Gandhi memorabilia auction is over, but drama is on

Mahatma Gandhi's possessions went under the hammer but they look like they are heading to India. Liquor baron Vijay Mallya bid and won Gandhi's memorabilia at a New York auction on Thursday for Rs 9 crore.

And as the news spread, a relieved UPA government proudly claimed that they had got back Bapu's belongings with Mallaya's help.

But the fact has been disputed by the king of good times who says he did it all on his own.

"I got it back. No one got in touch with me. Honourable minister Ms Ambika Soni's statement that we were in touch is wrong," he said while speaking to NDTV.

However, Mallya has promised to donate the entire collection to India.

He beat bidders from all over the world including a large number of NRIs. His closest competitor was from Britain at $1.75 million.

"I wish the items had been sold for a lot more because I believe that they were priceless. But they were sold for quite a bit; the watch went as the most expensive watch ever sold," James Otis, the seller of the items said.

But Mallya cannot bring back the items just yet. The auction house will keep them until the US Justice Department takes a decision on a Delhi High Court order to stay the bidding.

So the items will either be returned to India at no cost, or if the auction is upheld, Mallya will bring them home.

And for the Mahatma's family, which hit out at relatives who sold Bapu's belongings in the first place, there is a sense of relief.

Now that India has got back Gandhi's legacy, it is perhaps time to ask whether we have done enough to retain his vision for India.

Network behind Lahore attack traced: Pak media

Media reports in Pakistan claim that investigators have unravelled the network behind the Lahore attack.

They say that in the next 18 hours, police will announce the breakthrough.

According to the reports, five key suspects have been arrested. They include two men who were allegedly involved in the attack and three facilitators.

Police sources are being quoted as saying that the two suspected terrorists were in Lahore for two days before 3/3.

They allegedly surveyed the entry and exit points in the Liberty market area.

One of the suspected terrorists was reportedly wearing a burqa when he was arrested in Karachi.

Media reports say that among the three facilitators who have been arrested are two men who were traced on the basis of SIM cards used by attackers.

Three months on, the loss that is Hemant Karkare

Hemant Karkare, Mumbai's Anti Terrorist Squad chief, met a violent end when terrorists invaded the city and killed innocents at will. One of the city's most respected police officers, Karkare reached the spot to take command of the situation on the night of November 26.

When he heard the news that Deputy Commissioner of Police Sadanand Date had been injured in gunfire at the Cama Hospital in south Mumbai, Karkare, along with Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and Senior Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar, got into a police Qualis and rushed to the spot. Their vehicle was ambushed by two terrorists, Ajmal Kasab and Ismail Khan, who stepped out from behind a tree and opened fire.

The three officers and three accompanying constables were killed in what will be remembered as the city's darkest night.

Hemant Karkare was declared dead upon reaching the J J Hospital.

The man Mumbai now knows as a hero, a martyr and the recipient of the nation's highest gallantry award in peacetime, the Ashok Chakra, Karkare hailed from a very humble background. His father worked with the Indian Railways as a result of which Hemant settled wherever his dad's postings took the family. His mother took keen interest in her children's studies.

Shirish Karkare, Hemant Karkare's younger brother who works as a manager at the National Insurance Company, recounts to rediff.com how as the oldest of four siblings, Hemant was the apple of their parents' eye. A bit of a loner and bookworm, he was always willing to put his books away when his siblings needed his help.

"He was excellent at studies. When he was five years old, our parents put him in school. After the first day, he came back, saying, 'I don't want to sit with those duffers -- they don't know anything. I already know everything the teacher is teaching.' You see, our mother used to teach him tables and alphabets at home."

"Finally, after a lot of argument, my parents requested the principal to promote him to the second standard," remembers Shirish Karkare. "Of course, he had to take a test, which he passed, and got a double promotion right away."

Orissa train mishap, toll goes up to 16

Sixteen passengers were killed and 161 injured when 13 bogies of the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express from Howrah derailed while changing tracks in Orissa's Jajpur district. The toll can go up, indicate news reports.

A massive operation is stilll underway to rescue passengers trapped in the mangled bogies of the train.

Director General of Police Manmohan Praharaj said 16 passengers were killed, while over 160 were injured, with the condition of many being serious. The driver and the assistant driver of the train were seriously injured.

