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Becoming premier not a priority: Sonia B-S-P factor crucial, says Advani Attention seeker paints Jaya
in blood PWG Naxals kill 2 TDP activists
Four grand-daughters of minister kidnapped |
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Pandits boycott Mufti’s function Raveena marries in Mewari style Power cut at Indira Gandhi
International Airport Telugu journalist stabbed to death Sam is Dr Manekshaw
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Becoming premier not a priority: Sonia
New Delhi, February 22 “For me, that is not a priority. Let us see when the time comes,” she said in an interview to NDTV when asked why the Congress was not coming forward on the issue of leadership of anti-BJP alliance. To a query whether she felt that her being born in Italy was a liability, the Congress President said it might work adversely with some voters but “I have never felt that I am a foreigner. I am an Indian absolutely.” “Wherever I go, especially in rural areas, in the midst of women and less fortunate people, I never feel that I am a foreigner. They never look at me as a foreigner because I am an Indian”, Gandhi said. “In fact, I feel like a foreigner when I go abroad,” she said. “I don’t resent when they (BJP) talk about my foreign origin. It makes me laugh. Why should I resent when I completely feel like an Indian.” Asked whether her transition from a foreigner to an Indian had been completed, Ms Gandhi said “transition was completed long ago. After being part of a family which took part in the freedom struggle and laid down lives in the service of the nation, I have assimilated and imbibed a certain amount of these feelings.” On her children Rahul and Priyanka joining active politics, she said it was “really silly” to repeat the same answer. The Congress President said former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi did consider the declaration of emergency in 1975 as a “big mistake”. “Well my mother-in-law did consider the declaration of emergency in 1975 as a big mistake. The very fact that she declared elections means that she had to rethink,” she said. “At least, the Indira Gandhi I knew was a democrat at heart and I think it were circumstances which compelled her to take that action,” Sonia Gandhi said.
— PTI |
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B-S-P factor crucial, says Advani New Delhi, February 22 “In most elections (in the past) debate used to be on political issues. It is only recently that we have consciously tried to make development an issue of debate”, Mr Advani told a meeting here. ‘Bijli-Sadak-Pani’ or B-S-P factor has become a crucial elections issue, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani said today. “There used to be one or other political issue dominating in earlier elections. But development has become an important political debate in elections in recent times,” Mr Advani said here. Delivering the valedictory address at the World Congress on Natural Disaster Mitigation, the Deputy Prime Minister said infrastructure development, particularly road-building, had been the key feature of the Vajpayee government. On natural disasters in the country, Mr Advani said though substantial scientific and material progress had been made, the loss of lives and property due to such mishaps had not come down and had in fact gone up. He said over the past couple of years, the government had brought about a visible shift in its approach to disaster management. “The new approach emanates from the conviction that development cannot be sustainable unless disaster mitigation strategies are built into the development process”, Mr Advani said. Calling for a multi-disciplinary approach, he said the key to vulnerability reduction to such catastrophy was disaster mitigation. It had been proposed to put in place a National Policy on Disaster Management, which would emphasise a holistic pro-active approach to disaster management, integration of mitigation concerns into development process, building up mitigation measures in the on-going schemes and programmes and making available funds for implementation of the mitigation strategy, Mr Advani said. |
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Attention seeker paints Jaya in blood
Chennai, February 22 After immortalising India’s first space woman Kalpana Chawla in a 30.9-foot-high bronze statue recently, he chose to shed his blood, to seek an appointment with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. Hussaini wants to meet the Chief Minister to remind her of a promise she had made in 1994 to him during her last tenure for providing land to expand his karate training school. Then, Hussaini got to meet Ms Jayalalithaa only after he caught her attention by painting her portrait with his blood after 101 cars rolled over his right hand and he broke 5,000 tiles and 1,000 bricks with the same hand, creating a world record. She had reportedly advised Hussaini not to hurt himself in future for an appointment with her. Now, the karate exponent is at it again. Hussaini, who is also an accomplished painter and sculptor, has used 1,400 ml of his blood to paint 56 portraits of Ms Jayalalithaa. “I have no other way but to use blood, which is an emotional medium to paint, to make a plea for an appointment, as my earlier efforts have proved futile,’’ he said, adding that he nedded her help. ‘’I have still not got the land due to obstacles created by my opponents and due to a change in the Government. As Ms Jayalalithaa has returned to power, I hope I will be given the land, and also I want the Kalpana statue to be installed at a public place,’’ he told reporters here. To prove his determination, Hussaini drew out his blood in front of a battery of newspersons and inscribed on a screen the message: ‘Dear Maam. Please Help’.
