DMK Attempting To Destruct Key Files: AIADMK

Chennai: Accusing DMK Government of attempting to "destruct" important files under the guise of shifting departments to new secretariat building, AIADMK today petitioned Election Commission to defer all related proceedings in view of the Model Code of Conduct for Assembly polls still in force.

"It is reliably understood that the present caretaker DMK Government is attempting to carry out destruction of important files in the Secretariat building in a hasty manner at St George Fort under the guise of shifting the existing government departments to the new secretariat building," the AIADMK said in a letter to EC.

A "caretaker" government could not take any major policy decision which would be the prerogative of the government to be formed after the announcement of results of the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls (on May 13), the letter signed party Treasurer O Panneerselvam and three others said.

Under these circumstances, "we request the EC to issue appropriate instructions to defer all proceedings pertaining to the shifting of the existing government departments functioning in the Secretariat building at Fort St. George when the Model Code of Conduct is in force," it said.

The letter also demanded that the EC deploy central security forces at Fort St. George in order to ensure that important Government files were protected "in public interest."

The AIADMK has been opposing the DMK Government's decision on constructing the new state assembly-secretariat complex. The new assembly building was inaugurated in March last year by the Prime Minister while the secretariat portion was yet to be completed.

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Shakira To Sing For A Bollywood Film

There have been several false starts, but this time, it's for real. Shakira will be singing for a major Bollywood production. The makers of Azaan, a film that marks the debut of gutka baron Jagdish Joshi's son Sachin Joshi, have sealed the deal with the popular Columbian singer.

Shakira was approached by composers Salim-Suleiman, with the blessing of none other than Shah Rukh Khan, who not only endorses a beverage manufactured by the Joshis, but is also going all-out to promote Sachin's debut.

"Sachin and Salim-Suleiman have been trying their best to lure Shakira with the double bait of big bucks and Bollywood. Last year, the deal fell through. This year, however, things have gone differently. They approached Shakira to do a promotional video for the movie, and to their delight, she agreed," said a source.

When asked to confirm, Sachin, who was shooting an action sequence, was hesitant. "We have sealed a deal with a very high-profile international artiste, after months of negotiation. However, until all formalities are complete, we do not wish to make an announcement." However, when pressed for details, he admitted that the artiste in question is Shakira.

"But I'd rather not talk about it now. We are a few days away from signing the deal and I don't want anything to go wrong," said Sachin.

When asked how they managed to pull it off, he said, "Salim-Suleiman presented their ideas on what they wanted her to do, and she liked them. She'll be singing a song in her patented space, which will be, at the same time, typically 'Bollywood'." The last time we heard that Shakira was doing a number in Bollywood, we ended up finding just a mention of her name in a song from No Problem. Let's hope, this one's more than that.

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Nadal Beats Federer To Reach Madrid Final

Rafael Nadal overcame Roger Federer 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 to reach the Madrid Masters final on Saturday on an emotional rollercoaster of a day which had started with a tearful, emotional tribute to Seve Ballesteros.

World number one Nadal stood side-by-side with old rival Federer in a minute's silence at the Caja Magica before a showreel of Ballesteros's greatest moments played out on the giant screens.

"It's a terrible day for Spain and the world. We lost a great champion, probably the greatest in the history of Spain," said Nadal of the 54-year-old golfing legend who lost his brave fight against cancer.

Despite the sombre occasion, Nadal went on to thrill his fans and reach his third Madrid final in three years where he will face either world number two Novak Djokovic or Brazilian outsider Thomaz Bellucci.

World number one Nadal will be bidding for his third clay title of the spring after Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

He has now beaten Federer in 11 of 13 meetings on clay and stands 16-8 overall in their epic series.

It was the third straight year the all-star pair had played in Madrid, with Federer winning the 2009 trophy and Nadal doing the same 12 months ago.


Nadal's victory on Saturday was his 37th straight on clay, a streak dating back to the French Open in 2009.

"I'm glad to have have won, but it was not our best match. It was an emotional day for me and Spain," added Nadal.

Federer now heads to the Rome Masters with a 26-7 record on the season and one title from Doha having played his last final in Dubai in February.

The Swiss world number three started the match poorly, losing his first service game which was marred by a double-fault and an over-hit forehand.

The 16-time Grand Slam champion also failed to convert any of three break points in a lengthy fourth game, with Nadal eventually stretching his leading margin to 4-2 with a love game.

But the Swiss worked his magic to get back to level-pegging, 4-4, and held in dramatic fashion after saving three break points in the 11th game for 6-5.

