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Spat between Pranab, Chinese diplomat
BJP blames police for Gohana violence
CRPF deployed in village after clashes
Thackeray-Rane tussle to affect
SC rejects Maharashtra’s plea
Sarabjit is innocent, says former jail mate
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TRS to raise Telangana Jagaran Samiti
Three-cornered contest likely in Bihar Assembly poll
And party ticket remains with family
Keys of 87 houses given to tsunami-hit
Residents warned against terror attacks
Arjun for compulsory primary education for girls
No lengthy question papers, says CBSE
Centre optimistic of talks with Hurriyat
Centre to amend law to check miracle ads
FIR against boy who claimed to have topped NASA test
Fate had something else coming for him
CPM panel approves Buddha’s moves
CITU opposes corporatisation of security press
NCM chief’s plea on Pak passengers
Blair’s visit may enhance Indo-UK ties
MP lifts ban on tridents
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Spat between Pranab, Chinese diplomat
Mumbai, September 4 Mr Mukherjee said there were certain issues on which India and China still had differences like Arunachal Pradesh. “China has solved border disputes with 10 neighbours except India and Bhutan,” he said in his speech on the Role of private sector in defence preparedness organised by the Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC) here. He pointed out that defence production underwent major changes “after Chinese invasion in 1962.” “On Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, we have differences. However, the difference on Sikkim was resolved during the last visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s to India in April last,” he said. Chinese Consul General Song De Heng, who was present at the function, objected to Mr Mukherjee’s statement calling China an “invader” in Arunachal Pradesh and said the situation, circumstances and position was such that his country could not be called so. “On the issue of border dispute, I fail to understand what you mean by saying that China resolved border dispute with its neighbours barring India and Bhutan. Both nations have been discussing. Is China difficult to negotiate or India?” Heng said. Mr Mukherjee said India greatly valued friendship with China but added that 1962 was a factual position and that he was not drawing any meaning to it. He pointed out India had been taking confidence building measures with China.
— PTI |
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BJP blames police for Gohana violence
New Delhi, September 4 “The local police is wholly responsible for this incident, because it has the support of the “Haryana Government. Due to inaction, none of police officers has been held responsible and no one has been punished so far,” former Union Minister Ashok Pradhan said here after submitting the party’s fact-finding report to party chief LK Advani. “It was a horrific incident. First, the murder and later the torching of houses. The administration has failed to prevent the violence,” Mr Advani said. Accusing the police of failing to prevent the violence and arrest culprits, Mr Pradhan denied involvement of Sonepat BJP MP Krishan Lal Sangwan or any member of his family in the violence and described charges in this regard as a “political
conspiracy”. |
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CRPF deployed in village after clashes
Akola (Maharashtra),
September 4 At least 20 houses were also set on fire in the arson. Police
sources said in all 32 persons had been detained on charges of rioting
in the village where one company of the CRPF had been deployed to
control the situation. The clash had broken out between dalits and
upper caste Hindus yesterday over taking control of ‘Datt’ mandir in
the village under the Telhara area of Akola district, about 250 km from
Nagpur. — PTI |
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Thackeray-Rane tussle to affect Ganpati festival
Mumbai, September 4 Thackeray, who has been silent on Rane’s revolt, hit the streets on Friday asking party workers in the region to turn on Rane. In his hard-hitting and expletive laden speech against Rane, now a minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh-led Congress government, Thackeray barely stopped short of asking party workers to kill Rane. Calling Rane a poisonous snake, the Shiv Sena supremo asked his followers to do the needful in the forthcoming by-elections in the Kankavli Assembly constituency. Rane, who quit the Shiv Sena to join the Congress, is contesting from there. Even though Rane’s victory seems to be a certainty, Thackeray has threatened to campaign against his former bodyguard personally. Though the entire Shiv Sena apparatus in the region has joined the Congress party with Rane, Thackeray is mobilising Mumbai-based Shiv Sainiks hailing from the Konkan to begin campaigning against Rane. Thousands of people from the region usually travel to their home villages during the 10-day Ganesh festival. Thackeray himself has asked his followers to take the message against Rane during their visit to home. The state Home Department has already decided to mobilise additional security forces in the region during the festival. Rane is already present there in an attempt to turn the festival into a show of strength against his old party. An angry Rane who was upset at Thackeray’s reference to his sexual health problems has threatened to hit back at his former leader. He told local journalists in the Konkan that an appropriate response would await Thackeray and his supporters. The Maharashtra Government has already managed to prevent Thackeray’s nephew Raj Thackeray from touring the region ahead of the festival. Raj Thackeray, however, said he was postponing his tour to prevent violence. The Shiv Sena is already on the defensive after Income Tax officials earlier this week raided a prominent builder close to the Thackerays. Rane, who played a major role in financing the Shiv Sena, is suspected to have leaked sensitive information to the Income Tax Department. |
