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Left warns Centre on pension fund Bill
Rights body disapproves PM meeting Nepal King
Congress a divided house Trinamool heads for split over alliances
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Centre receives reports on ‘Laloo attack case’
Let administration of shrine be in hands of believers : SC
India, Russia likely to sign treaty on IPR issues
23 killed as truck falls into ravine
Amarinder honoured by DSGMC
Badrinath ‘prasad’ by mail!
Report on arms
purchase deal be made public: Basu
Buta meets Patil
Gujarat ADGP reveals
explosive diary
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Left warns Centre on pension fund Bill
Chennai, April 23 Addressing a ‘Meet the Press’ function at the Press Club here Mr Karat said, “We are not proposing any amendments. We want the Bill to be withdrawn. We will oppose it in the House. It’s a money Bill and we don’t want to create any embarrassment for the government. We have already written to the Prime Minister on this issue.” The Bill seeks to replace an ordinance promulgated on December 30, 2004, setting up a Pension Regulatory and Development Authority to manage pension funds based on a contributory scheme and clears the way for the deployment of pension funds in the equity market. The CPM general secretary felt that pension funds were being privatised and thrown open to the market mechanism, which was against the welfare of employees. Mr Karat also listed other issues on which the Left parties were unhappy with the Central government and said it was opposed to the idea of merging all public sector banks with four or five large banks. He said the Left parties were not against the merger of a few banks on the basis of specific needs but it could not be a policy under which all banks became part of some major ones. He also felt that after allowing foreign banks to operate in India there was no need to further provide for 75 per cent foreign direct investment in private banks and facilitate their takeover by foreign banks. There were many regional banks, particularly in South India, that were performing well and these could not be allowed to be taken over through the FDI route, he stressed. Replying to questions regarding the Left parties’ support to the UPA regime and whether it could complete a full term in power Mr Karat said, “The prospects are good because it is the Left that is supporting it. We do not go by intangibles like being unhappy with the Prime Minister or some other minister. We decide by policy. The government will go on as long as the UPA is kept united.” |
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Rights body disapproves PM meeting Nepal King
New Delhi, April 23 Justice Aryal along with the president of the Nepal Bar Association, Mr Shambhu Thapa, and Supreme Court advocate, Mr Bhimarjun Acharya, had boarded the Delhi bound aircraft in Kathmandu on Friday when they were asked to disembark. The network, which organised the seminar on “The Constitutional Crisis in Nepal” in association with the Supreme Court Bar Association has also disapproved Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with King Gyanendra on the sidelines of the Afro-Asian summit in Jakarta. Mr Colin Gonsalves, Director of the Human Rights Law Network and senior counsel in the Supreme Court told TNS: “It is shocking that they stopped a retired Supreme Court Judge and the president of the Nepal Bar Association. Why should the king not disclose a list of people who are not allowed to travel so that they can challenge it in the Supreme Court. “We have written a protest letter condemning this decision of the King. We also disapprove Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with King Gyanendra in Jakarta. This gives King Gyanendra the impression that he can carry on and that he is no longer isolated by India.” The statement issued by the Human Rights Law Network and Nepal
Democracy Alliance states: “We strongly condemn and express serious concern at the grave violation of the democratic rights of free speech and movement and disrespect for human dignity by the government of Nepal. We urge the government of Nepal to respect its commitments under international law and refrain from further acts that vitiate the fundamental rights of the people of Nepal.” |
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Congress a divided house New Delhi, April 23 As the UPA Government prepares to celebrate a year in office, there appears to be little reason for cheer as far as the state of the Congress organisation is concerned. Reports trickling in from various state units reveal that far from having a consolidated position, the dissensions in the party have got progressively worse. “We have come to power in Delhi after a long gap. We should use this opportunity to build and strengthen the party......instead we find the organisation to be in a state of disarray,” commented a senior Congress leader. Delhi has recently joined the long list of party units where factional battles are being fought out in the open while the AICC leadership remains in a perpetual damage-control mode. For instance, the Congress in Kerala is on the verge of a split where senior leader K.Karunakaran has threatened to form a new party after the AICC expelled his son K.Muraleedharan for leading a sustained campaign against the Chief Minister. The Uttaranchal unit is also riven with dissension as demands for Chief Minister N.D.Tiwari’s replacement keep surfacing while the battle between Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his deputy Rajinder Kaur Bhattal is constantly simmering. Then again, a recent meeting for the election of a new legislature party leader in Rajasthan witnessed a free-for-all. The news from Assam and Pondicherry is no better. Already facing flak from her detractors in the party, a massive campaign has now been mounted by the legislators to press for Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s
