HEAD LINE:

• US is India's best friend: Obama (TOI)
• Improved Indo-Pak ties will help J&K, says Omar (IE)

LEAD:

Talk about coincidence. Two terrorists, out to stage a Republic Day attack in Delhi, stopped at a tea stall to ask for directions from a man who just happened to be a police informer, related to a constable. Not just that, the barrel of an AK gun was peeping out from their bag. The hawkeyed informer spotted this and promptly told the cops. Too pat for comfort? Well, that's the version of the UP Anti-Terrorism Squad. And that's not the only thing that raises increasing doubts about the veracity of the pre-dawn Noida encounter. The two alleged Pakistani terrorists who were gunned down on Sunday morning weren't carrying either a satellite phone or a mobile, the ATS said on Monday. This would make it a first among major terror strikes in recent times where the attackers had no means of communicating among themselves or receiving instructions. That's not all. The ATS and Noida police have different versions on where the ATS team started chasing the militants. The ATS says the pursuit began from Amity check post in Noida, which is around 6km from the spot where the alleged terrorists, Farookh and Ismail, were killed. (TOI)

• New Delhi: In a message which has gone down very well with New Delhi, US President Barack Obama has said India has no better friend and partner than the people of the US. In his greetings to India on Republic Day, Obama said it was ''our shared values that form the bedrock of a robust relationship across peoples and govts''. Obama also wished PM Manmohan Singh a speedy recovery. ''As the people of India and people of Indian origin in America and around the world celebrate Republic Day on January 26, I send the warmest greetings of the American people to the people of India. Together, we celebrate our shared belief in democracy, liberty, pluralism, and religious tolerance,'' said Obama. (TOI)
• New Delhi: The JD(U) has put the BJP in a quandary by laying its claim to Lok Sabha seats with significant Muslim populations in Bihar arguing that the JD(U) was in a better position to win them. None other than CM Nitish Kumar has placed the demand for the seats, which were traditionally contested and won by the BJP, before the BJP's central leadership. Kumar is learnt to have told the BJP leadership that though the policies of his Govt have won the hearts of Muslim voters, the community would find it very difficult to vote for a candidate of the saffron party. Winning maximum number of seats from Bihar should be the primary consideration of the NDA, the JD(U) leader said. (IE)
• Bangalore: The BJP Govt in Karnataka on Monday came under severe criticism from various quarters over the Mangalore pub incident, even as the saffron party claimed that its members were not involved in the incident and promised appropriate action against the culprits. Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda blamed the BJP for the rising rowdyism of Sangh Parivar elements in the state. "Unlike H D Kumaraswamy, present Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa lacks the will to check Bajrang Dal and Sri Ram Sene elements who are beating, bullying and intimidating people," he said. Mangalore and its neighbouring areas, according to the JD(S) leader, "have always been communally sensitive". Even a small incident can trigger a riot. "It is a pity that Yeddyyurappa has turned a blind eye to everything, including a boastful confession by a Sene leader that his men had attacked guests at a Mangalore pub," he said. "The shamelessness of the Sene leader and Yeddyurappa's inaction are both deplorable," he added. The former PM said Sene and Bajrang Dal elements had been emboldened by the failure of the BJP Govt to book them for attacks on churches last year. "Had it been a JD(S) regime, they would have been sternly dealt with," he said. "This is a criminal negligence on the part of the state Govt. They are not discharging their constitutional responsibility," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said. "The people in the pub were not doing anything which is not allowed under the provision of law. The pub operates a license," he added. (IE)

MANMOHAN SINGH & GOVT

PM Manmohan Singh, who underwent a bypass surgery on Saturday, is making excellent progress in recovery and will be taken out of the Intensive Care Unit at AIIMS by Wednesday, the surgeon who operated on him said on Monday. "He is responding very well to the treatment. The PM will be taken out of ICU by Wednesday," Dr Ramakant Panda, a specialist from Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute, said. The PM has started taking semi-solid food, a Govt statement said, adding that several of his invasive monitoring lines have been removed. The PM's Media Adviser Deepak Sandhu said Singh, who sat up in the morning and spoke to family members and doctors, was eager to resume work as soon as possible. (IE)

