Vis-a-Vis

T.V. RAJESWAR Uttar Pradesh governor versus AZAM KHAN Samajwadi Party leader

"Anarchy prevailed in the past years. The people’s verdict was ridiculed by forming an unconstitutional government."

"How can the governor term a government unconstitutional when he himself had addressed similar joint sessions in the past regime?"

EPILOGUE: The governor’s assertion comes a little late in the day.


VOICES

“The masses determine who will form the Government, but the classes determine what that Government will do.”

Mani Shankar Aiyar, Union minister for panchayati raj

“We’re faced with a galloping demand for products which has resulted in inflation becoming a cause of concern, particularly in the case of essential commodities.”

Manmohan Singh, prime minister

“Left Front partners are not untouchables. Our differences are issue-specific, not political or ideological. I think this is a turning point in the politics of West Bengal.”

Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress chief

“Bilateralism has failed. Manmohan Singh should talk to BJP, the Left and the rightists for a consensus on J&K and other issues on which progress has been made with Pakistan.”

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Hurriyat Conference leader

“All that Cannes has become now is a glamour platform. Let us not fool ourselves anymore by saying big things and have big screening of our films and think that all is well.”

Rituparno Ghosh, filmmaker

THE BUZZ OF THE WEEK

Mayawati’s new and potent Dalit-Brahmin combine may take its toll sooner than later. A number of senior and second-rung leaders in the Congress, particularly from poll-bound states, are already toying with the idea of joining the BSP.

ACQUITTED: Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, in a case of murdering hotelier Hanif Sheikh and his son Laltu Sheikh two years ago, by a Baharampore court.

RENAMED: Lucknow’s famous King George Medical University, set up during the British era, as Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University, after the Dalit icon, by the Mayawati Government.

DIED: Former Orissa minister Murari Prasad Mishra, 79. He was cooperatives minister in the state government headed by Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo from 1967-1971.

PICTURE SPEAK

FINAL JUSTICE: Mahadik, Muneshwar, Palshikar, Mali (clockwise from left)

The constables were bribed Rs 59,000 each for letting RDX pass through the Raigad coast in a truck. The court did not accept the CBI’s plea for life imprisonment stating that the constables had acted under police sub-inspector V.K. Patil, who was the “main man”. The court sentenced Patil to life imprisonment for criminal conspiracy and aiding and abetting a terrorist act and slapped a fine of Rs 2 lakh on him.

In another significant conviction, Mansoor Ahmed Sayyed was awarded 10 years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000, the longest sentence awarded to an accused in the blasts case.

Sayyed is accused of transporting AK-56 rifles, ammunition and hand grenades in a blue Maruti Esteem along with Abu Salem from actor and co-accused Sanjay Dutt’s house and delivering them to co-accused Zebunnisa Kazi in Bandra. Sayyed, who has already spent nine years in prison, in his confession had claimed that he had agreed to the operation at the behest of Salem only to catch a glimpse of Dutt.

But while Ahmed has been convicted under the stringent TADA, Dutt has been let off under the Arms Act. Ahmed seemed resigned to his fate on hearing the sentence and remained quiet and aloof.

With these convictions, all eyes are on Dutt, whose court hearing comes up on May 25.

-By Prerana Thakurdesai

PICTURE SPEAK

WAR GAMES: A LTTE ship

The LTTE has recently lost several smaller vessels it uses to transship arms from its fleet of merchant ships into rebel-held areas, a loss it is trying to recoup by capturing fishing trawlers. As the Sri Krishna incident indicates, increased vigil by the navies of Sri Lanka and India now sees the rebel group shifting focus to the island’s western coast, near Maldives, to smuggle arms into the island.

-By Sandeep Unnithan

PICTURE SPEAK

Ravi

-By M.G. Radhakrishnan