replacement. This crisis snowballed after Ms Diskhit walked out of the April 19 meeting of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) when she was openly criticised by her MLAs. This move has not been viewed favourably by the dissidents, headed by DPCC president Ram Babu Sharma, who have begun lobbying with the AICC leaders for her replacement. The DPCC chief and Ajay Maken, Lok Sabha MP from Delhi, met AICC leaders Motilal Vora and Janardan Dwivedi today to explain their reasons for this demand. Ms Dikshit is learnt to have written to Ms Gandhi explaining why she felt compelled to walk out of the party meeting, stating that she was being wrongfully targeted as she was only implementing the commitments made in the party’s election manifesto. The Congress President, however, is yet to meet the two sides but the open battle in the Delhi unit as well as murmurs about a possible change have only served to enthuse an otherwise listless BJP. Having been routed in Delhi for two consecutive terms, the BJP has been trying hard to win back its middle class support base, which shifted to the Congress with Ms Sheila Dikshit emerging as a favourite with them. However, Ms Dikshit’s widespread acceptability with the middle class and her soaring popularity are proving to be a handicap in the party. |
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Trinamool heads for split over alliances
issue
Kolkata, April 23 The two TMC MLAs, Mr Paras Dutta and Mr Nirben Roy, have been already suspended. The Kolkata Mayor, Mr Subrata Mukherjee, and two other MLAs, Mr Paresh Pal and Mr Arunava Ghosh, are also likely to get suspension letter from Ms Banerjee for defying the party decision against any electoral alliances or seat adjustment with the Congress. At least 14 MLAs have already decided to leave the TMC and return back to the Congress. Mr Mukherjee feared the TMC, which had emerged as an alternative to the CPM only about a decade back, would be now turning into a political non-entity because of the party’s wrong decision on all major issues and a personal arrogance of Ms Banerjee. Saying that the TMC, which had 11 MPs in the last Lok Sabha, has become a one-member party in Parliament, Mr Mukherjee blamed Ms Banerjee and some of her closed aides for taking the party to its political grave. According to party sources, at least 14 prominent MLAs will soon be returning back to the Congress and they are now waiting for a formal clearance from the AICC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi. On the other hand, Ms Banerjee has also decided to project Mr Saugata Roy as their Mayoral candidate and accordingly, conveyed to the district committees asking them to be ready for launching their election campaign. Mr Subrata Mukherjee was chosen as Mayor by Ms Banerjee in the last election against the decision of the working committee. Mr Mukherjee said he had no personal animosity against Ms Banerjee or any other leaders, nor was he hankering after the Mayoral chair. He said the TMC should forge an alliances with the Congress and other secular forces since it was impossible for the TMC to defeat the CPM on its own. Opposing this, Ms Banerjee said the TMC was strong enough to fight the election against the CPM and the
Congress, and decided to go to the polls as a NDA partner with the BJP by her side. She said she had detailed talks with the state BJP chief, Mr Tatatha Roy on this issue. |
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Centre receives reports on ‘Laloo attack case’
New Delhi, April 23 "Both the reports have been received by the Centre and further action will be taken after thoroughly going through the reports," sources in the Home Ministry said here. While Mr Sharma sent his report to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, the Gujarat Chief Secretary sent in his report to Union Home Secretary V. K. Duggal, the sources said. The Centre had sought the reports from the state Chief Secretary and the Governor, after Mr Yadav alleged that the VHP and other Sangh Parivar activists had made a "murderous attempt" on him and demanded immediate dismissal of the Gujarat Government accusing the state Chief Minister Narendra Modi of orchestrating the attack. Even as the Home Ministry was tight-lipped on its further course of action in the matter, the sources indicated that if there were 'contradictions' in the two reports, the UPA could well decide to send a fact-finding team to Gujarat. |
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Let administration of shrine be in hands of
