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Independent has an edge in Akhnoor segment
Editor held for passing secret information
Govt ignoring backward areas, says Omar
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Protests over Malik’s arrest
Documentary film festival opens in Srinagar
Opinions
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Independent has an edge in Akhnoor segment
Akhnoor, October 9 Mr Govind Ram is an old horse and has represented the constituency in 1996 and in 1987. He was a minister in the previous National Conference (NC) government. By-election for the seat will be held on October 13 with as many as 14 candidates in the fray. Top local leaders of the Congress, including Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Mula Ram, Ms Suman Bhagat, Mr Romesh Chandra (all ministers) and Mr Madan Lal Sharma, elder brother of Mr Sham Lal, are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the victory of their candidate. The BJP has alleged that Mr Tara Chand, Speaker of the Assembly, who represents the neighbouring Chhamb constituency, was also putting in his efforts for the Congress candidate. Mr Govind Ram is being called a grazier by the Congress campaigners who point out that he first won as an Independent in 1987, but jumped the NC bandwagon in 1996 when he returned to the Assembly. He deserted the NC after losing the election in 2002 and joined the Congress in which he did not stick for long and has again jumped into the fray as an Independent following denial of the ticket by the Congress. However, not only Mr Govind Ram, but also the BSP candidate, Mr Gafoor Ahmed, has also become a headache for the Congress and the BJP. Mr Ahmed has established personal contacts with the local people as he was a practising doctor in the area. The slogan of locals versus outsiders has been raised by various parties pointed out that only Mr Govind Ram and Mr Ahmed were locals in the constituency, whereas all other 12 candidates were outsiders. A number of local Congress activists have not appreciated the party bosses for perpetuating a dynastic rule in the area by giving the ticket to Mr Sham Lal, who they claim, had no political background except that he was the younger brother of Mr Madan Lal Sharma. A Congress stalwart, Mr Dharam Pal Sharma, who was one of the claimants for the ticket, is disappointed and has not come out to campaign for Mr Sham Lal. Mr Sharma has represented the area as a member of Lok Sabha and was MLA for four consecutive terms in 1983,1977,1972 and 1967. With Mr Govind Ram having an edge over the others, the position of the Congress might further worsen in case senior leaders of the party did not come out to support Mr Sham Lal. In the recent Lok Sabha poll, when Mr Madan Lal won the election for the Jammu seat, his lead of votes in his home turf of Akhnoor segment was as thin as 907. His lead was of 1065 votes over
Mr Govind Ram in the Assembly elections in 2002 after which he became the PWD minister. It is being alleged that Mr Madan Lal after becoming a minister did not meet most of the commitments that he made with the people before the Assembly elections in 2002. The BJP leaders sinking their differences, were aggressively campaigning for their candidate, Mr Ram Saroop. The state BJP chief, Dr Nirmal Singh and a former union minister, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, have addressed a series of election rallies in the area. |
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Editor held for passing secret information to Pak
Srinagar, October 9 A police spokesman said on the basis of reliable information about their involvement in collecting classified information and passing it on to Pakistan, the Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) arrested Rehmatullah Khan, the editor of Rehmat. Its manager, Jatinder Singh Sirohi alias Sonu, a resident of Dakoli in Bulandshahar, Uttar Pradesh, and Manzoor Ahmad Wagay, a computer engineer with R.K. Enterprises, Batwara, Srinagar were also arrested. It was found during investigation that Sonu, also known as Sandeep, was working as a computer technician as well as press reporter since 1998 in Kashmir. He got in touch with Rehmatullah and subsequently started publishing a newspaper. Under the cover of the newspaper and being a computer technician, Sandeep had access to various offices. As part of conspiracy he would transfer information from computers in these offices while carrying out repairs and the two would pass on the information to Pakistan for handsome monetary consideration. A number of accounts were maintained by Rehmatullah and Sonu in various banks, particularly in Delhi, to receive money for the information transmitted to their handlers. Manzoor Ahmad Wagay, an engineer, also joined them in their conspiracy and exploited his access to various computers for repairs to steal information. Rehmatullah Khan had visited Pakistan and Dubai after which the newspaper publication started. In Dubai, he got in touch with Saleem, who according to him, works under cover for Khaleej Times and is a Pakistan national. Information collected by the three was sent to Saleem on his Dubai address. Cases have been registered against the three and investigations started, police said.