The bodies of the killed passengers have been recovered, he said. The casualty figure was likely to mount as some bodies were feared trapped in the bogies, some of which had climbed on adjoining ones, railway sources said.

The injured were shifted to the local hospital and the SCB Medical College Hospital at Cuttack, about 60 km from the accident site, railway sources said. Medical teams and ambulances were mobilised from Jajpur, Cuttack and adjoining districts to ferry the injured to hospitals.

Though rescue operations were initially affected due to the darkness, flood lights were rigged up. Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force teams joined the rescue operation with high-tech equipment.

East Coast Railway General Manager A K Goyal, along with senior railway officials rushed to the site, while Railway Board chairman S S Khurana was likely to visit the spot.

As directed by Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Finance minister Prafulla Ghadai and Women and Child Development minister Pramila Mallick, both of whom belong to Jajpur district, have rushed to the site.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav said that a probe will be ordered into the accident.

He also announced Rs five lakh and a job for the next of the kin of the dead, Rs 50,000 for the seriously injured and Rs 10,000 for those with minor injuries.

Free treatment to all injured in the accident has been assured by the Railway Minister. "Minister of State of Railways R Velu, Chairman of the Railway Board S S Khurana and Board member (Engineering) S K Vij will reach the accident spot on Saturday and make an assessment of the incident," Prasad told reporters.

The bogies had rammed in to each other so badly that the passengers were stuck inside and steel cutters, cranes and other equipment were being used to get them out of the mangled bogies, officials said.

A musical legend

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is only the second classical vocalist to be conferred the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, the first being the legendary M S Subbulakshmi.

And his choice for the award comes after a gap of seven years -- the previous Bharat Ratna being shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan.

Mohan Nadkarni, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi's biographer, recalls his long association with the legend in this tribute. Exclusive to rediff.com
It is rare that a biography of an artiste is published during his lifetime; every word in the narration of this biography is truthful.'

This is what the maestro, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, said, releasing the first edition of my book, titled, Bhimsen Joshi: The Man and His Music, way back in 1983.

And it was the maestro who had visited me at home and asked me to write his life-story! This tiny biography, incidentally, caught the attention of HarperCollins publishers, in collaboration with Indian publisher Rupa & Co. They commissioned me to revise and update the edition and publish it under their joint auspices in 1994.

News of the conferment of the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award on the maestro, now 87, is indeed like a miracle that has simply happened. Doubly so, in a land where one has to be either thoroughly dead, or get woefully old and ailing to deserve State recognition!

Especially for this writer, only seven months junior to him in age, this great event is truly overwhelming. Indeed, I am at a loss to know what to say, how to say, and how much to say, as I write these lines. I turn nostalgic and my thoughts take me down memory lane. Way back to February 1943 -- February 16, to be precise.

That was the day of his first broadcast from All India Radio, Bombay (as the city was then called). I still remember his programme schedule of three sittings of 20 minutes each: Miyan Ki Todi in the morning (Daiya Bat Dubar); then raga Marwa (Ab Mil Aaye) at dusk; and finally, raga Puriya (Piya Gunawanta), later in the evening.

Like me, whoever might have heard these radio sessions would have been left in no doubt that a brilliant star had risen on the musical horizon.

India, Russia sign $700 million Nuclear Fuel Deal

Moscow (24/7 News Network): India and Russia signed deals worth $700 million, which will supply fuels to India's nuclear reactors. Foreign counties consider India as a potential hub to sell their nuclear fuels. The United States, Russia, France and other European countries are looking forward to build a solid nuclear cooperation with India.

Even as India refused to sign the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the United States ensured the end of India's nuclear isolation in the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Russia is currently involved in building nuclear reactors at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. It is also planning to build several other plants in India.

Atal's health improves; to be off ventilator soon

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, is showing signs of recovery as the condition of his lungs continues to improve.

"He is alright. He is making progress," Head of Cardiac Thoracic Vascular Sciences Department of AIIMS Sampath Kumar said on Tuesday.

Kumar said Vajpayee's lungs are improving and oxygenation (amount of oxygen in blood purified by the lungs) level is better.

Sources at the AIIMS say he is likely to be taken off the ventilator soon.

Kumar said that former Prime Minister's all the basic parameters like his heart, kidney, liver and blood pressure were normal.

The 84-year-old leader was admitted to the hospital on February 3 with complaints of fever and chest congestion. Doctors later found that he was suffering from pneumonia.

