Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday refused to attach any importance to speculation that he will be the party’s Prime Minister candidate, nor did he comment on the rising number of PM aspirants in other parties.
He also disapproved of the “hero-worshipping” trend, saying the view that “one person charging on a horse” could fix all problems was wrong. “No, it is not like that,” he said.
“I got press guys asking: when are you getting married? Somebody else says, boss, when are you going to be Prime Minister? Somebody saying ‘no, you are not going to be PM’, someone else saying ‘maybe you will be PM... there is a good possibility”.
He added: “It’s like the American polling charts: a 47.3 per cent possibility that he might be Prime Minister...”
Rahul added: “These are irrelevant questions... It’s all smoke... The only relevant question in this country is: how can we give our people voice”.

***
Govt yields some control of sugar
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, April 4

The government on Thursday decided to partially decontrol sugar manufacturing and its supply by giving millers the freedom to sell in the open market and also unshackle them from the obligation of supplying the commodity at subsidised rates for ration shops.
The decision by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs will help the industry save about `3,000 crore annually, but the burden to the exchequer will be `5,300 crore annually. Refuting expectations that the decision would lead to a rise in retail prices of sugar, the government maintained it would provide the required cushion by taking the subsidy burden from the present `2,600 crore to `5,300 crore.

Terming Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s address to Indian industry as “confusion confounded”, the main Opposition BJP on Wednesday claimed “Modiphobia” was clearly visible in his comments.
Describing Mr Gandhi’s speech as “lacklustre” and without any direction or clarity, the BJP said it exemplified the “deep crisis” within the Congress. But the Congress brushed aside the comparison of Mr Gandhi with Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and said only those interested in propping up the BJP leader indulged in such acts. The ruling party said Mr Gandhi spoke about the need to bring the poor and the marginalised into the political process and in his speech people heard what they have wanted to for long.
The BJP said that instead of answering questions on issues, like price-rise, governance, corruption and terrorism, that confront the common man, Mr Gandhi raised questions instead.
Attacking Mr Gandhi for his talk of empowering the Gram Pradhans, the BJP said the Congress in the past nine years has disempowered the Prime Minister and this has led to a growing crisis.
BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said Mr Gandhi was a “confused leader” who presented his “confused ideology which nobody could understand”.
Replying to questions on Mr Gandhi’s comparison with Mr Modi, AICC spokesperson P.C. Chacko said the Congress scion had shown through his speech that nobody can be compared to him.

Warsaw, (Poland): She was a Polish farmer’s daughter who emigrated to the United States, a maid who worked for a wealthy American heir, a third wife who inherited much of the Johnson & Johnson fortune after a sensational court battle with her six stepchildren.
Barbara Piasecka Johnson, the widow of J. Seward Johnson Sr., heir to millions made from bandages, baby oil and pharmaceutical products, has died at age 76.  Johnson was best known for a nasty legal battle after her husband’s 1983 death, a feud that pitted her against his six children from two previous marriages.  She largely prevailed, emerging with about $300 million from a fortune worth more than $500 million.
A resident of Monaco and one of the world’s richest women, Johnson went on to become an avid art collector, owning works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Gauguin and Raphael.
Her family announced her death on Thursday in the Polish daily Rzeczpospol-ita, saying she died on Monday “after a long and serious illness.” It didn’t give any further details about her illness or where she died but said she will be buried April 15 in Wroclaw, the southwestern Polish city where she spent much of her youth.
Barbara Piasecka, who went by the diminutive “Basia,” was born in 1937 in an area of prewar eastern Poland that now lies in Belarus. Her family resettled after the war in Wroclaw, where she obtai-ned a degree in art history.
She left communist Poland, studying for a time in Rome before arriving in 1968 in the US?with $100 and no knowledge of English. She worked as a cook and a maid in the Oldwick, New Jersey, estate of the Johnson & Johnson heir and his second wife of more than 30 years. A year later, she left the family to take art courses at New York University.
In 1971, he divorced his second wife, the mother of two of his children, and married Piasecka eight days later. At the time he was 76 and she was 34.

