HEAD LINE:

• Stop terrorism for better ties: PM to Pak, Says India's Silence Shouldn't Be Mistaken For Weakness (TOI)
• Allow UK to question Kasab, Pak suspects: Brown to PM, Zardari (IE)
• Be tough in fighting terror, but don't brutalise society: PM (IE)

LEAD:

Over three-fourths of terrorist attacks investigated in the UK had al-Qaida and Pakistan links, British PM Gordon Brown said during a whistle stop tour of India and Pakistan on Sunday. His comment became the latest blow to Pakistan which is trying hard to distance itself from the Mumbai attacks. After meeting PM Manmohan Singh, Brown said, "The group responsible for the attacks is LeT and they have a great deal to answer for." Later, in Islamabad, he launched a $9 million counter-terrorism programme with Pakistan. Brown also told Pakistan that it was time for action, not words. He asked both countries to let British investigators question terror suspects. In India, he asked for British investigators to be given access to Ajmal Amir Kasab. UK investigators have already been given a great degree of access to the probe. (TOI)

• New Delhi: With barely a month left for US President-elect Barack Obama to officially enter White House, influential Democrat Senator and likely next head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry made it clear that the Obama Administration will ask the Pakistan Govt to bring the ISI firmly under civilian control. When it was pointed out that Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had to roll back an earlier decision to place the ISI under the Interior Minister, Kerry said this was a "young govt" but was well intentioned and would make the change in the days ahead. The issue is being linked with the aid package being worked out for Pakistan. Kerry, who hopes to meet PM Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee tomorrow, will be briefing Obama once he returns from his trip that includes a stopover in Islamabad where he will hold talks with Zardari. In many ways, sources said, he is here on behalf of Obama to obtain a feedback on how India wants the next course of action to play out. He clarified that Obama was not looking for an envoy for Kashmir though he was focused on the region as a whole. (IE)
• New Delhi: An Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officer, suspended last year for not carrying out changes in a counter reply to the Supreme Court on the Ram Sethu project, has filed a case against Culture Minister Ambika Soni and her senior officials for making him a "convenient scapegoat" to save herself from the public furore that ensued. Seeking to quash the chargesheet against him, Chander Shekhar, Director (Administration) in the ASI, has told the Central Administrative Tribunal that the "purpose and motive of issuance of chargesheet is oblique and aimed solely at providing cover to the respondents in respect to the situation, which are their own creation, resulting in political fallout causing serious consequential repercussion to them". Shekhar, along with Assistant Director (Monuments) V Bakshi, was suspended in September 2007 for not incorporating corrections in the counter affidavit that set off a political storm, with the BJP accusing the UPA Govt of hurting religious sentiments of Hindus in stating that there was no historical or scientific proof about the existence of Lord Ram. (IE)
• New Delhi: While Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has publicly demanded that Pakistan should be taught a lesson for repeated Terror attacks, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, on the other hand, has consistently opposed any stringent action against Pakistan. "We have to teach Pakistan a lesson to ensure that they do not dare to undertake Mumbai like terror attacks," Mulayam said after meeting PM Manmohan Singh recently. Even during the all party meeting the BJP leaders did not talk about attacking Pakistan the way Mulayam did. On the other hand, though the Union Railway Minister has refrained from speaking on the issue in public, during every closed door meeting he has vehemently opposed any hawkish stance against Pakistan. "Our leader is opposed to any targeted attack on terror camps in PoK. He feels it would lead to a war and it's against the interests of both India and Pakistan," said an RJD leader. (IE)
• New Delhi: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on Sunday said there was no immediate plan to appoint a Deputy CM. Emerging from his meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi here, he said there was no plan to have a Deputy CM "at the moment". The high command was earlier said to be considering the appointment of a Deputy CM from the Jat community to appease them. A section of influential Jat leaders from the state had opposed the appointment of Gehlot as CM, saying that it would further alienate the community from the Congress. The recent Assembly election results, however, showed that the community had continued to support the party, notwithstanding the general perception about their alienation from it.(IE)
• The Election Commission is all set to start gearing up for the Lok Sabha elections next year. It has convened a meeting of chief electoral officers (CEOs) of all states and Union Territories this week to start preparations for the "final" ballot due by May. "In the runup to the preparations to the general elections, the commission will be taking up review meetings with CEOs of all states and Union Territories from December 16 to 18," an EC source said. Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami along with two other commissioners Navin Chawla and S.Y. Quraishi have drawn up a schedule for detailed interactions with chief electoral officers to discuss the nitty-gritty of the massive exercise. The present Lok Sabha term comes to an end by mid-May and the process to elect a new House has to be completed by then. Recently, the Election Commission conducted Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Mizoram while the process is still on in J&K. (AA)
• External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said that Lok Sabha elections would be held on schedule. The term of the present Lok Sabha comes to an end by mid-May and the process to elect a new House has to be completed by then. "There is no question of early elections. It will be held on schedule," Mr Mukherjee replied when he was asked whether the UPA would opt for early polls. He was speaking to mediapersons after addressing a Congress workers' convention at Raghunathgunj in Murshidabad. Mr Mukherjee further added, "We now need to focus on the upcoming Parliament elections as the situation is different now. The citizens of the country have expressed their faith with the Congress that we have witnessed in the recently concluded Assembly polls."(AA)

