5 Stories for Today

(1) Lalu withdraws support to UPA government

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday announced his decision to formally withdraw support to the government, protesting against the adoption of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh, who too had threatened to do so, however, was evasive on the issue.

Mr. Prasad said he would call on President Pratibha Patil and submit his letter to her on Wednesday.

The RJD has four members in the Lok Sabha and had extended outside support to the UPA government.

Reacting to the suspension of seven members in the Rajya Sabha and the adoption of the Bill, the RJD chief and his SP counterpart charged that those evicted included four Muslim MPs. The RJD and the SP chief, along with JD(U) president Sharad Yadav, said that they met the Prime Minister earlier in the day but did not accept his suggestion that they allow the passage of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha and that their concerns would be addressed when the Bill is taken up for consideration in the Lok Sabha.

They charged that the Bill was taken up for discussion all of a sudden even without taking the allies into confidence. They alleged that democracy was being stifled, with the Rajya Sabha being turned into a fortress and paramilitary personnel posted as marshals.

The leaders said several Muslim delegations called on them, expressing their concern over the Bill as it denied them their due.

These leaders held a series of talks with Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, who too had underlined her opposition to the Bill. Mr. Sharad Yadav is said to have mooted the idea of sponsoring a no-confidence motion against the government and reportedly Mr. Prasad and Mr. Singh seemed to agree with him on the issue.

But the fact remains that the split in the JD(U) over the issue came to the fore, with five members voting in favour of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, and Mr. Yadav and his supporters openly opposing it in the Lok Sabha.

(2) Bali bombing suspect confirmed dead in police raid

Indonesia’s President says a top-ranked Southeast Asian militant wanted for planning the 2002 Bali bombings has been identified as the man shot dead by police in a raid on the island of Java.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in the Australian capital, Canberra, today that suspected Jemaah Islamiyah leader Dulmatin was the man shot dead in a raid at an Internet cafe southwest of Jakarta on Tuesday.

Dulmatin is wanted in the suicide bombings that tore through two Bali nightclubs popular with Westerners, killing 202 people in Indonesia’s deadliest terrorist attack.

(3) Industrialists pledge to invest in Assam

Impressed by the emergence of a ‘new Assam,' top industry captains on Tuesday pledged their commitment towards industrial and overall development of State at the first meeting of the Assam Investment Advisory Board held at the Secretariat.

“All of us run successful business in other parts of India. But I must say that there are tremendous opportunities in Assam too, and that the potential of the State has not received attention for a long time. A new Assam is here. We are drawn by the opportunities and challenges here. We are here by choice, said Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata while addressing a joint press conference with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and other industry bigwigs after the two-hour long meeting, which they attended as the board members.

Saying that he was happy to come to Assam again, Mr. Tata said that “I had come to Assam a few years ago. My visit this time is an eye opener because Guwahati has changed… full of evidence of development and prosperity.” Unilever President M. S. Banga, Videocon Chairman V. N. Dhoot, Eveready Industries Chairman B. M. Khaitan, Tata Sons Director R. K. Krishna Kumar, HSBC CEO Naina Lal Kidwai, State Bank of India Chairman O. P. Bhatt, former Indian Ambassador to United States Ronen Sen were among others present at the meeting.

Mr. Gogoi said industry captains had shown great interest and pledged their commitment for developing education, healthcare, infrastructure and power sectors of the State at the board meeting. Assam Industries and Commerce Minister Pradyut Bordoloi said the State was trying to promote the Brand Assam and the industry captains had agreed to become the ambassadors for the State. Mr. Banga said his company's experience in Assam with a 40,000-tonne capacity consumer production unit set up in 2001, employing 4,000 people was ‘very good'. He said the Uniliver's experience in Assam should send a positive signal to others.

(4) Toyota, U.S. officials investigate runaway Prius

U.S. safety regulators and Toyota dispatched teams on Tuesday to inspect a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway a day earlier, as the automaker struggled to reassure consumers shaken by its recall crisis.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said two investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were sent to San Diego "to be part of the investigation" of Monday's incident, which left the driver of a runaway car rattled but unhurt.

NHTSA is reminding owners of all recalled vehicles to contact their dealers immediately if they are experiencing problems.

Toyota Motor Corp said its own inspectors were working on Tuesday to try to find out what caused the 2008 Prius to surge uncontrollably to over 90 miles per hour as it was being driven by its owner, James Sikes, 61.

The incident, involving a dramatic pursuit by a highway patrol car, came at a bad time for Toyota, which has struggled in recent weeks to reassure a jittery public it has turned a corner in dealing with safety issues that sparked a recall of 8.5 million vehicles worldwide. Seven weeks into the crisis, Toyota has begun trying to reverse a slump in its new car sales by offering buyers aggressive discounts.

Just hours before news broke of the San Diego mishap, Toyota held a news conference seeking to discredit an external study critical of its computerized safety systems and denying again the existence of a flaw in its electronic engine throttles that could cause sudden, unintended acceleration.

Separately, the Japanese automaker asked a Michigan appeals court to intervene to keep its top two U.S. executives from being questioned under oath by lawyers for the family of a woman killed while driving a Camry in 2008.

(5) Ease barriers to unlock South Asian potential: FICCI

South Asian countries, including India, should reduce visa restrictions, non-tariff barriers like product quotas and improving customs procedures to boost private sector-led growth and unlock the region’s vast economic potential, says a study.

The region has a potential market of 1.5 billion people, the report prepared by FICCI and Asian Development Bank (ADB) said, adding “South Asia has the potential to be an economic power by 2025.”

Private sector-led growth can give a major fillip and unlock the region vast economic potential if SAARC member nations initiate steps like reducing visa restrictions and non-tariff barriers, and improving customs procedures.

Intra-regional trade remains modest compared to other parts of the world, it said, adding numerous impediments prevent the private sector from taking a bigger economic role.

The report also suggested that cutting non-physical barriers to trade and improving the climate for investment across borders will encourage greater private sector activity and strengthening regional integration.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) members are India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. The two-way trade between India and other South Asian nations was a meagre USD 10.3 billion in 2008-09.