अचानक प्याज के बढते दाम देख कर जहां सत्तारूढ़ यूपीए के हाथ पाँव फूल गए वही विपक्ष को बेठे बिठाये एक और मुद्दा मिल गया. आनन फानन में कृषि मंत्री ने घोषणा कर दी की बारिश के कारण फसल बर्बाद हो जाने से ऐसा हुआ है परन्तु कृषि मंत्री ये भूल गए की बारिश कोई आज कल में नहीं हुई हैं और अगर उनका बयान मान भी लिया जाये तो कृषि मंत्री होने के नाते उन्हें सरकार को इस बारे में पहले से विश्वास में ले कर आपात स्थिति के लिए कोई योजाना बना लेनी चाहिए थी.परन्तु चीनी तथा दूध के दाम बढ़ाने के लिए जिम्मेदार घोषणाओ की तरह इस बार भी पवार साहब ने पावर गेम खेला और गोदामो में भरी प्याज के दाम पहले बढा कर नियंत्रण करने के प्रयास करने का दावा किया गया.

आम आदमी के समझ से ये बात आज भी बाहर है की अचानक ऐसा क्या चमत्कार हुआ की प्याज के दामो में एक ही दिन में अंतर आ गया. पर बेचारा क्या जाने की गन्दा है पर धंधा है ये और इस गंदे धंधे में हमेशा आम आदमी का ही इस्तेमाल हुआ है वरना किसी नेता को चाहे वो किसी भी पार्टी को हो क्या फर्क पड़ता है की प्याज के दाम कितने बढे है और घटे है क्योंकि सदन में एक मत से वो अपना वेतन तथा अन्य सुविधाये बिना किसी बहस के पास कर बढा लेते है और वो भी पार्टियों व विचारधाराओ को परे रख कर. आम आदमी का कर के रूप में दिया योगदान अपने फायदे के लिए इस्तेमाल करने में कोई भी राजनीतिक दल पीछे नहीं है, बस ये सत्ता स्वार्थ है जो उन्हें समय-समय पर अलग करता है.

Olympic bronze medallist Sushil Kumar says wrestlers are hoping to bag a rich haul in the Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi, where the sport returns as a discipline after being left out of Melbourne in 2006.
“Wrestlers have always contributed lots of medals to India’s tally in the Commonwealth Games, we are excited as the chances of repeating the show again this time.,” said Sushil, who is currently in the training camp for Indian wrestlers at Sports Authority of India’s Sonepat campus.
“As wrestling was not among the events at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, India missed a chance to boost their medal tally,” Sushil said.
Organisers of the 2006 Commonwealth Games had omitted wrestling from the list of optional disciplines.
“Now with wrestling back among the disciplines at Delhi 2010, we wrestlers are determined to bag a lot of medals for India,” Sushil said, adding that India’s performance in the recent Asian Wrestling Championships in New Delhi underscored the prowess of the grapplers.
“I was disappointed to miss competing in the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Being the title winner at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, I was a strong contender for a gold medal if wrestling was part of Melbourne’s 2006 Games,” he said.
Sushil’s confidence is high as he remains the reigning champion in the biennial Commonwealth Wrestling Championships.
“I feel proud that my bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics has contributed in boosting the confidence of Indian wrestlers, all of who are now eyeing medals in the Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi,” said Sushil.
Sushil said India, Canada and England were traditionally the strong nations in Commonwealth Games wrestling, while other major challengers for medals would come from Australia, Pakistan and South Africa.
The Wrestling Federation of India will finalise the grapplers for the XIX Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010 after selection trials on Aug 8 and 9.
Selection trails for men, both in Freestyle and Greco-Roman Style, will be held in Sonepat on August 8, while trials for women wrestlers are scheduled for August 9 in Patiala.
Women’s wrestling has been included in the Commonwealth Games for the first time here at Delhi 2010.

The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee today denied the charges of financial irregularities in relation to the launch of the Queen”s Baton Relay in London last year. “Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi would like to state that we have followed due diligence in making all payments, getting the clearances from the Executive Board and from Reserve Bank of India for incurring the expenditure in foreign currency.

All remittances happened against this clearance,” OC spokesperson Lalit Bhanot said in a statement. The OC also said that it has not received any official communication regarding the alleged irregularities in the launching ceremony of the Baton Relay on October 29.

“We must point out that we have not received any official communication in this regard. “In response an e-mail from the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010, the High Commission of India in London recommended AM Car & Van Ltd as one of the official vendors for cars.