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SC rejects Maharashtra’s plea
New Delhi, September 4 In a recent judgement, the apex court had prohibited use of loudspeakers between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30
a.m, irrespective of the occasion they were played. During brief hearing, a Bench headed by Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti said that if the state government was so aggrieved, it could file a review petition against its judgement but the prohibition would not be
relaxed on a writ petition. |
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Sarabjit is innocent, says former jail mate
Kolkata, September 4 Mehboob (41), who lives in Kolkata, spent 20 years in Pakistani prisons on charges of espionage. Recollecting from a mist of memories, Mehboob summons his first meeting with Sarabjit in a prison van in 1990. Though that was not the time when they came close to each other. It happened when his sister sent a parcel to him through the family of Sarabjit. "The parcel with a blanket, a sandal and a few other things, was for me from my sister. But she had given it to the family of Sarabjit, who sent it to him in his name and he passed it on to me. I can vouch for the fact that Sarabjit is an innocent victim of circumstance," Mehboob said. Asked why he needed Sarabjit to get a parcel, when he was booked as an Indian spy, Mehboob said, "I had told them that I was a Pakistani. It was my home. So I could not get anything from India. Sarabjit told me that trucks that brought goods for him from Punjab also went to Kolkata." "I smuggled a message to my sister here and she sent me a kurta and pyjama along with the other things through Sarabjit," he said. Mehboob recollects how he first met Sarabjit. "I first met Sarabjit in a prison van in 1990 when we were being taken to the Pakistan Supreme Court Board. He was booked under a petty offence and had to serve for three months in Gujranwala Central Jail where I was also lodged," said Mehboob. He was arrested by the Pakistani police on June 23, 1977, after he strayed into that country through the Freozepore border. "Sarabjit was just a civilian who strayed into Pakistan like me,” he said.
— UNI |
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TRS to raise Telangana Jagaran Samiti
Hyderabad, September 4 He today visited P. Varavara Rao, the former Naxalite emissary, and member of the banned Revolutionary Writers’. Organisation, currently lodged at Chanchalguda jail in the city. The Union Minister demanded the Rajasekhara Reddy government should resume negotiations with the proscribed organisations unconditionally. “I have been opposing the ban on a writers’ association from day one”, Rao justified his meeting the ultra left sympathiser in the jail. Mr Rao also announced floating a militant outfit that would work for the creation of separate state. Telangana Jagaran Sena (TJS), consisting of a lakh of disciplined members, would be trained in martial arts on the lines of the RSS. K. Umakanth, an RSS old-timer, will be the commandant for the Sena. “The Sena will consist of radical and committed Telanganites who will crystallise the dream of a separate state and would work for the reconstruction of the new state once it is formed”, Mr Chandrasekhara Rao said. After Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s lukewarm response to the TRS; demands earlier this week, Mr Rao seemed to have come up with a new weapon in the form of sena to beat the hostile Congress government in the state. The TJS activity will start with the induction of 605 preraks during a three-day training programme on September 10-12. In the second phase, a second batch of 3,630 members would undergo training this month. These members would, in turn, sponsor another 95,000, all of whom would be indoctrinated by professors from Osmania and Kakatiya Universities. The ruling as well as Opposition parties took strong exception to Mr Rao’s moves. “It is improper on his part to visit a member of a banned organisation in the jail, even while being a Union Minister. The formation of a militant sena is also a provocative step against the democratic spirit,” TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu remarked. |
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Three-cornered contest likely in Bihar Assembly poll
Patna, September 4 The RJD, the Congress, the CPM and the NCP have already made announcements in unambiguous terms that they would enter into the electoral fray jointly under the UPA banner while the LJP, the CPI, the CPI(ML) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) are holding closed-door parleys to evolve some ‘workable formula’ for seat sharing acceptable to the partners. The NDA, however, is intact as both of its partners, the BJP and the JD(U), are all set to face the battle with more vigour and confidence. The NDA claims itself to be in a better position this time following the merger of few Independents and former LJP legislators in its fold. With the emerging scenario, in which a Left Democratic Front (LDF) was taking a concrete shape, the coming assembly elections are likely to witness a triangular contest among the NDA, the UPA and the LDF. Meanwhile, CPI state council member and member of its national executive U.N. Mishra, who is negotiating with the partners, said here today that they had informally formed the Left Democratic Front (LDF). He said primary level negotiations with the partners were over and they were now negotiating the seat sharing. He said the partners were holding bilateral talks with the alliance partners to resolve the issues related to the elections. The CPI and the CPI(ML) were holding a bilateral meeting during the day on the seat sharing issue, he added. He said the LDF would have a joint campaign and were discussing to launch a common manifesto for the elections.