Terming Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s address to Indian industry as “confusion confounded”, the main Opposition BJP on Wednesday claimed “Modiphobia” was clearly visible in his comments.
Describing Mr Gandhi’s speech as “lacklustre” and without any direction or clarity, the BJP said it exemplified the “deep crisis” within the Congress. But the Congress brushed aside the comparison of Mr Gandhi with Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and said only those interested in propping up the BJP leader indulged in such acts. The ruling party said Mr Gandhi spoke about the need to bring the poor and the marginalised into the political process and in his speech people heard what they have wanted to for long.
The BJP said that instead of answering questions on issues, like price-rise, governance, corruption and terrorism, that confront the common man, Mr Gandhi raised questions instead.
Attacking Mr Gandhi for his talk of empowering the Gram Pradhans, the BJP said the Congress in the past nine years has disempowered the Prime Minister and this has led to a growing crisis.
BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said Mr Gandhi was a “confused leader” who presented his “confused ideology which nobody could understand”.
Replying to questions on Mr Gandhi’s comparison with Mr Modi, AICC spokesperson P.C. Chacko said the Congress scion had shown through his speech that nobody can be compared to him.

The National Investigation Agency on Thursday registered an FIR against the two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen in February last year, ending the stalemate over which agency would probe the case.
Top NIA officials said the case has been registered under the SUA (Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act, 2002) along with relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) among others.
National Investigation Agency sources said the case has been re-registered by the Central agency on the basis of charges pressed by the Kerala police in its chargesheet.
While the SUA contains provisions for the death penalty, government sources said the prosecutors will take into consideration the sovereign assurance given by New Delhi to Rome.
According to Section 3 of the SUA Act, action can be taken against any person committing offence even if beyond Indian territory. The Kerala police had invoked the act as the incident took place within the contiguous zone of the country (within 22 nautical miles). The area is also covered by the IPC.
It may be recalled that in the run-up to the marines’ return to India to face trial, the Indian government had assured Italy that they would not be awarded capital punishment, which is given in the “rarest of rare” cases.
There was confusion between the ministry of home affairs and ministry of external affairs over who would probe the case. There was also no clarity on which court would hear the case.
Sources said the case will now be tried in any sessions court designated by the Chief Justice of the Delhi high court.
For now, NIA sources insisted, the FIR will go the special NIA court on Friday.

Ignoring the debate over prime ministerial candidates and power centres in political parties, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said Thursday the people were supreme as they alone could change a country’s destiny, not any individual, no matter however big he might be.
Without directly naming Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, he also voiced disapproval of the politics of hatred and enmity, saying this did not contribute to growth. “The biggest danger is excluding people, including the poor, minorities and dalits... Anger, hatred and prejudice do not help growth. If you alienate communities, we all suffer,” he said.
“When you play the politics of alienating communities, you stop the flow of people and ideas. And when that happens, we suffer. Businesses suffer, the seeds of disharmony are sown and the dreams of our people are severely disrupted,” he said, adding such damage takes a very long time to reverse.
In his first major interaction with industry leaders after his elevation as party vice-president, and at a time of political uncertainty in the country with speculation rife about an early Lok Sabha election, Mr Gandhi neither provoked opponents nor tried to score brownie points against them while addressing CII’s annual general meeting here. The thrust of his speech was on uniting India, empowering people and making the nation’s model of development an example to the world. Wearing a white kurta-pyjama amid a sea of business suits, he left the industry leaders fairly impressed with his freewheeling remarks about major challenges before the country — poverty, lack of development, growing aspirations — before going on to say these could be effectively tackled only by empowering people and by their involvement. The business honchos present appreciated his concerns, which was reflected through repeated applause and several standing ovations in a hall that was packed to capacity. In an hour-long interaction, he showed how he was different from other PM aspirants. “I want to help people... to give them their voice”, he said. He also took a couple of questions at the end.
A few points he raised on Thursday, some of which he had also articulated at the Congress session in Jaipur in January, could well figure in the party manifesto for the next general election.
“There are a billion people in this country. It is not important what Rahul Gandhi thinks. It is important what a billion people think. Then we go into this model where you are going to have one guy who is going to come and he is going to fix everything... He is to come on a horse, the sun is in the backdrop and there are a billion people waiting ... and he is coming and everything is going to be all right... No, it is not going to work like that”.
He went on: “Give one individual all the power you want, he (still) can’t solve the problems of a billion people. Give the billion people the power to solve their problem, and it will be done immediately. It can’t be about one person... If you are expecting Manmohan Singhji or someone else to solve everything here, you are going to keep expecting.”
Rahul Gandhi noted that millions of youngsters had optimism even as they struggled every day. “We are readying to build a new political architecture”, he said, in which all voices, including those of business, will be incorporated. “Let us work together to build a brave, empowered new India,” he said, inviting business to partner the government in ensuring growth.
He underlined that the Congress was the only party that believed in taking everyone along, and claimed the country had witnessed faster growth under the UPA as it had greatly lowered tensions among communities and fostered harmony.
“On our part we are going to ensure a fair, rule-based stable environment for entrepreneurs large and small. An environment where businesses need not compete in corridors of Raisina Hill but compete instead in the streets and gallis of our towns and villages, an environment where business thrive by innovating better products and services,” he said.
The nation’s “economic vision must be about more than just money. It should not leave anybody outside. It must have compassion. Embracing the excluded is essential for the wealth of the nation”, He said: “India is bursting with dreams, optimism and brave ideas. This optimism is the spirit of India. This energy drives the consumption on which businesses are built.” He told industry leaders he had “come here to forge a long-term partnership to take the country forward”.
Faulting existing systems, Mr Gandhi said these were “closed”, as he wondered why all decisions, including the smallest ones, should be taken by “the most senior guy”. India, he said, needed inclusive growth, with a “strong connect between harmony and growth”, and this was the Congress’ vision.
The Congress, he said, was the only party that forges a partnership with core values to create harmony and an architecture accessible to all. “Inclusive growth is a win-win for everybody... We are creating a fair rules-based environment,” he said, inviting the business community to be a partner in this endeavour.
He said while the UPA was working for the country’s growth, the “government cannot build infrastructure alone... We are incapable of doing it alone. We need your (industry’s) help. We need to aggressively build knowledge infrastructure.”
Underlining the criticality of industry’s role in the nation’s growth, he said: “India cannot move forward without partnership... I invite business to unleash entrepreneurship. The country cannot move forward without you.”
He said there were three components — poor, business, middle class — for the country’s progress. “The country will move forward only when we stitch together all three components,” he said. “UPA rule has seen the fastest growth because of this vision of tolerance. Anger, hatred and prejudice do not contribute to growth.”

