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Advani’s Pak fiasco unfortunate: Pranab
BJP can't change communal character: Cong
BJP criticises Hurriyat visit without passports |
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300 wetlands to be developed
Detractors of PM defying him on separate Haryana committee: Badal
Red carpet awaits Sonia in Russia
Telgi had made investments in Bollywood
Boarding Rajdhani, Shatabdi made easier
Special trains to beat summer rush
MP to clean up Union Carbide premises
Muslim body seeks reservation for Dalits
Tamil superstar backs ban on smoking scenes
50,000 free power connections to
AP farmers
UP to provide free Urdu books
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Advani’s Pak fiasco unfortunate: Pranab
Kolkata, June 12 “I do not think that the fiasco would adversely affect the peace process between the two countries. But it would have been always better had the controversy not taken place,” Mr Mukherjee told a meet-the-press programme at the Press Club here. He said because of the fiasco the country could not get the full benefit of Mr Advani’s visit to Pakistan. “Of course the first phase of Advani’s visit has contributed to good relations between the two countries because Mr Advani is considered as the hardliner in the BJP and he also holds the position of a recognised Leader of Opposition,” he said. “When Mr Advani welcomed and endorsed the peace process initiated by the government, it added credibility to it,” Mr Mukherjee said. The Defence Minister said that he had welcomed Advani’s statement in Pakistan as it helped the ongoing peace process, but “what had happened later was ridiculous”. “Unfortunately the way the events unfolded we could not get the full benefit of it. We could have projected that in furthering the peace process and in the initiative taken by the government the entire nation is there.” “But after the fiasco we cannot claim it now,” Mr Mukherjee said. About the visit of Hurriyat leaders to Pakistan, the Defence Minister said the government had taken the correct step by allowing them to go. “There may be minor irritants but that is not going to affect the peace process. In fact, it is still a process and has not led to any definite or concrete result yet”. Answering a question, he said that it was absurd to accept Mohammad Ali Jinnah as a secular leader as he had propagated the two-nation theory which culminated in the creation of Pakistan. “In the Congress, our assessment about Jinnah is clear. Jinnah had propagated the two-nation theory and it is a fact and part of history. Jinnah was primarily responsible for the Partition. It is absurd to accept him as a secular leader,” he said. In private life he might have been secular and in fact he was, but it had nothing to do with his public life, he said. The Defence Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, who is also the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee chief, has declined to accept the poll survey forecast as gospel truth. If the poll survey forecast can be taken as truth, then there would be no need for holding any elections at all. Mr Mukherjee refused to give any importance to the advice of senior Congress leader Siddhartha Sankar Ray, who suggested that all anti-Left parties in the fray should sit together and make a last time attempt for avoiding the division of their vote banks. Mr Ray suggested that the PDF partners should campaign jointly area wise in favour of the prospective candidates as a whole and not of any individual party for facilitating their victory. But the Defence Minister gave to credence to his suggestion.
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BJP can't change communal character: Cong
Hyderabad, June 12 “The party is totally in the grip of the communal Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. It cannot come out of its control and there can be no liberation for the BJP,” the minister said while taking part in a symposium here on the performance of one-year-old United Progressive Alliance government. Without commenting on Mr Advani’s observations on Pakistan Founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Mr Reddy said the fact that Mr Advani was trying to portray himself as a secularist showed that he was influenced by the “secular revolution” taking place in the past one year. “Whether he (Mr Advani) changes or not, the people are secular and there is no future for the BJP and the RSS.” However, he said, “We should not be complacent as the battle for protecting secularism is a continuous process. Eternal vigilance is required to protect secularism and democracy in the country.” Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member and Andhra Pradesh unit secretary B. V. Raghavulu criticised Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu for extending support to Mr Advani. He said the “diluted” BJP resolution, to enable the BJP president to withdraw his resignation, showed that the “BJP cannot change its colours". Despite differences on economic policies, the Left parties had extended outside support to the UPA government only to keep the BJP at bay and protect secularism, he added.
