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Hyderabad blasts
Armies of India,
Myanmar start joint border patrols
Copter deal
Three hurt in Kolkata flyover collapse
Karat: Indira’s bank policy undermined
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Kannada starlet set for fresh political innings
CISF opens its own intelligence school
Accreditation: UGC move bares govt inadequacy
Villagers up in arms against Centre over N-plant in Gujarat
Jantar Mantar
Lord Balaji is recession-proof
Tribals get right to sell tendu leaves in Maharashtra
Uncertainty over DRDO scientist’s release
Rs 270.05 crore for Union ministers’ travel this year
Rave Busts
Pawar will be ready to become PM in case of consensus: Patel
2 held for supplying mobile to ‘Maoist’ prisoner
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NIA to grill 2 suspects lodged in Nellore jail
Suresh Dharur/TNS
Hyderabad, March 3 The NIA team, which took over the investigation from the state police, obtained some key information from the two alleged operatives of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) who were brought here from Tihar jail for questioning. The inputs provided by them led the interrogators to two other suspects who are now lodged in a jail in Nellore town in connection with other terror cases. They are now being brought here for quizzing in connection with the twin blasts that rocked the crowded Dilsukhnagar area on February 21. The IM operatives brought from Tihar jail, Syed Maqbool and Imran Khan, are being questioned at an undisclosed location. They are believed to be among the four members arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police in October 2011 in connection with the Pune blasts. The interrogation has revealed that they had conducted a recce of at least 12 important public places in Hyderabad for possible terror attacks. The popular spots included Tank Bund, connecting Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Begum Bazar, Dilsukhnagar, Ranigunj, and Abids. The attacks were to be carried out at the behest of IM commander Riyaz Bhatkal who is said to be operating from Pakistan. While pursuing different leads in the Dilsukhnagar blasts case, the NIA, investigating several cases of terror attacks in the country, decided to question the two as they were accused of conducting a recce in Hyderabad. Vital lead
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Armies of India,
Myanmar start joint border patrols
India and China have for long competed for access to natural resources like gas in Myanmar and a toe-hold in the strategically located country. Myanmar sits at the mouth of the Straits of Mallaca from where crude oil-laden tankers make their way to China and India. The Indian Army and the Myanmar army (named Tatmadaw in Myanmarese) have started joint patrolling without fanfare in the last week of January. This is the first such tie-up by the Indian Army along any of India’s borders. The patrols are being conducted in close coordination and is spread all along the border - from the northern-most point in Arunachal Pradesh and to southern edge bordering Tripura. The terrain is rugged, forested and infested with wild animals. The proposal to coordinate patrolling along the border by the Indian and Myanmarese armies was agreed upon by both countries at the last regional border committee (RBC) - December 5-7, 2012. This was the first major breakthrough for the RBC that was established last year. The General Officer Commanding (GoC), 3 Corps, heads it on the Indian side. The GOC interacts with his counterpart in Myanmar every six months. Officials here explained the utility of joint patrolling saying that the free movement regime between tribal-populated pockets in India and Myanmar was being misused by anti-national persons. Since tribal affinities prevail on either side of the border, both countries on a reciprocal basis allow movement of people across the border into either territory up to a distance of 16 km. Though this facilitates the tribals, New Delhi has faced the rough end of the stick. Indian insurgent groups and terrorist groups have used the porous border to set up camps within Myanmar in league with extremists groups like the Kachins there. “Illegal flow of drugs, contraband and weapons is undertaken by these outfits. Without the backing of real-time information that is available with Myanmar, it will not be possible to track down illegal trade and insurgent groups,” officials here said. The armies of both nations have had substantive relations since the early 1990s, largely due to geographical contiguity and the precarious security situation in India’s Northern-Eastern states of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur that border Myanmar. Secondly, China has a strong foothold in Myanmar. India has also had an arms-equipment supply-based relationship with the Myanmar armed forces while the Myanmar navy is invited to the Indian Navy exercise ‘Milan’ - primarily of navies of countries located east of India. Apart from the unofficial trade, India and Myanmar signed a border trade agreement in 1994 and have two operational border trade points - Moreh-Tamu and Zowkhatar-Rhi along the border. A third border trade point is proposed to be opened at Avakhung-Pansat/Somrai. According to official Indian estimates, the border trade has expanded significantly and was US $1.3 billion (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2011-12. India's imports from Myanmar are dominated by pulses. In October 2008, it was agreed that border trade at the existing points would be upgraded to normal trade so as to promote bilateral trade between the two countries. The first meeting of the India-Myanmar Border Trade Committee was held in Moreh, Manipur, on November 8, 2012, where security issues along the border were raised.