— UNI |
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PWG Naxals kill 2 TDP activists
Hyderabad, February 22 The Naxals gunned Zilla Parishad Territorial Council member L.R. Palli K. Siddiah and Market Yard chairman P. Vasudev Reddy, both belonging to the TDP, last night in two separate incidents when they were preparing to come to the state’s capital to attend the public meeting, the police said. A group of Naxals went to the office of Siddiah when he was boarding a vehicle to leave for Hyderabad and shot him dead after dragging him out of the vehicle, they said. In another incident, the Naxals killed Vasudev Reddy after stopping his vehicle on a road under Ramapuram police station limits. Meanwhile, the Naxals damaged four state owned APSRTC buses carrying TDP workers to the Hyderabad rally, stormed the Brahmanpalli railway station and heavily mined the railway tracks in the district leading to the detention and diversion of many trains on the South-Central Railway. The Naxals planted scores of land mines under the tracks near Nadikudi railway station, railway sources said here adding, that about 50 armed Naxals stormed Brahmanpalli railway station and damaged equipment on the premises. The mines were timely detected by the patrolling police thus averting a mishap. As a result, the Narsapur-Hyderabad Express and Bhubaneswar-Secunderabad Express were diverted via Vijayawada and Kazipet, the sources said adding that the Hyderbad-Narasapur Express was detained at Miryalaguda railway station as the track was mined. Two other express trains — Chennai-Hydrabad Express scheduled to leave Guntur at 00.30 and 7423 Tirupati-Secunderabad Narayanadri Express scheduled to leave Guntur at 2.20 am — were detained here and allowed to leave at 7 am.
— PTI |
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Four grand-daughters of minister kidnapped
Patna, February 22 The girls’ father Vijay Kumar lodged an FIR with the Sachivalaya police station late last night after the parents failed to locate them, Deputy Superintendent of Police Sachivalaya Arshad Zam told PTI. The four minor daughters of Vijay Kumar and minister’s daughter MLC Geeta Devi had gone shopping in the Boring road area. A boy, a former student of Don Bosco school and known to the girls, accompanied them. They asked the driver to wait outside and went inside a market complex. When they did not return for a long time, the driver went inside the market complex and after failing to locate them, informed the family members. The boy, a native of Biharsharif, was classmate of one of the girl’s, who studies in a Mussourie school. The parents had earlier complained to the Don Bosco school authorities about the boy. The minister and his daughter were not available for comments.