— UNI
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BJP criticises Hurriyat visit without passports
New Delhi, June 12 In a statement issued here today, BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said it was also the duty of the Manmohan Singh government to spell out immediately what action it was contemplating against the Hurriyat leaders “who have deliberately travelled without Indian passports”. Mr Malhotra pointed out that Hurriyat leaders were allowed to go to Pakistan occupied Kashmir through a permit and as such the Pakistan Government could not allow them to enter Pakistan without Indian passports. “Our apprehension that the bus to Muzaffarabad would facilitate separatist elements to enter Pakistan without Indian passports have proved to be true,” he said. Describing the Hurriyat as the representative body of Jammu and Kashmir was “fallacious and unacceptable” to the people of the country. Hurriyat had never contested elections in the Kashmir valley and had no representative character at all, the statement said. As far as the BJP had learnt, even Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and leaders like Farooq Abdullah wanted to go there to attend the conference, but they were not allowed, Mr Malhotra said. This way the Government of India had let down the elected representatives, he said, adding that the government’s response so far towards the Hurriyat leaders should have been “strong” rather than “meek”.
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‘Walk the World’ held
New Delhi, June 12 Delhi Health and Social Welfare Minister Yoganand Shastri flagged off the 5-km walk from India Gate this morning. AIDS activist Nafisa Ali was among the walkers. Organised by the World Food Programme, the walk was held simultaneously in over 200 cities across 90 countries to draw the world’s attention to the 800 million hungry people, many of them children. “The urgent need before the world is to care for its hungry people. We have a big task before us,” said Dr Shastri, who also joined the walkers in a warm summer morning today. The walkers, who began from the India Gate, proceeded through the Ashoka Road before returning to the India Gate after nearly an hour to raise funds for children. The funds raised through the walk will be used to support the World Food Programme’s global school feeding campaign that aims to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills. In India, the funds will be utilised by the UN for its India chapter of the campaign.
— UNI |
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300 wetlands to be developed
New Delhi, June 12 India will support all initiatives to welcome back the Siberian Crane to the existing and future network of wetlands, Union Minister for Environment and Forests A. Raja said on Friday. He said the Centre was committed to safeguarding the migratory birds and developing places that could be used by them as winter home and breeding grounds. Various scientific organisations had recommended numerous sites that could be used for the purpose. Inaugurating a five-day Central Asian Flyway Meeting, he said a national wetland policy was on the anvil in consultation with experts for proper conservation and management of migratory waterfowls. He said supporting legislation and policies were in place to protect water birds. “The conservation and management of water birds is a priority under the National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016), duly supported by the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. India also has bilateral arrangements with neighbouring nations, as well as multilateral agreements, to safeguard the migratory water birds, transcending national jurisdictions,” he said. The country supported more than 1,200 species of birds, of which more than 250 species were water birds. Many of these species were migratory that were primarily located in different countries across North, Central and Southern Asia. The government, said the minister, was working towards attracting them as the seasonal migration was disturbed due to a rise in human population and rapid degradation of wetlands. The deliberations at the meeting would cover conservation measures for over 175 species of migratory water birds, including 26 globally threatened and near-threatened water birds migrating between the countries. Eighty experts from around 30 countries are in the Capital to deliberate upon ways to conserve migratory water birds and their habitats in the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) region. The CAF covers a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic and Indian Ocean and associated island chains. The flyway comprises several important migration routes of water birds, most of which extend from the northern-most breeding grounds in Siberia to the southern-most non-breeding (wintering) grounds in West and South-Asia, the Maldives and the British-Indian Ocean territory. |
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Detractors of PM defying him on
New Delhi, June 12 “The Prime Minister has assured us that the government would not interfere with the religious affairs of the Sikhs. Despite this assurance, Congress leaders, who are detractors of the Prime Minister are issuing statements everyday that a separate committee for Haryana would be formed,” Badal said while addressing a Sikh convention in the Capital this evening. Addressing the convention organised by the Delhi unit of the party, he said the Congress government was attacking the religious institutions of the party to weaken the SAD and urged the party workers to strengthen the party. Mr Badal said the SGPC was not a body for the Sikhs of Punjab but for the entire community. “The talk of division of the body like SGPC is only an attempt to weaken the community, which has made remarkable progress all across the globe,” he said. Categorically stating that the party would oppose any attempt to create a separate gurdwara committee for Haryana, he said “The process would not stop with Haryana. Each district, town and village would demand a separate committee.” “Such