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Politics Business Expressions General Sports Leisure States 20 February 1998   Advani loses "war for crowds" to Sonia Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president L K Advani lost the `battle for crowds' to Sonia Gandhi, but that did not deter him from challenging the Congress' star campaigner to have a `war of words' with him. His public meeting yesterday at Tumsar failed to touch the level of frenzy created just three days ago at the same place by Sonia. This despite the fact that the crowd of nearly 30,000 which assembled was fairly large by any yardstick for this small town in Bhandara district.   Sonia ignorant on Hindutva, says Atal BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Atal Bihari Vajpayee has come down heavily on Sonia Gandhi for saying that that the country would disintegrate if the Hindutva party was voted to power. "False claims, malicious allegations and little knowledge do not contribute to electoral success," the veteran BJP little leader said in a statement on Wednesday. Apology for Babri demolition won't fetch votes for Congress, says Pilot Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Rajesh Pilot feels that the apology on the Babri mosque demolition will not get the party any additional votes. He did not elaborate on the reasons for this but said, "Political leaders must stop speaking the language of votes if democracy is to be strengthened". Now wait for the birth of the condom scam Prime Minister I K Gujral has one more problem on his plate. It's a battle over condoms and being in charge of the Ministry of Health, Gujral now has to decide. The warring parties: Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Renuka Chowdhury and Hindustan Latex. The issue: Chowdhury cut HLL's annual order for condoms and diverted the majority share to four private companies.   MoF puts 10% cap on forward deals In a far-reaching move, the Union finance ministry has capped the Reserve Bank of India's forward operations at 10 per cent of the country's forex reserves. In effect, the Reserve Bank's forward operations will not cross $2.7 billion as the forex reserves (including gold and SDR) are now pegged at $27.74 billion. The objective of restricting the Reserve Bank's exposure in forward markets is to maintain stability in the forex market. KRC in dire straits over bridging debt gap The ambitious 760 km-long Konkan Railway Project, bridging the gap between Mumbai and Mangalore, is in desperate need of patronage from the Centre and the states to help it clear its debts and emerge viable within the stipulated time frame. And with the delay in decisions regarding the diversion of passenger and goods traffic to this newly-commissioned line, KRC authorities are wondering whether they will be able to pay back the Rs 3,375 crore debt in time.   LEISURE   Swiss menswear ad campaign angers Turkish press, ambassador   Romeo and Juliet romance revisited SPORTS   Taylor aims to make a mark   Shandilya, Merchant top EXPRESSIONS   Earplugs, anyone?   So tell us, Priyanka BUSINESS   FIIs push Sensex up 36 pts   IndBank MF faces Rs 56 cr shortfall GENERAL   US loses PR battle over Iraq war   Light copter proves a mismatch for IAF POLITICS   With foes as his best friends, Praful Patel just can't lose   More security forces deployed in Bihar for polls