The payments were made as per the High Commission rates,” it said. On the basis of that, a total payment of 238,093.56 Pounds Sterling was made to the company, according to the statement.

“A payment of 146,868.80 pounds was made to AM Films UK Ltd on October 24, 2009 for hiring mobile video screens. This was made after Metropolitan Police insisted that we provide the mobile video screens at the venue of the function.

“The accounts were settled before the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi left London,” it said. “The allegation that Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi makes payments of 25,000 pounds every month to AM Films UK Ltd is baseless and incorrect,” the statement read.

The QBR was launched by Queen Elizabeth at the Buckingham Palace in London, where Indian President Pratibha Patil was also present. PTI

Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi today named a group of six ace sportspersons as Brand Ambassadors for the Games to be held here from October 3 to 14.
Olympic and world 10m air rifle champion Abhinav Bindra, world no. 2 badminton player Saina Nehwal, the athlete of the 2006 Commonwealth Games Samaresh Jung, Olympic bronze medallist boxer Vijender Kumar, Olympic bronze medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar and four-time world boxing champion MC Mary Kom are the Brand Ambassadors for Delhi 2010.
“These champions have done India proud with their achievements and will serve as remarkable Brand Ambassadors for the Games,” said Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi Chairman Mr, Suresh Kalmadi, MP. “Their passion, personality, and presence as well as their amazing pursuit of excellence truly reflect the vision of the Organising Committee.
“Their focus, mental strength and resilience make them role models, inspiring generations of Indians not just with their achievements but also with their work ethic, discipline and determination,” Mr. Kalmadi said. “It ties up with the ideals of the Organising Committee and I am sure these champions will inspire Indians to back the Commonwealth Games and take to Olympic sport.
“We are poised at the cusp of staging the biggest sporting celebrations ever in India and I am confident that this squad of six Brand Ambassadors will find universal appeal across the nation. I believe that they will lend their charisma to ensure that the Games are a huge draw with the people,” Mr. Kalmadi said.

US based leading media and entertainment player, Lafango, the owner of world’s biggest online multimedia talent platform has launched first of its kind innovative international beauty pageant, “Miss eWorld 2010”.

Any female contestant between 18 to 40 years of age from across the world including India is welcome to enter this free of cost contest and win the crown of Miss eWorld 2010 together with prize money of $10,000. The “Miss eWorld 2010” contest will be open for submission till May 15^st, 2010. Contestants can register at www.misseworld.com or www.lafango.com to submit their entries.

There will be four rounds in total, with number of finalists being reduced after each round by way of online voting by the Lafango community. Contestants need to upload their photos. The requirements for these photos will vary for each round and will include; Evening Wear, Casual and the contestants choice.

Lafango’s “Miss eWorld 2010” contest is different from traditional way of reality talent hunt and offers a level playing field for all the talent living in remote areas and big cities across India, a chance to be discovered, setting aside barriers of time, money and contacts for promotion.

Jatinder Singh, President, TalentTrove Inc. and Managing Director, TalentTrove India said, “India has an immense pool of untapped talent and not many opportunities galore for them. As a part of our commitment at Lafango, we wish to provide a global platform to talent in India. “Miss eWorld 2010” is all set to transform the process of selecting a world class beauty. The verdict by the voters and simplicity of the participation process with no entry fee involved makes “Miss eWorld 2010” a unique contest to watch for. Moreover contestants have chance to directly compete and get noticed with participants from across the world.”

Davinder Singh, the US based CEO of TalentTrove Inc. and Head of International Operations said, “With the sheer passion to nurture talent, Lafango has been instrumental in offering a unique way to showcase hidden abilities. Miss eWorld 2010 beauty pageant is another step in this regard and it has changed the traditional style. Miss eWorld 2010 has made it open to girls across the world to share their talent with akin contestants, keeping aside all other barrier. We are hopeful that this is the beginning of a new era and the true talent will be the winner.”

For the first round contestants need to submit 4 photographs each including one head shot, one frontal body shot and two photographs of her choice. Shortlisted 100 contestants then need to submit 3 photographs each for the round two and thereafter 50 selected contestants making it for third round need to upload 3 photographs each for full body shot, side ways shot and photo of contestant choice. The top 10 contestants chosen for the fourth and final round will have to submit a video. This video must be in response to a question that will be provided just prior to the start of this final round. The voter’s choice final contestant with highest numbers of votes will be crowned as Miss eWorld 2010 and will be awarded a prize of $10,000.