— UNI |
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Govt ignoring backward areas, says Omar
Jammu, October 9 Addressing a series of election rallies in the Basholi Assembly constituency today, Mr Omar said backward hilly areas of the state had been totally been ignored. He said the development activities in these areas had come to a standstill which had further increased the problems of the people in these areas. He said the present state government had made no efforts to harness the rich natural resources of the constituency. Mr Omar castigated the state government for the slow pace of the Seva Hydel project. He said despite obtaining the clearance from the Central Government of various hydro-electric projects the state government has made no concrete efforts to harness the rich hydro-electric potential of the state. The National Conference President said the lack of employment avenues for the youth had disappointed the younger generation. He said the misgovernance of the state government had led to fewer employment avenues for the youth who were feeling alienated and frustrated. He urged the state government to take measures to create more employment avenues in the rural and the urban areas through the involvement of the private entrepreneurs so that their energies are productively utilised. Mr Abdullah said the present state government was rudderless and directionless as it lacked perspective and had no concrete plan for the development of the state. Earlier, before leaving for Basohli, Mr Abdullah told mediapersons in Jammu today that he survived the militant attack by the grace of God. He blamed the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohamad Sayeed, for not providing “me and my father, Dr Farooq Abdullah, with the Z plus security cover.” He said “had adequate security cover been given to me, the rebels would never dared to attack my motorcade.” Mr Abdullah, who is also a member of the Lok Sabha, said “even the bomb jammer had been withdrawn. The government has provided only one jammer which either I can use or keep it at the disposal of Dr Farooq Abdullah.” He said on the other hand, the Chief Minister, his daughter, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, and the Minister of State for Home, Mr Abdul Rehman Veeri, had all been provided with bomb jammers. The NC leader said “by denying adequate security cover to me and my father the ruling coalition leaders want to confine us to the room. We will not oblige them and I will move out and meet people even without any security cover.” |
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Protests over Malik’s arrest
Srinagar, October 9 Malik was arrested immediately after he left the College of Education, near here, this afternoon, after delivering a lecture on Aga Shahid Ali. The police has taken in custody two more senior JKLF leaders, including Showkat Bakshi, in the city. As the news of his arrest spread, Malik's supporters took to the streets near the JKLF's headquarters at Maisuma. They shouted "pro-freedom" slogans and clashed with the police. The business activities in the area were disrupted and shopkeepers put up the shutters. Meanwhile, Shah said he had been under house arrest since yesterday morning. A large number of police personnel had surrounded his house and he was not allowed to move out, he said. Shah said although no reason was given for placing him under house arrest, it could be to prevent him from continuing his anti-election campaign in Batmaloo and Pahalgam constituencies. The two constituencies are going to the polls on October 13. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is seeking election from the Pahalgam seat. A spokesman of the breakaway Hurriyat Conference said Geelani was put under house arrest since yesterday and was not being allowed to move out.
— UNI |
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Documentary film festival opens in Srinagar
Srinagar, October 9 Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was the chief guest on the occasion. The festival will last for five days. Mr Sarma asked the state government to extend its help in overcoming the financial constraints. The 15 documentary films to be screened during the five days’ programme included those from different producers in the country. The inaugural function was followed by screening of a film “Living on a Prayer”. The Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said media should focus on Kashmir to promote tourism in the trouble-torn state. He lamented that due to negative publicity Bollywood producers did not prefer to shoot in Kashmir. The Chief Minister stressed upon harnessing the talent in Kashmir and lamented that Kashir Channel was not functioning from here but from Delhi. |
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A Kashmiri Muslim girl, dressed in the traditional attire, waits
for her turn to perform at a cultural show during her school’s
annual day function in Srinagar on Thursday. — Reuters