— PTI |
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Pandits boycott Mufti’s function New Delhi, February 22 The Chief Minister, who also released a book on Kashmir by Mr Pervez Dewan, Resident Commissioner of Jammu and Kashmir, said only gazetted officers had been told to join back in the valley and they would be accommodated in definite zones in Srinagar and Budgam. He said many doctors belonging to the minority community were already serving in hospitals of the valley and these officers should also come. He said the orders asking the officers to report back had not been withdrawn as it was a Cabinet decision. “There has to be a proper representation for any review of the decision,” he said. Some Kashmiri Pandit organisations, including the Kashmir Samiti and the Panun Kashmir, yesterday “boycotted” the Shivaratri Milan function against the decision of the state government and “its policies towards Kashmiri Pandits.” Terming the killing of five civilians in cross-fire at
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Raveena marries in Mewari style Udaipur, February 22 Only the muted sound of Vedic chants and the smell of incense and flowers, besides the chatter of the glitterati filled the air as the Bollywood star and her fiancée Anil Thadani tied the nuptial knot. Resplendent in a gold-worked maroon “lehanga-choli”, which was her mother’s trousseau 35 years ago, Raveena went through the ceremony with trademark grace, fulfilling a long-pending wish to marry like a princess in Rajasthan. Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh, former cricketer Ravi Shastri and film stars Amitabh Bachchan and Jackie Shroff were among the nearly 200 select friends and relatives of the bride and groom who attended the wedding at the historic Jag Mandir, a royal retreat on the placid Pichhola Lake. Lit up by hurricane lamps and torchlights, the wedding procession, led by 12 men with spears, started at 3pm from the Sunset Terrace of Fateh Prakash Hotel where the groom, a film distributor, and his family had been staying for the past four days. A city band played the tune of the Hindi film song “Aaj mere yaar ki shaadi hai” as the groom proceeded on a horse-driven carriage in true Mewari style. An elephant, four horses and two camels also formed part of the procession. Every member on the groom’s side wore Mewari “Safas”. From “Bansi Ghat” on the lakefront, the “baaratis” then got into flower-bedecked boats for the last stretch of the procession till Jag Mandir, glowing in the Aravalli’s lap. Raveena’s sister-in-law Rakhi Tandon welcomed the guests at the venue where the couple exchanged garlands in front of the Ganesh temple before proceeding to the “mandap” for the rituals. The venue, the guests, lighting, food, the silver cutlery and chairs and the performing musicians added to the royal ambience. Anil, a divorcee who stumped the 32-year-old actress during the making of the film “Stumped”, wore a brown Sherwani, Mewari headgear and Jodhpuri shoes (mojari) for the occasion. The pundit who performed the ceremony was brought here specially from Mumbai for the occasion. After the ceremony, Raveena was given the “vidayi” in a 100-year-old “doli” of the former royal house of Mewar.
— UNI
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Power cut at Indira Gandhi
International Airport New Delhi, February 22 Passengers were perturbed on being asked to open baggages for manual checking, which took longer time than screening through X-ray machines. Diesel generators and additional security personnel have been deployed for ensuring smooth security check. Airport sources said the BSES Rajdhani Power, which supplies electricity to the airport, had given prior notice for the shutdown for two consecutive days from yesterday for maintenance purposes. There was no delay or disruptions in the flight schedule though some “non-essential” services were affected. |
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Telugu journalist stabbed to death Medak, February 22 The police said Yadagiri (35), who was working for Telugu daily ‘Andhra Prabha’, was killed in front of his house. Thr Journalist Association alleged that he was murdered by the henchmen of TDP Medak district president B Jagapathi. Yadagiri was a recipient of the ‘Best Journalist Award’ of the state government. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu condemned the murder and instructed the police to expedite investigation in the case. He also announced a reward to those providing information regarding the incident. He expressed his condolences to the bereaved family, an official release said here. Various journalist unions and associations in the state have condemned the brutal murder and demanded the arrest of the culprits. They also appealed for help to the family of Yadagiri. Meanwhile Journalists covering the ruling Telugu Desam Party’s ‘Vijaya Bheri’ meeting today boycotted a lunch hosted by the party, demanding an inquiry into the murder.
— UNI |
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Sam is Dr Manekshaw New Delhi, February 22 Whether to call himself Field Marshal Dr Sam Manekshaw or Dr Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw? “I will consult my daughters,’’ he said in his inimitable style after receiving the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters at the 15th convocation of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) yesterday. Along with Maneskshaw, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, received the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters, in absentia, for his outstanding contribution to world peace and understanding.
— UNI |
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