Strengthening ties
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Probe ex-Defence Secy’s role too, says VK Singh
Tribune News Service
He was reacting to a query by mediapersons on the naming of former Air Force Chief SP Tyagi in a CBI preliminary inquiry, at local Desh Bhagat Yadgaar Hall. General Singh was in the city in connection with social activist Anna Hazare’s proposed tour of Punjab scheduled from March 31 to raise awareness among people against corruption. General Singh said attempts were being made to close the Tatra scam inquiry apparently to protect individuals within the government responsible for alleged irregularities in the procurement process. Each Tatra truck was given to the Army at a cost of Rs 1 crore whereas its value was just Rs 25 lakh, he said adding that the CBI should inquire into the irregularities in the procurement of these trucks. Going one step further, General Singh said: “One will find scam in every other purchase for the Army but the role of Army officials in such scams is negligible, as a majority of those involved in such scams are civilians.” People should put pressure on the government to provide autonomy to the CBI and pass the Jan Lokpal Bill to make the country corruption-free. “The head of the Jantantra Morcha, Anna Hazare, will visit Punjab from March 31 to awaken the masses against corruption,” he added. “Dr Manmohan Singh had assured Anna Hazare of making certain strong provisions in the proposed Lokpal Bill but many such provisions have not been included in the Bill. Such a Bill is of no use.”
IAF officer to join probe
Officials from the Indian Air Force and the Defence Accounts Department will join a special CBI team formed to probe the allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal as the investigating agency prepares to examine suspects named in its preliminary inquiry. An IAF officer will join the CBI team along with some officials from the Controller General of Defence Accounts to examine the documents collected from Milan as well as from Italian-based Finmeccanica, parent company of AgustaWestland helicopter.
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Three hurt in Kolkata flyover collapse
Kolkata, March 3 The collapse caused problems for air travellers as they struggled to reach the Netaji Subhas International Airport. The stretch remained closed to traffic throughout the day and vehicles were diverted through a small road. Those injured included the driver of a truck that was going towards Jessore Road when the bridge collapsed adjoining the canal near Salt Lake around 4 am. The flyover, built at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore, was inaugurated on December 5, 2011 - the eve of the last Assembly elections - by former Chief Minister Budhadeb Bhattacharjee in the presence of Jyoti Basu. It was constructed by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) in partnership with a public sector undertaking. The Trinamool Congress and the CPM remained locked in blame game, blaming each other for the incident. The CPM criticised that the bridge had not been under proper supervision and maintenance for the past two years, while the TMC alleged that the bridge was built hurriedly on the eve of the election by the ruling Left, compromising with the integrity of the flyover. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has ordered a high-level inquiry and said those responsible for the incident would be dealt with firmly.
Had Developed Crack
earlier
Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, who visited the scene, said a crack was detected in the flyover over a year ago and examined by experts of Jadavpur University. The problem then was not related to maintenance but a technical fault in the bolt system, he said.
