The Indian Panorama

Year: 2014

  • Major snowstorm slams northeastern US, 3,000 flights cancelled

    Major snowstorm slams northeastern US, 3,000 flights cancelled

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The northeastern US shivered amid heavy snowfall and far below average temperatures on January 23 in a storm that grounded thousands of flights and triggered traffic chaos.

    The nasty weather with its bone-chilling gusts and heavy snow stretched from Washington to New England. The Midwest was hit hard, too. Taking into account the wind chill factor, the temperature in Chicago plummeted to minus 20 Fahrenheit (-28 Celsius), the Chicago Tribune said.

    In the nation’s largest city, the Tuesday evening commute home in New York was a mess and the city was expected to get as many as 14 inches (35 cm) of snow by Wednesday morning. “It’s horrible. Snow is cute for only a little bit,” Mary Catherine Hughes, standing by a subway stop with an umbrella rendered useless in fierce wind, told The New York Times. The city’s new mayor Bill de Blasio urged people to stay home say road crews could clear streets.


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    Downtown Washington fell eerily silent after the federal government, seeing the swift-moving storm approaching, closed its doors and told civil servants — who already had the day off on Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday — to stay home on Tuesday. On January 23, federal agencies were to open two hours late. Employees could also take unscheduled leave, and those that can were allowed to work from home. The nation’s capital is famous for cowering in the face of even a few flakes but Tuesday’s storm seemed to justify a shutdown.

    Many offices and schools followed suit, as 20 mile (32 kilometer) per hour winds whipped through the US capital’s unusually quiet streets. Most area schools, in the city and neighboring Maryland and Virginia, were to remain closed again on January 23. Washington’s Metro public transit system reported Tuesday half as many riders as on a typical weekday. Business was so slow that many restaurants used Twitter to woo customers with bargain-priced drinks while others offered customers 2-for-1 deals.

    In Philadelphia, as of early evening Tuesday, the official total at Philadelphia International Airport was 11 inches of snow, a record for the day January 21. The “storm system will strengthen overnight in the Atlantic waters off the East Coast, spreading heavy snow and strong wind into coastal sections of New England and the Northeast,” the National Weather Service said. Temperatures across the eastern part of the country Wednesday will be 10 to 25 degrees below average, amid bitter wind chills, it warned.

    Flight Aware, a website that monitors air traffic in real time, said nearly 3,000 flights into, out of or within the United States had been cancelled on Tuesday. The lion’s share of affected flights involved busy airports in the New York, Philadelphia and Washington areas. Seven inches (18 centimeters) of snow had fallen at Washington’s Dulles International Airport while some 11 inches were reported at the Philadelphia International Airport, according to AccuWeather, a private forecasting service. Accumulations of six to 12 inches were expected over the mid-Atlantic to southeastern New England, it said.

    National rail company Amtrak said it would operate “a modified schedule” Wednesday on its Northeast Corridor line between Washington and Boston, as well as on two other routes in the hard-hit region. States of emergency were declared there, as well as in New Jersey and Delaware, according to the media. More than 1,700 plows were to be mobilized in New York on January 22 night to clear up to 10 inches of snow, it reported. Across the Hudson River, New Jersey went ahead with its mid-day inauguration ceremony for re-elected governor Chris Christie, who is battling allegations he used his office to bully political foes.

    But an evening gala on historic Ellis Island in New York Harbor to mark the start of his new term in office was scrapped due to the storm. Schools across the Northeast either closed for the day or told parents to expect their youngsters to be dismissed from class earlier than usual. Closures in many areas were extended through on January 24. Meanwhile, courthouses called off proceedings in the afternoon. What the National Weather Service called a “fast moving but potent” snowstorm had earlier dumped seven inches of snow on airports in the Chicago area, before temperatures fell to the freezing level.

  • US vows stepped up support to oust Assad

    US vows stepped up support to oust Assad

    MONTREUX (SWITZERLAND) (TIP): The United States on January 22 led a fierce denunciation of the Syrian regime and vowed it would step up support for the opposition as it seeks to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

    The top US diplomat, John Kerry, set the tone when he stressed before 40 nations and international organizations gathered at a landmark peace conference in Switzerland that Assad could play no part in Syria’s future leadership. “There is no way — no way possible in the imagination — that the man who has led the brutal response to his own people could regain the legitimacy to govern,” Kerry insisted.

    “One man and those who have supported him can no longer hold an entire nation and a region hostage,” said the US secretary of state, who has led efforts with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to launch the peace talks and end the three-year war. At a later press conference in the Swiss city of Montreux, Kerry revealed that Washington and Moscow were also planning to work on other tracks to end the fighting which has left 130,000 people dead.

    “There will be parallel efforts being made, even while the talks are going on, to find different pressure points and find a solution,” he told reporters from the world’s media, refusing to go into detail. “I will just say to you that lots of different avenues will be pursued, including continued support, augmented support to the opposition.” Washington has provided more than $1.3 billion in humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people, and has been supplying non-lethal materiel such as body armour, communications equipment and night-vision googles to the armed rebels.

    But so far it has refused to directly supply weapons and machinery to the opposition forces — now fighting against both Assad and a wave of al-Qaida extremist groups flooding into the chaos. It remained unclear from Kerry’s remarks whether the Obama administration was now prepared to review its weapons ban. And he warned that even though President Barack Obama finally walked away from threatened military strikes against regime targets in September, the US leader “has never taken any option off the table”.

    As the Syrian sides are set now to start direct negotiations under the aegis of the UN later in the week, Kerry said: “I can tell you this, what you see in the direct talks between the opposition and the Assad regime will not be the full measure of effort being expended in order to try to find a solution here.” Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem earlier dubbed the country’s opposition “traitors” and foreign “agents”. He hit back at Kerry’s comments, saying only the Syrian people could decide their president, and offered assurances that progress had been made on allowing aid organisations access to stricken populations.

    His comments were immediately dismissed by US officials. “Instead of laying out a positive vision for the future of Syria that is diverse, inclusive and respectful of the rights of all, the Syrian regime chose inflammatory rhetoric,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. US officials said his claim of progress in humanitarian access was “laughable” and if Muallem was serious the regime should immediately open up safe corridors to aid convoys and lift restrictions for advance notice. Psaki also used her Twitter account @StateDeptspox to hammer away at the Syrian regime, suggesting the Syrian coalition led by Ahmad Jarba better represented the people. “At #Geneva2 Muallem stays at his del seat.

    Immovable. SOC has rotated: from Jarba to a Sunni, woman, Druze, Kurd, from all over Syria,” Psaki tweeted. “Which delegation represents Syrian society better?” she added. The conference marks the first time the regime has sat down at the negotiating table with the Syrian opposition since the uprising erupted in March 2011. US officials have worked hard behind the scenes for months to unite the divided Syrian opposition and bring them to the talks aimed at charting a path towards a transitional government.

