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New Delhi, February 8 The Supreme Court in an important ruling has said that the question whether a Hindu belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Schedule Tribes would retain his SC, ST status on conversion to Christianity, would have to be decided on merits of each case though the broad propostion of law is that he did not cease to be a member of these communities.
NDA has crossed all limits, says
Sonia
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Congress alliance fragile, says
Venkaiah
New Delhi, February 8 The BJP today said that the Congress was suspicious of its alliance partners and had no other ideology apart from dynastic politics. Salt found with bodies of Bilkis case
victims
Do’s and don’ts for Indian students in USA New Delhi, February 8 Some 28 million non-immigrants enter or leave the USA annually to conduct business, study, visit family or tour the country. A large number of them are from India. The US Embassy here, from time to time, keeps issuing advisories, statements and press releases to give right instructions for those Indian students who get the visa for studying in the USA.
Army chief asked to examine arrears
issue
Nitish flags off
train
Bid on TDP ex-MP’s life
Killer of 5 daughters held
This February has five Sundays
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Decide on merit, rules SC
New Delhi, February 8 Laying down the law for the trial court to be followed in such cases, a three-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice Mr V.N. Khare said the test for deciding the issue, would be whether the converted person was following the customs, rituals customary laws of succession, inheritance, marriage and other traits required to be followed by the members of SC and ST. “In such a situation, it has to be established that a person (belonging to SC, ST) who has embraced another religion is still suffering from social disability and also following the customs and traditions of the SC, ST community, which he earlier belonged to,” the Bench having Mr Justice S.B. Sinha and Mr Justice S.H. Kapadia as other judges ruled. The order came on the Kerala Government’s appeal against the dropping of the charges under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act) in a case against accused Chandramohan charged with the outraging the modesty of a minor girl belonged to a converted Tribal Christian family, which had adopted the religion 200 years ago. The Apex Court further said that before a person could be brought within the purview of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, he must belong to the Tribe. “A person for the purpose of obtaining the benefits of the Presidential Order must fulfil the condition of being a member of the Tribe and continue to be its member for all customary purposes,” it ruled. The Kerala High Court had held that the accused could not be charged with the provisions of SC, ST Act as the girl’s ancestrals had converted to Christianity long back. The state government challenged the High Court order on the ground that a tribal did not cease to be a tribe merely on reason of conversion. It was contended on behalf of the accused before the trial court and the High Court that the father of the girl had also married a Catholic woman, wherefrom he again became a Roman Catholic and ceased to be a tribal. But the Apex Court referred the case back to the Sessions Court, stating that the question has to be decided purely on merits and facts of the case whether the girl’s parents were following the customs of their tribe to which their ancestors belonged or not. |
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NDA has crossed all limits, says
Sonia
New Delhi, February 8 “The people who never participated in the freedom struggle and created obstacles for leaders who wanted to take the country on the road of progress today claim that India has risen to glory during their five-year tenure. The NDA government, which has never bothered to care about the pain and agony of a poor man, is spending crores of public money for their India Shine campaign,” Mrs Gandhi said while addressing a rally organised by the Congress Seva Dal here. She said the green, white and telecom revolutions were brought about in the country under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and said that the NDA regime was seeking to mislead the people through false propaganda. “It feels ashamed to mention the name of great youth leader like Rajiv Gandhi who dreamt of a self-reliant India by 21st century. These people who ushered a new era had to sacrifice their lives,” she said. The NDA government, she said has left a legacy of poverty, corruption and unemployment for the country and the present regime was scared of the Congress.” “The NDA government is actually scared of the Congress. It knows if the Congress comes to power, the people are going to forget it and the scams and scandals done during its rule are going to come to fore”, she said. “This fear is forcing the NDA leaders to cross all limits and resort to this propaganda. It is our responsibility to show their true face to the nation,” the Congress President added. Stating that the “malpractices” of the NDA needed to be exposed, Mrs Gandhi said the “country’s future is at stake” and “it was not the question of the Congress alone”. |