So hurry!! Rush your entries before May 15^th, 2010 to be the winner of Miss World 2010 crown.

Gone are the days when reality shows producers had to look out for talent across cities in India and yet facing barriers to spot the right talent based at locations beyond reach. A US based distinctive online platform, TalentTrove has opened doors to new age talent hunt by offering unique contest targeting the talent based across geographies.

By entering this unique space the company has brought revolutionary changes in this business of spotting right talent across categories like singers, actors, dancers, model and many more. The increased penetration of internet and the success of social media have offered new avenues for the internet users at large. Moreover, an online venture like TalentTrove offers a level playing field for all the talents based at any of the locations across the world.

TalentTrove’s latest offering for online space, Bollywood Singer 2010 contest is also different from traditional way of reality talent hunt and offers a level playing field for all the singing talent living in remote areas and big cities across India, a chance to be discovered, setting aside barriers of time, money and contacts for promotion. Through this contest, TalentTrove is looking for everyone’s Bollywood singing performances- funny or serious. Do not miss a moment and film yourself at a club, a bar, at home, or even in front of your computer using a webcam and register with TalentTrove.com to upload your audio or video files.

Whether you are a practiced singer, a budding singer or an individual looking forward to showcase your singing ability to the world, every singer will have chance to display their singing flairs at Bollywood Singer-2010.

TalentTrove has aggressively put forward more such online contests like Miss e-World, Photography 2010 etc. to catch the opportunities put forward at the online space.

From a talent seekers perspective, TalentTrove extends a one-stop encyclopedia of talent, professionally placed in different categories, making it easy to locate undiscovered talents best suitable to their needs. At the same time TalentTrove helps, talent hunters and reality producers to cut down on the costs of projects, marketing and advertising expenses and offers an online talent database comprising artists even from remote locations making it a true representation of talent from India or any other part of the world, as requisite.

Indian-born-Nobel-winning scientist Venkatraman Ramakrishnan had claimed that he has been a victim of racism in UK. Ramakrishnan accused British mobile phone company O2 of racism after he found it difficult to buy an iPhone. Ramakrishnan said that he was forced to pay a three-month deposit of £325 when most applicants with good credit histories were not asked for a deposit.

“Why else would they deny me a refund? I have good credit history. It’s very strange. I am not saying its racist but the problem with racism is that you can never say if its racist or its just ordinary. I am just saying that there is always a suspicion if there is no logical reason to things,” said Ramakrishnan.

“I want an acknowledgment that their system is faulty and I want them to apologise. I have never heard of a person go through this. It is very absurd,” he said. Currently researching in London, Ramakrishnan has also demanded an apology through a local newspaper.

But a spokesperson for the phone company said that the discrepancy occurred only because Ramakrishnan spelt his first name as ‘Venki’ in the application form. But not everyone agreed with Ramakrishnan. Another prominent Indian-origin man Lord Meghnad Desai said that the case does not merit the allegation of racism.

“This sort of things can happen to anybody. I can’t see the factor of racial discrimination in this matter at all. Mobile telephones are a sensible matter and the security measures are very strict here and everybody has to face them. I am sorry that he is offended and if such things would have happened to me, I would not have been offended at all,” said Desai.

But the Nobel laureate is hurt and has been feeling humiliated at the way O2 handled his case. In its defence the company said that it was merely following standard procedure.

In a statement the company said that the fact that Venkatraman Ramakrishnan does not feature in any of the electoral roll in UK since he’s an American citizen and the fact that he’s never had a mobile phone in UK before, could have resulted in his poor credit file.

O2 also admitted that there was a discrepancy in the spelling or the shortening of the customer’s name. He’s also known as Dr. Venky Ramakrishnan and this could have meant that the company did not have access to all the information contained in his file. Ramakrishnan won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009.

US based leading media and entertainment player TalentTrove, which owns world’s biggest online multimedia talent platform has launched first of its kind innovative singing talent hunt “Bollywood Singer- 2010”. Whether you are a practiced singer, a budding singer or an individual looking forward to showcase your singing ability to the world, every singer will have chance to display their singing flairs. “Bollywood Singer-2010” winner will get prize money of Rs.5 Lakh.

The “TalentTrove Bollywood Singer-2010” contest will kick off on February 1^st, 2010 and will be open for submission of singing talent for next 60 days. Contestants can register with TalentTrove.com to submit their entries.