  • Congress poll strategy: Rahul eyes ‘sandwiched class’

    Congress poll strategy: Rahul eyes ‘sandwiched class’

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Not rich, notmiddle class, not BPL, is quite a mouthful. But shrunk to NRMB, the acronym stands for 70 crore Indians tagged by Rahul Gandhi as a vibrant vote bank sandwiched between poverty and middle class status.

    Congress is busy devising poll hooks for this section that party strategists feel can be welded into a powerful support base that aspires to be middle class but is acutely vulnerable to economic and political shocks. Speaking at the Congress plenary last week, Rahul Gandhi pledged concrete measures for “daily wagers, painters, builders, carpenters, farm labour and street vendors”, a section above the poverty line but often only just.

    The number crunching leading to the 70 crore estimate rests on assuming Rs 1000 per person per month as the threshold for poverty, in line with the official poverty line – currently under review —at Rs 960 a month. Having coined the acronym NRMB, the Congress backroom calculates those earning between Rs 1000 to Rs 15,000 fit the bill for Rahul’s definition of incomes susceptible to even minor flux like illness of an earning member or economic change.

    Based on these benchmarks, the BPL population is pegged at 36 crore and the middle class, assuming Rs 1 lakh per person a month as a cut off, is around 16 crore. Of these, the rich, largely immune to inflation, are seen to number 50 lakh. Congress’s manifesto, currently in the works, is expected to flesh out Rahul’s lengthy reference to NRMBs, an acronym that has gained salience in the party back room.

    Congress sources argue that it is the in-between NRMBs who need most attention as the BPL have schemes like rural employment guarantee and food security while the middle class benefit most directly from liberalization. Rahul’s target is to mobilize the support of a section that the party sees as a vote that could be lured by BJP leader Narendra Modi’s promise of a “better tomorrow” comprising higher incomes, more jobs and housing. Interestingly, Modi has also spoken of a “neo middle class”, with stakes in the growth opportunities unleashed by liberalisation and pointedly thanked this section of voters after winning the 2012 Gujarat election.

    A 2012 paper by the center for global development looked at the National Council of Applied Economic Research definition of middle class as two subgroups : “seekers” with annual household income between Rs. 200,000 and Rs. 500,000, and “strivers” with incomes between Rs. 500,000 and Rs. 1 lakh. “Assuming an average household size of 5 people and converting into constant 2005 purchasing power parity (PPP) dollar, these numbers would be about $8 to $20 per capita per day for seekers, and $20 to $ 40 per capita per day for strivers,” the paper says.

    Congress strategists have accepted this premise in the context of the household survey conducted in 2004/2005 that concludes that India’s “middle class” doubled over the last decade, growing from 5.7% of all Indian households in 2001/02 to 12.8%. This corresponds to about 28.4 million households or 153 million people. The large slice of the population below this middle class and above BPL could be a deciding factor in the 2014 election, Congress feels. A conclusion that BJP might reach as well.

  • Crime branch to probe Sunanda Pushkar’s death

    Crime branch to probe Sunanda Pushkar’s death

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The mysterious death of Union HRD Minister Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar will now be probed by the crime branch, the Delhi Police declared on January 23.

    Sunanda Pushkar’s death is the third high-profile case to be referred to the specialised crime branch for investigation over the last year from the southeast range — which is being viewed as a worrying sign for the local police.

    The other cases include the Ponty Chadha murder case, the death of NRI Anmol Sarna and the alleged involvement of two police constables in setting ablaze an auto-rickshaw driver’s father when refused a bribe. Meanwhile, police sources said they had not been able to recover footage from CCTV cameras installed on the hotel floor on which Pushkar was staying, prior to the discovery of her body in room number 345 last Friday evening.

    “The only footage we have is of her from CCTV cameras installed in the lobby of Leela Palace hotel,” admitted an officer. “We have no other footage of her and have asked the hotel management to help us provide it,” the officer said. Senior police officials privy to the investigation said they were mulling questioning ‘several people’ whose names and contact details had figured on Pushkar’s contact list prior to her death. Pushkar is understood to have talked to more than three dozen people prior to her death on January 17; police sources said this was imperative to piecing together a plausible series of events leading to her death.

    “Many of these persons were industrialists, others were journalists from her friend circle whom she is expected to have told about her uncomfortable mental condition in the wake of her husband’s alleged affair with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar,” an officer said. Police sources said they would meet officials from the south district to exchange notes on the investigation so far on Friday – precisely a week since her body was recovered.

  • Pathribal case: Army’s clean chit to 5 officers

    Pathribal case: Army’s clean chit to 5 officers

    JAMMU (TIP): The Army on January 23 gave a clean chit to five of its officers allegedly involved in the Pathribal encounter that took place in Anantnag district of Kashmir in March 2000.

    Following the CBI investigation and the Supreme Court’s March 2012 order, the Army had taken over the Pathribal case from the court of the Srinagar Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in June 2012. Jammu-based Defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Mehta said the evidence recorded could not establish a prime facie case against the five accused officers.

    It, however, clearly established that what happened in Pathribal was a joint operation by the police and the Army based on specific intelligence. “The case has since been closed by the Army authorities. The court of the Srinagar Judicial Magistrate has been informed,” said Lt Col Mehta. “Forensic, documentary and other evidence was taken on record. For the convenience of the next of kin of the deceased and other civilian witnesses, the team recording evidence moved to the Valley,” he said.

    Five civilians were abducted in May 2000 from their houses, days after 36 Sikhs were killed by unknown gunmen dressed in Army fatigues in south Kashmir’s Chattisinghpora area. Following the killings, the Army had claimed to have gunned down five Lashkar-e-Toiba militants responsible for the killing of the Sikhs at Pathribal. Relatives, who had seen their men being abducted, however, grew suspicious of the Army’s claims and later identified the bodies of “militants” as their “abducted” men.

    They were: Mohammad Yousuf Malik (38) and Bashir Ahmad Bhat (26) of Peth Halan; Juma Khan (50) and Juma Khan (38) of Brari Angan and Zahoor Ahmad Dalal (22) of Mominabad. A case was registered in February 2003 and the CBI filed a chargesheet before the court of the Srinagar Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in 2006 against five Army personnel — Brigadier Ajay Saxena, Brijendra Pratap Singh, Sourabh Sharma, Amit Saxena and Idress Khan, all of 7 Rashtriya Rifles.

    “A comprehensive and exhaustive effort was undertaken to record evidence against all the accused. Over 50 witnesses were examined, including a large number of civilian witnesses, state government and police officials,” Lt Col Mehta said. Last October, the Army had once again issued summons through the Anantnag CJM to the civilian witnesses, including relatives of the five persons killed in Pathribal, to appear before the General Court Martial (GCM) authorities at the Nagrota-based 16 Corps to attend the General Court Martial proceedings.