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Karat: Indira’s bank policy undermined
Ranchi, March 3 “....The RBI has been asked to decide who should be given licence to open banks, which were nationalised by Indira Gandhi,” Karat said addressing a meeting as part of his nationwide “Sangharsh Sandesh Jatha”. “Common people are reeling under distress following price rise, the government employees have a sense of insecurity of losing jobs following government policies and the youth worry over increasing unemployment, and the government is going on (the path of) privatisation,” he said. Karat claimed the recent increase in diesel prices by rupee one on bulk purchases would affect state transport corporations and the Railways, resulting in fare and freight hike. The Sangharsh Sandesh Jatha’s aim was to pass on the message that with the support of common people, the Left Front could provide alternative policies to mitigate “all their problems”, he said. The Centre had hinted through the Budget that fertiliser subsidies would be cut and petroleum prices hiked, Karat
said. — PTI
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Kannada starlet set for fresh political innings
Bangalore, March 3 Pooja (29) has a number of Kannada movies to her credit as a heroine. She first tried her luck with the Janata Dal (Secular) but she had to quit the party at the instance of another Kannada film actress who has better access to the JD(S) leadership. Pooja then joined the Karnataka Janata Party launched by disgruntled BJP leader and former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa. There she rubbed the formidable Shobha Karandlaje in a wrong way resulting into her exit from the KJP. When Yeddyurappa became Chief Minister of Karnataka in 2008, the power wielded by Shobha, the lone woman member of the cabinet, annoyed many of the other ministers who revolted against Yeddyurappa. The BJP central leadership had to intervene and Shobha had to be axed from the government to bring the situation under control. When Yeddyurappa, who had to quit the CM’s post following corruption charges, was becoming restless and started showing signs of resentment against the BJP, the top leadership of saffron party requested Shobha to stop Yeddyurappa from playing truant. Shobha, who recently resigned from her post as power minister of Karnataka and has joined Yeddyurappa’s KJP, has ensured that Pooja leaves the KJP. Apparently Pooja wanted to contest in the coming Assembly elections from the Yeswantpur constituency in Bangalore which is now represented in the Assembly by Shobha. After it became clear to Pooja that Yeddyurappa would no way sacrifice Shobha’s interest to promote Pooja, the actress left the KJP. So, the actress today joined the BSR (Badavara Shramikara Raitha) in Bellary. This is her third party within three months.
Third time lucky!
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CISF opens its own intelligence school
Ghaziabad, March 3 So far, the central armed police force has depended on intelligence inputs from other organisations like the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the BSF and the CRPF. In the past, the CISF has been sending some of its personnel for training in the intelligence schools of these organisations, in spite of which there was an existing shortage of trained personnel. To begin with, the faculty of the CISF 'Intelligence Training School' will comprise of instructors from the IB and some other espionage agencies. The CISF, which came into existence in 1969 through a Parliament Act, provides security to vital nuclear installations, space establishments, airports, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, seaports, power plants and sensitive government buildings. The force is also guarding public sector mining establishments in the Naxal affected areas of Chhattisgarh and other states. The minister said: "The intelligence training school is important for gaining information about any impending terror attack. Without intelligence inputs, it will not be possible to discover the movements of the Naxals." CISF Director-General Rajiv said the school would provide training to 1,500 personnel of its crime and intelligence wings, who are deployed across various establishments of the force across the country. "To provide specialised training, we will associate the faculties of other agencies like the IB, BSF, CRPF and the state police. This is being done in the initial stages of capacity building," he said. CISF officers said the school would be a boost for their intelligence wing, as they were earlier dependant on other security organisations for the training. "Suppose we send proposals to these agencies for training 20 of our men, only three to four will get approved. We will have to wait for a long time before we can send our men for the training. The other agencies specialised in their own field and would cater to their personnel first. So, the training of our men remained incomplete," said the officers.
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Accreditation: UGC move bares govt inadequacy
New Delhi, March 3 The Tribune inquiries reveal that the government’s current accreditation capacity is around 50 times less than what is annually required. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has now called a meeting of state chief secretaries on March 6 to discuss expansion of accreditation capacity for successful introduction of the mandatory accreditation regime in India. With new regulations in place, only accredited institutions will be eligible for UGC funding and recognition. The Centre has - in a recent letter - asked states to adopt similar norms saying they should make mandatory accreditation a norm for funding of state universities. India has around 300 state universities. But the question is - who will accredit so many institutions considering the regulations give only six months to institutions to apply and another six months to accreditation agencies to complete the process. By July 19 this year, all HEIs must apply. Secretary, Higher Education, Ashok Thakur has in his letter to state chief secretaries admitted to the abysmally low coverage of accreditation in India. “As the present system of accreditation is voluntary, only one-fifth of all colleges and one-third of all universities in the country have obtained accreditation,” he wrote. India has 37,000 colleges and 640 universities according to latest UGC data of which only 7,400 colleges and 213 universities are presently accredited. As many as 29,600 colleges and 427 universities will have to obtain accreditation from the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC), the main accreditation agency of India which accredited only 592 institutions in 2011. The residual load is a whopping 30,027 HEIs - 50 times more than the present capacity. “What was the haste in notifying the regulations with the infrastructure not in place,” asked a college principal. Sources in the HRD Ministry said the Centre would support states in setting up accreditation agencies and fund these through the newly created Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan for which the Budget has allocated Rs 400 crore. “States must ensure that Higher Education Councils are functioning. These councils should assess the requirement of accreditation in each state and send a report to RUSA Mission Board for funding for accreditation,” the Centre’s letter to states says. There is also a plan to set up regional centres of NAAC in states. But one problem is that UGC Regulations provide for accreditation only by agencies created through Acts of Parliament and not state Acts.