“TalentTrove Bollywood Singer -2010” contest is different from traditional way of reality talent hunt and offers a level playing field for all the singing talent living in remote areas and big cities across India, a chance to be discovered, setting aside barriers of time, money and contacts for promotion. TalentTrove is looking for everyone’s bollywood singing performances- funny or serious. Do not miss a moment and film yourself at a club, a bar, at home, or even in front of your computer using a webcam and register with TalentTrove.com to upload your audio or video files.

Jatinder Singh, President, TalentTrove Inc. and Managing Director, TalentTrove India said, “India has a vast pool of untapped talent. As a part of our commitment at TalentTrove, we wish to provide a global platform to talent in India. Bollywood songs have become an integral part of day-to-day lives of Indians and people having interest in Indian songs and music “Bollywood Singer-2010” will open new vistas for the singing talent in India. A talent no longer has to wait for opportunity; we plan to reach at the door steps of millions of bollywood lovers to offer them a chance to be discovered. Just sit in front of your web cam and our technology at TalentTrove.com helps you cut a video or audio of your talent.”

TalentTrove offers a unique and much credible way of selecting any talent. TalentTrove Bollywood Singer-2010 winners will be selected by the voting. There will be eliminations after first round of voting. In addition, the experienced judges from the industry will rate the final short listed entries. This is perhaps the best possible way to have an insight into the talent community perspective rather than leaving the fate of any talent on voting by the public at large, perhaps majority of them have no skills to judge that talent. 

What should have been a matter of shame, has become a bigger platform to earn fame. The Hockey India and Sports Minster M.S. Gill have suddenly woken up to showcase their responsibilities to uplift hockey in India. The officials from Hockey India and our own dear sports minister were waiting to see a new low of hockey to realize their jobs for which they get paid for.

Sports Minister is patting his back by announcing the fact that now money is pouring in for women hockey, after Indian Women Hockey Team players went on protesting against their non-payment of dues and incentives. Now the Hon’ble sports minister is vocal to take credit for the Rs.1 crore fund agreed by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan. He went on claming that he appealed to business community and Punjab government also to chip in with help. On the contrary, Gill said the Ministry could only offer immediate help but long-term solution was possible only after an elected Hockey India assumed office after its elections.

While Hockey India dismissed discrimination charges leveled against it, Hockey India said it will pay the protesting women hockey players at par with their male counterparts once it has the fund ready. HI interim president Vidya Stokes said the association was waiting for funds from various state governments and other sources and promised the women players would also be brought under an annual gradation system as has been promised to their male counterparts.

“Hockey India does not differentiate between men and women. The women’s team will also be paid at par with the men. We will also be doing grading of players for annual contracts,” Stokes said in a statement. “We are awaiting funds to come in the players fund as announced by Government of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Shree Cements, Bollywood stars, Sunil Gavaskar on behalf of the cricketers and any other sources or people who came forward,” she said.

Indian hockey plunged into another crisis barely a week after the issue with the men’s team was resolved when the women players yesterday resorted to silent protest by wearing black arm bands against the non-payment of their dues “Rs 50,000 being given to women are an advance payment only and balance payment will be paid by the new elected body of Hockey India,” Stokes said.

The interim HI president also said that both the captain of the men and womens’ teams have been added to the six-member panel which would manage the funds that is pouring in from different quarters for the players. Apart from the two captains, the panel would include four former India players — MP Ganesh, Ajit Pal Singh, Zafar Iqbal and Dhanraj Pillay — as well as one member each from the IOA and HI.

Whether the Indian hockey will get its due is a matter of speculation but for the time being with the inflow of money from varity of sources, both Hockey India and sports minister are aggressive at the market place. After all honey its all about money.

A new part has been added to the prevailing burqa row across countries when it was argued by the counsel of one M Ajmal Khan before the Supreme Court of India, that it was against the tenets of Islam for a Muslim woman to get photographed without a veil (burqa) as the Holy Quran laid down that Muslim women wear burqa and cover their faces. The face of a Muslim woman can only be seen by her husband or close relatives.

He further added that election commission should not take photographs of Muslim women without veils or unveiled photographs should not be given to any other person. As such a law violates Article 25 of the Constitution that guarantees right to practice any religion of one’s choice. He claimed that asking Muslim women to show their face to electoral agents and election officers would hurt their religious sentiments.