    The Srinagarbased 15 Corps had contested the case of the five accused Army officers up to the Supreme Court. The Army is very sensitive to allegations of human rights violations and ensures the due process of law is followed and action taken against the accused, Lt Col Mehta said. Earlier, the Army had court-martialled six of its personnel in the alleged Machhil encounter case and proceedings were currently in progress. It has also punished 123 of its men found guilty in 59 cases of human rights violations in the state.

  • Shinde gets tough, denies Kejriwal his cop of choice

    Shinde gets tough, denies Kejriwal his cop of choice

    NEW DELHI (TIP): AAP-Centre tensions seem to be escalating with the home ministry retracting its decision to appoint senior IPS officer Praveer Ranjan as chief of the Delhi government’s anti-corruption bureau, overturning a specific request by the CM.

    Ranjan’s appointment had been cleared on the request of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and the move to revisit the decision comes in the wake of a vituperative confrontation between AAP and the Centre over the CM’s demand for the suspension of four police officials.


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    The Centre’s relations with the AAP government, never too robust to begin with, have taken a beating after Kejriwal repeatedly targeted home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, even leveling allegations of corruption against the senior Congress leader. Responding to Kejriwal’s attacks, Shinde described Kejriwal as a “mad chief minister” at a function in Maharashtra. According to sources, the Centre’s decision on Ranjan also comes in the wake of the appointment of about a dozen other Delhi Police officers to the ACB running into rough weather.

    However, the home ministry’s latest move to refuse Kejriwal’s request for a new ACB chief could have other ramifications as it challenges conventions governing relations between states and centre, and the right of state chief ministers to seek appointment of preferred officers. After the street dharna led by Kejriwal against Delhi police and the Centre, AAP government is believed to be preparing to direct the ACB to begin a probe against former chief minister and senior Congress leader Shiela Dikshit and her cabinet colleagues in cases relating to the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

    The Centre may well be keeping a close watch on these developments ahead of the Lok Sabha poll. According to available indications, almost a dozen other Delhi police officers that Kejriwal sought for ACB too may not be appointed. Delhi police and other sources suggest that the police may have told Delhi lieutenant governor Naseeb Jung that almost none of them want to come to ACB. The stance of the home ministry on the ACB chief’s appointment is read as a clear sign that Congress doesn’t intend to de-escalate its political tensions with AAP. Sources said on Thursday, the home ministry asked Jung to immediately relieve Ranjan from the Delhi police, where he is presently heading the economic offences wing, and to send him to Pondicherry.

    The home ministry’s refusal to appoint Ranjan is the latest twist in AAP government’s efforts to beef up its anticorruption wing. On January 17, during the much publicised meeting between Kejriwal and home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, when Delhi CM demanded control over the city police, the two had also discussed the appointment of Ranjan. When Kejriwal requested the posting of Ranjan, given his good reputation, as the chief of ACB, the home minister is believed to have said it was not a problem, and that whenever any chief minister asks for an officer of his preference the request is acceded to. Home secretary Anil Goswami, who was also present, assured that appropriate orders would be issued. But within a few hours the scenario changed.

    Kejriwal took to the streets against the home ministry’s refusal to take action against police officials whom Delhi government held responsible for various lapses in the city. The CM slept by the Rail Bhavan on the street, and ended it after a deal was struck. According to reports, the Congress party was not pleased with the deal offered to Kejriwal to end his agitation. In the run up to his latest street agitation, Kejriwal also gave several interviews where he revealed Delhi government’s immediate plans, that of investigating the alleged irregularities during Commonwealth Games and other major scandals of last Congress government.

    Sources said the Kejriwal government has already examining files from the PWD and other departments, of contracts in which several high profile officials and ministers including Dikshit were indicted by the CAG, Central Vigilance Commission and the Shunglu Commission. Kejriwal had publically announced that he would be ordering criminal investigations against Dikshit and her ministers in the alleged scandals.

  • Dwarka shankaracharya slaps reporter over query on Modi

    Dwarka shankaracharya slaps reporter over query on Modi

    JABALPUR (TIP): The 86-year-old Shankaracharya of Dwarka, Swaroopanand Saraswati, known for his antipathy for Narendra Modi and immediacy with the Gandhi family, leaned across and slapped a reporter before the latter had the time to react after he asked what he thought was an innocuous question: the prospects of Modi becoming PM.

    The slap reverberated through the day with the seer’s men smelling a saffron conspiracy. But fawning Congressmen said the journalist should consider himself lucky for being singled out for such unique attention. Swami Swaroopanand himself was frank enough to tell reporters on Thursday that he indeed hit the journalist because, “despite knowing my reservations, the man persistently quizzed me on political issues”.

    It’s the prerogative of MPs to choose the PM and he had nothing against Modi, the Shankaracharya said. However, later in the day, there was a volte face by the Shankaracharya’s office, with a spokesperson denying his slapping the reporter and reiterating a saffron conspiracy. Swami Shubuddhanand said, “The journalist was drunk and inched closer to Maharaj-ji while asking questions.

    He also tried to nudge him,” he said. Shubuddhanand said there might have been a conspiracy by a former BJP minister to malign the Jagadguru. “This man had sent the reporter to provoke Maharaj-ji,” she said. A BJP MP, not wanting to be named, said, “Swamiji has made his choice clear and his gesture shows how disturbed he is by the rise of Modi.” Madhya Pradesh BJP media cell chief Hitesh Vajpayee said, “The incident is shocking. We’re surprised by his reaction.”

    Congressmen played down the fracas. “The Jagadguru is the flagbearer of Hindu religion,” said NK Prajapati of Congress. “One should take his slap as a blessing. It will be a guiding light for the journalist,” he said. Last year in November, Swami Swaroopanand had hit the headlines after he presided over the unveiling ceremony of the Virat Ramayan temple by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who had been decrying Modi’s brand of Hindutva and had the seer at the inauguration of his ambitious “Hindu project”.

  • Tribal woman gang-raped on a platform for all to see

    Tribal woman gang-raped on a platform for all to see

    SURI (TIP): Cops in Bengal’s Birbhum district on January 23 arrested 14 men, including a village headman who had ordered the gang-rape of a 20-year-old tribal woman for alleged sexual relations with a man from outside her community.

    As tempers flared across the state and another anti-Mamata Banerjee wave over rising gender crime swelled, the chief minister replaced the district police chief C Sudhakar with Darjeeling SP S N Gupta. Even as the administration claimed it had acted promptly, more gruesome details emerged.

    Villagers said after the kangaroo court ordered her to be sexually savaged, the woman was placed on a raised bamboo platform so that the gang-rape was viewed by the entire village, children included. “If the family does not pay up, go and enjoy yourselves,” is what headman and now prime accused Boloi Murdy allegedly told the men.

