IAS and IPS officials are on a collision course in Uttar Pradesh. The confrontation has been triggered by chief minister Mayawati's tendency to post police officers in posts meant exclusively for the IAS cadre.

The UP IAS Association has written a strong letter to the department of personnel and training (DoPT) complaining of the impropriety of such postings. The association has also apprised the UP chief secretary of the resentment in the state IAS cadre. However, the conflict does not have its roots in these postings alone.

Sources say it is fuelled by apprehensions in the state bureaucracy that Mayawati might implement the commissionerate system in UP, which would empower the IPS cadre and take away some important powers now with IAS officials.

A vigorous campaign driven by youngsters freelancing for the BJP is among the innovations by the party's campaign managers to build and project LK Advani in the forthcoming general elections.

The campaign aims at getting 10,000 volunteers registered online through BJP PM-candidate LK Advani's website. The volunteers, not part of the BJP's formal organisational structure, will be provided publicity material to take to young voters. The volunteers would then take the BJP and Advani's message to others and seek to, influence, convince and convert them to the BJP point of view.

India rejects American offer to train IAF cadets fearing ideological invasion

India has rejected an American offer to train for free half-a-dozen air force (IAF) officer-cadets for a year at the US Air Force Academy.

The decision reflects extreme caution in the higher echelons of the defence ministry about rushing into an all-encompassing military relationship with the US at the cost of India's traditional ties with Russia and Europe and its tender peace with China.

In a day of pulls and pushes ahead of the general election, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Sunday threatened to look for an alternative if its demand for a joint alliance with the Congress at the national level was not met while the Congress and Samajwadi Party continued to wrangle over seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar did not talk numbers explicitly, but deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal demanded that the Congress give them 24 seats (of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state). "What is wrong if we ask for 24-24, 144-144 (assembly) seats, and 2.5 years-2.5 years of chief-ministership?" he said at a rally in Nashik.

President Pratibha Patil on Sunday rejected chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami's recommendation to remove Navin Chawla as election commissioner. The president's decision paves the way for Chawla to take over as the CEC after Gopalaswami retires on April 20.

The government had made clear that the CEC was not empowered to seek the removal of an election commissioner without a presidential reference being first made to him. Gopalaswami's action was criticised by legal luminaries though the BJP had backed him. Chawla has been accused of being partial to Congress.

New Delhi, Mar 1 : President Pratibha Patil today rejected the recommendations of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N Gopalaswami to remove Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla from the poll panel.

A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique said the President had received a recommendation to this effect from the Union Government and taken a decision after taking a considered view on the issue.

The development comes days ahead of an announcement of a schedule for general elections.

The three-member Commission is widely expected to announce poll dates in a day or two.