Friday, August 25, 2006, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Showdown in Lok Sabha
*Brazen display of muscle and lung power
*Speaker warns MPs, adjourns House twice
New Delhi, August 24
The country’s highest legislature was witness to unprecedented scenes when RJD and JD(U) members virtually came to blows in the Lok Sabha today, necessitating two adjournments and the target of the attack, Prabhunath Singh, tendering his resignation to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

TV image of agitated RJD MPs walking towards the well of the Lok Sabha (centre); and talking to the Press outside Parliament House, JD (U) MP Prabhunath Singh (left) and RJD MP Sadhu Yadav (right) in New Delhi on Wednesday. — PTI photo

India: The Tasks Ahead
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
125TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS,
INAUGURAL SESSION

Quitting, Prabhunath dares Lalu
New Delhi, August 24
Even as Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee threw the resignation of Prabhunath Singh in the wastepaper basket, the JD(U) leader dared Union Railway Minister and RJD supremo to resign and face him in elections in Bihar.

Bandh in Amritsar over haircut of Sikh

Amritsar, August 24 National president of the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat Gurcharn Singh Gill has claimed that the Rajasthan Government has agreed in principle to include chapters on the significance of turban and “kesh” (hair) in the syllabus at school level with a view to generating awareness among the non-Sikhs.

Activists of Sikh organisations brandish swords and raise slogans during a protest against the cutting of hair of a Sikh youth, in Amritsar on Thursday.  — Photo by Rajiv Sharma

Nation page Haircut: SGPC seeks Saudi action Haircut of Sikh boy rocks House Congress fomenting Hindu-Sikh row: BJP Accused in forcible haircut of Sikh arrested Editorial: Respect others’ feelings

MSP for paddy raised by Rs 40 per quintal
New Delhi, August 24
The minimum support price (MSP) for paddy for the Kharif season has been raised by Rs 40 to Rs 650 a quintal, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar announced in the Rajya Sabha today.

Medicos go on strike, patients bear the brunt
New Delhi, August 24
A little after 9 am today, when OPDs began functioning at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here, anxiety was palpable in front of corridors, where patients awaited their turn, and inside, where a harried administration tried to ensure minimal disruption of services, as hundreds of resident doctors went on a mass casual leave.

RAF personnel drag agitating medicos during the anti-reservation demonstration outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi on Thursday. — PTI photo

Nation page Protesting medical, engg students cane-charged

12 detained passengers Mumbai-born
New Delhi, August 24
All 12 persons detained in Amsterdam following a security alert on a US airliner were Mumbai-born, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said today.

12 Indian passengers released

Heavy rainfall brings down mercury in region Chandigarh, August 24 Breaking long dry spell, many parts of Punjab were today lashed by rains, with Ludhiana turning out to be the wettest place in the region. Ludhiana received 33 mm of rain and the maximum temperature there plummeted to 32.4 degrees Celsius, three degrees below the normal range, the Meteorological Department said here. Weather page: Widespread rain in region