The organisation has already staged four successful jailbreaks and the Karachi Central Jail is likely to be their next target.

During the meeting, the security situation was discussed with all the directors general of police, along with their state home secretaries, while logistic issues were discussed with the state chief secretaries.

"I think it was a long-standing demand of the people of Telangana who today got a big gift," Shinde told reporters outside Parliament after the Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha.        

He said while Telangana had come into being, Seema-Andhra had got a package, the Polavaram project and other projects. 

"I think both states have got justice," he said.

The ministry has cautioned that the terror infrastructure across the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and Pakistan remains intact and Islamabad has been actively training and aiding terrorists

"They say there was a match fixing as if BJP was part of the UPA government. The Left was an ally in UPA I and TMC was till recently a part of UPA. They were the partners in corruption," BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters.

"Don't get demoralised due to the surveys. They should be thrown into the dustbin," Digvijaya told party workers at Margao, Goa.     

The AICC general secretary is on a two-day visit to the coastal state ahead of parliamentary elections.

As Modi made an emotional pitch to reach out to the youth, the Gujarat chief minister and the BJP's prime ministerial candidate also said he had not "left his house" for any post or for fame.    

While addressing a youth rally, Modi said, "If I speak the truth, all the ministers of the UPA government get unhappy, they feel bad and they get dejected.

The International Monetary Fund also sees inflation, driven by food prices, remaining near double digits in 2014-15. The organisation said tight monetary policy is likely to slow growth recovery.

Mr. Chairman Sir: I have listened very carefully to the views expressed by the Leader of Opposition and all the other members who have spoken, especially those from Andhra Pradesh. The Home Minister has already mentioned the specific steps our Government will take to address the concerns of all regions of the state, particularly of Seemandhra. I would like to make a few further announcements in this regard. First, for purposes of Central assistance, Special Category Status will be extended to the successor state of Andhra Pradesh comprising 13 districts, including the four districts of Rayalaseema and the three districts of north coastal Andhra for a period of five years. This will put the state's finances on a firmer footing. Second, the Bill already stipulates that the Central Government shall take appropriate fiscal measures, including offer of tax incentives to the successor states in order to promote industrialization and economic growth in both the states. These incentives will be along the lines extended to some other states. Third, the Bill already provides for a special development package for the backward regions of the successor state of Andhra Pradesh, in particular for the districts of Rayalaseema and North Coastal Andhra Pradesh. This development package will be on the lines of the K-B-K (Koraput-Bolangir-Kalahandi) Special Plan in Odisha and the Bundelkhand special package in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Fourth, I would like to reassure Honourable Members that if any further amendments are needed to facilitate smooth and full Rehabilitation & Resettlement(R&R) for the Polavaram project, they will be given effect to at the earliest. Our government will execute the Polavaram project--let there be no doubt about it. Fifth, the appointed day for the formation of the new State will be so fixed in relation to the notified date so as to enable preparatory work relating to personnel , finance and distribution of assets and liabilities to be completed satisfactorily. Sixth, the resource gap that may arise in the successor state of Andhra Pradesh in the very first year, especially during the period between the appointed day and the acceptance of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations by the Government of India, will be compensated in the Regular Union Budget for 2014-15. Sir, I hope these additional announcements will demonstrate our steadfast commitment to not just the creation of Telangana but also to the continued prosperity and welfare of Seemandhra."

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/politics/live-seemandhra-to-get-special-status-for-five-years-says-pm-1395689.html?utm_source=ref_article

CNN-IBN reports: The Centre is likely to approach the Supreme Court on Thursday against the Tamil Nadu government's order to release former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's killers.

Sources say the Centre may also seek a review of the Supreme Court verdict of commuting the death sentence of the killers to life imprisonment.

This comes a day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa announced that all seven Rajiv Gandhi killers -- AG Perarivalan alias Arivu, Sriharan alias Murugan, T Suthentiraraja alias Santhan, Sriharan's wife Nalini, B Robert Payas, S Jayakumar and P Ravichandran -- will be freed. 

She also set a three-day deadline for the Centre to respond to the decision, failing which she warned that the state government will "execute its decision".

After meeting Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi last week, US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell is expected to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday. 

Powell met Banerjee for the first time in September 2012, after US secretary of state Hillary Clinton came calling in May at the Writers' Buildings.

