NEW DELHI, June 27
Condemning the notice issued by Delhi University against giving relaxation to students of the Sikh community in the colleges managed by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), Manjit Singh (GK), president of the DSGMC, insisted to continue the practice of giving preference to Sikh students.

He said order issued by the university for not giving relaxation to Sikh students in DSGMC colleges was arbitrary and dictatorial.

Management of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce and Mata Sundri College had been given facility to 3 to 5 per cent students of the Sikh community for the last many years.

But, these colleges were given status of minority institution by the National Commission for Minorities Education (NCME) three years back. Under such status 50 per cent seats are reserved for minority that runs the institution, he said.

But the Sikh students could not enjoy the benefit of minority status as the university has taken court stay order against the notification issued by the NCME to give minority status to the DSGMC-run colleges. The case is still in the Delhi High Court, Manjit said.

There is no direction from the court that the Sikh students should not be given any relaxation, he said.

Despite the case being pending in the court, the university in an absolutely illogical, irresponsible and dictatorial manner has issued a dictate on June 18 to the colleges that any relaxation for the Sikh students would be a violation of the court order which had not permitted admission on this basis, Manjit said.

However, Paramjit Singh Sarna said that when he was head of the DSGMC, the gurdwara committee got minority status for the colleges.

The case was contested in the court against the stay order of the university. When the new committee came, the case was withdrawn from the court, resulting in the students suffering.

Manjit denied Saran's allegation, saying that he was not aware of the fact. The case is still in the court.

New Delhi, June 27
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today exhorted party workers to work unitedly for ensuring an unprecedented fourth straight victory in the assembly polls in Delhi. She said the result of the polls in the national Capital, which is a "mini India", has greater significance as it reflects the "overall trend" in the country.

"If the Congress wins in Delhi, it becomes almost clear that the party will win in the country," she said. Dikshit also took a dig at opposition parties and said only Congress can ensure a stable government at the Centre.

She also made a strong pitch for making Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister and asked party workers to do everything possible to see that the party vice-president occupies the top post after the Lok Sabha polls next year.

Addressing a gathering of the party workers, she said all the workers will have to forget their differences and make "sacrifices" in the next 10 months to see that the Gandhi scion becomes the Prime Minister.

"We should not forget the sacrifice made by Sonia Gandhi. Nobody has sacrificed so much for the party like her. We will have to repay the debt. We will have to make Rahul the Prime Minister. For that to happen we all have to make sacrifice. We will have to help him occupy the post," she said.

Appealing to party workers to start preparations for the Lok Sabha polls scheduled to be held in April, Dikshit said they will have to make ground for convincing Rahul to become the Prime Minister as he was reluctant for it.

"Please take a resolve that you will make all possible sacrifice to make the ground for Rahul. We get energy from him. There may be differences among us but we will have to leave them aside to reach our destination," she said.

AICC general secretaries Janardan Dwivedi and Shakeel Ahmed, DPCC president J.P. Aggarwal, all Delhi ministers and senior DPCC leaders were present at the function, organised to felicitate Ahmed, the newly appointed party in charge of Delhi.

New Delhi, June 27
The DMRC will launch a special drive to raise awareness about the reserved seats for senior citizens and commuters with disabilities.

The drive will be launched at its originating stations on Saturday and Sunday to facilitate the smooth entry and seating of senior citizens and disabled inside the Metro trains.

"The drive will be will continue for a month. The stations which will be covered are Dilshad Garden, Rithala, HUDA City Centre, Jahangirpuri, Dwarka Sector 21, NOIDA City Centre and Vaishali," said a spokesperson for the DMRC.

The Delhi Metro staff will also counsel the general commuters about the importance of vacating the reserved seats for the senior citizens as well as the commuters with disabilities.

Presently, each six-coach train has a total of 64 seats reserved for the senior citizens and disabled. In the eight-coach trains, the number of reserved seats increases to 88.

As part of the drive, special teams comprising customer relations assistants and guards will be deputed at these stations to facilitate the entry and seating of the senior citizens and disabled inside the trains.

New Delhi, June 27
Delhi's mango lovers can look forward to a fascinating display of the "King of fruits - mango", as the Department of tourism, Delhi, is hosting the 25th International Mango Festival at Dilli Haat, Pitampura, from June 28 to 30.

This year the festival will be a journey down memory lane as the department will celebrate the silver jubilee. The only redeeming factor of the unbearable hot Delhi summer is the arrival of the fruit of the season, mango.

Mango growers from across the country, including Bihar, Haryana, West Bengal, Punjab, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, will gather here to display the traditional and hybrid varieties of mangoes. These traditional growers have attained expertise over generations excelling in research and propagation of this fruit.

"There will be a huge number of mangoes on display at the 25th Mango Festival. With hundreds of mouthwatering varieties to choose from, the king of fruit will win over the taste buds of the visitors," said a senior official of the tourism.

Various types of mangoes on display will include Dussehri, Langra, Chausa, Rataul, Husnara, Ramkela, Alphonso, Kesar, Safeda, Fazli, Tota Pari, Vanraj, Sirki, Suwarn, Jahangir, Neelashwari, Royal SP, Raddy Pasand, Himasagar, Kensington, Mallika, Amrapali. Neelam, Bangan Palli, Bombay Green and Aishwarya.

"The Department of Tourism organizes the festival each year, and the sole aim to organize the event is to provide exposure to the domestic mango industry. The festival also provides agro industries and food processing industries the opportunity to display their products," said the official.

The king of fruit is fast expanding its base to foreign countries also. Mangoes are much in demand in countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Amsterdam, China and Australia. India contributes about 46 per cent of total mango production in the world.