M Ajmal Khan has challenged an election commission of India’s order asking voters to get them photographed for election rolls.  Earlier the Madras High Court had dismissed Khan’s petition holding that wearing of `purda’ did not form part of Islam. Madras High Court ruling has made it essential for purdahnasin (veiled) women to get themselves photographed.

The Supreme Court set aside the objection of M Ajmal Khan against the Election Commission’s directive asking Muslim women to show their faces to be photographed as part of electoral roll verification.

Giving a choice to the petitioner to either vote or preserve his religious sentiments, the Bench of Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan and Justice Deepak Verma said, “If you have such strong sentiments, if you do not want to be seen by members of the public, then do not go to vote.”

“Religious sentiments cannot override statutory rule”, it said adding “voting is a statutory right and if you want to vote your photograph is necessary.”

“What these women would do if they were to contest elections,” the bench asked Khan’s counsel, pointing out that during elections, posters carrying photographs of candidates are put up all over a constituency. The Bench noted, that “Can anyone contest an election saying photograph of her face not be taken? Can she be photographed in a burqa and yet contest election. You cannot go with burqa to vote. It will create complications.”

The Supreme Court had in 2006 issued notices to the Election Commission on a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the High Court judgment upholding the EC’s decision to release electoral rolls with photographs of voters, including Muslim women.

Counsel for Tamil Nadu Election Commission mentioned that petitioner wanted to create confusion at the ground level. He said the voter identity cards and electoral rolls he had objected to had been prepared in Puducherry, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and the rest of the country. Nowhere did Muslim women object to the EC order. Moreover, Muslim women get photographed for passports, he said

The Bench, which posted the matter for final hearing after two weeks, said the photo identity card is necessary for the election purpose.

A nation where billions of fans follow cricket as religion fails to provide a playable wicket for an international match leading to 12 months ban by ICC from hosting international cricket matches on national capital’s Feroz Shah Kotla ground. A sport- Hockey that enjoys the status of national sport for the country feels the heat when male hockey players refused to play for non payment of their dues over years.

The state of affairs witnesses another low as senior women’s hockey team fastens black arm-bands to fight for their rights as Hockey India refuses to part funds for women hockey in India.  In fact, exasperated by the Hockey India’s indifference Indian Women’s Hockey team Captain Surinder Kaur, Mamta Kharab, Dipika Murthy and Subhadra Pradhan have opened a joint bank account to seek funds from the citizens of our country to help players in distress.

2008 Olympic Gold Medalists Abhinav Bindra has also faced the National Rifle Association of India’s annoyance when later omitted Bindra from the team for the first two World Cups and the Commonwealth Championships after he failed to appear for selection trials. After a long hue and cry Bindra was cleared for his selection on the basis of his scores in international meets.

In the midst of all this, Common Wealth Games Co-ordination Commission has already expressed concerns over delay in completion of venues for Common Wealth Games 2010 in New Delhi. Politics to gain attention is on a new high with Sharad Yadav blaming many for the inflated games budget and corruption in execution of contracts. Even the senior vice-president of the IOA Vijay Kumar Malhotra has joined him and talked about the preparations for CWG 2010 turning out to be middle men’s delight and sports people’s nightmare and mentioned that the games that are meant to showcase the brilliance of the sports have become hostage to the big hoteliers, construction companies and middle men.

Majority of sports bodies are being ruled by the politicians over years, perhaps majority of them never had a sports orientation in their lives. Still they are the fate deciders for aspiring and present breed of sports person in India. These politicians will do everything possible to have their share in the pie, irrespective of player’s welfare.

Veteran players those who have brought laurels for India in more than many ways are facing hardship in their lives after glory, as no one has time to pay a bit of their attention to save these role models for millions of followers. With very few sports where players themselves have taken the charge for their training and sporting career, India perhaps has a long way to go to match the tally with even the smallest of countries in terms of population.

The time has come when we as citizen of India have to take things seriously. We really need to know that do we want India to be proud in sports across streams or we should put a blanket ban on sports in the country? So, what is the road ahead? Firstly these so called politician-turned sporting bosses have to be removed form the associations and organizing and governing bodies. The charge should be handed over to sports personals and/or army. Any politicians eying for these sporting positions should have at least qualified and played national level games. There should be complete transparency on money matters and managers should be strictly made accountable for failure to meet sporting standards. Sports should be for players by the sports people for national gain at large.