— UNI |
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And party ticket remains with family
Hyderabad, September 4 Mr G. Prasad from the coastal town of Vijayawada is working as an assistant to former Telugu Desam minister M. K. Baig. He was all prepared to contest the ensuing poll as a corporator with the blessings of his boss. However, he faced an unexpected hurdle when the division that he was to run for, was reserved for Scheduled Caste women. An unfazed Prasad decided to hasten his marriage plans with his fiance Swaroopa Rani so as not to miss the chance to make his political debut. The wedding was hurriedly solemnised on Wednesday night at Kanakadurga Temple in the town to enable Ms Prasad to file her candidature for the 36th division. Nominations for 96 municipalities and 11 corporations commenced today. Elections, to be held on party lines, are scheduled for September 24. Swaroopa Rani applied for the TDP ticket on Tuesday, a day before her marriage, mentioning her marital status as Ms Prasad. The date for our marriage was not decided though the engagement was already over. However, I decided to get married immediately to enable my wife to run for the poll, Mr Prasad said. |
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Keys of 87 houses given to tsunami-hit
Cuddalore, September 4 The trust has already allotted Rs 100 crore for Tsunami rehabilitation work and to build 6,000 houses in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. A total of 122 houses had already been handed over in Kerala and more than 500 were nearing completion. At Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, 340 houses were fast nearing completion, according to Swami Ramakrishnananda Puri of the mutt. District Revenue Officer M S Shanmugam, who presided, said the 87 houses at Pudukuppam village were the first lot of permanent houses to be built .
— PTI |
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Residents warned against terror attacks
Kolkata, September 4 The police chief gave this warning in the wake of the arrest of Mohammad Siraj and Seikh Nasir Ali, two terrorists, belonging to the Al-Quida group in the Tiljala area. They were found collecting funds in the name of Al- Quida Pacific International (AQPI) and distributing Osaman bin Laden’s letters and leaflets with his call for strengthening the outfit for “striking the final blow to the Bush and the Blair Administrations”. The police said Siraj had admitted that he belonged to Harkat-ul-Jeshad-e- islami (HUJI) and was now collecting funds for the AQPI and recruiting young men and women in Bangladesh, Nepal and India. It was further revealed that Siraj had been assisted by one Sekh Nasir Ali and some other Bangladeshis who had attended the Tab league-a-jamat ( dharmasikha) at Tungi in Bangladesh in January last along with some one hundred active members of the action squads of the ISI and other militants groups, the police said. Both Siraj and Nasir are in police custody for further investigation. Nasir was arrested from Tapsia on August 10 while collecting funds and distributing similar pamphlets. Afterwards Siraj was detained from a hotel on Jakaria Street in central Kolkata’s Chitpur area. Siraj, originally a resident of Jhamparan district in Bihar who was carrying with him a Bangladesh passport, had been travelling extensively in Bangladesh, Nepal and Dhubai. The police claimed that the Al- Quida and some other militant groups had sneaked into the city and had been trying to build their operational networks. |
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Arjun for compulsory primary education for girls
New Delhi, September 4 “It is necessary for every civil society to understand that a nation can only progress if the women are literate, since a child learns his words from the mother,” Mr Arjun Singh said while inaugurating a national seminar on “Education for women and
girlchild”, organised by Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation here. Supreme Court Judge, Mr Justice
B.N. Srikrishna, who presided over the inaugural session, also emphasised the need to make the universalisation of education a national goal by providing equal opportunity of learning to the
girlchild, saying the empowerment of women could not be possible as long as they were deprived of their right to education. Justice Srikrishna said though the Constitution guaranteed the right of education to woman and children under Article 15(3), 21A and other provisions, it was unfortunate that a large section of them, specially from weaker sections, were deprived of elementary education. Former National Woman Commission chairperson Mohini Giri urged the government to ease the unnecessary restrictions on NGOs on opening of the schools in rural and semi-urban areas. The day-long seminar deliberated on various issues, including ensuring universal primary education by 2015 as per the UN Millennium Development Goals set up in 2000, promotion of gender equality and empowerment of woman and targeting the elimination of gender bias, specially in choice of sending the boy child to school and holding back the girl to do domestic chores in rural areas. Mr Murlidhar C
Bhandare, a Supreme Court senior advocate and former MP, who is the managing trustee of Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation, in his welcome address, said it was the obligation of the government to make the female literacy programme a success and take it up on a war footing to ensure social justice to women. |