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Cong turn to start poll campaign in UP
Lucknow, February 8 “The Congress President will hold road shows and would travel the eastern part of the state by road to have interaction with people,” the spokesman of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Akhilesh Singh told The Tribune today. He said Mrs Gandhi would visit Gorakhpur, Basti, Padrauna, Mau, and Deoria. Uttar Pradesh accounts for 80 seats in the Lok Sabha. Recently, Mrs Gandhi had toured western Uttar Pradesh and held road shows at different places. “The visit of Mrs Gandhi in western UP was a success,” Singh said. “People of eastern UP are eagerly waiting for the Mrs Gandhi’s visit”. Mrs Gandhi will also held similar road shows in western UP and other parts of the state and would address four election rallies. The Congress in UP is in tatters. In the last Lok Sabha elections it had won only 10 seats – eight of which were won by leaders on the basis of their personal influence. In January Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi toured Amethi – Mrs Gandhi’s parliamentary constituency and went from village to village and enquired about development work being carried out there. UPCC leaders feel that Mrs Gandhi’s visit would give a boost to the sagging morale of the party workers as well it would help their vote bank to swell. |
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Congress alliance fragile, says
Venkaiah
New Delhi, February 8 “Congress President Sonia Gandhi yesterday said the BJP was pressurising BSP not to go with the Congress. But Mayawati is not a coward as described by Sonia. She has got an independent mind. Sonia has undermined Mayawati by calling her a coward. We do not call our alliance party a coward,” BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu said at a felicitation function organised by people of Uttaranchal here. Mr Naidu said that even before the elections are held, the Congress-led alliance was heading for a divorce and given its track record in dumping alliance partners the intentions of the party had already been made clear. The Congress alliance, he said, was “fragile and opportunistic”. “NCP’s Sharad Pawar wanted a cooperation in Mumbai and operation in Delhi, whereas, Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal has said yes to the Congress in Delhi, but no in Bangalore....Amar Singh is ready for eating with the Congress and not meeting with the Congress,” Mr Naidu said. He termed the next general elections as a war and a BJP victory was imperative for further development of the country. “We will go to every village, walk every street and knock every door and talk with everyone”, the BJP President said. The Congress was devoid of an able leader and did not have a mission and during the last many years of Congress-rule most of the promises made by the party remained unfulfilled. Underlining the BJP catch-phrase “feel-good factor”, Mr Naidu highlighted the present government is credited with the creation of highways and bringing about major changes in telecom and gas services. “Unlike during the Congress regime, there is no waiting list or queues”, he said. |
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Salt found with bodies of Bilkis case victims New Delhi, February 8 During investigations, the CBI, which is probing this case, found that several packets of salt were buried with the bodies of the victims whose post-mortem was conducted by the Gujarat police, CBI sources said. The sources claimed to have a witness who told the investigators that he had been directed by the local police to get 60 kg of salt that would be buried along with the bodies to ensure early decomposition. The skeletons were recovered by the CFSL, the CBI and the Forensic department of AIIMS near a rivulet in Panivela village. However, salt acted as a preservant for the remains of the deceased due to moisture caused by the river water, the sources said. The CBI registered the first case in the Gujarat riots and named Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai and Naresh Moriya under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including rape and murder. The CBI has arrested 12 persons including these three. The agency also questioned Bilkis Yakub who identified Nais and Moriya as the persons who allegedly raped her, the sources said. Bilkis, who was pregnant when she was raped, told CBI that she even told her rapists that she was the age of their daughter. According to the FIR, Bilkis Yakub alleged that when she, along with her relatives, was moving around village Panivela after the burning of the train at Godhra, they were chased by a mob which beat them and raped her and her sisters. —PTI |