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi addresses the special plenary session of CII

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi addresses the special plenary session of CII in New Delhi on Thursday. — AFP

The US today made it clear that there was “no change” in its stand of not granting visa to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, but said he was welcome to apply and the case would be reviewed on merits.

“There is no change (in US policy)... He (Modi) is welcome to apply. All visa decisions are made on a case by case basis, and I’m not going to prejudge it here,” US state department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters here.

Responding to questions on the invitation extended to Modi by a delegation of US lawmakers last week, Nuland said there is no change in US policy.

“With regard to Mr Modi, our lines have not changed here. He is welcome to apply,” she said.

“Every visa is adjudicated on the merits and in the context of US law individually,” Nuland said when asked if the state department will issue a visa to an individual when invited by a congressman or a group of lawmakers.

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“With regard to our congressional delegation that was in Gujarat, visits like this do help support a strengthening of business to business ties, of people to people ties across India, in Gujarat.

“So from our perspective, the more congressional delegations that visit India and understand its dynamism and diversity, the more likely we are to continue to deepen those important ties,” she said.

The delegation, led by republican member in House of Representatives from Illinois Aaron Schock, had called on Modi on March 29. The delegation members also invited Modi to US.

Modi has been denied visa since 2005 by the US over the issue of 2002 post-Godhra riots.

The death toll in the under-construction building collapse in Shil Phata area of the district has risen to 37 as rescuers recovered more bodies from the site today, Thane police control room said.

While 60 people were injured, rescuers fear that some victims are still trapped under debris, they said. The deceased included nearly ten children, women and some construction workers.

A pregnant woman, identified as Shakila Imran Siddiqui, was among the deceased, Thane civic officials said. The remaining bodies are yet to be identified.

The Daighar police have registered a case against builders Salil and Khalil Jamadar under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of IPC, police said, adding that efforts were on to trace them.

Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar are likely to visit the site today.

According to a construction worker, Shanti Jadhav, while they were calling it a day last evening and planning to return home, the contractor asked them to unload bricks from trucks.

The workers stayed back and started unloading bricks after the contractor threatened to beat them and at that time the building came crashing down, Jadhav alleged.

The seven-storey illegal under-construction structure, located in Shil Phata area between Mumbra and Dombivli townships, collapsed at around 6.30 PM yesterday.

The injured have been admitted to various hospitals in Thane and some have been shifted to Mumbai’s JJ and Sion Hospitals for better treatment, police said.

Relief and rescue operations are being carried out under the supervision of civic commissioner R.A. Rajeev and district collector P.Velarasu.

MNS legislator from Kalyan township of Thane, Ramesh Patil alleged that he had complained to the municipal commissioner last week that the building was unauthorised and unfit for occupation, but no action was taken.