Thoughtless move
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Villagers up in arms against Centre over N-plant in Gujarat
Ahmedabad, March 3 The Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, an organisation working for environment protection, and several voluntary organisations are mobilising people to stage dharna to stop government officials from carrying out public hearing scheduled on Tuesday and drop the nuclear power project altogether. According to samiti convener Rohit Prajapati, the notice for public hearing had been issued only to the people of 24 villages while the impact of the nuclear power plant would be felt in all 152 villages in the region. It was also estimated that out of the 877 hectares of land required for the six reactors of the power plant, including 100 hectares required for the township for the staff members, nearly 80 per cent of the land proposed to be acquired was fertile land that was giving at least two fruit crops a year to the farmers. There was also a chunk of forest land that could not be given for the nuclear power project. Aided by the samiti, the local people have raised objections how government-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited gave a non-accredited consultant like the Engineers India Limited to prepare the Environment Impact Assessment Report (EIA) for the proposed Mithi Virdi nuclear project. Besides pointing out loopholes in the EIL report, the samiti, in a letter to Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, the Union Environment Department Secretary and others, has also quoted a recent judgment of the Himachal Pradesh High Court directing the pollution control board in that state to “ensure that whenever a public hearing is held, the people of the area are well informed about the public hearing and they are also informed about the benefits and the ill-effects of the project. The pollution control board must have its own machinery and own scientists who should give an independent opinion on the pros and cons of the project.” Claiming that in the case of Mithi Virdi project many of the local people likely to be affected by the project had not even been informed about the pubic hearing, the samiti urged the Union Environment Minister to direct the officials concerned to immediately cancel the public hearing, reject the environment assessment impact report by a non-accredited consultant and pull up the Nuclear Power Corporation for such “illegal actions”. Uncertain about the government’s next move, the voluntary organisations, however, have planned a massive demonstration when the government officials come for the hearing on Tuesday while the state government machinery is gearing up to prevent any untoward incident on that day. The region of Mithi Virdi had already demonstrated people’s power when they successfully launched an agitation a couple of years back to stall the Narendra Modi government’s move to allocate fertile land to a private company to set up a cement plant. THE CAUSE
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Jantar Mantar The upcoming anti-rape ordinance with stringent provisions for sexual assault cases is currently the subject of animated discussion among Parliamentarians. Like the Women’s Reservations Bill, the upcoming Criminal Law Amendment Bill has raised the hackles of most male MPs across the political spectrum who would only be too happy to see that the proposed legislation is put in cold storage. The Samajwadi Party (SP) , which led the campaign against the women’s quota bill, has been most vociferous in opposing the anti-rape law on the plea it will be used to harass men and misused like the Anti-Dowry Act. “Given the divide it will create, we will have to make separate paths for men and women to walk on,” remarked an SP leader during a recent meeting in Parliament, stating that “even looking at a woman would be a crime.” In this context, BSP member Vijay Bahadur Singh remarked that an exception be made in the case of film stars, looking meaningfully at film actor turned politician Jaya Prada who was sitting close by. Others have suggested that it would be better if men and women are allocated separate benches in Parliament after the passage of this Bill. Shukla left squirming Bickering in BJP Most Opposition parties normally hold a media briefing after the presentation of the Union Budget to give their views on the proposals. Surprisingly, the BJP, which has fielded former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha to speak on the subject in the past, decided to do away with the annual press conference this time. Instead, Leaders of Opposition from the two Houses, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, invited media persons outside Parliament House to give their party’s reaction to the UPA government’s Budget. BJP insiders maintain that Yashwant Sinha was denied the opportunity to brief the press because of the ongoing factional battles in the party. The joint appearance by Sushma and Jaitley before the cameras was carefully orchestrated to ensure that both got joint billing and neither upstaged the other. For the record, the rivalry between Sushma and Jaitley is well-known.