a move would not only weaken the SGPC but also weaken the Khalsa, which have grave consequences,” he said. Mr Badal pointed out to the Nehru-Tara Singh pact, which categorically stated that the government would not interfere in the religious affairs of the Sikhs. He said the Congress has time and again violated the commitment given to the community and the Sikhs would not tolerate any attempt to interfere in their religious affairs. Pointing out to the formation of different Akali Dals, he said they were all playing in the hand of the Congress. The SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur said the identity of the Sikh community across the globe was under crisis and it was time for the members of the community to stand up and fight any injustice. She said the SGPC was the sole authority, which controls the affairs of the Sikh gurdwaras across the globe, and its functions could not be divided. Bibi Jagir Kaur asked how can the Congress in their election manifesto promise a separate gurdwara committee for Haryana, when the SGPC act and different pacts over the years clearly state that the government would not interfere in the religious affairs of the Sikhs. The Haryana committee demand is a blatant attempt by the Congress to control the affairs of the Sikhs and they were eyeing the wealth of the community, she alleged. Categorically denying that the grievances of the Haryana Sikhs were not being attended to, she said, “I am not aware of any grievance of the Sikhs there, which is pending.” Bibi Jagir Kaur said the SGPC would strive for the control of gurdwaras in Pakistan as it did not recognise the authority of the PSGPC, whose office bearers are Muslims. “How can a member of another community oversee the affairs of another community?” she asked. Deputy Lok Sabha Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal said the government should enact the All-India Gurdwara Act, as promised in different pacts with the Sikh leaders. He said several issues concerning Punjab had not been resolved so far despite assurances by the Centre. He said the issue of Chandigarh, water dispute of SYL, Punjabi-speaking areas had been pending for decades, yet the government was trying to create another one in the form of the Haryana committee. On the turban issue agitating the Sikh students in France, following the passing of a new legislation in that country, Mr Atwal urged the members of the community to put pressure on the Indian Government so that it prevailed upon the government in Paris to amend the law.
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Red carpet awaits Sonia in Russia
New Delhi, June 12 Going on the personal invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ms Gandhi will meet Mr Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and other senior officials there. “It is an exceptional gesture of friendship made by the Russian President, taking into account the high degree of importance attached by both sides to India-Russia relationship,” Indian Ambassador to Russia Kanwal Sibal had told reporters in Moscow on Friday. Accompanied by External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh, Ms Gandhi will hold talks with Mr Putin at the presidential Dacha Kanstintinovsky Palace Complex in St Petersburg on Wednesday, the political centre of her visit. This will be followed by a lunch hosted by the Russian President. In Moscow, she will meet Mr Fradkov and would address a function, organised in her honour by a civic body, the Centre of National Glory of Russia, on Tuesday. The Centre has top Kremlin officials, including Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov and world’s first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s daughter Yelena Gagarina on its trustee council. Ms Gandhi will fly back home from St Petersburg on June 16 evening. Hers will be the third-high profile visit by an Indian leader to Russia since the Congress-led UPA government came to power at the Centre. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has just returned from a four-nation visit that also took him to Russia, where he held extensive talks with the political leadership and heads of various defence production establishments. — UNI
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Telgi had made investments in Bollywood
New Delhi, June 12 CBI officials, who are wrapping up the probe for chargesheeting nearly 65 accused, said there was evidence that some proceeds of crime were diverted for the production of a Hindi film by production house “Sanna Movies International”. During his custodial interrogation, Telgi told the CBI that he had no idea of where to invest the enormous proceeds he got from printing of fake stamps and stamp papers so he hired two consultants for finding some business ventures, official sources said. They said he had also invested huge sum of money in opening of dance bars and also had a project to build some theatres and hospitals. Telgi later went to Madhya Pradesh and evinced keen interest in the soya business and invested in it, they said. In Madhya Pradesh, Telgi opened some front companies, including Malwa Enterprises, which was entrusted with sending raw soya from Indore to Bangalore for extracting oil. The amount of money parked by Telgi in this business was being probed by the CBI, the sources said, adding Telgi had also shown interest in investing in trading of “suran” vegetable as it has a long shelf-life. Proceeds of the crime were also channelised towards the overtly legal business of export of soyabean. It has been disclosed that huge amounts of funds have been pumped into the business of petro-products, particularly naptha, with indications that adulteration of petrol or diesel was being carried out in a big way under the garb of legal petroleum trade, they added. Many of these are in fact defunct companies and are clandestinely diverting raw materials like naphtha, kerosene, benzene solvents for adulteration of motor spirits, they said. The CBI, in its FIR, has named Telgi and an IOC officer Nirmal Singh besides five companies allegedly belonging to the scamster.