Civic officials had yesterday said the building in Shil Phata area in Daighar village was unauthorised. They claimed that it was built on forest land and occupied at least up to the fourth floor.

There were around 35 families residing in the building, they said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today dismissed as a “useless” the debate over two power centres even as he did not rule out his accepting the third term.

“This is the creation of the media. It is a useless debate,” Mr Singh told reporters here when asked about the issue of two power centres coming into focus after senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh raked it up recently.

Digvijaya Singh had said the two power centres — one the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and another the Prime Minister — had not worked well and should not be repeated.

Congress officially rejected this contention of Digvijaya Singh and said it was an “ideal model” for future also.

When asked whether he would accept the third term as Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh said, “it is a hypothetical question... We are yet to complete this term.”

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The current term of the government will end in May next year.

Asked whether he was ruling himself out, he said, “I am not ruling it in, I am not ruling it out.”

Queried whether he would welcome Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh replied, “oh yes, any day.”

Gandhi, who was appointed as vice president of Congress in January, has been reluctant to join the government.

Even yesterday he dubbed as “irrelevant” the questions over whether he would become the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister, who was interacting with the media persons at Rashtrapati Bhavan after presentation of Padma Awards, was also asked to comment on Rahul Gandhi’s speech at the CII yesterday to which he remarked, “excellent”.

US President Barack Obama has praised Indian-American Kamala Harris for her brilliance and also described her as the “best-looking” attorney-general in the United States, a comment that has created a stir.
“She is brilliant and she is dedicated and she is tough, and she is exactly what you’d want in anybody who is administering the law, and making sure that everybody is getting a fair shake,” Mr Obama said, praising Ms Harris, who is the first woman and first Indian-American to be elected attorney-general of California.
“She also happens to be by far the best-looking attorney-general in the country — Kamala Harris is here,” Mr Obama said amidst applause.
“It’s true. Come on,” he said amidst laughter.
“She is a great friend and has just been a great supporter for many, many years,” Mr Obama said at a fund-raising event in California on Thursday.
Daughter of an Indian mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer specialist who emigrated from Chennai to the United States in 1960, and a Jamaican-American father, Harris, 48, is the first female African-American and Asian-American attorney-general in California, as well as the first ethnic Indian-American attorney-general in the United States.
According to Politico, certainly Mr Obama meant no insult, but in singling out Ms Harris for her looks, Mr Obama joins a long list of public figures who just can’t seem to let an attractive woman’s looks go without comment.

Taking potshots at Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi after he dropped the strongest hints yet about his prime ministerial ambition, political parties, including the Congress, JD(U) and SP, on Friday targeted him in different ways.
While the Congress appeared to compare the Gujarat strongman with Yamraj, the JD(U) said it would prefer to see Mr Modi continue to serve Gujarat. The SP saw nothing real in Mr Modi’s claims. However, the common refrain in all the parties was that they hoped Mr Modi would desist from “re-enacting” the 2002 riots in the rest of India.
Responding to a query on whether Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was referring to Mr Modi in his speech at CII on Thursday, AICC spokesperson Rashid Alvi said, “Had he intended to indicate Narendra Modi he would not have referred to somebody riding a horse but somebody riding a buffalo (Yama’s vehicle)... Rahulji has talked about somebody coming on a horse, he must be referring to a messiah.”

Even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday gave a fresh twist to the raging debate over the country’s next head of government by claiming that he is neither ruling himself in, nor out, the Congress made it clear that it did not see any contradiction in his statement and the party’s stand on “two power centres”.
In his first reaction to a question on whether he would accept a third term in office, the Prime Minister initially dismissed it as “hypothetical”, saying: “We are yet to complete this term.” But when pressed further on whether he was ruling himself out, he remarked, “I am not ruling it in, I am not ruling it out.”
His comments assume significance as there is a clamour in the Congress to project the 42-year-old Rahul Gandhi as the party’s prime ministerial candidate for the Lok Sabha election next year.
Last week, Dr Singh, when asked whether he would accept another term in office, had said, “We will cross that bridge when we reach there.” On Friday, Dr Singh, however, said he would welcome “any day” Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister. But he dismissed as “useless” the debate over two power centres — one in the person of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the other the PM. “This is a creation of the media. It is a useless debate,” the PM said when asked about the issue. Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had earlier raked up the issue, saying the system of two power centres had not worked well and should not be repeated. But the party has rejected his contention, saying it is an “ideal model” for the future too.
Rejecting the suggestion of a marked difference between Dr Singh’s remarks and the party’s stand, AICC spokesperson Rashid Alvi said, “The PM has not made any statement which is contradictory to what party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi had said. There is no contradiction between the party and the government. If you see the history of the Congress, the PM and party president had always been separate persons.”
Mr Alvi said, “When we are talking about decentralising power, his (Mr Dwivedi’s) statement is right. He is correct when he says that it is good even for the future.” He also countered suggestions that Mr Gandhi had on Thursday ruled himself out of the PM race by saying whether or not he becomes Prime Minister was “irrelevant” and “all smoke”.

