Political outrage over Army chief General VK Singh's leaked letter, parties demand action

New Delhi:  The chief of the Indian Army, General VK Singh, may have skidded past the point of no-return on his collision course with the government. A letter from him to the Prime Minister, warning that India's security is at risk, has been leaked to the media. Many political parties have hinted that he is responsible for the leak.

Opposition parties in Parliament demanded that the government take action against whoever is responsible, expressing as much concern over the leak of the letter as its contents. General Singh is currently on tour in Kashmir and will return to Delhi tomorrow.  
In his letter, dated March 12, General VK Singh asks the Prime Minister to "pass suitable directions to enhance the preparedness of the Army". The chief describes the state of artillery, air defence, and infantry as "alarming." He writes the Army's tanks are "devoid of critical ammunition to defeat enemy tanks" and air defence is "97% obsolete."

Many blame the Army chief for the leak, suggesting that this is his latest attempt to embarrass the Defence Ministry. A series of leaders from opposition parties, including Lalu Prasad Yadav, said the Army chief should be removed for breaching confidentiality and compromising institutional integrity. (Read: Some leaders ask for Army chief's removal - 10 big facts)

In Parliament, Defence Minister AK Antony described the letter as "top-secret." He said publishing "secret communication within government cannot serve our national security". Politicians like Lalu Prasad Yadav blamed the chief and asked for his immediate removal. "He is acting like someone who wants to stand for elections...remove him" said Lalu Prasad Yadav. Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Shivanand Tewari of the Janta Dal (United) agreed. Arun Jaitley of the BJP pointed out that alleged lapses in the procurement of equipment, as highlighted by the Army chief, should be addressed urgently, though privately. "Responsibility will have to be fixed and action be taken, irrespective of the position they may hold in the defence forces or the civilian administration. And that assurance must be given, and that is what we want," said the Left's Sitaram Yechury.

The details of the Army's weaknesses and its chasm with the government are now part of the imagery on display for Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is in Delhi for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit that begins tomorrow. On Monday, the Army chief revealed that he had been offered a bribe of 14 crores to clear sub-standard trucks in 2010. The Defence Minister retorted yesterday that he had asked the chief to take action against the retired defence officer who offered him the kickback, but the Army chief had refused. (Read: Rs. 14 crore bribe offered to Army chief recorded on tape: Sources) General Singh will meet most likely with the CBI tomorrow to discuss the kickback.

Former Army chief Shankar Roy Chowdhury said that the government has been alerted repeatedly to the exigent need to upgrade the Army's resources. "This is not a new thing...it is occupying media space because of the leaks," he said. "Pakistan must be laughing... rest assured Pakistan knows about it, China knows about it," he added.

The Army chief is set to retire at the end of May. Many believe that this week's developments suggest he is hungry for revenge before he exits office. (Read: Months of acrimony for army chief and the government) 

For most of last year, the minister and the Army chief fought a long battle over General Singh's age. The government refused to accept that General Singh was born in 1951 and not 1950.  Records with the Army show both years, but the government said that documents used to establish his seniority and promotions declared 1950 as his year of birth and could not be amended. The Army chief took the unprecedented action of taking the government to court. But he dropped his petition after Supreme Court judges indicated they were unlikely to accept his arguments.

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Gujarat porngate: Speaker gives clean chit to accused MLAs; BJP says will demand apology from Congress

Ahmedabad:  Gujarat Assembly Speaker Ganpat Vasava has given clean chit to two BJP MLAs who were accused by a local journalist of looking at obscene photos in the state Assembly on an iPad. The Speaker said that a forensic team found nothing objectionable in the iPad.

Emboldened by the Speaker's verdict, the BJP has said it will demand an apology from the Congress tomorrow.

Journalist Janakbhai Purohit, working with a local newspaper Gujarat Samachar, released a video clip - captured on a cellphone by another journalist - purportedly showing the two MLAs, Shankar Chowdhary and Jetha Bhai Dharwad, looking at obscene photos of women on an iPad while sitting in the House.

"First they started by watching the pictures of Swami Vivekananda, then cartoons and then pics of women... I saw them watching some sleazy photographs of women and felt it was wrong... I went to the Speaker's chamber and complained about it to his Personal Assistant that it was a repeat of Karnataka; he informed the Speaker and the viewing was stopped," the journalist said. "This went on for about 20 minutes...they were engrossed in watching the vulgar pictures," he added.

The Speaker had ordered an investigation by a special empowered committee of the Gujarat Assembly. He also ordered MLA Shankar Chowdhary to deposit his iPad with his special secretary.

Mr Chowdhary had denied that any such incident happened. "This has no basis... no such incident happened... somebody is trying to defame me," the BJP MLA had said. Mr Dharwad, who allegedly viewed porn along with Mr Chowdhary, said, "We will resign if found guilty."

The Congress lashed out at the BJP saying it exposes "the real face of the Narendra Modi government."

Earlier this year, three ministers in the Karnataka Assembly, where the BJP is in power, were accused of watching porn on a cellphone. The ministers were forced to resign. A committee set up there by the Speaker of the House has concluded that there was evidence to indict one of them.  

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'No Coca-Cola, Pepsi': Sri Lankan protestors demand ban on American goods after UN resolution

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Kandahar massacre: Afghan lawmakers demand US soldier's public trial

Kabul:  The Afghan Parliament demanded on Monday that a US soldier who went on a shooting spree and killed 16 villagers in their homes should be put on public trial in Afghanistan.