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Lord Balaji is recession-proof
Hyderabad, March 3 A meeting of the TTD Trust Board, presided over by the Trust Chairman K Bapiraju, gave its nod for the budget proposals and forwarded it to the state government for ratification. This year’s budget reflects a jump of Rs 238 crore compared to the previous year. The offerings by the devotees in the temple 'Hundi' (offering box) topped the list of receipts table at Rs 859 crore while the interest on investments deposited in national banks by the TTD was estimated to account for Rs 555 crore. The temple authorities expect to net over Rs 231 crore through sale of darshan tickets and other paid rituals during the year while auction of human hair, offered by the pilgrims, is expected to fetch about Rs 200 crore for the new fiscal, Bapiraju said. The income expected to be derived from the sale of prasadams, particularly the famous laddus, is put at Rs 150 crore. Other major sources of income include interests on fixed deposits which is expected to be Rs 555.20 crore. On the expenditure side, the corpus and other investments are estimated at Rs 638 crore followed by Rs 335 crore towards wage and salaries for the financial year, Rs 190 crore has been allotted for engineering works, Rs 95 crore for Hindu Dharma Prachara Parishat, Rs 81 crore for educational institutions and Rs 46 crore for the TTD-run hospitals. TTD Executive Officer LV Subramanyam said that the focus would be on providing better amenities to pilgrims, improving the security of the temple and pilgrims, welfare of employees, “dharmic” activities and infrastructure. “More importantly, all these things will be carried out without hiking the prices of tickets or services,” the official said. The TTD has already taken up construction of Lord Venkateswara temple, a replica of Tirumala shrine, at Kurukshetra in Haryana while plans are underway for construction of Lord Balaji temples at Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and in Mumbai.
Super
rich
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Tribals get right to sell tendu leaves in Maharashtra
Mumbai, March 3 According to officials here, the decision to empower the village communities was taken in order to avoid the exploitation of tribals by contractors engaged in the collection and sale of tendu leaves. Incidentally, Gadchiroli and Gondia are hotbeds of Naxalite activity. "Contractors are avoiding these two districts
following threats from the Naxals. Produce collected by the gram sabhas will be sold by auction," says a Forest Department official from the region. Tendu leaves have been
classified as non-timber forest produce by the state government. According to officials of the Forest Department here, 81 gram sabhas have been authorised to
collect tendu leaves. The government expects to collect 6.5 lakh standard bags of tendu leaves from the two districts. However, much of the collection was undertaken by contractors in the past. "The gram
sabhas have been allowed to collect 19,000 standard bags of tendu leaves.
These will be sold at an auction next week," says a forest official. Local people who collect the tendu leaves will
not be given any wages for collecting the leaves. However, the gram sabhas are expected to reward them by giving them a
share of the proceeds from the auction. Officials say contractors will be gradually eliminated and collection of tendu leaves will be the prerogative of the gram
sabhas alone. In the past, contractors have been accused of indulging in criminal activities and even burning down forests during tendu collection. Nearly two years ago, the state government allowed villagers living in forest areas to harvest bamboo after then Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh informed that the Forest Rights Act granted them the freedom to do so.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests had classified bamboo as a grass and not a tree, thus allowing local communities to harvest and market bamboo without any hindrance from forest officials.
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Uncertainty over DRDO scientist’s release
Bangalore, March 3 “By Monday, arrangement will be made for fulfilling the pre-condition set by the court and Mirza should be walking out of the prison that day,” Akmal Rizvi, Mirza’s lawyer said. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had taken over investigation of the case from the Bangalore police and Mirza was given bail as the NIA failed to frame charges against him. Even if Mirza is discharged, the stigma that he was arrested by the police in a terror case is likely to haunt the youth. “He has already lost his job with the DRDO. The appointment has been terminated by the DRDO and no way can he get it back,” Rizvi said.
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Rs 270.05 crore for Union ministers’ travel this year
New Delhi, March 3 The provision of Rs 270.05 crore under the head “tour expenses” is for expenditure on travel by Cabinet ministers, ministers of state and ex-Prime Ministers. This also includes provision for maintenance of aircraft used for VVIPs’ travel. In 2012-13, Rs 269.94 crore was allocated for the tour expenses of Union ministers. Interestingly, the budgetary allocation for tour expenses of Union ministers was drastically reduced over the past two Budgets in comparison to the previous years, apparently due to tough fiscal situation. Rs 678.53 crore was spent under tour expenses of Union ministers in 2011-12. Fund worth Rs 5.8 crore has been earmarked for salaries of Cabinet ministers and ministers of state for the new fiscal in comparison to Rs 5.29 crore in 2012-13.