The toll in Thursday’s building collapse in Shil-Phata in Mumbra rose on Friday to 56 dead and 60 injured. Rescue operations are still being carried out and more casualties are expected as people are still trapped under the debris.
Earlier on Friday, in the state Legislative Assembly, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan announced monetary relief for the families of the deceased and injured. “The government will provide financial assistance of `2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and `50,000 each for those seriously injured in the tragedy,” he said. He announced the suspension of Thane Municipal Corporation deputy municipal commissioner Deepak Chavan for dereliction of duty. Senior police inspector K.P Naik was also suspended as there were allegations of him having a nexus with slumlords, thereby resulting in rampant illegal construction in the area.
Joint operations by over 300 personnel from the local police, fire brigade, state reserve force and BMC were conducted with sledgehammers, gasoline-powered saws and hydraulic jacks on Friday to break through the tower of rubble in their search for survivors. Six bulldozers were brought to the scene, along with a crusher machine and fire engines from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
“There may be a possibility that people are still trapped inside right now,” Thane police commissioner K.P. Raghuvanshi said Friday. TMC deputy commissioner Sandeep Malvi confirmed this and said that 100 to 150 people had been living in the building, all of them mostly residents or construction workers. He added that since only 56 bodies were recovered and 60 were injured, it was very likely that around 18-20 people were still trapped.
The police has also registered a case against the absconding builders. “A case has been registered at the Diaghar police station under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and under IPC Sections 336, 337 and 338, all for causing grievous hurt, and 34 (common intention), against the builders Jamil Qureshi and Salim Shaikh. We are on the lookout for them,” said assistant commissioner Amit Kale, Kalwa.
Locals alleged that such disasters occurred because of the nexus of builders, local politicians and civic officials, which, along with the land mafia in Mumbra, has been responsible for the large-scale illegal construction.
Data shows that in Mumbra, which has a population of nine lakh, almost 95 per cent of buildings are illegal. Around two lakh houses of the estimated 2.79 lakh across Thane and Kalwa-Mumbra-Diva townships are unauthorised.

A rescue worker applauds a colleague carrying a two-year-old child who survived the collapse of a building

A rescue worker applauds a colleague carrying a two-year-old child who survived the collapse of a building at Shil-Phata in Mumbra, Maharashtra, on Friday.
— DEEPAK KURKUNDE

Rescuers continued to recover more bodies from the debris of the seven-storey illegal under- construction building that collapsed in Shil Phata area, taking the death toll to 72 today.

According to the Regional Disaster Management Control (RDMC) sources, the mishap left 72 people dead including 33 men, 22 women, and 17 children.

Of the 60 injured, 36 have been admitted to hospitals in Thane, Kalwa and Mumbra. The seriously injured have been shifted to JJ and Sion hospitals in Mumbai.

A 65-year-old woman, identified as Kutibi Shaikh, was rescued after being trapped in the debris for almost 30 hours, they said. She was admitted to the CSM hospital here last night in a state of shock but is stable, doctors said.

At the collapse site, another survivor Shabnam told reporters that she had received a distress call on her mobile phone from a young teacher around 3 pm yesterday saying she was trapped alongwith six-seven students, but lost contact thereafter.

The fate of the teacher and students is still not known even as relief operations are underway. Earlier, the National Disaster Response Force, pressed into service to assist local police and civic administration, had rescued 59 people.

A case has been registered against builders Salil and Khalil Jamadar under Sec 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of IPC but no arrests have been made so far, police control room said.

Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had yesterday told the Maharashtra Assembly that the local deputy municipal commissioner and senior police inspector were suspended and an additional chief secretary level probe has been ordered.

The illegal structure, which was under-construction, collapsed in Shil Phata area on Thursday. Shil Phata is located between Mumbra and Dombivli in Thane district.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar today expressed grief at the death of senior Congress leader and former minister Kumud Ranjan Jha.