Commuters disrupt train services in Mumbai

Train services on Mumbai's suburban line of Western Railway were disrupted on Wednesday morning after commuters blocked the tracks demanding more trains.

Services on the slow tracks were blocked after commuters refused to allow trains to operate, demanding more up and down trains from Borivali and Churchgate, railway police said.

Trains were disrupted from 0920 hours and people are still being cleared from the tracks, they said.

However, services on the fast line were unaffected.

Tata group's top executives may get 15% salary cut

MUMBAI: Senior executives in several Tata group companies are bracing themselves for a 10-15% salary cut in a bid to reduce wage bill and stave off job cuts at middle and junior levels, executives of at least three Tata companies told ET.

These executives said this is the possibly the first time that the group is planning salary cuts at the senior level. The extent of salary cuts will depend on how severely individual group companies are affected by the downturn.

"We will take a salary cut at the top-management level. This will allow us avoid putting many jobs at the mid and lower levels, across our facilities, at risk. However, a final call on this and the extent to which pay cuts will be effective, is yet to be taken," a top executive at Tata Steel told ET.

India to lose 15 lakh jobs by March

With the global financial crisis spreading fast in India, job losses are mounting.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Commerce Secretary GK Pillai has said that 15 lakh jobs could be lost in the export sector by March end. Ten lakh or 1 million jobs have already been lost. There is more grim news piling up.
January exports may show a sharp 20 per cent decline even as half of India's gems and jewellery units may shut shop.

Also, the UN labour agency recently said that the global economic downturn could see 40 million more people lose their jobs by the end of the year, taking the unemployment rate to its highest in a decade. Worldwide unemployment by the end of the year will range between 210 million and 230 million people, the agency said in its annual Global Employment Trends report.
In the wake of global economic slowdown, the Indian government has raised the unemployment benefit cover provided to the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) beneficiaries from an existing six months to one year.
The ESIC board also made announcements to increase the budgeted allocation for unemployment allowance under the Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojana (RJSKY) to a whopping Rs 10 crore this year.

'CEC should not behave like a political boss'

Union Law Minister H Bharadwaj on Monday slammed Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami for 'overstepping his powers' by recommending the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla to President Pratibha Patil.

"The CEC overstepped his powers. His allegations are unfortunate. He cannot behave like a political boss," Bharadwaj told mediapersons on the sidelines of a conference in New Delhi on Monday.

He also indicated that Chawla will take over as the next CEC once Gopalaswami demits office on April 20.

Gopalaswami's letter to the President had revealed the differences within the Election Commission. It had also triggered a political row, with the Bharatiya Janata Pary demanding Chawla's removal, claiming that he was partial to the ruling Congress.

The Centre and the Left parties have maintained that Chawla holds a constitutional post and can only be removed via the process of impeachment.

Bharadwaj quipped that if the BJP could attack Chawla, the Congress could also question Gopalaswami's political leanings.

President Patil has forwarded the letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office.

The government is going through the contents of the letter and would send its reply to the President, informed Bharadwaj.

Asked if the government had taken any decision on the Chief Election Commissioner's recommendation to remove Chawla, he said "When a decision is taken, we will inform you," adding "the EC's role is to prepare electoral rolls and not to settle scores".

'Pub culture is not desirable in India'

The attack on a group of women in a Mangalore pub, allegedly by members of the Shri Ram Sene, has the Opposition gunning for his head. But Karnataka Home Minister Dr V S Acharya seems unfazed by the volley of criticism directed at the state government after the incident.

In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Dr Acharya claims that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in the state acted swiftly and firmly against the culprits involved in the Mangalore attack.

Has your government succeeded in acting against the perpetrators of the Mangalore attack?

We have acted swiftly and taken appropriate action in the matter. We have given the police a free hand and they have done a commendable job. The arrest of so many people is an indication of the action being taken.

Do you agree with Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's views about putting an end to the pub culture in the state?

Pub culture is not desirable in the Indian context. I whole-heartedly agree with Yeddyurappa's stance.

Are you planning to take action against these pubs?

There are laws that govern these pubs. The usual norms will continue to apply to pubs and bars. But implementing the existing law is not the issue here. The Mangalore pub, which was attacked, had not violated any laws.

Is the BJP associated with the Shri Ram Sene?

We are not associated with the Sene. I have always maintained that the Shri Ram Sene is a separate entity and has nothing to do with the BJP.