MANMOHAN SINGH & GOVT

PM Manmohan Singh on Saturday made a strong case for the Govt to take steps that might "derogate from certain human rights principles" while fighting terrorism. While Dr Singh agreed that human rights and the fight against terrorism "can and should go hand in hand", he also very clearly said that "states are both entitled and obliged to take certain steps that might derogate from human rights principles but only to the extent necessary to meet the security threat." The PM was addressing an international conference of jurists on Terrorism, Rule of Law and Human Rights in the Capital, coinciding with the seventh anniversary of the Parliament attack, three weeks after the Mumbai attacks. The PM, however, warned that the fight against terrorism "should not result in brutalisation of our society". Saying the need was to be "resolute and yet be careful", Singh asserted that no particular community or religion should be made the target. "We must ensure that no group or section of society is targeted in our commitment to fight terrorism. What is required is flexibility," he said. (IE)

• Shangus (Kashmir): Amid mounting tensions with Pakistan following the Mumbai attacks that left 174 people dead, PM Manmohan Singh on Sunday said New Delhi wants "normalised" relations with Pakistan but made it clear that the normalisation won't take place until Islamabad stops providing safe haven for terrorists. "I hope relations between the neighbours can be normalised but this cannot happen until our neighbour stops allowing its territory to be used for acts of terrorism against India," he said, while addressing an election rally at Shangus in J&K's Anantnag district. Singh, who travelled to the Valley after a breakfast meeting with British PM Gordon Brown in New Delhi, said, "There are some people in Pakistan who are always ready to carry out such attacks against our country." He said India's silence shouldn't be misconstrued as a sign of weakness and resolved to continue the fight against terrorism. The PM, who arrived in Kashmir amid unprecedented security arrangements with thousands of soldiers using barbed wire and metal barricades to seal off all approach roads to Shangus, reiterated India's resolve to settle all issues with Pakistan including J&K. He, however, maintained that there would be no redrawing of borders. "We can't change the borders but lessen restrictions on travel between the two countries," he said.(TOI)

LEFT PARTIES

The general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Prakash Karat on Sunday said that a strong and viable third alternative of non-Congress and non- BJP secular parties would take shape within the next two months, ahead of the coming Lok Sabha polls. Addressing a state-level party rally here, Mr. Karat said the left parties had been striving for an alliance of non-Congress and non-BJP parties as an alternative to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He pointed out that the CPI(M) had reached an understanding with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh and the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. Mr. Karat appealed to the secular and democratic forces of Assam and other north-eastern states to help form the third front. Such an alternative had to be based on pro-people policies. It should be opposed to the economic policies of the Congress and the BJP, fight against the dangers of U.S. imperialism and support an independent foreign policy. The front should also strongly oppose communal and divisive forces, he said. (HINDU) with an "economic emergency," massive loss of jobs unless it takes strong and bold steps to tackle the impact of the global financial crisis and economic meltdown with full determination and clarity of mind and actions. Interacting with the captains of the industry here, Mr. Advani said the current economic situation has instilled uncertainty, insecurity and even fear among all sections of society especially among the poor and the middle classes who are ones who face massive loss of jobs. "The current crisis has touched all segments of the economy and the society. It could assume the "proportions of an economic emergency" unless it is handled with determination, clarity of thought and creative new approaches," he added. Mr. Advani had taken the initiative to call the meeting with leading industrialists, weeks after the PM convened a similar meeting to understand the impact of the U.S.-born economic crisis on India and its industry in particular. The meeting was first in series of consultations planned by the BJP leader to have with various groups on economic matters. (HINDU)