— PTI |
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Boarding Rajdhani, Shatabdi made easier
New Delhi, June 12 Under the liberalised rules, passengers can now buy a First Class ordinary ticket and board these trains, subject to the availability of accommodation, the Northern Railway said today. For boarding Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains at intermediate stations, the passengers who want to travel by First A/C, First Class, A/C Two Tier, A/C Three Tier and Chair Cars will be required to buy First Class ordinary tickets, said Northern Railway chief spokesman Rajiv Saxena. In the case of Janshatabdi trains, passengers can travel by Chair Car by buying First Class ordinary tickets and in general sleeper coaches by purchasing Second Class Mail or Express tickets. For boarding Mail and Express trains, the passengers should buy First Class ordinary tickets for travelling in First A/C, First Class, A/C Two Tier and A/C Three Tier. Second Class Mail or Express ticket is required for travelling in Chair Car, sleeper and general second class coaches. “The passengers can pay the difference of fare to the ticket examiner if accommodation is available,” said Mr Saxena.
— UNI |
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Special trains to beat summer rush
New Delhi, June 12 The special trains will run from the Capital to Mumbai, Kolkata, Ernakulam, Dehra Dun, Varanasi, Rae Bareli and Jammu. The special train (No 0408) between Hazrat Nizamuddin and Mumbai Central will run on Sunday and Thursday up to June 30. On its return journey, the train (No 0407) will run on Tuesday and Saturday. The summer special (No 0232) between New Delhi and Howrah will operate on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday up to June 15. Train No 0444 from Hazrat Nizamuddin to Ernakulam will run on June 30 and the return train (0443) on June 18. The special train (No 0528) from Kathgodam to Dehra Dun will run on Sunday and Wednesday up to June 29 and the return train (0527) on Monday and Thursday.
— UNI |
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MP to clean up Union Carbide premises
Bhopal, June 12 Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Uma Shankar Gupta said, the methods and place for the safe disposal of the chemical waste would be fixed once it was collected in accordance with the expert opinion of the task force constituted for the purpose, an official statement said here yesterday. The work will be done in the manner suggested by the Centre and prestigious technical specialist agencies in the country. A Hyderabad-based company will do the clearing work in accordance with the prescribed rules and norms under the supervision of the MP Pollution Control Board.
— UNI |
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Muslim body seeks reservation for Dalits
Lucknow, June 12 Morcha President Sallauddin and cleric Sayeed Mohammad Hashmi Kichovivi told mediapersons here today that “as per Article 341 of the Constitution only people from Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist communities could be declared as Schedule Caste.” “Keeping out Muslims and Christians from the SC category amounted to violation of the secular character of democratic India,” they claimed.
— UNI |
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Tamil superstar backs ban on smoking scenes
Coimbatore, June 12 “It (ban) is a good thing. It is not really necessary to portray villains’ smoking. As far as I am concerned, I want to avoid such scenes in my movie,” Vijay told reporters here. Vijay, here to attend a function organised by an NGO, Isha Foundation, claimed that the menace of pirated CDs had come down in Tamil Nadu. Pirated CDs, which used to flood the markets the day after the release of a film, were now coming after four or five weeks, he said. When asked about the problems faced by the Tamil film industry as compared to those in other languages, Vijay said of late, the industry was doing well, compared to the situation one or two years ago.
— PTI |
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50,000 free power connections to
AP farmers
Hyderabad, June 12 A comprehensive study of district-wise potential for new connections formed the basis for the eligibility criteria for free power connection, an official statement said, adding that the Telengana region constituted 42 per cent of total agricultural pump sets in the state. The agricultural power connections during the fiscal 2005-06 is an initiative taken to provide additional irrigation facility for 5 to 6 lakh acres, it added.
— PTI |
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UP to provide free Urdu books
Lucknow, June 12 State Basic Education Minister Kiran Pal Singh has strictly directed departmental officials to ensure free distribution of books to the students of both government schools and madarsas in UP. Urban Development Minister Mohammed Azam Khan had recently requested Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in this regard, after a teachers’ body called upon him with the demand.
— UNI |
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In video: RSS
lashes out on Jinnah's controversy. (