But they seem to be taking advantage of the fact that the BJP is in power.

That is not true. We have dealt with the Sene with an iron fist and action has been taken without favouring anyone.

I firmly believe that the Sene is a tool in someone's hand, who is playing a game, to tarnish the BJP.

Can you substantiate that statement?

The ongoing investigations have provided some clues about the Sene being used as a tool. The probe will reveal the truth.

Shri Ram Sene activists have been equated to terrorists and intellectuals like U R Ananthamurthy feel that anti-terror laws should be used against them. Doesn't this call for a ban on the Sene to ensure a peaceful Karnataka?

There has been no proposal so far to ban the outfit. But the government is considering the matter. Regarding the applicability of anti-terror laws against the activists, as I mentioned earlier, we have not been soft on them and have dealt with an iron fist.

PM undergoes by-pass surgery

A coronary by-pass surgery on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh began on Saturday morning, during which doctors will replace three older grafts performed on him in 1990.

The surgery on the 76-year-old leader at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences is understood to have begun at around 7 am and is expected to last for several hours, hospital sources said.

Singh, who has a history of heart ailments which have included a by-pass surgery 18 years ago and an angioplasty six years ago, was admitted to AIIMS in New Delhi on Friday.

During the surgery, doctors from the Mumbai-based Asian Heart Institute and AIIMS will try to develop an alternate route for the supply of blood by sidelining the blocked part using graft of arteries and vessels derived from other parts of body.

A team of 11 doctors from AHI led by Dr Ramakant Panda, a highly reputed cardiac surgeon, were performing the surgery on Singh, who has been complaining of fatigue and signs of chest pain in recent days. He was then subjected to tests which indicated blockages.

The coronary artery by-pass surgery is performed when arteries get blocked and procedures like angioplasty or medicines fail to clear the blockage.

Surgeons using blood vessels from some other parts of body will create an alternate route by sidelining the blocked part to carry blood.

The surgery was being undertaken at operation theatre number five at AIIMS.

Software engineer from AP found dead in US

An Indian software engineer from Andhra Pradesh was found dead in his apartment in Indianapolis in the United States on Tuesday evening.

Muthyala Purushottam, 27, was found dead in his apartment in a south eastern neighbourhood of Indianapolis City on Tuesday evening, police said.

This is the latest in the series of deaths involving students and professionals from the south Indian state in the US over the past few months.

A resident of Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, Purushottam worked with Triton Infotech in Indianapolis.

Purushottam, son of police sub-inspector M Nagalingam, went to the US two years ago and was living with his wife Praveena, who also hails from Anantapur.

An Indianapolis police official, requesting anonymity as she is not authorised to speak to the media, told PTI that the police received an emergency call at about 6.15 pm.

The body was first found by his wife, also a software techie, who then alerted the neighbours, who in turn called the police, the official said.

Upon reaching the apartment, the police found the deceased lying on the floor and there appeared to be some marks on his neck. He was immediately taken to the hospital. The autopsy report is awaited, she said.

The official said that while initial investigation has indicated that it is a case of suicide, the police is continuing with its investigation to confirm the reasons and cause of his death and also the circumstances under which it happened.

Bush bids goodbye to White House

Having witnessed Barack Obama take over charge as the 44th President of the United States of America, George Bush and wife Laura departed the White House for a helicopter ride to Texas.

A departure ceremony, hosted by President Obama, was held at the Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, DC.

According to media reports, Bush will take part in a welcome-home ceremony in Midland, Texas, before heading to his ranch in Crawford. There will be another welcome-home ceremony in Waco, Texas.

The Bushes will eventually live in Dallas, but their house in that city is not yet ready, the report said.

Following White House tradition, Bush is believed to have left a personal letter for Obama. According to a CNN report, past letters have offered the new President private words of advice and reflection.

Earlier in the day, in his final acts of clemency, Bush commuted the prison sentences of two former US border patrol agents whose convictions for shooting a Mexican drug dealer ignited fierce debate about illegal immigration.

Bush leaves Washington as one of the nation's most unpopular and divisive presidents after a eight-year rule.

Image: Former US President George W Bush and former first lady Laura Bush wave before departing the US Capitol by helicopter.

He gets paid only 10 paise per shoe

Slumdog Millionaire has received tremendous international recognition and highlighted Mumbai's underbelly. While some hail it as a grand endorsement for the city, others think of it as a sorry stereotype.