"We seriously demand and expect that the government of the United States punish the culprits and try them in a public trial before the people of Afghanistan," the lower house of Parliament said in statement.

The US soldier walked off his base, heavily armed and with night vision equipment, and broke into three village homes before dawn on Sunday, killing 16 people including women and children, according to Western and Afghan sources.

Condemning the killings as "brutal and inhuman", Parliament declared that "people are running out of patience over the ignorance of foreign forces".

President Barack Obama telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to promise a speedy investigation into the killings, which fanned already smoldering anger among Afghans over the burning of Qurans at a US military base last month.

Sunday's massacre poses an acute test of the US-Afghan alliance, as the two countries pursue difficult talks on securing a strategic pact to govern their partnership once foreign combat troops leave Afghanistan in 2014.

"When Afghan people are killed deliberately by US forces, this action is murder and terror and an unforgivable action," Mr Karzai said.

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Pakistan Taliban demand release of bin Laden's widows, threaten attacks

Dera Ismail Khan:  The Pakistan Taliban will attack government, police and military officials if three of the late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's widows are not released from Pakistani custody, a spokesman for the militant group said on Friday.
Pakistan's government has charged bin Laden's three widows with illegally entering and staying in the country, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Thursday.
"If the family of Osama bin Laden is not released as soon as possible, we will attack the judges, the lawyers and the security officials involved in their trial," Ehsanullah Ehsan of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) told Reuters.
"We will carry out suicide bombings against security forces and the government across the country."
Mr Malik did not specify which court was dealing with the case. The three women will have to stand trial, but it was not clear what punishment they face if convicted.
Bin Laden was killed in a secret U.S. raid in the northern Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad in May last year.
The al Qaeda leader's body was flown out by American special forces, but his three wives and an undisclosed number of children were among the 16 people detained by Pakistani authorities after the raid.
Two of the wives are Saudi nationals, and one is from Yemen, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.
Pakistan had previously said that it would repatriate the women after a government commission probing the bin Laden raid had completed its questioning.
The commission has interviewed the family members for clues about how the al Qaeda chief managed to stay in the country undetected.
The TTP vowed revenge after bin Laden's death last year, and carried out high-profile attacks across Pakistan. It bombed an American consulate convoy, laid siege to a naval base and killed paramilitary cadets.
Formed in 2007, the TTP is an umbrella group of various Pakistani militant factions operating in Pakistan's unruly northwestern tribal areas along the porous border with Afghanistan.
TTP's spokesman also threatened attacks against Shad Begum, a women's rights activist based in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
The U.S. State Department honoured Begum with the 2012 International Women of Courage award at a ceremony in Washington on Thursday.
"She works for a secular and infidel system in Pakistan," Ehsan said. "That is why America has given her this prize."
Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012
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RBI cuts cash reserve ratio by 0.75%, demand for money rises

Mumbai: 

The mid-quarter review of the monetary policy is scheduled for March 15 and it was widely expected that Reserve Bank of India would cut rates then.

However, on Friday evening, the central bank sprung a surprise by cutting cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 0.75 per cent to 4.75 per cent.

CRR is the percentage of deposits that commercial banks have to keep aside with the central bank. Central banks use CRR rates as a tool to control the money supply in their battle against inflation. This is also used to control over-heating of an economy where expansion takes place on cheap borrowed money.

Read the industry reaction

Banks are finding it difficult to keep up with the demand for money that is surging due to advance tax payment obligations of corporates. Corporate tax payers have to pay their last instalment for the financial year on 15 March 2012.  The RBI action will allow banks to lend the money that would otherwise lie idle to these borrowers. 

Alarmed by the liquidity deficit, which had banks borrowing up to Rs 1,20,000 crore through the overnight window or the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF), the RBI had cut the CRR by 0.50 percent in the January 24 policy review to 5.50 percent.

However, in spite of the CRR cut which infused about Rs 32,000 crore into the system, banks continued to borrow over Rs 1,00,000 crore from the LAF (liquidity adjustment facility) corridor, much above the RBI's stated liquidity deficit comfort zone of Rs 60,000 crore.

This is despite RBI buying government securities from banks and injecting Rs 1,25,200 crore into the system through the so called ‘open market operations’.

Two weeks ago, RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn hinted at an action.

Here are pointers that could help explain the reaction:

• The CRR cut means banks have more money to lend at the same cost. This reduces cost of funds for banks. Banks are likely to use the CRR cut to improve their own profitability. This should be positive for bank sector shares. Some banks may be able to pass on the cost to their customers.

• However, RBI would have to watch crude prices. Brent crude prices, which occupies for two thirds of the country's imports, have moved up to over USD 125 a barrel, at a ten-month high, against the RBI's baseline assumption of USD 110. RBI deputy governor had said that the central bank would continue monitoring the number.

• Rising oil prices may not give flexibility to RBI to cut repo rates. These are rates at which banks borrow from RBI. There is a potential for inflation surge and central banks have to battle that as a priority.

• RBI has said that the cut in CRR by 0.75 per cent should be considered as a reinforcement of the guidance that future rate actions will be towards lowering them. When interest rates are high, an investor’s or lenders ability to take risks declines. The RBI is clearly indicating to them that it is time to invest for growth.

• The monetary tightening (hiking interest rates 13 times since March 2010) made it difficult for companies to borrow. Banks were cautious and not willing to lend to companies wanting to expand. The RBI signal means that banks would be more willing to lend money now than before. This should allow businesses to plan new projects or execute those held up due to lack of financial resources

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