NRIs may vote in next elections: Manmohan

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday expressed the hope that Indians living abroad would be able to vote in the next general elections.

Responding to the frequent plea for voting rights to non-resident Indians (NRIs), most recently by members of his Global Advisory Council of Overseas Indians, Dr. Singh termed the desire legitimate.

“We are working on this issue and I sincerely hope that they will get a chance to vote by the time of the next regular general elections. In fact, I would go a step further and ask why more overseas Indians should not return home to join politics and public life as they are increasingly doing in business and academia,” he said inaugurating the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas here.

Dr. Singh also took on board several familiar grievances expressed by NRIs, including the slow pace of decision-making, and reminded them of their obligations to the motherland.

Taking a dig at overseas Indians being not only good savers but also “somewhat conservative investors,” Dr. Singh said they should move away from parking their savings in bank deposits. “Foreign direct investment in India by overseas Indians is low and far short of potential. I would urge overseas Indians to take a careful look at long-term investment opportunities now on the horizon in our country.”

“Slow-moving elephant”

No panel on Telangana till normalcy returns: Congress

Controversy over Jyoti Basu's hospital

Congress

core group, which met on Friday on the Telangana issue, has unanimously said that the 'promised' committee on Telangana will have to wait till normalcy returns to Andhra Pradesh.

Sources said that unless law and order situation was under control and there is normalcy, there is no question of appointing a committee. Though the core group agreed on the need for a mechanism for further consultations on the issue of a separate state of Telangana.

The Centre has been mulling the idea of setting up a committee to hold consultations with all stakeholders.

The all-party meeting on Telangana convened by Home

Minister P Chidambaram on January 5 ended with leaders appealing for maintaining peace, harmony and law and order in Andhra Pradesh.

Rocket fire from across Pakistan border

Four rockets were fired from across the Pakistan border on Saturday. Two rockets landed near Border Security Force (BSF) post at Wagah. Other two landed in a field.

In retaliation, the BSF also fired back.  The paramilitary force has lodged protest at flag meeting.

Kashmir New Year celebrations draw hardliners' ire

SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - Plans for the first major New Year's Eve celebrations in violence-wracked Indian Kashmir for 20 years have triggered protests from hardliners who object to the "anti-Islamic" partying.

War-weary locals are set to enjoy some of the first major New Year's events since an anti-India insurgency broke out in the snow-capped Himalayan region 20 years ago.

Hotels plan to lay on dinners and dances and there will be parties in the region's ski resort of Gulmarg in a further sign of life returning to normal as violence wanes.

Indian Kashmir's leading woman separatist and anti-vice campaigner took aim at party organisers and urged residents to shun events that could expose them to "obscenity and immorality."

"People should refrain from attending such functions," Aasiya Andrabi said in a statement.

Andrabi, who heads Dukhtaran-e-Milat or Daughters of Faith, has been jailed in the past for her anti-vice campaign, which includes preventing couples from dating or celebrating Valentine's Day.

"We are fighting for freedom and it demands character building rather than enjoying the anti-Islamic celebrations," she said.

Mushtaq Chaya, a local hotel owner who is organising a dinner and dance, says Kashmiris should be free to enjoy themselves.

"Why should Kashmiris see New Year celebrations of other states and countries on TV only? We want them to be part of the celebrations," he said.

Hardline Muslim militants frequently targeted cinema halls, video parlours and liquor shops across the region during the height of the insurgency.

Andrabi, who served a two-year jail term in the mid-1990s for helping Muslim rebels, has in the past smeared black paint on racy Bollywood film posters and demanded women veil themselves fully.

More than 47,000 people have been killed in Indian Kashmir since 1989 when Islamic militants rose in revolt against New Delhi's rule. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Islamabad denies.

Policeman attacked on road, ministers stare from cars, don't help

A policeman, R Vetrivel, in Tamil Nadu lies on the road begging for help. The 44-year-old's legs have been chopped off by gangsters.

A government convoy passes by this part of Tirunelvelli. It includes two ministers  - for Sports and Health - in the Tamil Nadu government. The convoy stops.  Neither of the ministers step out of their cars. With them are bureaucrats - a Collector and a Health Secretary.

The Collector, M Jayaraman, finally gets out of his car after dithering for eight minutes. But nobody offers to take the wounded inspector to hospital. Finally, the Collector phones for an ambulance. It doesn't arrive.

Twenty minutes later, the cop is placed in one of the cars (the ministers still don't offer theirs). The policeman dies en route to the hospital.