Poll India: 2004
Congress: Asian Age report is a 'plant'
New Delhi: The Congress party displayed a photocopy of the Lindstrom's interview to Outlook magazine in April 1998, and said that what the Asian Age has published were exactly the same allegations the Swedish investigator had made in the magazine. At a press conference Congress spokesman Kapil Sibal said, "The Asian Age printed that story giving the impression that some new facts have come to light.

I would like to bring to your notice that no new facts have come forward. The Swedish investigator at that time had said the same things… So how does the Asian Age say these are new facts. This is because the story has been planted. The timing is important. There is a political conspiracy behind it and the Deputy Prime Minister is behind it." MJ Akbar, editor of the Asian Age denied the charge that the story was planted and defended the integrity of Seema Mustafa, the journalist accused of having planted the story.

Rahul Gandhi: End is near for ' feel good drama'
Amethi: Responding to the BJP General Secretary Pramod Mahajan's remark regarding educational qualifications of members of the Nehru-Gandhi family, Rahul Gandhi said it reflected BJP's growing frustration after witnessing the wave in favour of the Congress.

He said that the BJP knew that the Congress was going to come back to power and sacred by this scenario it was indulging in attacks on his family. He said that apart from the BJP and its leaders nobody else in the country was feeling good and that it was a drama whose end is very near.

Orissa: Congress and the Left take come together
Puri: Senior Congress leaders including former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh and J B Patnaik along with the CPI Secretary D Raja and CPI-M State Secretary Janardan Pati declared that they had entered into a formal alliance with the Congress in Orissa. The state is going to have simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in two phases.

Jogi mishap: Sympathy wave for Chhattisgarh Congress
Mumbai: Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi survived an accident on Sunday and underwent successful neuro-surgery in a Mumbai hospital. According to the doctors at the Bombay Hospital the three hour-long surgery was successful. Ajit Jogi is fighting the elections from Mahasumund against the Congress/NCP defector V C Shukla. The leader's supporters are planning to take Jogi's message through recorded audio and video tapes, leaving Shukla's camp worried about a sympathy wave for Jogi.
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Nasscom: IT growth will be 11 per cent
New Delhi: Nasscom has predicted that India's domestic IT industry is expected to record a growth of around 11 per cent in 2003-04, touching a revenue of Rs 33,700 crore.

While the Software and Services segment is expected to touch Rs 15,400 crore in 2003-04, a growth of 14.8 per cent over 2002-03, the Hardware, Networking and Peripherals segment may grow by eight per cent to earn a revenue Rs 17,200 crore in 2003-04. The Training segment is likely to recover in 2003-04 with revenues increasing six per cent to Rs 1200 crore.
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ONGC: Gas reserves discovered in Tripura
Agartala: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd has discovered gas reserves at Khedabari village in Sonamura sub-division of West Tripura district with a production capacity of over two lakh cubic metre per day.

According to ONGC this discovery is very important in view of the 280 MW power plant coming up in the area near Monarchak being established by North-East Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO). ONGC says that it will soon start seismic survey in Mizoram and resume production in Nagaland. The insurgency in Ngaland had halted production activities there.
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West Bengal: Global bids invited for Sagardighi power project
Kolkata: The West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL) has floated global tenders for the main plant package for the Sagardighi Thermal Power project. The tender documents for the international bids have been invited for the first two 250 MW units, which comprise the first stage of the project.

The West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, had laid the project's foundation stone earlier this year. The project, with a total capacity of 2000 MW, is located 240 km from here at Sagardighi in Murshidabad district. The project is slated to be set up in three phases with the WBPDCL, (which runs all the major thermal units in the State sector) planning to set up a 500 MW coal-based thermal unit in the second phase before sealing the project with two 500 MW units based on gas.
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