STATES

ANDHRA PRADESH

The Congress is gearing up for general elections after the victories in the Delhi, Rajasthan and Mizoram Assembly polls. While the AICC on Sunday constituted an executive committee for the Andhra Pradesh Congress, the key state where the Congress got an absolute majority on its own, it has also announced a pradesh election committee for Assam. Andhra Pradesh is expected to go to Assembly polls, along with the Lok Sabha, early next year. The party's political management had not only unseated the rival TDP in the state in the 2004 polls but gave 29 Lok Sabha seats which had helped the UPA come to power at the Centre. Significantly, even the Telangana Rashtra Samiti was able to win five Lok Sabha seats because of a prepoll alliance with the Congress. The 111-member Andhra PCC executive committee consists of Union ministers S. Jaipal Reddy, Renuka Chowdhury, Panabaka Lakshmi, Dasari Narayana Rao and senior MPs G. Venkataswamy, N. Janardhana Reddy, V. Arun Kumar, .T Subbarami Reddy, V. Kishore Chandra Deo, V. Hanumantha Rao, Chinta Mohan and Yakshi Madhu Goud. The 29-member party manifesto committee for Andhra is headed by Dr A. Chakrapani.(AA)

HARYANA

The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the BJP have decided to hold joint rallies in all the districts of Haryana, former Haryana CM and INLD supremo Om Parkash Chautala told the media here on Sunday. He said that the first rally would be held at Badhkali Chowk at Mewat on December 18. He added that senior INLD and BJP leaders would address these rallies. BJP President Rajnath Singh would address the rally to be organised at Gurgaon on January 11. The last rally would be held at Rohtak on January 31 to coincide with Basant Panchmi and the birth anniversary of the legendary Sir Chhottu Ram. Replying to a question, Mr. Chautala asserted that the NDA would win all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana. Vehemently denying any seat-sharing formula with the BJP, he said that the NDA would decide the tickets at the time of the general elections on the criteria of winnability of the candidate irrespective of the party to which he belonged. (HINDU)

MADHYA PRADESH

A resolution authorising the Congress President Sonia Gandhi to decide on the new leader of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Legislature party was passed here on Sunday. The resolution was moved at a meeting of the newly-elected Congress legislators at the party office here. It was moved by the leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Assembly, Jamuna Devi and seconded by Union Minister, Arjun Singh's younger son, Ajay Singh. Apart from the MLAs, those who were present in the meeting included the State Congress president Suresh Pachouri, the chairman of the Congress media department Veerappa Moily, party general secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh Narayansami and Maharashtra Congress leader, Gurudas Kamat. Later, the three observers talked to the MLAs individually to know their preference for the post. (HINDU)

• BHOPAL: The former Madhya Pradesh CM, Uma Bharti, who had vowed to retire to the Himalayas if she was unable to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2008 elections to the State Assembly, was Sunday re-nominated president of her Bharatiya Jan Shakti party. Ms. Bharti floated the BJS after she was expelled from the BJP in 2005. A party release said the BJS's national executive was reconstituted in view of general elections scheduled next year and Bharti has been appointed party president. Sanghpriya Gautam was appointed working president, Subedar Singh senior vice-president, Ramakant Pande vice-president, Amar Singh, Viveksheel Shukla and Anita Singh were appointed general secretaries, and Sanjay Sharma treasurer. Ms Bharti, who made great efforts to defeat the ruling BJP, had declared soon after the polls that her party would function as the political wing of former BJP ideologue Govindacharya's 'Rashtriya Swabhiman Aandolan'. (HINDU)

RAJASTHAN

Senior journalist Mohammed Yasin has been appointed as the Press Advisor to Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot along with the reshuffle in the State bureaucracy. Mr. Yasin took over the charge late on Saturday night after his 38-year stint as a sports and political commentator. Mr. Yasin, 62, began his career in journalism as a freelance sports reporter in 1970 and worked with several local newspapers, including Hindi daily "Dainik Navjyoti", and news agencies. He was attached to Press Trust of India for 22 years in its Jaipur bureau. Mr. Yasin covered the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul and was Vice-Chairman of the Rajasthan State Sports Council between 2001 and 2003. He switched over from sports journalism to political reporting a few years ago and has since been writing on the political and social issues in the local newspapers. (HINDU)

WEST BENGAL

The state Congress unit's plans for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls suffered a setback with senior leader and MLA Sudip Bandyopadhyay announcing on Sunday that he will soon rejoin the Trinamool Congress. Bandyopadhyay courted controversy when he shared the dais with Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee in Singur against the wishes of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) chief P R Dasmunsi. He attributed his decision to "constant humiliation" at the hands of the WBPCC leadership ever since. The MLA will soon visit New Delhi to meet Banerjee. Addressing mediapersons on Sunday, Bandyopadhyay said: "I have been humiliated by the present PCC leadership over the past three months. I was bypassed and not consulted or informed when the voters' list was being prepared in my own constituency of Bowbazar." (IE)