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Lakhs protest against cartoons
Left offers NCP 2 Assembly seats
in
Chirac-PM talks today
Sangma wins Tura LS
seat
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Bird flu: PM, Sonia keeping tab
A view of the damage caused by an explosion at platform number two of the Ahmedabad railway station on Saturday midnight. — PTI photo
Clinton meets Manmohan
PM serves chicken kebab to Clinton
Tarapur power plants restarted
Ahamed leaves for Iran
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Lakhs protest against cartoons
Lucknow, February 19 Addressing a rally in front of Vidhan Bhavan, he urged the protesters to fight tooth and nail the cartoon conspiracy against Islam as well as the anti-Iran stand taken by the government. Muslim clerics once again reiterated their demand that the UPA government severed ties with Denmark, where a local daily published the caricatures. Maulana Jawwad said if the government failed to do so, it would amount to a conspiracy against the Muslim electorate. Imam of the historic Tilewali Masjid, Maulana Fazlur Rahman said the cartoon controversy was purposely started to divert the attention of the Muslim world from the more heinous crimes being committed by the USA and its European allies in Iraq and now in Iran. The speakers urged the Muslims across the globe to rise against what they described as the “Western conspiracy aimed at denigrating Islam”. BSP chief Mayawati also came down heavily on the UPA government for its foreign policy and said India would not be forgiven if it surrendered its independent energy policy under US pressure. She also urged the Central Government to take a firm stand against the Denmark Government and the publication concerned. Samajwadi Party youth leaders came out in the streets in Kannauj to participate in the protest rally against the Iran vote. The rally was led by local MP and son of the Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Life came to a standstill in the capital city as lakhs of people poured in from neighbouring districts to take part in the protest march and rally jointly organised by Muslim organisations. This extraordinary show of strength saw Shias and Sunnis come together. The procession started from the Tilewali Masjid and ended in a rally at the state legislature building. Around one lakh protesters swamped the 3-km stretch leading to the Vidhan Bhavan. All bridges over the river Gomti were closed. Heavy security arrangements were made to prevent any untoward incident. According to a PTI report, the protesters also fired some shots in the air and partially damaged a hotel and a coffee shop as they marched towards the sate assembly. |
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Left offers NCP 2 Assembly seats
in W. Bengal
New Delhi, February 19 Leaving nothing to chance, the CPM’s move to rope in NCP is being done to not only ensure the Left front’s victory but also to begin the exercise for an eventual formation of a third front at the national level, sources said. The NCP, conscious of the Left’s problems in West Bengal on account of the Election Commission’s promise of conducting a free and fair poll in the coming Assembly election, is understood to be bargaining hard to get more than two Assembly seats. Negotiations are currently being conducted in the national Capital and a formal announcement is expected to be announced in the next few days, sources said. The Left and the NCP have been coming close to each ever since CPM general secretary Prakash Karat assumed charge of the party. The CPM leader is in touch with NCP general secretary and spokesman Devi Prasad Tripathi. Knowing well that the CPM is keen to sow the seeds of a third front, NCP chief Sharad Pawar has entrusted the task of evolving an electoral and ideological understanding with the Left parties to Mr Tripathi. The Left has offered two seats to NCP but has not accepted Mr K. Karunakaran’s party in the LDF in Kerala because it is sure of an electoral victory there. |
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Chirac-PM talks today
New Delhi, February 19 The icing on the cake, however, will be the signing of a declaration of intent on Indo-French cooperation in nuclear energy and a formal agreement for India purchasing 43 Airbus aircraft from France. The two principals — Mr Chirac and Dr Manmohan Singh — are scheduled to have delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House tomorrow which will be followed by their joint press conference. France is the only P5 country which is not only a strong supporter of the Indian quest for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council but also a sponsorer of the G4 resolution to this effect which was recently re-tabled by the Group. Mr Chirac visited the French embassy here in the evening where a business agreement between Airbus Industrie and Kingfisher Airline was signed in his presence. There were signals already that the Indo-French ties were on course and nothing dramatic is going to happen during President Chirac's visit. This was evident by the fact Mr Chirac and his wife were received at the airport by Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal and Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma. This was in stark contrast to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's gesture of doing away with protocol when he himself received Saudi King Abdullah at the airport during the King's state visit to India three weeks ago. Also, with the turban issue still a major sore point among the Sikhs, the Prime Minister could have barely afforded such diplomatic gestures to Mr Chirac. Moreover, differences remain between India and France over signing the pact on civil nuclear cooperation. Initially, the French appeared to be inclined to sign a nuclear energy pact with India but the waters appear to have been muddied recently by recent comments of US Ambassador David C Mulford and the differences over references to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). But unlike the US, no parliamentary process are involved in the case of France to clear the nuclear energy issue.
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Sangma wins Tura LS
seat
New Delhi, February 19 In Maharashtra, Congress nominee Kalidas Kolambkar emerged victorious
in the Naigaum Assembly byelection by defeating Shiv Sena candidate
Sharddha Jadhav by over 22,000 ballots while the Sena reversed positions
in Shrivardhan with Tukaram Surve beating Congress’ Shyam Sawant by
15,752 votes.
The Mohammadabad Assembly bypoll in Ghazipur district of Uttar
Pradesh went to the BJP.
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Bird flu: PM, Sonia keeping tab
New Delhi, February 19 Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the Prime Minister and Congress President Sonia Gandhi were keeping a close tab on the situation, adding that the National Disaster Management Authority had also started functioning in the same way as it did at the time of the Tsunami
disaster. A round-the-clock control room has also been set up to monitor the situation.
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25 injured in railway station blast
Ahmedabad, February 19 The explosion occurred on platform No. 2/3 at 1.43 am, they said, adding that the victims sustained minor injuries and only three were undergoing treatment while others were discharged after first-aid. The cause of the explosion was being investigated, the railway sources said, adding that senior railway officials had reached the site to oversee the rescue and relief work. There were no trains at the platforms when the explosion took place, the police said. Director-General of Police A.K. Bhargava said no organisation has claimed responsibility for the blast so far. Asked whether RDX was used in the blast, he said it was not a “crude device”.
— PTI |
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Clinton meets Manmohan
New Delhi, February 19 Dr Manmohan Singh hosted a lunch in honour of Mr Clinton, who is here in connection with the wedding of New York-based hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal’s son Vikram Chatwal with Priya Sahchdev. The Indian Government and former US President Bill Clinton announced plans to train nurses in AIDS care and treatment through a partnership between NACO and the Clinton Foundation. Mr Clinton and NACO Director-General Sujatha Rao made this announcement at AIIMS, where they also interacted with AIDS patients and healthcare workers. |
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PM serves chicken kebab to Clinton
New Delhi, February 19
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Tarapur power plants restarted
Mumbai, February 19 In a statement issued here, the NPCIL stated that the two 160 MW units were renovated in a record time of four and half months before being reconnected. The two plants together provide power at the rate of Rs 1.03 per unit. The NPCIL had originally planned to complete the job in six months. The NPCIL, along with other units of Department of Atomic Energy carried out a comprehensive safety re-evaluation of the plant encompassing diverse areas like design, ageing studies, seismic re-evaluation, fire and flood analysis to bring the plant to the current levels of safety standards. |
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Ahamed leaves for Iran
New Delhi, February 19 Mr Ahamed’s trip assumes significance as it comes soon after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement in Parliament, explaining why India voted against Iran.
— TNS |
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