 

Powell's meeting with Modi had raised speculations that US may be warming up to the Gujarat Chief Minister and reconsidering its decision and lift the visa ban imposed on Modi. 

However, the US Embassy scotched speculation that meeting between Powell and Modi would lead to lifting of the visa ban on BJP's prime ministerial candidate, insisting there was no change in its nine-year old policy that came in the aftermath of 2002 Gujarat riots. 

In a big relief to travellers on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, toll plazas in 12 of the 16 lanes, which had been causing huge traffic snarls on it, will be dismantled toll has been scrapped. 

The legal dispute over the plazas ended on Wednesday under the supervision of the Delhi high court.

The high court on Wednesday recorded the consent order in terms of tripartite settlement arrived at among NHAI, Delhi-Gurgaon Super Connectivity Ltd and lead financier IDFC. 

The terms of the settlement, recorded by Justice Manmohan Singh in the consent order, would lead to dismantling of toll plazas 12 out of total 16 toll lanes on the Expressway.

The court, however, concurred with the plea of National Highway Authority of India  that South Delhi Municipal Corporation and SMS Infrastructure Limited, which has been awarded a contract for three years by the civic body, can be allowed to use remaining four toll plazas for levying entry tax from commercial vehicles coming to Delhi.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Pakistan Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz will attend the SAARC Foreign Ministers meeting in Maldives on Thursday. 

The meeting between the two ministers is scheduled for a bilateral talk, as per the sources. 

"However, the meeting should not be construed as resumption of the Indo-Pak comprehensive talks as there is a roadmap, agreed by the two countries, to be followed for the resumption of the talks," they said. Also there is no structured agenda for their meeting, the sources said. 

Last time, Khurshid and Aziz met on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Foreign Ministers' meet in India during which they discussed issue of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and trial of 26/11 terror case in Pakistan among other key bilateral issues. 

With just a day left for the current Parliament session to end, the government is all set to push forward the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2014 in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. 

The Upper House could not pass the bill yesterday as the government and the opposition were unable to reach any consensus over amendments in the bill. 

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath was seen holding parleys with leaders from the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party on the floor of the house. 

A senior leader from Bharatiya Janata Party said there are a total of 32 amendments which his party wants to incorporate in the bill. 

However, if the bill is passed in the upper house with amendments, it will have to go back to the Lok Sabha for its approval before it is sent to the president for his assent, and the government feels this would create more trouble in the passage of the legislation. 

The amendments that BJP proposes to move include one for granting a Rs.10,000 crore financial package to residual state of Seemandhra, as it will lose revenue when Hyderabad goes to Telangana, a BJP leader said. 

Another amendment sought industrial concessions for north coastal Andhra, Rayalseema and backward areas of Telangana, sources said. 

In a bid to woo the youth in Gujarat ahead of 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will be addressing a mega 'Vijay Shankhnad' rally in Ahmedabad on Thursday. 

The rally is being organised by the Youth Wing of Gujarat BJP and is being considered as Modi's first big rally targeting the youth of Gujarat. 

Moreover, around 100,000 youngsters across the state are expected to attend the rally, as per a BJP source in the state. 

The venue of the rally is Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. 

The rally is expected to be attended by the youth wing national president Anurag Thakur, party's Gujarat in-charge Om Mathur, state party president RC Faldu and state youth wing president Pradeepsinh Vaghela. 

Indian and Pakistani authorities have agreed to resume cross-Line of Control trade on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route from Thursday.

"The trade on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road will resume from Thursday," a senior official said after a meeting with PoK officials at Kaman Post.

The meeting was called to end the deadlock over the cross-LoC trade.

The PoK authorities had suspended trade and travel between the divided parts of Kashmir on January 17 after 114 packets of brown sugar were recovered from a truck carrying goods from Muzaffarabad to Uri.

The driver of the truck was also arrested.

After three rounds of talks, the PoK authorities agreed to resume the bus service but remained adamant over their demand for release of the arrested PoK driver.

The standoff between the two sides left 75 drivers -- 48 from PoK and 27 from Indian side of Kashmir -- stranded on the other side of the LoC as Pakistani authorities refused to let them return to their hometowns.

However, Pakistan relented and allowed the drivers to return following meetings at diplomatic level between New Delhi and Islamabad.