the turbulence in the Congress is an indication.

"If he is lucky and willing, he will be in Rashtrapati Bhavan (as President) next year," he added.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad said: "Manmohan Singh has been evading the crucial issue of corruption.

"It does not bode well for a Prime Minister to give a clean chit to a controversial minister like Chidambaram. Otherwise, Manmohan Singh's regime is identified with scandals and burning problems like inflation," Prasad added.

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) general secretary Javed Raza said that history will sadly record Manmohan Singh as one who "devalued the post of prime ministership as he declined to take a stand against corruption".

"While trying to wear a hat of an honest person, he had been blaming his colleagues for the huge corruption scandals. He blamed Raja (A Raja, former communications minister) for the 2G scandal, put the blame on Prithviraj Chavan for the appointment of PJ Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner and the S-band scandal," Raza said.

Congress leader Mohan Prakash disagreed.

Scams, cabinet tussle overshadow PM’s 79th B’day "There is a motivated campaign by the opposition parties which comes in handy for the TRP-hungry media and arm-chair urban middle class. But ordinary people have high regard for the Manmohan Singh-Soniaji duo."

Prakash, who started his career as an opposition leader, said: "There are issues of corruption and problems of price rise. But Manmohan Singh has taken action whenever needed."

He said the Anna Hazare movement and campaign against corruption reflected the public aspiration for transparency.

"But that does not particularly affect the future of Manmohan Singh or the UPA, as most of the states going to Assembly polls in the coming years are ruled by the opposition."

Political analyst N Bhaskar Rao feels that the problem with Manmohan Singh is that "he is a poor communicator. The Prime Minister still has not lost his reputation as a good economist and an honest politician."

Mukherjee said the power sharing arrangement between UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister worked well during UPA-I. "Now he appears to be besieged and helpless."

The arrangement was bound to corrode as the power was with Gandhi and the responsibilities were with Manmohan Singh, she added.

According to her, history will remember Manmohan Singh more as the finance minister who brought economic reforms with a minimum suffering in the 1990s than as a two-term prime minister.

"Manmohan Singh may have a better and brighter birthday in 2012," she said.

World's most powerful women

Melinda Gates, an American philanthropist and wife of Bill Gates. She is the co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a former unit manager for several Microsoft products such as Publisher, Microsoft Bob, Encarta, and Expedia.







Sonia Gandhi is the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance and the president of the Congress National party. Her foreign birth has been a subject of much debate and controversy.
Although Sonia is actually the fifth foreign-born person to be leader of the Congress Party, she is the first since independence in 1947.

Michelle Obama is the first lady of the United States. Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She has become a fashion icon and role model for women, and an advocate for poverty awareness and healthy eating.

Christine Lagarde is the managing director of the International Monetary Fund. Previously,
 she held various ministerial posts in the French government. Lagarde was the first woman ever to become minister of Economic Affairs of a G8 economy, and is the first woman to ever head the IMF.

Irene Blecker Rosenfeld is the Chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods. She has worked for 25 years in the food and beverage industry.

BJP targets Sonia in land acquisition row

With an eye on Anna Hazare’s crusade against corruption, the BJP raked up the scam involved in land allocation for the Rajiv Gandhi Trust in Haryana, targeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi.  Sensing the popular mood against corruption and given Hazare’s concern for the woes of the farmers resulting from land acquisitions, the BJP fielded former party president Rajnath Singh to raise the issue inside the Lok Sabha.

The reference to Congress president Sonia Gandhi led to uproarious scenes, forcing the House to be adjourned twice.

Amid repeated interruptions from the Congress members and objection from Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal who said that the state subject could not be raised in Parliament, Rajnath Singh defended himself on the ground that since the Land Acquisition Act will be a Central legislation, the issue could be taken up in Parliament.

While demanding a judicial inquiry into the land acquisitions in Haryana, Rajnath Singh wanted the Centre to issue an advisory to all the states to keep in abeyance the land acquisition proceedings until the new Land Acquisition Bill is passed in Parliament.  “Land acquisitions are for public purpose, but it cannot be justified, if it is done to benefit private builders,” he said.  However, when asked whether the BJP Central leadership would issue an advisory to the BJP-ruled states, Rajnath Singh simply stated that there was no land violation in these states.

From the village common land pool, land was leased out to the Rajiv Gandhi Trust for a period of 30 years.  In another instance, in 2006, land was acquired for Rajiv Educational Society, which was later sold to the private builders. Reacting to the claim of AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi that Haryana model of land acquisitions is the best model, Rajnath Singh asked,”Why then are the farmers angry in Haryana?”  Rajnath Singh said he had toured 12 villages in the area, including Ullahawas, and seen how the land was being acquired from farmers in an unjust and unfair manner.

During his visit to several villages in Haryana on August 5, delegations of farmers explained to him the modus operandi of the state government. Land acquisition proceedings are initiated under Section 4 and Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act.  Once the villagers know that the government is all set to acquire the land, then, in collusion with the builders lobby, the administration withdraws the acquisition proceedings.

Congress core committee to meet over Lokpal issue

With Gandhian activist Anna Hazare refusing to leave the Tihar Jail, the core committee of Congress is to meettoday to finalise its strategy for dealing with the situation.

Anna Hazare was arrested Tuesday ahead of his proposed fast for a stronger anti-corruption law and taken to Tihar Jail. Authorities later declared him free but the Gandhian refused to walk out of the jail until he was allowed to hold his planned fast without any fetters.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and other senior congress leaders attended the party's core committee meeting at 7, Race Course Road, in New Delhi.

Sources say that the Core Group decided to call an all-party meeting on the Lokpal issue, especially to debate the provisions like should the Prime Minister be brought under the ambit of Lokpal or not.

The Core Committee held a meeting yesterday also on these and related issues.

In recent days, the Lokpal issue and the police crackdown on yoga guru Baba Ramdev's camp on the intervening night of June 4-5 have been like an albatross around the government's neck. It had to face a lot of criticism at the hands of the Opposition parties, especially the BJP.

The Core Group was also supposed to discuss the Telangana issue but sources said there was no discussion on Telangana.In April, Jantar Mantar became the base camp for lakhs of Indians who supported Mr Hazare as he fasted for nearly a week.

Satellite protests in cities across India had stumped the government, which agreed to Mr Hazare's demands. He wanted a new law against corruption to be enacted, and he wanted activists who represent civil society to formally draft that law. After arguing that legislation was the prerogative of Parliament, the government gave in. Mr Hazare and four activists, including Mr Kejriwal, formed one half of the Lokpal Bill drafting committee; five senior ministers formed the other.

But of late, the movement has run into rough weather after an impasse between the two sides over drafting the bill. The activists slammed the government accusing it of turning the Lokpal Bill into a "Jokepal Bill.