    The woman’s family alleged she and her lover, a man from a nearby village, were tied up in Murdy’s courtyard, where a kangaroo court was held and handed down the punishment — a Rs 50,000 fine for the man and gang rape for the woman. Some villagers said the woman’s cries rent the air all night but no one stepped forward to help her. Even her family, who lives 50 metres away, could not rescue her. Doctors attending to the critically injured woman saidthey had “clinical evidence” of penetration by several men.

    The report has been sent to police, said Birbhum medical chief Dr Asit Biswas. The woman’s family was not given even a night’s time to arrange for the Rs 50,000. Once the headman ordered rape, it was a free for all. “Among those who raped her were teenagers and some old enough to be her father,” said a villager, who was willing to depose to escape arrest. “Almost the entire village — including children — had joined the kangaroo court. All of them hailed it as the correct move,” he said.

    The village, 60km from Shantiniketan, the cultural and academic hub created by Rabindranath Tagore, is populated by adivasis and has no electricity or school. The administration has always been wary of interfering with tribal traditions, leaving the adivasis to live by their own laws. It saw a horrific humiliation of a teenage girl in 2010 for having an affair outside the tribe. She was paraded naked through four villages and anyone was free to grope her.

    Although it triggered outrage across the country, the Bengal government wasn’t quite proactive. All the accused are out on bail. Even on January 23, a day after the gang-rape by up to 13 people, the village didn’t show any hint of repentance. The women, in fact, barracked police, insisting the men had done nothing wrong and that the woman had to be punished. The women tried to stop police from arresting the accused and additional SP Prasanta Kumar Chowdhury had to rush in reinforcements. Journalists were barricaded until Santhal outfits intervened. No less shocking is the attitude of the administration.

    Police didn’t seek custody of the accused—something unprecedented in gang-rape cases. The public prosecutor didn’t even turn up in court, apparently because it was a holiday. “We have arrested all the accused in quick time,” said Sudhakar by way of an explanation. Despite the prosecutor being missing, the court sent the accused to police custody for 14 days. No government official—from the BDO to the district magistrate—bothered to meet the survivor’s family or visit the scene of crime. Armed policemen milled about the village and some were seen cordoning off the shack in which the rape platform stood, barely 20 feet from the hut of Murdy, the headman.

    The villagers threatened to ostracize the woman’s family for cooperating with the authorities. “We will never allow the woman and her family to return,” cried out villagers. They accused the woman of framing the accused because she was ordered to leave the village if she continued her affair. “We know that she lived elsewhere with that mason. She made a lot of money. How can we allow the family back? Nothing happened. She made false allegations against our family members because we opposed her illicit relationship,” said Panmuni Tudu, a villager.

  • Texas executes Mexican man despite his nation’s objections

    Texas executes Mexican man despite his nation’s objections

    HUNTSVILLE (TIP) A Mexican national was executed January 22 night in Texas for killing a Houston police officer, despite pleas and diplomatic pressure from the Mexican government and the U.S. State Department to halt the punishment.

    Edgar Tamayo, 46, received a lethal injection for the January 1994 fatal shooting of Officer Guy Gaddis, 24. Asked by a warden if he had a final statement, he mumbled “no” and shook his head. As the lethal dose of pentobarbital began taking effect, he took a few breaths and then made one slightly audible snore before all movement stopped.

    He was pronounced dead 17 minutes after the drug was administered, at 9:32 p.m. CST. Tamayo never looked toward Gaddis’ mother, two brothers and two other relatives who watched through a window. He selected no witnesses of his own. There were several dozen police officers and supporters of the slain patrolman revving their motorcycles outside of the prison before witnesses were let inside the death chamber.

    The execution, the first this year in the nation’s most active death penalty state, came after the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts rejected lastday appeals and Texas officials spurned arguments that Tamayo’s case was tainted because he wasn’t informed, under an international agreement, that he could get legal help from the Mexican consulate after his arrest for the officer’s slaying. Attorneys had also argued unsuccessfully that Tamayo was mentally impaired, making him ineligible for execution, and that the state’s clemency procedures were unfair.

    The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday had rejected Tamayo’s request for clemency. “It doesn’t matter where you’re from,” Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said. “If you commit a despicable crime like this in Texas, you are subject to our state laws, including a fair trial by jury and the ultimate penalty.” Gaddis, who had been on the force for two years, was driving Tamayo and another man from a robbery scene when evidence showed the officer was shot three times in the head and neck with a pistol Tamayo had concealed in his pants.

    The car crashed, and Tamayo fled on foot but was captured a few blocks away, still in handcuffs, carrying the robbery victim’s watch and wearing the victim’s necklace. Mexican officials and Tamayo’s attorneys contend he was protected under a provision of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Legal assistance guaranteed under that treaty could have uncovered evidence to contest the capital murder charge or provide evidence to keep Tamayo off death row, they said. Records show the consulate became involved or aware of the case just as his trial was to begin.

    Secretary of State John Kerry previously asked Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to delay Tamayo’s punishment, saying it “could impact the way American citizens are treated in other countries.” The State Department repeated that stance Wednesday. But Abbott’s office and the Harris County district attorney opposed any delays. At least two other inmates in circumstances similar to Tamayo’s were executed in Texas in recent years. The Mexican government said in a statement this week it “strongly opposed” the execution and said failure to review Tamayo’s case and reconsider his sentence would be “a clear violation by the United States of its international obligations.”

    Tamayo was in the U.S. illegally and had a criminal record in California, where he had served time for robbery and was paroled, according to prison records. Tamayo was among more than four dozen Mexican nationals awaiting execution in the U.S. when the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled in 2004 they hadn’t been advised properly of their consular rights. The Supreme Court subsequently said hearings urged by the international court in those inmates’ cases could be mandated only if Congress implemented legislation to do so. “Unfortunately, this legislation has not been adopted,” the Mexican foreign ministry acknowledged.

  • Flu Battle, Vaccinations Continue Across North Texas

    Flu Battle, Vaccinations Continue Across North Texas

    As the flu epidemic continues to hit North Texas, health leaders are hammering the message: It’s still not too late to get vaccinated. Some clinics have quickly run out of the shots, but several DFW-area Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores say they’re stocked up.

    At the Wal-Mart store off Northwest Highway and Skillman in Dallas, NBC 5 found there wasn’t a line at the pharmacy and they had plenty of flu shots in supply. “We got a heads up on the issues that were going on with the flu shots, so we were giving the incentive and directions to order enough supply to have some in stock.

    We have plenty of supply and figure my other Wal-Mart pharmacies, as far as I know, Wal-Mart is not experiencing a shortage as some other retailers are,” said Dallas Wal-Mart Pharmacist Emelda Azu-Irondi. She said even though her store has plenty of doses of the flu shot, there’s still not the demand. She’s only been giving out a dozen shots a day. That was good news for Elizabeth Bula, she tried a CVS Store first a couple of weeks ago.