— PTI
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Don’t take media along, Maharashtra cops told
Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service
Mumbai, March 3
Last month, Director General of Police Deven Bharti issued instructions to all police stations telling them not to take mediapersons along for raids. Apart from rave parties, raiding police personnel also used to take media crews while cracking down on illegalities at pubs, lounge bars etc. Opposition parties in Maharashtra were demanding such a ban in order to prevent a media trial of persons picked up during the raids. “Not everyone found at a party is a drug user and even drug users should be given a chance to reform. But their lives are ruined if their photographs appear in public," Shiv Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe had said after a raid last year. Last year, the police authorities came in for criticism after Assistant Commissioner of Police Vishwas Nangre-Patil paraded several youngsters attending a rave party outside Mumbai before the media.
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Pawar will be ready to become PM in case of consensus: Patel
New Delhi, March 3 “If there is a situation where there is consensus on the issue, then why not, Sharad Pawarji will be certainly ready (to become Prime Minister),” he said. “But I think to talk like this now is basically wrong,” he added. Noting that Pawar would remain the NCP president and that the reins of the party would be with him even if he did not contest elections, Patel said
Pawar would be the NCP’s candidate for the post of Prime Minister. Asked if he was willing to work under Rahul Gandhi if the UPA was in majority after the General Election, Patel said, “Certainly.” To a question that he and Pawar would both be willing to work under Rahul, the Minister for Heavy Industries said, “Who will take decisions (speaking of the Congress-led UPA) is not the issue. The government runs on the basis of the largest party, the Congress is the largest party in the UPA and it does not seem that in future they won’t be the largest party.” He also said there was a similarity between the NDA and the UPA as far as the foreign policy and the economic policy are concerned. “This does not mean we are comparing the NDA and the UPA,” he said.
— PTI
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2 held for supplying mobile to ‘Maoist’ prisoner
Berhampur (Odisha), March 3 "During investigation, we came to know that the duo had supplied a mobile phone to Sangram in the jail," said Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Paralakhemundi, Gagarin Mohanty. He, however, did not elaborate how the mobile handset was sneaked into the high-security jail.
— PTI
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The probe into the Hyderabad twin bomb blasts has gathered momentum with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) rounding up two other suspects and interrogating them in connection with the deadly explosions that had left 16 dead and over 100 injured.
The Punjabi “kudi” of Kannada film industry Pooja Gandhi, desperate to launch herself as a politician, has finally found refuge in BSR Congress led by mining baron B Sriramulu with blessings from the jailed Bellary mining lord G Janardhana. Two earlier attempts of Pooja Gandhi, who was born to Punjabi parents and grew up in Meerut before shifting to Bangalore, to join politics ended in disasters after women close to the leaders of these parties scuttled her journey.
The “Lord of Seven Hills” appears to be immune to the recession. The economic downturn is not affecting the flow of offerings to Lord Venkateswara. In fact, the country’s richest temple at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh is getting richer.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), an autonomous body managing the affairs of the hill shrine, has approved the annual budget of Rs 2,248 crore for 2013-14, billed as the highest for any temple trust in the country.
New Delhi, March 3
Jalandhar, March 3
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla, who led a delegation of 12 MPs on a goodwill visit to Australia last month, encountered several embarrassing moments on the tour. For instance, Shukla was left squirming when he entrusted the harmless task of delivering the vote of thanks to DMK MP Helen Davidson at an official meal hosted for the visitors by the Australian MPs. Davidson started by thanking the Government of India for sending her on this trip, followed by a special thanks for the Lok Sabha Speaker for including her in the delegation and then went on to express her gratitude to Rajiv Shukla for his able stewardship of the group. In short, she remembered to thank everybody except their Australian hosts who had laid out a lavish spread for the Indian MPs. Shukla quickly intervened to make up for this lapse.
If there is a situation where there is consensus on the issue, then why not, Sharad Pawarji will be certainly ready (to become Prime Minister. But I think to talk like this now is basically
wrong. — Praful Patel, Union Minister