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Pak tells Jehadis to ‘fall in line’ New Delhi, February 8 The Pakistan Government has initiated a back-channel dialogue with top ‘jehadi’ leaders to persuade them to take the January 6 declaration as a development that affords a win-win situation for all sides. The move follows Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s assurance to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at their meeting in Islamabad on January 5 during the SAARC Summit that he would not allow Pakistani soil to be used for terrorist ctivities in India. Pakistan’s leading weekly The Friday Times has reported that because of the track-II with the ‘jehadi’ groups, the state-run media as well as the ‘jehadi’ leaders have toned down their rhetoric against India. Some ‘jehadi’ leaders told the weekly that they were no more concerned with the solution of Kashmir under the UN resolutions but the issue must be resolved to the satisfaction of the Kashmiris. It said efforts were also on to convince the ‘jehadis’ to agree on the ‘Chenab Formula’ that suggests the division of the culturally, geographically, historically and economically distinct Jammu and Ladakh regions along religious lines and the merger of all Muslim-majority areas — Doda, Poonch, Rajouri and Kargil — of these two regions. Earlier, the ‘jehadis’ had categorically rejected the Chenab Formula. The ‘jehadi’ leadership is also being asked to adopt a new interpretation of ‘jehad’. Media reports suggested that information was provided to India on the whereabouts of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief operational commander Ghulam Rasood Dar who was recently killed in Kashmir in an encounter. “As part of an understanding with India’s National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, New Delhi received lists and intelligence cooperation from Pakistan about separatists and their bases. There has been a marked increase in the violence and success of the Indian security forces in tracking down and killing militants in Jammu and Kashmir,” it said quoting media reports. —
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Do’s and don’ts for Indian students in
USA
New Delhi, February 8 Gleaned from such US Embassy statements/releases is a detailed list of do’s and don’ts for the Indian non-immigrant students or exchange visitors. Before leaving your country, confirm that your passport and visa are still valid for entry into the USA. The passport should be valid for at least six months beyond the date of your expected stay. Also, check to see that your visa accurately reflects your correct visa classification. When you receive your non-immigrant visa at a US embassy or consulate, the consular officer will seal your immigration documents in an envelope and attach it to your passport. You should not open this envelope! The Customs and Border Protection Officer at the US port of entry will open the envelope. When you travel, you should carry some specific documents on your person. Do not check them in your baggage! If your baggage is lost or delayed, you will not be able to show the documents to the Customs and Border Protection Officer and, as a result, may not be able to enter the USA. Here are the documents you should carry on your person: Passport (including attached envelope of immigration documents) with visa, SEVIS Form I-20 AB, I-20 MN, or DS-2019, evidence of financial resources. In addition, the Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP) recommends that you also carry the following: evidence of student/exchange visitor status (recent tuition receipts, transcripts), name and contact information for designated school official or responsible officer at your intended school or programme and obviously a pen. If you are travelling by aircraft, the flight attendants on board will distribute CF-6059 Customs Declaration Forms and I-94 Arrival-Departure Record Forms for immigration before you land at your initial point of entry in the USA: Complete these forms while you are on the aircraft and submit them to the appropriate Customs and Border Protection Officer upon your arrival. Upon arrival at the port of entry, proceed to the terminal area for arriving passengers for inspection at one of the Department of Homeland Security stations. As you approach the inspection station, make your passport, SEVIS Form I-20 or DS-2019, Form I-94 Arrival-Departure Record, and CF-6059 Customs Declaration Form available for presentation to the Customs and Border Protection Officer. The Form I-94 should reflect the address where you will reside (not the address of the school or programme). If you are entering through a land or designated sea port, the Customs and Border Protection Officer will provide the necessary CF-6059 Customs Declaration Forms and I-94 Arrival-Departure Record Forms at the port of entry. If you do not understand a form, ask the Customs and Border Protection Officer for assistance. Like all entering visitors, you will be asked to state the reason you wish to enter the USA. You will also be asked to provide information about your final destination. It is important that you tell the Customs and Border Protection Officer that you will be a student or exchange visitor. Be prepared to include the name and address of the school or exchange visitor programme where you will enroll/participate. Once your inspection is complete, the inspecting officer will stamp your SEVIS Form for duration of status (D/S) for F and J visa holders, stamp your SEVIS Form for 30 days beyond programme end date for M visa holders, stamp the I-94 and staple it in the passport. If your information cannot be automatically verified by the inspector or you do not have all of the required documentation, you may be directed to an interview area known as “secondary inspection.” Secondary inspection allows inspectors to conduct additional research in order to verify information. Verifications are done apart from the primary inspection lines so that an individual case will not cause delays for other arriving passengers. In case your