    “The pharmacy I went to was out of stock, so I’ve just kind of been putting it off until now,” said Bula. The 25-year-old said this is the first year she’s rolling up her sleeve to get a shot. “I know the age range I’m [in] and it’s almost like we’re being targeted this season. It’s interesting to hear how many people have gotten sick, and some people have passed away, which is so sad. Hearing that, realizing I should’ve gotten a shot, I’m out here and getting it done,” said Bula. Lucy Neal’s sister is a nurse in the intensive care unit. She heard the warning from her: don’t wait any longer.

  • West Texas in line for solar farm

    West Texas in line for solar farm

    TEXAS (TIP)For years Texas has watched as solar developers flock to greener pastures in California and Arizona where state subsidies and high power prices have created a solar boom.

    The announcement Wednesday that First Solar, one of the world’s largest solar companies, was building a sprawling 22 megawatt farm in West Texas represented a rare piece of good news for the state’s nascent solar industry. Tim Rebhorn, First Solar’s senior vice president for project development in North and South America, said his company was betting on the conditions for solar improving in Texas.

    “When energy prices are as low as they are in Texas, it makes it very difficult to come in and build,” he said. “But we’re seeing constraints on capacity. And we think on the merchant side there’s going to be a price effect.” The project, named Barilla, is being built on a 200-acre site about 30 miles west of Fort Stockton. Rebhorn said the site is large enough the facility could ultimately expand to 150 megawatts of capacity, which would make it the largest solar farm in Texas.

  • 116 North Texas schools identified as low performing

    116 North Texas schools identified as low performing

    DALLAS (TIP): The parents of thousands of North Texas students will get a letter soon telling them their school does not make the grade.

    The Texas Education Agency has compiled its annual list of low performing schools based on poor test scores or unacceptable ratings from the state’s Public Education Grant program. This year the number of campuses across the state on the list nearly doubled to 892.

    Locally, Dallas and Fort Worth have the most campuses on the list, but many suburban districts are on it as well. Students in low performing schools are allowed to transfer to another school or district, but Dallas Independent School District spokesman Jon Dahlander said few do because transportation is not provided. DISD will host a public meeting Thursday evening for parents with questions. It will begin at 5:45 p.m. at the Ada L. Williams Auditorium, which is located at 3700 Ross Avenue in Dallas.

  • Supreme Court hears Texas man’s appeal in child pornography case

    Supreme Court hears Texas man’s appeal in child pornography case

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The Supreme Court wrestled on January 22 with how much a Texas man who possessed child pornography must pay one of the victims. Doyle Paroline, who is from East Texas, was arrested in 2008 with 280 images of child pornography and spent 22 months in jail.

    Two photographs detailed the abuse of Amy, who was eight years old at the time she was raped and photographed by her uncle. Amy’s lawyers said Paroline should pay Amy for her suffering. They said she needs $3.4 million, mostly to cover lost future income and counseling fees. They also say he should be able to sue other offenders to help contribute to that sum.

    Paroline’s lawyers disagree. Because a district court ruled that the government could not directly calculate his contribution to her losses, they argue he should not be held responsible In court Wednesday, several justices agreed that Amy, a pseudonym used to protect the true victim’s identity, was harmed by all of those involved in the distribution and consumption of her images. But they remained skeptical that Paroline should be liable for her entire losses, as he played a relatively small part in her saga.

  • Ex-Texas Longhorns quarterback Vince Young files for bankruptcy protection

    Ex-Texas Longhorns quarterback Vince Young files for bankruptcy protection

    HOUSTON (TIP): Former NFL and University of Texas quarterback Vince Young has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The petition was filed last week in a Houston federal bankruptcy court, listing Young with estimated assets between $500,001 and $1 million and liabilities between $1,001,000 and $10 million.

    The Houston Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/1edNPn8 ) no specific details on Young’s assets and liabilities were immediately available. The 30-year-old Young is fighting a pair of lawsuits stemming from a $1.8 million loan obtained in his name during the 2011 NFL lockout. A court has granted a judgment against Young to Pro Player Funding, a New York company that made the loan. Pro Player Funding has made several efforts in a Harris County state district court to enforce collection of the judgment, but those efforts remain pending.

  • Akkineni Nageswara Rao is dead: Condolences pour in from across the world

    Akkineni Nageswara Rao is dead: Condolences pour in from across the world

    HYDERABAD (TIP): Legendary Telugu actor and film producer Akkineni Nageswara Rao, also known as ANR, died January 22 in Hyderabad at the age of 90. Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner ANR, who is the father of famous Telugu actor Nagarjuna, had been battling cancer for several months.

    He had in October last year told media that he was diagnosed with cancer and that he would fight it till the end. Nageswara Rao, who recently underwent a surgery for intestinal cancer, is survived by three daughters and two sons. His funeral on January 23 was attended by thousands of grieving admirers.

    The Telugu film industry wants a monument to be constructed for Akkineni Nageswara Rao on the premises of Annapurna Studios which he founded. Paying respect to ANR, Movie Artistes Association (MAA) president M Murali Mohan said it would be appropriate to have a monument near ANR’s museum where his awards are located. “We have made a suggestion to the family about it,” he said. Meanwhile, as a mark of respect, the film industry cancelled all shootings for two days.


    6
    Thousands of grieving admirers of Akkineni Nageswara Rao joined the funeral procession on January 23, 2014

    Mohan said an appeal has also been made to theatre owners to stop screenings and cancel shows on Thursday, January 23. Throughout the day, condolences and praises flooded in for the late actor from his Tollywood and Bollywood colleagues and politicians. Dadasaheb Phalke award winner D Rama Naidu said ANR had always adopted a discipline towards his work and life. “It used to be a pleasure working with him,” he said.

    Union minister for tourism Chiranjeevi said he had met ANR only a couple of weeks ago and spent nearly an hour with him. “I want to hit a century with the best wishes of the people,” ANR reportedly told him. “It is sad that he is no more,” Chiranjeevi said. He also recalled how his mother was a big fan of ANR and how when she was pregnant she wanted to watch a film. “My father was concerned. However, she did go to watch the movie in which ANR had acted,” he said, adding that his mother gave birth to a boy a few days later. “That boy was me,” he reminisced.

    Filmmaker S S Rajamouli said he was “saddened by the news of the legendary Nageswararao garu.” “He stood as a towering father figure for the Telugu film industry. Irreparable loss,” he said. Tributes also poured in from other parts of the country. Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan tweeted: “Another great iconic legend of cinema passes away this morning: Nageshwar Rao, of Telugu cinema, a most affable considerate human!” Actor Anupam Kher described ANR as “an actor, a gentleman and a cinematic phenomenon”. “Have learnt a lot from him,” he . “He was not just a great artist but a wonderful human being.