‘Rebels’ of the Hockey India (HI) led by former secretary general Mohd Aslam on Tuesday ‘kicked-off’ their campaign for the HI elections, scheduled for February 7, announcing sops for the players.

The benefits include, monthly pay for which HI had to face embarrassment last week when players boycotted the national camp for almost five days, match fee, pocket money and special incentives on winning tournaments.

“Yes, we are going to offer such things to the hockey players of India, if our set of people came to power in the HI polls,” Aslam said soon after a meeting of hockey officials in Kanpur on Tuesday.

He, however, announced that Hockey Uttar Pradesh led by Captain Baldev Singh Aligarh and Bula Ganguly of Lucknow was the genuine body in the State, and only these two have the voting rights in the HI elections next month.

“I myself had affiliated their body with HI in July last where as I resigned from my post in November so there was no question of granting affiliation to any other in the HI,” said Aslam while referring the HI’s affiliated body of UP hockey being represented by Sanjay Singh and JN Tyagi.

He also accused HI of indulging in malpractices in granting affiliation to its state units. “Under a certain conspiracy, HI didn’t release the list till yesterday, because they wanted to alter things as per their own wish, and the present list is full of discrepancies.” “All the state units are expected to receive this information well in advance. Moreover, HI has not consulted other stake holders of the

states who are associated with the game in the affiliation process.” He also claimed that as per the constitution of the Indian Olympic Association, persons holding many posts in different organizations were unfit to contest the HI elections, and many of the officials of the State bodies, including ‘so called’ Hockey Uttar Pradesh, stand disqualified.

“In Uttaranchal too, the officials are holding many posts in different bodies so they aren’t too eligible for the elections and voting,” he added.

Meanwhile, HUP secretary Bula Ganguly in a fax message sent to the government-appointed observer to HI elections SK Mendiratta, claimed her unit as the only ‘genuine body’. “Even if we didn’t get recognition for the HI elections next month, we may move to the court for our genuine rights,” said Ganguly.Though she claimed to have a big support of the hockey fans as 100 plus such people participated in ‘rebels’ meeting on Tuesday, Ashok Dhyanchand was the only other recognized face in the meeting.

Lone surviving Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab’s latest statement that he was not aware about terror attacks at Hotel Taj Mahal, Leopold Café and Nariman House, is a blatant lie, and I believe that our Indian media should stop publishing his day-to-day trials in the papers as well as in the TV.

Attired in a white kurta and pyjama, Kasab told Judge M L Tahaliyani that he had no idea about the report of a chemical analyst according to which traces of RDX were found from DNA samples of two terrorists, killed by security forces at Hotel Taj Mahal on November 26, 2008. He was replying to questions put to him by the court on evidence adduced by the prosecution against him.

Maintaining that he had no association with the 26/11 terrorists, Kasab said he was not aware that bullets recovered from bodies of deceased victims at Hotel Taj Mahal and nearby Leopold Cafe had matched with AK-47 rifles used by assailants.

Asked if he was aware that four AK-47 rifles recovered from Hotel Taj Mahal were sent to laboratory for forensic tests, Kasab said, “Pata nahin (I do not know).”

“I am not aware,” Kasab said to another question about a forensic laboratory report confirming that AK-47 rifles which were recovered from Hotel Taj Mahal were in working condition and had been used by terrorists to shoot at people.

The prosecution’s case is that four of the 10 terrorists had stormed Hotel Taj and Leopold Cafe, killing many persons. Kasab was allegedly involved in terror attacks at other places such as Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus and Cama Hospital.

Shahid Afridi’s comment that the way he sees it, the IPL and India have made fun of him and his country by treating him this way, clearly shows the ‘crying’ of the Pakistan cricketers. Such a situation of Afridi and 10 other Pakistanis came only because they never ‘protested’ against the Pak-sponsored terrorism in the country, and where they were when Kasab and Co attacked on Mumbai, leaving several killed.

They all say that politics should not be involved in sports even though their own Pakistan Cricket Board has full of politicians and the Pakistani government keeps playing with it quite often. Afridi, who was supposed to be the main attraction for franchises at the IPL auction in Mumbai, said from Brisbane he was disappointed and upset with the way things panned out.

“We are the Twenty20 World Champions and for me the attitude of the franchises was disappointing. I feel bad for the Indian people who I am sure wanted to see us play in the IPL this year,” Afridi said.

