NEW DELHI: After taunting the Congress with his "budhiya" (aged woman) comments, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has termed the 125-year-old national party a "gudiya" (doll), eliciting sharp reaction from the opposite camp.Addressing a poll rally in Uttar Pradesh's Shrawasti district, Modi said: "Ab mein Congress ko budhiya nahin, gudiya kahoonga. Aisa karne se kya woh jawan ho jayegi (Now I will refer to the Congress not as an aged woman, but a doll. Will it make the party younger?)"Reacting to Modi's political barbs, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told media persons that Modi had "lost his balance" and was "causing humiliation to himself" every time he insulted the Congress.Referring to Modi's "budhiya" comment, Singhvi said that besides all the elderly people and women in the country, "he (Modi) should also apologise to L.K. Advani, who did not fall in the youth category." Advani, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, is 81 years old.
Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo...
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