    I had the opportunity to meet him four years ago… I had received an award from him. May god bless his soul and I pray for his family,” 84-year-old singer Lata Mangeshkar tweeted. Several political leaders also joined in paying tributes. Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi described ANR as “one of Indian cinema’s stalwarts who will be remembered for his rich contribution. Saddened by his demise. RIP.” Union minister of state for information and broadcasting Manish Tewari recalled that he had met Nageshwar Rao in Hyderabad last January, describing it as an “inspirational experience”.

    BJP leader Rajnath Singh said Nageshwar Rao’s contribution to Indian cinema would always be cherished. TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu also said he was grieved beyond words at the demise of ‘legend’ ANR. “An era comes to an end. Great actor & a great human being,” he said on a social networking site. Naidu also visited Annapurna Studios to pay tributes to actor. In New York, Rao Anumolu, President, CEO & Founder at ASR International Corporation, a close friend of late ANR, said he was deeply saddened to hear of ANR’s death and that whereas in his death, Telugus had lost a great actor and a fine human being, for him it was the loss of a close friend and end of an era.

  • Emergency declaration allows Texas to help ease propane shortage

    Emergency declaration allows Texas to help ease propane shortage

    AUSTIN (TIP): Gov. Rick Perry signed an emergency declaration late Wednesday, January 22, easing licensing restrictions that will allow other states facing a propane shortage to tap into Texas’ abundant supply of the home-heating fuel.

    Due to severe cold this season, propane supplies are extremely low in more than 20 states across the Midwest and Northeast. States as far away as Maine have requested help from the Lone Star State, which produces two-thirds of nation’s propane supply and houses the world’s largest propane storage facility, said Bill Van Hoy, executive director of the Texas Propane Gas Association which sent a letter to Perry last week requesting the emergency declaration.

    “Texas has the fuel, but motor carriers from other states could not get supplies from Texas because they were not licensed and certified to enter our state,” Van Hoy said Thursday, January 23. The declaration of emergency will help address the shortage by temporarily waiving licensing requirements and rules prohibiting other states from trucking propane from Texas, Van Hoy said.

    The Texas Department of Public safety is also waiving limits on hours of service in Texas to fuel carriers providing emergency relief, he said. Propane is used to heat more than 7 million homes across the United States, he said. A confluence of events, including extreme winter weather and a sharp increase in propane exports, has led to the shortage. Also reducing the supply was a record fall corn harvest when large quantities of propane were used to dry out crops.

    Prices in the Midwest are the highest since at least 1990, according to the Energy Information Administration. The propane supply has fallen from 34 days on Nov. 29 to 24 days on Jan. 10, according to the administration. The supply stood at 42.1 days a year ago. Some out-of-state suppliers have already sent truckers to Mont Belview near Houston, where propane is stored in an enormous salt cavern, Van Hoy said. “This won’t just help those states, it will be good for business in Texas,” he said.

  • Pope Francis says the Internet is a ‘gift from God’

    Pope Francis says the Internet is a ‘gift from God’

    VATICAN (TIP): It may sometimes be a breeding ground for pornographers, bullies and hateful extremists, but the Internet received an official blessing Thursday, January 23 from Pope Francis, who called it a “gift from God.”

    “The digital world can be an environment rich in humanity, a network not of wires but of people,” said Francis, adding: “The Internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity. This is something truly good, a gift from God.”

    However, in a speech marking the Roman Catholic Church’s World Communications Day, the pope warned the Internet also had the power to “isolate” people from their neighbors. The Vatican has entered the world of social media with gusto, launching a Facebook page and an online news portal that can be downloaded as an app.

    The papal Twitter account, begun by Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI, now boasts more than 3.5 million followers. Last year, the Vatican even offered indulgences — which cut time from the period Catholics believe they will spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins — to those who followed the Catholic World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro via Twitter. But on Thursday, January 23, Francis warned the Internet was also fraught with dangers.

    “The speed with which information is communicated exceeds our capacity for reflection and judgment, and this does not make for more balanced and proper forms of self-expression,” he said. Too much time spent surfing the web, he added, “can help us either to expand our knowledge or to lose our bearings.” The desire to be online, he said, “can have the effect of isolating us from our neighbors, from those closest to us.” The solution is to slow down.

    “We need, for example, to recover a certain sense of deliberateness and calm,” Francis said. “This calls for time and the ability to be silent and to listen.” Draining some of the venom and hostility that can be found on the web would also help bring about real understanding of the world, he said. “If we are genuinely attentive in listening to others, we will learn to look at the world with different eyes and come to appreciate the richness of human experience as manifested in different cultures and traditions.”

    He also called the Internet a good place to talk about God. “As I have frequently observed, if a choice has to be made between a bruised church which goes out to the streets and a church suffering from self-absorption, I certainly prefer the first,” he said. The “digital highway” is just another “street teeming with people who are often hurting, men and women looking for salvation or hope.”

  • Opinion poll predicts gains for BJP, losses for UPA

    Opinion poll predicts gains for BJP, losses for UPA

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Despite an apparent wave of Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) till recently, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would have won 200- odd seats if the general elections were held in January 2014, the findings of the latest India Today Group’s Mood of the Nation opinion poll suggest.

    The opinion poll gives the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) only around 100 seats, down by over 150 seats in the current Lok Sabha. It also underlines the significance of a possible Third Front in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election as the non- UPA, non-NDA parties and Independents are expected to win 220-odd seats.

    The NDA thus crosses the 200-mark for the first time since 2010. Both, the NDA and the likely Third Front, gains substantially in numbers and vote share. The opinion poll suggests that the NDA’s vote share of 34 per cent will be significantly more than the UPA’s 23. However, the others will have the maximum vote share of 43 per cent. Under the leadership of Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks all set to become the single largest party as it is also likely to emerge the biggest gainer in the Lok Sabha polls.

    Its 2009 tally of 116 is expected to rise to 188 in 2014, an increase of more than 60 per cent. Congress, under the leadership of its vice-president Rahul Gandhi, might win just 91 seats, as compared to its current tally of 206, a drop of about 55 per cent. The Congress ploy of propping AAP to counter Modi at the national level seems to have a limited impact, as Kejriwal’s gains are restricted to areas around Delhi and a few metro cities only.

    Modi consolidates his position
    Modi, who emerged as the strongest leader within his party after the BJP’s hat-trick in Gujarat in December 2012, cemented his position further through strong campaigning across the country. As the party’s lead campaigner in the recently held assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi he consolidated his position further. In the latest India Today Mood of the Nation opinion poll, as many as 47 per cent people voted him as the best prime ministerial candidate against his previous best of 42 per cent polled in August 2013.