A sizzling Federer passing shot to the far reaches gave him a set point, which he finished cleanly with a down-the-line winner, breaking Nadal for the second time and taking the early lead after 64 minutes after winning nine of the last 11 points.

But the Swiss suffered a reversal in the first game of the second set, with Nadal breaking on a controversial ball seen good by chair umpire Mohamed Layhani to the dismay of Federer, who argued the point before getting back to work.

Federer seethed quietly throughout the set as Nadal squared the match.

In the decider, Federer went down a break 1-3 on a forehand called out by centimetres, then dropped serve in the next game.

It set the tone for the remainder, with Nadal scraping home on his first match point as Federer netted a backhand.

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Dhoni Proves The Difference Between Instinct And Luck: Harsha And Anita Bhogle

Midway through the World Cup there were references to Dhoni's luck - that India could win it because he was lucky. Isn't it interesting that the best leaders in the world tend to be lucky? Or is it because they have an ability to read a situation quickly and back the right person? Dhoni's success is proof of the difference between instinct and luck. Dhoni's instincts stay sharp because he is calm, and a calm opponent is the most dangerous opponent. When things start going wrong, everyone looks towards the leader. If he is chewing his nails or stomping around, it means the situation is getting to him. When the leader is calm, the team believes there is still hope.

Ian Chappell once told us the first principle of leadership: congratulate in public and criticise in private. The world can celebrate your success but being berated in public is humiliating. Except for one occasion when he urged his teammates not to play for the crowds but for the team, Dhoni has hardly ever lashed out at his team. He must have done it within the dressing room at times, but by doing it that way he showed respect for his teammates, strengthened the bond. He seems very secure in his job and has a way of respecting seniority. He did that with Anil Kumble and with Sourav Ganguly, and made himself invisible when Sachin Tendulkar was having his moment immediately after India won the World Cup. It was Dhoni's and India's Cup, but he let it be Tendulkar's moment.

And he is not afraid of admitting his mistakes. No leader gets it right 10 out of 10, but insecure leaders try to cover up mistakes. Honesty is an essential attribute of a leader.

Harsha and Anita Bhogle run Prosearch Consultants. They do corporate programmes on lessons from sport for managers. Their book, The Winning Way, will be published next month.

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Leader By Instinct Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Success Story

He led a young Indian team to victory in the inaugural T-20 Cricket Championship in September 2007. In December 2009, India became the top-ranked Test team in the world for the first time under his captaincy. The team still retains that spot. He captained Chennai Super Kings (CSK) - his Indian Premier League team - to victory in April 2010 and followed it up by lifting the Champions League Trophy for the same team in September. The mother of all victories came in early April this year: India won the ICC Cricket World Cup after 28 years.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only captain in the world to have tasted success in all formats of the game, and that too in just four years. No wonder, batting legend Sachin Tendulkar calls the 29-year-old the best among the nine captains he has played under in his 21-year career. Australian great Greg Chappell calls Dhoni the best captain in the world today. Former Indian skipper Kapil Dev, who led the country to its first major cricketing triumph - the 1983 Prudential World Cup - has no qualms in accepting that Dhoni is a better captain.

he transformation of MSD, as he is often called, from a long-haired pinchhitter to a suave captain could not have been more dramatic. He burst into Indian cricket in 2004 as a small-town boy with a penchant for whacking the ball out of the ground with his trademark 'helicopter shot'. Captaincy came his way in September 2007 when he was appointed skipper for the Twenty20 World Cup championship. India won the tournament.

Soon after, he was given charge of the team in the other two formats of the game too - one day internationals and Test cricket. (Sure, there have been temporary stumbles, like the exit at the league stage in the 2010 T-20 world championship.) The manner in which he has gone about transforming a formerly 'also ran' team into the best in the world offers valuable lessons in management and leadership.

Keep it simple, silly
Unlike most other captains today, Dhoni does not believe in strategising excessively before a match. In fact, he seldom watches match videos or pores over statistics. Team meetings on match days are mostly standin sessions lasting no more than 10 minutes, say colleagues. "I like to keep things simple. Cricket is a simple sport and you complicate it by thinking too much. More you think, more complex it becomes,'' Captain Cool said at a press conference days after winning the ICC World Cup.

Dhoni employs sleep as an effective tool to beat pre-match tension. On the day of a big match, people close to him reveal, he wakes up just two hours before the match starts. Keeping it simple also helps him to remain calm in live wire situations. Former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman and Dhoni's idol Adam Gilchrist recently said the Indian skipper's biggest plus point was his ability to remain calm under pressure.

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Velayutham HQ Trailer

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