I was offered a Rs 14 crore bribe, claims Army chief VK Singh

Both houses adjourned over Army chief bribe charge

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NEW DELHI: Both houses of Parliament were adjourned till 2 pm after uproar by the opposition over Army chief VK Singh's allegations that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore.
Meanwhile, defence minister AK Antony has ordered a CBI probe on Army chief's allegations.

Earlier, both houses of Parliament were adjourned till noon after the opposition MPs created a ruckus over the disclosures made by the Army chief.The opposition today cornered the government in Parliament over Army Chief General VK Singh's claim that he was offered bribe.
In an interview to a national daily 'The Hindu',army chief General VK Singh, who recently lost his date of birth battle, has claimed that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore by an equipment lobbyist for clearing the purchase of 600 substandard vehicles.

The army chief also added that the defence minister AK Antony was apprised of the matter.

General Singh also said that 7,000 of those of which were already in use in the Army had been sold over the years at exorbitant prices.

In the interview Singh said, "One of these men had the gumption to walk up to me and tell me that if I cleared the tranche, he would give me Rs 14 crore. He was offering a bribe to me, to the Army Chief. He told me that people had taken money before me and they will take money after me."

Denying sex to spouse on first night ground for marriage annulment: Delhi high court

The Delhi HC ruled that wilful denial of sex, including that on the first night after wedding, by either of the spouse amounts to cruelty.

NEW DELHI: Wilful denial of sex, including that on the first night after wedding, by either of the spouse amounts to cruelty and can be a ground for dissolution of the marriage, the Delhi high court has ruled.

Justice Kailash Gambhir gave the verdict, upholding the lower court's decree of divorce to a man having a "sex-starved marriage" as his wife refused to have sexual intercourse with him on the wedding night and making him long for it for the subsequent five months, left her matrimonial home.

"In the present case, the testimony of the husband that the wife was never responsive and was like a dead wood when he had sexual intercourse with her remained unrebutted.

"It is not that the husband had sex with his wife only about 10-15 times from the date of his marriage within a period of five months, but the wife's cruel act of denying sex to the husband especially on the very first night and then not to actively participate in it even for the said limited period for which no contrary suggestion was given by the wife," the court said.

It cited various Supreme Court judgements on the issue and said "it is evident that wilful denial of sexual intercourse without reasonable cause would amount to cruelty."

Referring to the apex court's observation that "sex is the foundation of marriage and marriage without sex is an anathema," Justice Gambhir said, "Marriage without sex will be an insipid relation."

Let me decide on my retirement: Sachin Tendulkar

"Sometimes, things happen in life which you can't explain'" Sachin Tendulkar said. (TOI Photo)

MUMBAI: The mood was set early on Sunday morning when a popular Hindi news channel ran a headline, 'Kya bolenge Sachin' in one of their bulletins.

Speculation had been rife since Friday, when the company that manages him, World Sports Group, had sent an invite for a press conference to "celebrate his 100 international centuries", that Sachin Tendulkar would make some sensational announcement on retirement, from ODIs probably.

Sadly, for all Tendulkar's critics, who had probably kept their retirement tributes ready, there was no such announcement in probably his longest-ever media interaction which went on for more than an hour.

Pune's first target would be to finish among top four: Sourav Ganguly

"I am doing everything I can to be at my physical best when the IPL gets under way," Ganguly said.

KOLKATA: IPL 4 was a nightmare that Sourav Ganguly wants to forget in a hurry. Ignored at the auction and twice denied a contract on technical grounds, Sourav was finally signed on by the faltering Pune Warriors towards the fag end of the competition.

With IPL 5 knocking on the door, Sourav has the onerous tasking of leading and mentoring the Pune Warriors sans its biggest star - Yuvraj Singh.

'Captain Courageous' spoke exclusively to TOI about his latest challenge in a free-wheeling interview.

Excerpts: 

Michael Clarke confirms IPL offer but yet to decide on it

"That opportunity has been presented to my management company and I. Right now they're discussing it," Michael Clarke said.(TOI Photo)

MELBOURNE: Australia cricket captainMichael Clarke is non-committal on a much-speculated Indian Premier League stint withPune Warriors, saying that his management company is discussing the offer but a decision is yet to be taken.

After resisting the IPL for four seasons to focus on national duty, Clarke is finally in talks with the Pune franchise but refused to divulge the details of the ongoing negotiations.

"That opportunity has been presented to my management company and I. Right now they're discussing it," Clarke was quoted as saying by 'The Australian Associated Press'.

"We will continue to talk about that and make a decision in due course. But my focus right now is to make sure I get back and play some good cricket for Australia."

The in-form batsman, who is struggling with back problems, did not give his name for players' auction even this year but Pune approached him after getting the BCCI's nod for it.

Clarke retired from Twenty20 internationals in January last year.

Amitabh Bachchan to record 'Madhushala' in his voice

Amitabh Bachchan

Modern technology has overshadowed the feel of original music, rues Amitabh Bachchan, who is recording his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan's "Madhushala" in his voice. The megastar is also skeptical about the poetry connecting with today's youth.
"...singing the verses of Madhushala, the 'alaap' and lending orchestral brilliance to the basic structure that I made in an impromptu setting on my piano. What a different world this is...
"We crave today in music sittings for the age of unplugged instrumentation. The reality and the joy of listening to the original sounds of string and 'dholak'. Of the great masters and their wares - the Sarod, the Shehnai, the Sarangi, the Sitar. All lost and buried under the weight of modern sounds, mastered and manufactured through science and technology. All gone and overtaken by technology," the 69-year-old posted on his blog.
"Madhushala", a collection of poems, which talks about the complexities of life, was published in 1935.

I de-stress myself by having sex: Kashmera Shah

Kashmera Shah

Kashmera Shah gets candid on matters close to her heart

How do you de-stress yourself - sex or sleep? The only X-factor in my life is the sex-factor. I de-stress by sleeping with my boyfriend and by having sex with him. I truly believe that if you are unhappy in bed, you can't be happy anywhere else. Too many people go around pretending to be happy and have affairs outside.

What's your idea of a perfect partner? My perfect partner has to understand my silence as well as my needs, this is a very important factor for me.

What if you catch your guy two-timing? That will be the last day he sees me. I think the stakes are very high in a relationship so my guy will have to be willing to let me go and, trust me, no one that has ever been with me has ever wanted to let me go, ask my exes!