    The Gandhi scion was way behind Modi with just 15 per cent votes, followed by Kejriwal with 9 per cent votes and 6 per cent votes each to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. During these five months Modi was also able to improve his image from being a communal leader to being pro-development. To a question “what does Modi represent”, the option “communalism” saw a drop of 11 per cent from 18 per cent in August 2013, while “economic development” increased by 6 per cent to 30 per cent. The number of people thinking Modi should apologize for the 2002 Gujarat riots also fell drastically during this period to 39 per cent from the previous figure of 51 per cent.

    Modi as a role model
    The Gujarat chief minister emerged as a role model for the highest 17 per cent respondents, a gain of as much percentage as nobody earlier saw him as one among the overall personalities of India. Modi was followed by Kejriwal with 14 per cent votes, up from 2 per cent. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan too saw a big jump in his popularity as 10 per cent people saw him as a role model, up from the previous 1 per cent, followed by legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar’s 9 per cent against 2 per cent in the earlier opinion poll.Veteran anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare’s position as a role model remained unchanged with 7 per cent votes.

  • Mayor de Blasio Picks Indian American Ram Raju as Commissioner of Health & Hospitals

    Mayor de Blasio Picks Indian American Ram Raju as Commissioner of Health & Hospitals

    NEW YORK, NY (TIP): Mayor Bill de Blasio named January 21, the new heads of the Department of Small Business Services and the Health and Hospitals Corporation, pledging to deepen each agency’s connections to neighborhoods across the five boroughs.

    Mayor de Blasio appointed Maria Torres-Springer as Commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services and Dr. Ramanathan Raju as Commissioner of Health and Hospitals Corporation. As public servants with deep expertise at their respective agencies, both Torres-Springer and Raju are poised to aggressively implement progressive, community-based reforms.

    “We sought out progressive, proven leaders who are committed to serving diverse communities across this city. And in Maria and Raju, we found them. Whether it’s deepening our outreach to immigrant entrepreneurs long overlooked by City Hall, or bringing new community health care clinics to low-income neighborhoods, our approach will be the same:We will lift up every community. This will be one city, where everyone rises together,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

    A former Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Maria Torres-Springer was a key leader in project teams that helped launch the Applied Sciences Initiative and the redevelopment of Coney Island. As Commissioner of Small Business Services, she will establish a new revolving loan fund to help local businesses grow, expand outreach to immigrant-owned businesses, and help launch new economic development hubs in underserved communities.

    “As the child of immigrants, I understand our city is strongest when every New Yorker has access to quality economic opportunities and good middle class jobs,” said Torres-Springer. “As Commissioner at the Department of Small Business Services, I look forward to ensuring that every small business owner-no matter where they are from, where they live, or what they look like-has access to the resources they need to succeed.”

    Currently CEO of the Chicago’s Cook County Health and Hospital System, Dr. Ramanathan Raju is a respected physician who has led some of the nation’s largest and most complex health care systems. As President of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation-the nation’s largest public hospital system-he will work to raise standards of care at HHC hospitals and deepen the agency’s approach to providing primary and preventative care at the neighborhood level.

    Dr. Ramanathan Raju’s appointment must be ratified by the HHC board. “I am excited to return to the Health and Hospitals Corporation,” said incoming HHC President Ramanathan Raju. “Under my leadership, the HHC will continue its mission of ensuring New Yorkers have access to quality health care optionsfrom major hospitals to neighborhood clinics-no matter where they live.” Dr. Ramanathan Raju brings more than 30 years of experience in public and not-for-profit hospital systems.

    Dr. Raju began his medical career at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, where he ascended to the positions of Director of Surgery, Director of Medical Education, and Senior Vice President. He went on to serve as the COO and Chief Medical Officer at Coney Island Hospital, and then as Chief Medical Officer, Corporate COO and Executive Vice President at the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. Most recently, he has served as CEO of Cook County Health and Hospitals System, the third largest health system in the US.

    He is credited with improving CCHHS’s quality of care, increasing revenues, and cutting costs by leveraging federal resources, restructuring the system’s operation, and utilizing technology to increase efficiency and make the health care system more accessible to patients. A native of Madras (now Chennai), India, Dr. Raju received his medical degree from the Madras Medical College and was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in the United Kingdom. He received his Masters in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee.

  • HSI returns stolen antiquities to the Indian Consulate

    HSI returns stolen antiquities to the Indian Consulate

    NEW YORK (TIP): India and the US firm ties again after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) returned three stolen sculptures at the Indian Consulate in New York City on Tuesday, January 14, during a repatriation ceremony. The event marks the first attempt made by both countries at solving the dispute after senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade’s arrest and eventual eviction from the US. The three stolen sculptures, one which was listed in INTERPOL’s top ten most wanted stolen works of art, are valued at more than $1.5 million. Two of the three sculptures were reported stolen by the Archaeological Survey of India from Gadgach Temple in Rajasthan.

    Two sandstone sculptures of Vishnu and Lakshmi and Vishnu and Parvati date back to the 11th or 12th century. The third artifact from the same era is a black sandstone sculpture depicting Bodhisattva, a popular subject in Buddhist art. Indian Consul General Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay, Director of Interpol (Washington) Shawn A. Bray and Executive Associate Director, HSI James Dinkins, preceded the official transfer of the items. The three valuable sculptures were on display at the Consulate. “The excellent international cooperation between the United States and India led to the recovery and return of these priceless antiquities. These items represent history and culture of India and we are happy to have recovered them and return them to be enjoyed by the people of India,” said Dinkins.

    Shawn Bray also commended on the excellent working relation of both countries. “This signifies what is possible when two countries come together despite cultural, linguistic and legal barriers,” he added. Although the sculptures were recovered by 2011, the delay in returning and assigning the transfer dates was due to certain ‘legal process that can take long’. On being asked if this was a feeble attempt at making amends after the diplomat’s arrest, the panel unanimously pointed it as a mere coincidence.

    “I have had this event marked on my calendar for a while now and having it on this day is purely coincidental,” said Dinkins. “The relation between India and the US is multi-dimensional and multi-faceted. Our relation spans to culture, education, finance, nuclear and other divisions. We all have issues that can be sorted if we keep the spirit of friendship in mind,” added Mr. Mulay. HSI confirms that so far no arrests have been made over the case of stolen sculptures and the case if not over unless all the culprits are bought to justice.

  • Committee Co-Chairs

    Committee Co-Chairs

    Vijay has been involved with the India Association of Long Island for about 25 years and has served the organization in several capacities. He has been a member at large for several years and a Treasurer for two years. Besides IALI he is actively involved with a number of different organizations on Long Island. He is on the committee of Indian American Forum and runs their senior program. He also runs a senior program for ASLI. He is currently a treasurer for Arya Samaj of Long Island. He is also on the IDPUSA committee. He has been president of Arya Samaj of NY. He has two masters’ degrees and has worked in administrative positions in the health care industry. Currently , he is retired and devotes most of his time to community service.


