PM must appear before JPC on 2Gscam:Yaswant sinha

NEW DELHI:In the backdrop of former telecom minister A Raja telling the JPC that he took major decisions after consulting the Prime Minister, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Wednesday asked Manmohan Singh to appear before the panel, saying his silence will "confirm" his involvement in the 2G scam.

"Is it not time Mr Prime Minister that you speak on these issues by appearing before the JPC?" Sinha, a member of the joint parliamentary committee probing the 2G issue, said in his latest letter to the Prime Minister.

"You had said in your letter of April 2 (to Sinha) that you had nothing to hide. Your deafening silence on the allegations made by your own colleague in the Cabinet completely disapproves the stand you had taken," he wrote.

Sinha said the Prime Minister should appear before the JPC as the allegations levelled by Raja "constitute a set of serious allegations of your personal involvement in the 2G scam".

His letter comes a day before the JPC meeting convened to adopt the controversial draft report which gives clean chit to the Prime Minister and finance minister P Chidambaram.

"Your silence will confirm the worst fear of the people of India that you were fully involved in the 2G scam and if Raja is guilty, so are you," he wrote.

Hinting at a stormy meeting of the committee on Thursday, Sinha said, "Under the leadership of your party member P C Chacko, the JPC is facing the risk of a complete stalemate, if not total destruction."

In a statement to the JPC, Raja had said on Monday that he took "every major decision", including entry fee and non auction of spectrum, after consulting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee.

"I took no unilateral decisions. Every major decision of mine was taken after consultation first with the DoT officers and thereafter with the Hon'ble PM, FM (finance minister P Chidambaram) and EAM (then external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee who was heading a GoM on vacation of spectrum)," he had said.

Raja's statement to the JPC came after the draft report of the 30-member committee indicted him of misleading the Prime Minister on decisions taken with regard to 2G spectrum allocation.

Earthquake in New Delhi

NEW DELHI:Tremors were felt in north India, including the national capital and adjoining satellite townships, on Wednesday afternoon, the second such occurrence in nine days.

The quake, measuring 5.7 on the Richter Scale at 2:51pm, was epicentred in southern Afghanistan, the MeT Department said. The quake took place 6.6km down the surface.

The tremors were felt in the capital, Gurgaon and Noida. There were no immediate reports of any casualty or injury.

Tremors were also felt in Srinagar and adjoining areas but there was no report of any casualty, officials said.

In Srinagar, the tremor lasted a few seconds, prompting people to rush out of buildings for safety.

On April 16, tremors were felt in north India following a quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale on Pakistan-Iran border.

The Original Nightingale Shamshad Begum dies at 94

NEW DELHI: Legendary singer ShamshadBegum, one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry and voice behind hit songs like 'Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon', 'KabhiAarKabhiPaar' and 'KajraMohabbatWala', died at her Mumbai residence. She was 94.

"She was not keeping well for past few months and was admitted to the hospital. She passed away on Tuesday night. The funeral was a solemn affair with a few friends present," Begum's daughter Usha said.

Begum was born on April 14, 1919 in Amritsar, Punjab. She made her debut on Peshawar Radio in Lahore on December 16, 1947, captivating the hearts of her listeners with her enchanting voice.

The singer has been living with her daughter Usha Ratra and son-in-law in Mumbai, ever since her husband Ganpat Lal Batto died in 1955.

Her other hit tracks include 'Kahin Pe Nigahen Kahin Pe Nishana', 'Boojh Mera Kya Naam Re', 'Saiyan Dil Mein Aana Re', 'Leke Pehla Pehla Pyar' and 'Chod Babul Ka Ghar'.