Faheem Khan, Dharavi

Faheem and his family, natives of Bijnore, Uttar Pradesh have lived in Mumbai for 15 years. Faheem came to the city when he was just one year old.

The family of eight lives in Dharavi, often described as Asia's largest slum.

Faheem is 16, he is in Class X at the R C Mahim School. He also sews soles for shoes at one of the slum's many leather businesses.

His father works as a carpenter on daily wages. "He works if someone comes with work. He is jobless and has nothing to do if there is no carpentry work," says Faheem.

"I go to school in the morning and work in the evening. My brother fixes television cables and that again is on a daily wage. I get a very small amount from what I do. I put wooden heels on sandals and for every pair I get paid only 10 paise. I have another brother who studies in Class VIII and two sisters in Class X and IV," continues Faheem.

Amidst this financial constraint, Faheem forgets to mention his mother. "She is immobile," he says when this correspondent probes him. "She has calcium deficiency and cannot move. We cannot afford medication for her. We are just counting her days."

The government doctors provide free consultancy, but the family has to pay for the medication. "She needs to be medicated with an injection that costs us Rs 1,500 per injection. She needs this continuously for a month. That is going to cost us Rs 45,000. Where do we get this kind of money? We have left things to fate," he says with moist eyes.

"There have been days when none of us get money. We live in rented kholis (huts). We have to pay a rent of Rs 1,500. With no money coming in, we have starved for days. It happens quite often that we starve for more than 10 days a month. My father hasn't got any work for the past six months now."

Faheem goes to school from 7 am to 1 pm, he then goes for tuition after school and works from 4 pm to 11 pm. "I love to play like other kids, but I can't because of my schedule," he says.

"I want to study further and become a computer engineer," he says, confiding his dreams. "I know it is very difficult, but I will study hard. My brother has promised me that he will make me study as much as I want come what may. My sister wants to become a teacher and my dream is to be able to help my brother support my family."

This man paints the Mahatma

The year was 1947. India had won independence but the country was partitioned.

Partition saw many families migrating to India and an equal number of families moving to Pakistan. Suraj Sadan, an eight-year-old boy, was a part of one such family that walked from Pakistan to Delhi.

The life in the refugee camp had a bright lining, remembers the young boy, now a 69 year old man. "It was October. One day Mahatma Gandhi visited our camp. Even today, I remember him; he was like a bronze statue, shining. He sat on the floor and sang Easwar Allah tero naam, sabko sanmati de bhagwan with three girls. That was one of the most unforgettable moments in my life," Sadan says.

The police wireless operator who died fighting terrorists

Vijay Khandekar joined the Mumbai police force as a callow teenager. He was just 19 when he replaced his father, Madhukar Khandekar, in 1992. Posted at the Azad Maidan police station since 2004, Vijay was killed on November 26 in the encounter with terrorists at the Cama Hospital.

Vijay was a constable attached to the arms division and worked as a wireless operator. "I had applied for leave and was at home that day," says Prakash Shishupal, a colleague. "I got a call from the police station that there was firing at Colaba and near the Metro junction. Vijay was our operator. He conveyed information and instructions through the wireless."

Additional Commissioner of Police Sadanand Date remembers how he, along with Vijay and Prakash More, a police officer from the L T Marg police station, entered Cama Hospital that night.

They discovered two bodies of the hospital security staff. On learning that the terrorists were on the hospital terrace, the trio proceeded in that direction. To locate the terrorists, Date threw a stone and the terrorists responded with gunfire.

"Now we knew their position," recalls Date. "Because the police fired back, the terrorists knew our positions and threw four grenades. We were injured and Vijay lost his life."

"He was a very homely man," recalls Shraddha, his wife of six years; Vijay and Shradda have a four-year-old daughter, Samruddhi.

Sitting alongside her mother-in-law who could not control her tears, she recalls that horrific night. "I last spoke to him at 10:30 pm on November 26. He worked on the night shift on alternative weeks and it was his turn that week. Our daughter wasn't feeling too well so I took her to the hospital and left before he did. I didn't even see him when he left," recalls Shraddha.

Satish Nimbalkar, a co-worker, remembers Vijay as a very helpful individual who was prompt at his work. "He had presence of mind and had a good sense of humour. We used to have lunch together and even today I think he sits with us for lunch."