    25Jaya Bahadkar – Socio-Cultural Co- Chair
    Jaya is a Registered Nurse. She likes to involve herself in social and cultural activities. She is an Executive Member of India Home, a Board Member of National Indo- American Association for Senior Citizens, Cultural Co-Chair and former Vice President (2012) of Indian Association of Long Island And Cultural Chair of Indian American Forum

  • No PM Candidate: Rahul to lead Election Campaign

    No PM Candidate: Rahul to lead Election Campaign

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Despite a majority of leaders at the Congress Working Committee meet pushing for Rahul Gandhi to be made the party’s prime ministerial candidate, the party demurred from the decision and instead decided to appoint him the poll campaign chief. “We had one major resolution that has to be passed tomorrow and all the issues in it were discusses…The Congress President and Vice President placed their views on the resolution,” Congress spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi told reporters, refusing to disclose all its contents.

    “Many of the members in the CWC wanted that he (Rahul) should be made the Prime ministerial candidate but after some debate Congress president Sonia Gandhi intervened,” he said. “She said that there was no such tradition in the Congress. If someone declares their PM candidate it doesn’t mean that we have to do the same,” Dwivedi said. He said that Sonia had endorsed making Rahul Gandhi the head of the party’s campaign in the upcoming elections. “The resolution in today’s meeting says: ‘This meeting of the AICC declares that the campaign of the elections will be headed by Rahul Gandhi’,” he said. Rahul Gandhi said that he would do everything to strengthen the party and that he would do anything that the party sought of him, Dwivedi said.

    “Rahulji said the decision on other matters will be taken at the appropriate time,” he said. Sources said that Rahul had himself said that he didn’t want to be the party’s prime ministerial candidate and was backed by the top brass of the party on his decision, including by Sonia Gandhi. The Congress leader is to be appointed the party’s poll committee chief at the AICC meet tomorrow, thus making him the face of the party’s campaign, but not pitting him in a direct race against the BJP’s Narendra Modi. In a recent interview, Rahul had said that he was willing to accept any responsibility for the party which had been interpreted by some as saying he was set to be the party’s prime ministerial candidate.

  • Congress passes USD 1.1 trillion spending bill

    Congress passes USD 1.1 trillion spending bill

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The US Senate has passed the USD 1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that eliminates the threat of another government shutdown at least until October and puts conditions on Pakistan for continuation of aid. Passed by the House of Representatives a day earlier, the bill now goes to the White House for President Barack Obama to sign it into law, thus preventing another shutdown. While the Senate passed the massive bill by 72-26 votes yesterday, the House approved it by 359-67 votes on Wednesday. All Senate Democrats supported the spending package and also 17 Republicans voted in its favour.

    Obama has pledged to sign the 1500-page bill, which among others puts conditions on Pakistan with regard to continuation of civilian and military aid. As in the previous year, the Congress requires a certification from the Secretary of State and the Defense Secretary to release the civil and military aid to Pakistan. The officials require to certify that Pakistan is co-operating with the US in counter-terrorism efforts…And taking steps to end support for terrorist groups and prevent them from basing and operating in Pakistan and carrying out cross border attacks into neighboring countries The Secretary of State also requires to certify the Congress that Pakistan is not supporting terrorist activities against US or coalition forces in Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies are not intervening extra- judicially into political and judicial processes.

    It also seeks certification that Pakistan is dismantling improvised explosive device, networks and interdicting precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of IEDs; preventing the proliferation of nuclearrelated material and expertise; and implementing policies to protect judicial independence and due process of law. However, in the national security interest, these provisions are waived off. Further, the Congress has also withheld USD 33 million assistance until Pakistan releases Dr Shakil Afridi, who helped the US in locating Osama bin Laden, from prison. It also seeks from the Obama Administration a spending plan including achievable and sustainable goals, benchmarks for measuring progress, and expected results regarding combating poverty and furthering development in Pakistan, countering extremism, and establishing conditions conducive to the rule of law and transparent and accountable governance.

    The Secretary of State is authorised to suspend assistance if Pakistan fails to make measurable progress in meeting such goals or benchmarks, the bill says. The White House supported the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 describing it as a positive step forward for the Nation and the economy. “This bipartisan legislation provides funding for investments in areas like education, infrastructure and innovation ? investments that will help grow our economy, create jobs, and strengthen the middle class,” said Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

  • Other Committee Chairs

    Other Committee Chairs

    An Attorney by profession. Aruna has been an active member of India Association of Long Island. She has held many positions in the last 10 years .Over the last 13 years she has been actively involved with IALI’s Diwali Food Drive .Last year she was the Chairperson for the Food Drive &r aised 41 thousand dollars ,the most successful food drive in 18 years. The money was donated to INN.(Interfaith Nutrition Network ).


    21Jai Prakash Enjapuri -Sports Chair
    Jai Prakash owns a software development company called “JPINFOTECH, INC”. He is a Masters in Computer Applications, MISCA, Adv. Software Engineering (Columbia). He is an Executive Member of TLCA (Telugu Literary and Cultural Association) and a Gen. Secretary of Rotary Club Of Hicksville South


    22Flora Parekh – IT & Communications Chai
    Flora has been in the IT industry for more than 20 years now. She is an MBA. Her past IALI involvement includes serving as the Vendor Chair at the recent India Fest. “I am very excited and honored to be a part of such a wonderful team”, says Flora. Her most recent community involvements include participation in the Long Island Parade, Chairing the Mr. & Ms. Vegetarian Vision Pageant, assisting on the Executive committee for a few organizations namely South Asian for Democrats / de Blasio, Vegetarian Vision and Friends of ARCH.


    23Amita Karwal – Young Parents Forum Chair
    Amita Karwal is a compassionate and caring individual who has been a resident of Long Island for over a decade. She has outstanding organizational skills and loves to plan events whilst handling every minute detail to perfection. Being a peoples person, Amita contributes to make the world a better place by helping just about anyone. She is very family oriented> Married to Ankush, she has two beautiful children, Eesha and Vihaan

  • Standing Committees

    Standing Committees

    Prasad is Finance Chair for the year 2014. He was President in 2006 and 2007 and is a current BOT Member of TLCA.

    18Lalit Aery -Membership Chair
    Lalit Aery is resident of Long Island for the past 27 years. He has managing his own Insurance Business. He has been involved in community service for many years. He has ,served as Treasurer in 2011 & as co-chairperson in membership committee in 2012 in IALI


    19Beena Kothari -Socio-Cultural Chair
    Beena Kothari has been associated with IALI for over a decade. She has been with JP Morgan Chase and IBM as a global IT Team Manager and is presently working in the Real Estate industry. She has been part of and served on many Indian organizations throughout the tri-state area. Her vision includes empowerment of young generation as well as a broader visibility of our great Indian social-cultural values.” Let us continue our journey together and become a role model for the Indian American community”, says Beena.