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No lengthy question papers, says CBSE
New Delhi, September 4 CBSE Chairman Ashok Ganguly said students taking class X and XII examination from 2006 onwards would get the question papers 15 minutes before the start of the examinations so that they were able to organise themselves before attempting to answer. Noting that greater emphasis on speed was one of the main causes of stress, Mr Ganguly said the board had decided to do away with lengthy question papers gradually and within the next two years students would be able to finish the three-hour paper in two-and-half hours. The extra time could be utilised for revision, he added. "In order to reduce the year-end burden, we have also decided to give 20 per cent weightage to internal assessment in several subjects," Mr Ganguly said after the presentation of the CBSE Award to Teachers-2004 today. He said while a go-ahead for internal assessment in social sciences had already been given, internal assessment in Mathematics and Science was likely to start from the 2007 session and this would be followed by languages in the 2008 academic session. Another innovation in the pipeline was to provide students with a choice of different levels of the same subject on the lines of class XII English (Elective and Core) at the moment. Mr Ganguly said at the moment the board had identified 10 subjects, including three for class X, in which students would have a choice to choose the level of difficulty from 2007 academic session onwards.
— UNI |
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Centre optimistic of talks with Hurriyat
Varanasi, September 4 The Centre was for all political forces joining the mainstream for unitedly working to restore normalcy in the state and the talks with the Hurriyat should be seen as the government’s efforts in this direction, Union Minister of State for Home Sri Prakash Jaiswal told reporters here. He said the increase in number of tourists and the extended duration of Amarnath yatra bore witness to the fact that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was returning to normalcy. Condemning the Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh yesterday in which 24 paramilitary personnel were killed, he said it was a cowardice act to circumvent the economic development which was under way in these regions under various Central projects. On the security of the sensitive Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex, Mr Jaiswal said the security of the complex was the responsibility of the state government. To a query on the Assembly election in Bihar, he said he was confident that the UPA alliance would form the next government in the state. Asked to comment on LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan’s proposed bid to form a front with Left parties in the coming Assembly elections against both RJD-led alliance and NDA, the minister said it was for Mr Paswan to make up his mind whether his party would join the UPA alliance. However, he parried a question on whether the LJP chief would be
shown the door if he failed to fall in line with the UPA. — PTI |
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Centre to amend law to check miracle ads
Chennai, September 4 He said the process to amend the law was under way and it would be done within six to eight months. Dr Ramadoss said, “The law will be applicable to both allopathic as well as Indian systems of medicines. People spent huge sums of money lured by such advertisements and at times some ailments are cured just because of the placebo effect.” Describing the deaths of children at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh due to an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis as “unfortunate”, he said a control room with the assistance of World Health Organisation had been set up and short-term as well long-term measures were being taken to prevent the outbreak of the disease. Asked whether the Central Government was not banning tobacco because of the revenue it earned from sale of tobacco, he replied, “Personally, I will feel happy if all tobacco products are banned as they did in Bhutan. As far as the government’s view is concerned it has to be done within the next 10 to 15 years as 40 per cent of all ailments are due to tobacco consumption.” Talking about the problems faced by his Ministry, he said patenting of Indian herbs by foreign companies was a great inconvenience. “We do not have any protection today against patenting of Indian products. All they (foreign drug companies) need is a person with knowledge of Sanskrit and a lawyer to obtain a patent,” he said while adding, “we had to spend $ 600,000 (US) to de-patent turmeric.” Dr Ramadoss said as a part of preventive measure against this menace a Trade Knowledge Digital Laboratory was being built at a cost of Rs 10 crore. |
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FIR against boy who claimed to have topped NASA test
Lucknow, September 4 Ballia Superintendent of Police Prakash D. said over the telephone a case has been registered under Section 419 of the IPC against Saurabh on Friday for falsely claiming to have topped the NASA examination in January this year. The FIR was lodged by the Nagra police station Head Constable Uday Pratap, who was investigating the case and had visited the Bansal Classes coaching institute at Kota in Rajasthan in this regard.