Afridi was the first player to be put on auction with a base price of USD 250,000 but no franchise was interested in buying him.Franchises preferred West Indian, South African and Australian players while ignoring the 11 Pakistani players who were available in the auction for sale. The franchises said Pakistani players’ availability was not certain and they couldn’t risk their money on them. Afridi was among the batch of Pakistani players who played in the first IPL season for Deccan Chargers. Senior all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, who was also among the players in the auction, said he saw the snub to Pakistani players as a joint strategy between the IPL and Indian government to insult Pakistan players.

“They have basically tried to hurt our cricket and image and this is most disappointing because I believe there should be no politics in sports,” Razzaq said. He also questioned the inclusion of Pakistani players in the auction list if the franchises were not interested. “In the end it is the IPL which has lost out because the fact is our players have star value and are the best in T20 cricket,” he added.

All-rounder Sohail Tanvir, who was the best bowler of the inaugural IPL season and played a big role in helping Rajasthan Royals win the title, said he felt humiliated and angry with what transpired at the auction. “They mean to say none of our players are good enough to be in the IPL. I am sorry to say the franchises have taken a decision not based on cricketing sense but on political grounds which is a shame and has hurt the image of the sport,” Tanvir said.

He pointed out that if the IPL and franchises had reservations over having Pakistani players they should have made it clear beforehand. “Why create all this fuss about visa requirements and government clearances. If they don’t want us they should be clear about it in the first place.”, Tanvir said. “We sent names because we thought the franchises wanted us but if it is all about politics and security they should be clear about it,” Tanvir said.

And it’s not just the players who are feeling hurt, Pakistan’s minister for sports Ejaz Jakhrani said he was surprise over the way Pakistani players had been snubbed. “I am surprised and disappointed at the way we have been treated. It is not a good sign for improving and enhancing sporting ties between the two countries,” Jakhrani said. “We gave them security clearance as well so it was surprising the way they were snubbed at the auction because they are the best in the world in Twenty20 cricket,” he added. Jakhrani said he would also ask the PCB to explain why the players were treated in this way even though the government had given required clearances to the players.

PCB chairman Ejaz Butt, however, said he was not bothered by the snub given to Pakistani players.

“It really does not bother us what difference does it make to us if our players don’t play in the IPL this season. They didn’t play in the last season as well,” Butt said.

The PCB Chairman said the responsibility of the board was to clear the road for Pakistani players to make themselves available for the IPL and it had done that. “We got the required clearances from our government. But after that we can’t interfere in anybody’s work so what we say,” Butt added.

But former Pakistan captain, Rameez Raja was more vocal in his take on the auction. “I think the IPL and the Indian government have lost a golden opportunity to help improve ties between the two countries.”  ”I really do believe there were political reasons behind the way our players were snubbed at the auction and it is most unfortunate,” he said.

Former Test leg-spinner Abdul Qadir said it is time the PCB organized its own league. “If need arises we should hold this league even at a neutral venue and try to invite as many Indian players as possible to give out a clear message we don’t mix sports with politics,” he said.

Former Test captain Zaheer Abbas said the Pakistani players must realise that IPL is a private league. “The fact is the IPL is a private enterprise and if their franchises are not willing to take our players what can anyone do. But there is no doubt that our players and Pakistan cricket have been humiliated and insulted at such a big forum in a planned manner,” he stated.

Zaheer, however, said if the Pakistan board felt the Indians had done wrong then they should announce a complete boycott of ties with India. “Our players and officials should also not go to India for any reason. But if we want a betterment of ties with India then we should just keep quiet,” he said.