admission/participation needs to be verified, the US Embassy strongly advises that you have the name and phone number of the foreign student adviser at your school or the person responsible for your J-1 Exchange Visitor Programme. In the event you arrive during non-business hours (evenings, weekends, holidays), you should have a phone number where this individual can be reached during non-business hours. Failure to provide proper documentation and to comply with entry/exit procedures is cause to refuse the student or exchange visitor admission into the USA. In limited circumstances, if a student or exchange visitor is mostly, but not fully, in compliance, he/she may be issued a Form I-515A “Notice to Student or Exchange Visitor”. This form authorises temporary admission into the USA and requires the student or exchange visitor to take immediate action to submit proper documentation. |
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Army chief asked to examine arrears
issue
New Delhi, February 8 “The matter should be considered at the highest level and the Chief of Army Staff should himself personally examine it and take a decision within a period of two months,” Mr Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul in an order said. The verdict came on a contempt petition by Lt-Col S.P.S. Rekhi, who alleged that despite the court earlier allowing his and several fellow officers’ plea for the re-employment, the Army had not paid the officers arrear for the relevant period, though it had given them job as per the court order. The court said the need to look into the matter by the Army chief arosed more so to avoid a second round of litigation compelling the retired officers to come to the court unnecessarily once again. Taking serious view of the Army not considering the cases of officers and taking a “favourable” decision, the court gave liberty to them to file “substantive petitions” to claim the relief in respect of their grievance made in the contempt petitions. However, the court absolved the Army of contempt charges holding that no case for the “wilful disobedience” of its January 23, 2002 judgement, had been made out against the authorities concerned. The Army had taken the stand that the court’s mandamus was not clear whether the officers were also entitled to the benefit of arrears apart from the re-employment. Col Rikhi and several other officers, who had won a favourable order from the court in its January 23, 2002 judgement, had said Army officers were discriminated in the matter of giving re-employment under the extension scheme as per the Fifth Pay Commission report, which had enhanced the retirement age of officers by two years. This benefit, though was provided by the government to the Naval and Air Force officers, the Army had fixed a cut off date for implementing the same and the officers had challenged it in the court. |
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Nitish flags off
train
New Delhi, February 8 This is the first of the 18 such non-stop trains which will operate between Delhi and different states and was announced in the Interim Railway Budget this year. The train is scheduled for Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays from Delhi; and Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from Yashwantpur. On the return journey, train No 2649 will leave Yeshwantpur at 2345 hrs and reach Nizamuddin at 1455 hrs the next day. From October 2, the train will run daily. Other Sampark Kranti trains will connect Delhi with Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Samastipur, Secunderabad, Durg, Ranchi, Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad, Jabalpur, Bandra, Jodhpur. |
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Bid on TDP ex-MP’s life
Hyderabad, February 8 Former MP K Srinivasulu was travelling in a vehicle along with two aides today when the Naxalites waiting in the bushes triggered a Claymore mine blast causing partial damage to the vehicle in Kuntimaddi village of Anantapur district. However, Srinivasulu and his aides, who were proceeding to Nasannakota to participate in a mass marriage programme, escaped unhurt, the police said. A report from Prakasam district said two armed Naxalites went to the house Avulayya, a former sarpanch belonging to TDP, near Bollupalli village under the Ardhaveedu police station limits last night and took him to a place 2 km away and shot him dead.The bullet-riddled body of Avulayya was found this morning in the forest area. —
PTI |
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Killer of 5 daughters held
Ahmedabad, February 8 Investigating Officer Bharuch police station V.J. Patel said "Sheikh was taken into custody by Veradiya village police post where he was hiding after the crime and a police party has been sent to bring him to Bharuch". —PTI |
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This February has five Sundays
Porayar (TN), February 8 Citing an astronomical research done by the students of Cornell University, USA, he said the pre-condition for the month of February to have five Sundays was that the first day of the month should be a Sunday and the year should be a leap year. This year, February one fell on Sunday and hence the month would have five Sundays. The last occasion this occurred was in 1976 and the next would be in 2032, he said. —
PTI |
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