— UNI |
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Fate had something else coming for him
Dahod (Gujarat), September 4 The bulk of the Dawoodi Bohri community of 35,000 in this town of around one lakh people had been waiting since morning to receive the mortal remains of the 21-year-old local lad who had left for the greener pastures of the USA in 2003 and returned embalmed in a box. Flown in from Mumbai to Vadodara and therefrom by road to this town embedded in the tribal belt of Gujarat, his mortal remains were accompanied by his American soldier wife, Esther. Draped in a white shirt and a scarlet long skirt, the tall, black widow kept her face covered as she kept pace with Islamic customs through the entire period of her presence in her husband’s hometown. Though the body arrived here around 11 am the ritual janaza was taken out after the afternoon prayers with the American Consul -General in Mumbai, Michael Owen, and other consulate officials in attendance. The American Government greatly appreciates the services of the young soldier, expresses it’s grief and will take care of his family, he said. Born into a family of average, Hatim worked his way up even as his father, Shiraz, sought to make two ends meet stitching clothes. After completing his degree in computer engineering from Madurai Karmaj University, Chennai, Hatim dreamt of doing his masters in IT, said family friend Zohar Lanewala. He, had managed to work his way to America with the help of his uncle Nooruddin. He, however, needed to fund his studies at Dallas and opted to join the US Army for this purpose. Enrolled as an army specialist, Hatim was doing duty in Iraq with the 703 forward support battalion, 4th brigade combat team of the 3rd infantry division, when a rocket attack on August 22 put a full stop to his dreams and life both. Though the father tried to put up a brave face, the two sisters were inconsolable. While the elder one Khadija is studying medicine in Surendranagar, the younger Habiba is studying commerce in Ahmedabad. Sources in the family said unknown to them, Hatim had got married only a few months ago and his wife, who was visiting her in-laws for the first time, seemed a trifle dazed, perhaps caught up in alien surroundings. Hatim’s father, who leads a retired life, did not
foresee the danger that comes with the life in the armed forces. It hit him for the first time when he received an e-mail on August 24. This was being done in accordance with his last wishes, voiced from his army hospital bed in Bagdad the family was informed. As per US Army norms, Hatim’s body was first taken to Washington DC to complete last formalities including the army ceremonial honour for it’s dead. Since his father had closed shop quite some time ago, Hatim was the sole bread earner of the family. American promises notwithstanding, a long and arduous haul awaits the family in his absence. |
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CPM panel approves Buddha’s moves
New Delhi, September 4 “All actions that have been taken by the West Bengal Chief Minister are in accordance with the resolutions adopted by the (recent) party congress. But we have to be careful on the manner in which certain statements are being made,” party Politburo member Sitaram Yechury told reporters on the concluding day of the three-day Central Committee meet here. The CPMs caution came in the wake of Mr Bhattacharjee’s remarks on reform which were perceived to be at variance with the party’s known stand on the issue. A written report by Mr Bhattacharjee was discussed in depth by the Politburo and the committee and “there is no dispute in the party on his statements during his visit to Singapore and Indonesia and the stand of the West Bengal government on
FDI”, he said. Mr Yechury had said yesterday that there were no differences in the party over the acquisition of land for Indonesia-based Salem Group for setting up various projects in West Bengal, adding that no prime agricultural land would be given for setting up the industries.
— PTI |
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CITU opposes corporatisation of security press
New Delhi, September 4 “This is an enabling step to privatisation,” the CITU said to the government move to go for a mega single entity corporatisation of all nine security printing press and minting units in the country. The CPM affiliated trade union said the Cabinet decision to extend Rs 700 crore interest free loans was a no secret step to revamping the organisation. “Stated objectives in operations and management can be attained by keeping the establishment as a government department,” it said. |
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NCM chief’s plea on Pak passengers
New Delhi, September 4 |
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Blair’s visit may enhance Indo-UK ties
New Delhi, September 4 Mr Blair will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. He will also call on President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and meet some other ministers. The British Prime Minister will be accompanied by a large business delegation and will address a joint EU-India business submit. Mr Blair is currently the president of the European Union. Mr Blair will be
visiting India after two-and-half years.
— PTI |
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MP lifts ban on tridents
Bhopal, September 4 Chief Minister Babulal Gaur Yesterday directed the Home Department to denotify the ban imposed during the Congress rule in the state on August 12, 2002, official sources said.
— PTI |
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