Vijay's place as the wireless operator at the Azad Maidan police station has been taken by another constable. "We have two operators. Ajit Supal comes in the morning; we have replaced Vijay with Anil Kadam. Our work must go on," says Nimbalkar.

Shraddha has received a compensation of Rs 25 lakhs (Rs 2.5 million) and will continue to receive the salary her husband drew till his retirement. "The (housing) quarter we are living in is for a three year term. After that we have to take permission for extension," she says.

"My daughter is all I have," adds Shraddha. "My husband had great ambitions for her. Now I'll have to fulfill his dreams."

30 years on, will China keep its promises?

Hardly two years after the end of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (and Mao Zedong's death), a diminutive man climbed the rostrum for the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

He was to change the face of China.

On December 18, 1978, Deng Xiaoping, the new strongman of the Middle Kingdom, proposed to the Central Committee an the 'open door' policy as well as drastic economic reforms.

The new path chosen by Deng would later be known as 'socialism with Chinese characteristics'. Since then, China has maintained an average annual growth rate of 9.8 percent over the past three decades, making the developed world dream of a miracle a la the Chinese for their own economies.

Thirty years later, China celebrates what its official news agency Xinhua terms the 'decision to open up the once-secluded country and reform its moribund economy.'

On the occasion, President Hu Jintao told an audience of more than 6,000 assembled in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, 'Standing still and regressing will lead only to a dead end.'

'China,' he added, 'must continue the reform and opening-up drive, which in the past 30 years turned the once poverty-stricken country into one of the world's largest economies.'

He admitted the challenges facing his country, particularly 'a weak agricultural foundation and less-developed rural areas' as well China's inability to innovate in many domains.

More interestingly, Hu suggested that the 'reforms of the political system be pushed in keeping pace with economic reforms.'

This is a rather surprising statement and only the future will reveal what political reforms he has in mind.

Centre will work closely with all states, promises PM

Seeking to allay apprehensions of the National Democratic Alliance-ruled states, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said that the Centre will have the 'closest possible interaction' with all states while undertaking all anti-terror initiatives.

"I would like to make it quite clear that all the anti-terror initiatives will be undertaken with the closest possible interaction with the state government and their apparatus," Singh said in his closing remarks at the eight-hour-long conference of chief ministers on Internal Security.

Noting that it is not possible to effectively fight terror without the whole-hearted cooperation of the police machinery at all levels, he suggested setting up of a Group of Officers to advise the Government about various Centre-state specific issues.

"If required, we will be prepared to carry out necessary amendments or frame appropriate rules to address the concerns identified," he said.

Singh's remarks came in the wake of reservations expressed by chief ministers of NDA-ruled states that the new National Investigation Agency would 'disturb' the federal set-up of the country and their resentment that states were not consulted before the new anti-terror laws were framed.

Referring to suggestions from some states that the NIA should be essentially limited to terrorism and not extended to other types of offences, Singh said, "This is precisely our intention and modalities regarding the functioning of the NIA would take this fact into account."

The prime minister said all chief ministers agreed that recent changes in anti-terror laws were necessary and approved of NIA.

"We have taken note of the concerns expressed at this Conference regarding the recent amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure. We will carefully examine the matter for harmonising these amendments with the provisions and intents of the National Investigating Agency Act and the Unlawful Activities (Amendment) Act," the Prime Minister said.

He said the government would be ready with its response before the next session of Parliament.

Singh said there is also an agreement that no state was insulated from terrorism and "every state must therefore remain fully prepared to deal with a terrorist attack and coordinate its response in this respect."

On a point raised about the nexus between crime and terrorism, Singh said this was a vital aspect as there was a close nexus between terrorist outfits, criminals and crime syndicates.

"Better tracking of crime and criminals will have a salutary impact on checking terrorist acts and both the Centre and the state governments have to be alive to this reality," the prime minister said.

Chief Ministers of coastal states have expressed concern about their vulnerability from terrorists using the sea route.

"We have taken note of this and a group is already working on creating an effective Coastal Command. This will work in close coordination with the coastal police to provide effective coastal security," he said, adding "I agree that we should immediately take steps for providing GPS systems, vessel monitoring systems, transponders for all ships and boats, including fishing craft."

Many chief ministers raised the issue of National Identity Cards for all citizens. "This matter will be taken up urgently," he said.