BJP

Senior BJP leader and NDA's prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani on Monday said his party has attempted to stand along with the UPA govt in the country's fight against terror. Hoisting the tricolour at his residence to mark Republic Day, Mr Advani said, "I urge the people of India to extend complete support to security forces who are engaged in a grim battle against terror." He said the BJP has attempted to stand along with the UPA govt in the country's fight against terror, putting aside all political differences, noting that his party supported the bills on formation of NIA and amendment to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the last Parliament session. The flag-hoisting ceremony at Mr Advani's residence was attended by BJP spokespersons Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar. BJP President Rajnath Singh arrived soon after the flag hoisting.(AA)

CONGRESS

Adding extra star power to the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh, a young Telugu film star, Raja, has joined the party. "Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy is a man with vision. His service to mankind is what basically attracted me towards him and also the Congress," Raja said. The actor said the Congress Govt's welfare schemes, particularly in healthcare and education, also drew him towards the party. "A scheme like Arogya Sri health insurance is a real boon to the people, particularly the poor who cannot afford costly treatment in corporate hospitals. Thanks to the scheme, many lives are being saved," said the 30-year-old star. Asserting that he would not contest the ensuing elections, Raja, who hails from the port city of Visakhapatnam, said he would campaign for the Congress. (IE)

• The pre-poll seat adjustment for Lok Sabha elections in UP between the Congress and Samajwadi Party is all set to be clinched, as SP general secretary Amar Singh is scheduled to meet the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday to get her final stamp on the agreed formula between the two leaders. The SP general secretary is meeting Ms Gandhi ahead of the Congress Working Committee meeting on Thursday. The SP camp has claimed that the scheduled meeting on January 28 between the two designated leaders of the two parties for the seat-sharing talks will set into motion the electoral alliance in UP. The agreement between the two parties is said to have an electoral alliance on 72 LS seats in UP, while rest of the seats will have friendly fight. The SP sources said that a pre-poll alliance for all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP fell after the Congress refused to climb down from its demand to contest 25 parliamentary constituencies in the state. "Apart from a seat-sharing alliance on 72 Lok Sabha seats, the two parties will go for friendly fight on eight of the rest constituencies. While the Congress is tipped to field five of its candidates on seats won by the SP in 2004 general elections, the SP too will field three candidates against the sitting MPs of the Congress," said the SP functionary. (AA)

LEFT PARTIES

The CPI(M), which has for the first time struck an electoral alliance with the CPI(M-L) will hold two-day joint rally in Bihar to target the Nitish govt on January 28. The CPI will also participate in the rally. During the last Assembly elections in Bihar, the CPI(M) and the CPI had gone in different directions. While the CPI had joined hands with the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led RJD, the CPI(M) had opposed the former Bihar CM. This is for the first time all the three red outfits join together in the state. However, in West Bengal, the CPI(M-L) would oppose the Left Front in the general elections. The roping in of the CPI(M-L) is also a CPI(M)'s effort to give a shape to the "third alternative", particularly in Bihar. At the national level, the so-called "third alternative" formula floated by the CPI(M) includes the Left parties, TDP, AIADMK and TRS. The CPI(M) and the CPI also have been sending feelers to JMM chief Shibu Soren.(AA)

ASSAM

The Govt of Assam has announced the setting up of autonomous councils for seven ethnic groups, including the Gorkhas, on Monday. Making the announcement during his Republic Day speech, Assam Governor Shiv Charan Mathur said the initiative would provide the people the opportunity to make their own development plans and execute them. The other six ethnic groups, which would soon have an autonomous council of their own, are Ahom, Matak, Moran, Koch-Rajbangshi, Chutiya, Adivasi and Gorkha. "Six new development councils for Ahoms, Mataks, Morans, Koch-Rajbangshis, Chutiyas and Adivasis are being set up, and an additional one for Gorkhas will be set up," the Governor said during the course of his eight-page speech in the Republic Day function here. (IE)