New Delhi, April 23 If the people believing in the methods of “worship” were put as in charge of a temple it “has the advantage that only the believers were administering its affairs, a Bench of Mr Justice H. K. Sema and Mr Justice S. B. Sinha has ruled. The court said administrators of a temple could not be elected from among those who visit it, whether they were believer or worshipper or not. It would be difficult to determine the “electorate” of a temple management from among the representative of the denomination of believers in a temple of worship, as it “cannot be accepted”. “Who will determine the electorate from amongst the millions of devotees …visiting a temple? It will be impossible and impracticable to select such a college of electors from among them,” the court ruled. “The whole exercise will be arbitrary time consuming and will be open to further challenge,” the Bench said, while rejecting an appeal against the Kerala High Court judgement in the famous Guruvayoor Krishna Temple case, whereby it had rejected a petition by Kerala Kshethra Samrakshina Samithi and VHP’s Kerala unit that the members of the managing committee be elected or nominated by an electoral college consisting of members of a “denomination” of devotees visiting the temple. |
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India, Russia likely to sign treaty on IPR issues
New Delhi, April 23 Mr Ajai Vikram Singh’s is visiting Russia specifically to discuss the long-pending demand from Moscow for an agreement on IPR issues. An agreement on the IPR issues is important to facilitate co-operation between both the countries in the development of cutting-edge defence projects, including the ‘fifth-generation’ fighter plane. The two sides are expected to work out a draft for the IPR agreement which could be signed later in the year. The signing of the agreement is also important from the point of view of some of the other projects which India and Russia are trying to work on. Some of these projects have now been stalled in the absence of the IPR agreement. These include the development of medium transport aircraft and civilian planes. |
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23 killed as truck falls into ravine
Bhopal, April 23 Those killed and injured belonged to Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh and were going to Umed Ghat near Ambah in Morena district to attend a religious congregation at the ashram of Jai Guru Dev Baba. According to the police, the accident occurred around early morning at a sharp curve near Khurd village between Ambah and Dimni. The police said that the accident may have taken place due to the negligence of the driver. |
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Amarinder honoured by DSGMC New Delhi, April 23 DSGMC President and SAD (Delhi) chief Paramjit Singh Sarna presented a siropa, a shawl and a set of books on the Sikh religion and history to Capt Amarinder Singh at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib here. Addressing the gathering after paying obeisance, Capt Amarinder Singh said he would continue to strive for the service of Punjab and “Punjabiyat”. He said the state government had the privileged to celebrate Parkash Utsav of Sri Guru Angad Dev, and 00th year of the installation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib at Harmandar Sahib and 300th year of the martyrdom of the sahibzadas of Guru Gobind Singh. He said the state government has planned to commemorate the 300th anniversary of martyrdom of 40 muktas (beloved ones) at Mukatsar on May 4. The Chief Minister lauded the statement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, during the talks in Delhi, about their looking forward to the early start of direct bus
service between Amritsar and Lahore and religious places like Nankana Sahib. Capt Amarinder Singh said the state government was reviewing the cases of Sikh detainees of the militancy period and working out the modalities to secure their early release. He said the step would further strengthen the process of reconciliation in the state. Referring to the Khalsa Heritage Complex at Anandpur Sahib, Capt Amarinder Singh said the state government was determined for its early completion. In his remarks, Mr Sarna said Capt Amarinder Singh “had rendered valuable services to the Sikh Panth” by making it easy for the devotees to go on pilgrimage to the Sikh shrines in Pakistan. |
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Badrinath ‘prasad’ by mail!
Dehra Dun, April 23 The blessings, however, will come at a price tag of Rs 501 for 50 grams of “prasad” in a specially designed box containing “tulsi”, “chandan”, a silver coin, copper jar with “Gangajal” and a CD containing details of the “Char Dhams”. The department would arrange for sending the “prasad” to the doorstep of those who make requests, Tourism Department officials said. |
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Report on arms
purchase deal be made public: Basu
Kolkata, April 23 He also demanded legal action against all "people " involved in the irregular defence purchase deal. He, however, did not mention Mr Fernandes’ name who had been implicated in the CAG's report on the Kargil purchase defence deal. Talking to mediapersons at the Alumuddin Street party office yesterday, the veteran Politburo leader advised the Prime Minister to hold bi-lateral talks with Bangladesh for ending problems of infiltration. |
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Gujarat ADGP reveals explosive diary
Ahmedabad, April 23 Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Sreekumar, through his counsel Anand Yagnik, said he would plead before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) to summon Mr Modi if the government contests the veracity of the diary claiming that it was ‘semi official’.
— PTI |
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Buta meets Patil
New Delhi, April 23 |
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