In a condolence message, Kumar said Jha was a respected political leader and his death leaves a void in the society. The chief minister announced a state funeral for the departed leader. Jha died of a massive heart attack in New Delhi yesterday.

The former Congress leader was a three-time MLA from Pandaul Assembly seat in Madhubani district and a minister in various Congress governments in 1980’s.

Rescue operations were called off at the Shil Phata building collapse site this afternoon, nearly 43 hours after the illegal structure crashed even as the death toll mounted to 72, officials said.

“Rescue operations have been called off. The death toll at present stands at 72 while 62 people have been pulled out alive,” Thane joint commissioner of police Vipin Kumar told reporters at the scene of the tragedy, the worst of its kind in Maharashtra.

According to the Regional Disaster Management Control (RDMC) sources, those dead include 22 women and 17 children. Of the 60 injured, 36 have been admitted to hospitals in Thane, Kalwa and Mumbra. The seriously injured have been shifted to JJ and Sion hospitals in Mumbai.

Though a case has been registered against builders including Salil and Khalil Jamadar under Sec 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC, they continue to evade arrest. Kumar said now an adjoining multi-storey structure, also constructed by the same builder illegally, was in the process of being pulled down.

R.A. Rajeev, Thane municipal commissioner, had yesterday gone on record to say that 90 per cent of buildings in Mumbra area where Shil Phata, the scene of Thursday’s tragedy is located, are illegal. Alok Awasthi, commandant of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which was rushed from Pune soon after the collapse, too confirmed that rescue efforts had been abandoned as there was no likelihood of presence of any bodies or survivors.

“We have explored the area eight feet underneath the plinth and we are reasonably sure that there is nobody there,” Awasthi, who led his team of 90 men who painstakingly rescued 62 people from the massive wreckage, said.

Describing the operation as “complicated”, Awasthi said because it was a “sandwich collapse”, with floor lying over floor, it was a daunting task to remove debris from each storey to look for survivors. “We had to proceed very slowly as any mis-step would have pushed up the death toll,” he said.

The government had yesterday suspended Thane deputy municipal commissioner Deepak Chavan and Shil-Daighar senior police inspector K.P. Naik for dereliction of duty and for allegedly colluding with the builders.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has also announced a probe by an additional chief secretary-level officer.

Amid growing speculation over Narendra Modi’s role in the next Lok Sabha polls, BJP president Rajnath Singh today remained non-committal on the issue of prime ministerial candidate even as he hailed the Gujarat chief minister as most popular leader of the country.

“Nobody can overlook this truth about Modi being India’s most popular leader at this moment...There are no two opinions about it,” the BJP president told Rajat Sharma in Aap Ki Adalat on India TV.

At the same time, he said the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate would be decided by its Central Parliamentary Board where even his “personal opinion alone” does not matter.

Praising Modi for his three consecutive victories in the Assembly polls, Singh said, “he has brought development model of Gujarat before the world. Just because one of communal riots, he is being vilified.”

Singh pointed that there had been many communal riots during the rule of Congress chief ministers, but nobody talks about them. He took potshot at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who recently remarked at a CII event that no person riding on a horse will come to power and solve problems of India.

“The leader from the BJP, who will come to power in the next elections, will not come riding a horse. He will be a grassroot leader, who has worked for the last 30 to 35 years.

“Unlike people, who have been hardly 5 to 10 years in politics, who studied in England, USA or Italy, and are being projected for the post of Prime Minister,” the BJP chief said.

Rejecting reports about infighting in the BJP over the issue of prime ministerial candidate, Singh claimed that it is the only political party which has “never vertically divided” unlike the Congress or the Communist Party.

“Even Atal ji and Advani ji were there. But they never hankered after posts. Had it been some other party, the party would have been vertically divided,” the BJP president said.

Two developers involved in construction of an illegal building which collapsed in Thane district on Thursday claiming 72 lives, were today arrested.

“Builders Jamil Qureshi and Salim Shaikh were arrested from their hideouts today,” Thane police commissioner K.P. Raghuvanshi told PTI.

Qureshi was nabbed from Uttar Pradesh, while Shaikh was apprehended from Thane, he said. The Police had registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the builders, who were on the run since the incident.

The seven-storey unauthorised building at Shil Phata in Mumbra in the district had come down crashing in a heap on Thursday evening, in the worst tragedy of its kind in Maharashtra, and by the time rescue operations were called off this afternoon, 72 people were dead.