DELHI

With various Muslim bodies scheduled to hold a rally in the Capital on Thursday to demand a probe into the Batla House encounter, questions are also being raised about the investigations into the infamous Jamia rioting case of 2007. Top sources in the crime branch, which is investigating the case, say that around 35 arrests have been made in this connection. However, even after the lapse of one and a half years, the police are yet to file a chargesheet in the case. ''There have been many charges and counter-charges. Hence, we are investigating each angle before filing a chargesheet. We do not want any loopholes in the case. All these arrests were made initially and hence we are cross-checking details about these arrests,'' said a senior cop in the crime branch. He added that a time-frame to wound up investigations has been rejected. In September 2007, one dozen policemen were severely injured and the then Jamia Nagar and Shaheen Bagh police posts were reduced to ashes after a mob allegedly set them afire. This was one of the prime reasons behind the setting up of a police station at Jamia Nagar. (TOI)

J&K

The Congress is likely to field three of its seniormost leaders in the coming election to J-K's four Rajya Sabha seats with party sources revealing that Union Minister and JKPCC chief, Prof Saifuddin Soz, former Rajya Sabha member and senior Congress parliamentarian Karan Singh and former J-K chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad are likely Congress candidates. "The names of the candidates will be announced within the next few days by the Central high command," a Congress vice president and party spokesman said. "It is yet to be decided whether Congress will contest two or three seats. But the names of Prof Soz, former CM, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Karan Singh are in the panel forwarded to the Central high command," he said. While, former CM Azad was elected to the Assembly from his native constituency Bhaderwah, party leaders said Azad had made his preference for a role in national politics clear. (IE)

MADHYA PRADESH

Congressmen in Madhya Pradesh are still smarting over the party's unexpectedly big defeat in the recent Assembly poll. Some, like newly-appointed deputy CLP leader Sajjan Singh Verma, have begun to publicly vent their anger in exceptionally strong language, much to the chagrin of the MPCC leadership. A long-time Kamal Nath loyalist, Mr Verma told a meeting of the party's polling agents at Indore late last week that reports of tickets having been sold to the highest bidder were rife in the state poll, and in most cases true. This, however, won't be allowed to happen in the coming LS election. And just in case, the unholy business was repeated, party workers were welcome to "tear the clothes" of the AICC bigwigs when they come to MP. Squabbling party leaders in Delhi were welcome to be at each other's throats. "We'll even gift them swords so that they can cut off each other's heads." But none of this should be allowed to influence the ticket allocation. Party workers will have to be consulted before a decision is taken. "Only the deserving should get it." Mr Verma later told this newspaper that the criteria adopted by those at the helm was based on the absurd logic "ki mera gadha tumhare ghode se accha. Iss liye gadhe ko ticket kyon na miley" (since my donkey is better than your horse, why not nominate the donkey). This is the kind of mental bankruptcy which had caused the latest electoral setback.(AA)

EDITORIAL

Time for all of us to put India first: As we embark on the sixtieth anniversary of our republic, we need to remind ourselves that there is much that has to be straightened out in the basic parameters of our existence as a national entity if we must make progress in the years ahead. President Pratibha Devisingh Patil made a direct reference to one severe shortcoming that hobbles us as a people, and the other can be extrapolated from her observations on the issue of terrorism emanating from our neighbourhood which, not to put too fine a point on it, has emerged as the "epicenter" of international terrorism. We have been reminded in the President's traditional address on the eve of Republic Day that the identity each one of us must place above any other is that of being an Indian. It is a pity this has to be pointed out at all six decades after the winning of freedom from colonial rule on the basis of "Indian first", the talisman given to us by Mahatma Gandhi. In Mumbai, we have seen people of Hindi-speaking regions being set upon by organised political parties that claim to be nationalistic. People of the Christian faith have been made targets of violence over weeks and months in Karnataka and Orissa, states in which the BJP, a party that hopes to return to rule at the Centre, is in power. (AA)