No pakistani player was able to secure his place in Indian Premier League season three. It’s yet another blow of Pakistan-sponsored terror in India on its own people, and for this Pakistan government as well as intelligence agency ISI should own the responsibility.Yes, the uncertainty over their availability cost Pakistani players lucrative Indian Premier League contracts as apprehensive franchisees overlooked them in auction, which took place on Tuesday at Mumbai.
IPL commissioner Lalit Modi conceded the biggest question facing the franchisees was the availability of the players they would buy and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Shilpa Shetty said her team did not bid for any Pakistani players simply because they were not sure about their availability.
“We were not convinced about their availability and that’s why we did not want to take any risk,” Shetty said after her team bought veteran Australian Damien Martyn for USD 100,000.Giving the instance of Sohail Tanvir, who played a crucial role in Rajasthan Royal’s fairytale win in the inaugural IPL, Shetty said there was no question of bidding for a player who might not be
available in the tournament.
“See, every team has its own strategy. If someone is not going to be available, why bid for him,” asked the actor, who was in touch with captain Shane Warne over phone before she bought veteran Australian Damien Martyn.
Eleven Pakistani players, including cream of the Shahid Afridi-led reigning Twenty20 World Cup squad, was in the fray but none of the franchisees took interest in them, fearing the chill in Indo-Pak relation might worsen, resulting in non-participation of these players.
Explosive West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard and ageing Kiwi pace man Shane Bond turned out to be the most expensive players, sold for a whopping USD 750,000 (app Rs 3.42 crore).But, 11 Pakistanis, including Shahid Afridi with a base price of USD 250,000, in a 66-strong pool of players found no takers at the glitzy auction, attended by corporate bigwigs like Vijay Mallya and Nita Ambani and Bollywood stars like Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty. Pollard, who started with a base price of USD 200,000, was expectedly one of the most sought after but was ultimately bought by Mumbai

Indians with a ‘silent tie-breaker bid’ after four franchises ended up bidding the maximum on the 22-year-old. Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders also wanted to grab the big-hitting all-rounder but couldn’t match Mumbai’s undisclosed tie-breaker bid. Like Pollard, the 34-year-old Bond (base price USD 100,000) also attracted a keen bidding war between Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers but the Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata walked away with the Kiwi after out-bidding Deccan in the tie-breaker.

The on going controversy –no pay no play—by the members of the Indian men’s hockey team, currently camping at Pune, was bound to happen and the Hockey India as well as the Indian Olympic Association should own the blame for this, and should immediately clear the due of the players to bring things to normalcy.

It’s almost an absurd argument of the HI bosses, especially its chief AK Mattoo that HI was short of funds and unable to clear the dues as of now, because they are regularly getting sponsorship money from Sahara India, which claims to have given the sponsorship money in advance till March 2010.
This isn’t the first time when hockey players have ‘hatched’ a revolt against the non-payment of their dues. In his playing days too, ace striker and Captain Dhanraj Pillay too had tried a similar attempt, but he had failed to garner adequate support. So, officially it’s a first-ever united revolt by hockey players in Indian sports history. Being a keen follower of the Indian hockey for the last one decade, I feel that demands of the players are genuine and HI bosses as well as the IOA and the Sports Ministry should intervene in the issue and help the players in sorting out the ‘dead lock’ as India would be hosting the hockey World Cup next month and that’s a good opportunity for Indian to re-establish their image as a powerhouse in world hockey.
Like Mattoo had said in the past that HI was running on barrowed money in the past and it had taken money from IOA to run the body. So what’s the problem, take further loan and clear the dues of the players. The HI bosses too cut short their expenses on traveling by air, and staying in five star hotels for ‘unusual’ meetings on the name of game’s development etc. All such savings would be compensated to the IOA later as the loan.
I do remember one incident of ‘free flowing’ of money at the Junior Asia Cup Hockey Championship at Hyderabad in 2008 where the then convener of the Hockey India Mohd Aslam had hired an event management company for the championship. A huge sum was paid to a smart lady, owner of the company, and their response to the game management was so bad. But, no one from HI uttered even a single word as that lady as well as the company was ‘so close’ to some of the HI officials. The so called official then too had promised Rs 25,000 each to the players of the winning team after India defeated South Korea 3-2 in a thrilling 70-minute battle at the Gacchi Bawli Turf, but for my information so far no such money has been paid to the junior players too.
The act of senior players in the camp is influenced by the correct democratic system being adopted by our politicians. Yes, protest and revolt to let the authorities accept their demands.
Almost all the sports federations are being headed by the politicians, including Suresh Kalmadi, heading the IOA, so they should accept such revolt after all they all had done such things in their lives to put pressure on the authorities.
In this country where a sportsperson always remains a ‘beggar’, who keeps on begging for everything to the officials, who haven’t neither played any sport nor have the administrative qualities, such thing is bound to happen. And this is the time when HI bosses should take a lesson from the BCCI, which keeps satisfying its players financially at least.
HI can’t become BCCI as far as money or an organized system is concerned, but at least they should make an attempt in this direction, and do something. The HI elections, to be held later this month, would see no major changes as Suresh Kalmadi and Narinder Batra are all set to become the president and secretary, respectively, and the new body too won’t be too different from the first one. In my view, our sports system should be handed over to Indian military like China has already done.