|
 |
| L
A T E S T N E W S |
Sonia saved Rahul by not naming him PM candidate: Modi
NEW DELHI: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a
sharp attack on Congress, saying it had desisted from projecting Rahul
Gandhi as its Prime Ministerial candidate as Sonia Gandhi did not want
to “sacrifice” her son politically in view of the “imminent
defeat".
The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate also responded to the
Congress’ “chai wala” jibe at him, saying all the tea vendor were
today proud that one among them was contesting for the top post.
Addressing the party’s National Council in New Delhi, he targeted
Rahul without naming him as he said that “those born in an
aristocratic family” feel below their dignity to contest against a tea
vendor coming from a backward as they have “feudal mindset".
In his 75-minute speech, Modi questioned Congress’ contention that it
was following the tradition of not naming a PM candidate as the person
should be elected by the MPs. In this regard, he referred to 1984, when
Rajiv Gandhi was declared the Prime Minister after the assassination of
his mother Indira Gandhi.
He also mentioned 2004, when Congress MPs elected Sonia Gandhi to be the
Prime Minister but she instead nominated Manmohan Singh for the top job.
“I see a human angle behind this decision of the Congress. When defeat
is imminent, which mother will sacrifice her son politically? The heart
of a mother (Sonia) decided to protect her son,” Modi said on the
ruling party’s stand of not naming Rahul as the prime ministerial
candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Attacking the UPA Government, Modi said the country has never seen such
bad days as during the last decade when corruption and inflation were at
peak and poverty was all over.
The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate said the Congress had ruled the
country for 60 years and it was now time for giving a chance to his
party for 60 months.
“For 60 years, you have chosen rulers... I appeal to the people, you
have given 60 years to rulers, now give 60 months to this ‘sevak’
(servant). It is time now for ‘sevak’,” he said while addressing
the BJP gathering at Ramlila ground.
Apparently with the Aam Aadmi Party effect in mind, Modi said democracy
so far has been “representative” but now it was time to make it
“participatory” with greater involvement of people in governance.
Taking a dig at Rahul’s contention that the Congress is a
“thought” which cannot be erased, he said he did not want to delve
into what kind of thought it is. “But the entire Congress party is in
deep thought.”
Continuing his swipe, he said, “our thought is nationalism, their
thought is dynasty”.
He also hit out at Rahul for his remark that ticket would be given to
those having the Congress in their hearts. “Our thinking is that
tickets be given to those who have the country in their hearts.”
Rahul’s other comments like ‘India is a beehive’ and ’poverty is
a state of mind’ also came in for attack from Modi. “For us, India
is our mother and the poor should be treated like god,” he said. —
PTI
Jaitley accuses Somnath Bharti of 'racism'
NEW DELHI: The BJP on Sunday accused Delhi's Law Minister Somnath Bharti of "racism" and wondered if the dharna planned by
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to demand suspension of some police officials is a ploy for "a way out of the government and get back to the streets".
Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said the Aam Admi Party (AAP) is obviously more comfortable
sitting on a dharna than working in the secretariat, noting that the past three weeks have shown that the party gets into a "self-destructive mode" at the secretariat.
"Is the planned dharna for one day a ploy to fracture its non-transparent arrangement with
the Congress? Is the AAP looking for a way out of the government and get back to the streets? Or is it exploiting the non-preparedness of
the Congress and the Home Minister into yielding to its demand," he said in a statement.
Jaitley was reacting on Kejriwal's decision to stage a dharna outside
the Home Ministry on Monday demanding action against policemen who refused to "cooperate" with Bharti in cracking down on an alleged drug and prostitution ring involving some Ugandan nationals in South Delhi.
Jaitley said Bharti has created serious problems for Africans staying in the
Capital.
"His approach appears to be a racist one. The party within days has become victim of its own unconventional style. Mobs can't take decisions. They can at best be populist," the leader said.
Bharti is at the centre of a raging row as he tried to raid an alleged drug and prostitution ring involving foreign nationals but the police refused to do his bidding citing lack of warrant.
Kejriwal has defended Bharti, saying he acted on the complaint of people, and instead accused
the police of not acting on the minister's complaint.
Jaitley said the AAP used the government formation in Delhi to create enthusiasm among its supporters across the country but its performance is becoming "embarrassing by the day".
"The party comprises of ideologists, activists, the self-opinionated and the self-righteous. Some of the supporters have joined the party or voted for it with a sense of idealism. Forming a party and running a government is very different from leading an agitation," he said.
— PTI
Midnight raid: Court orders registration of criminal case
New Delhi: A city court has ordered registration of a criminal case against unknown persons in connection with the midnight raid against African women by a group allegedly led by Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti, which accused them of being involved in prostitution.
Metropolitan Magistrate Chetna Singh ordered registration of the complaint after the women, who were allegedly assaulted in South Delhi last week, moved an application seeking registration of criminal case against Bharti and his associates.
"The police was directed to lodge an FIR under appropriate sections of
IPC after investigating the complaint," police sources said.
They said the court has ordered the registration of FIR against the persons under sections 451 (house trespass), 427 (mischief), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of IPC.
The women — two Nigerians and two Ugandans — had approached the court yesterday with the application seeking registration of FIR before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vivek
Golia who refused to accept the application and directed them to approach the police for the same.
The magistrate told them that in case police turns down their request, they can file an appropriate application before this court.
The four women along with their counsels had yesterday filed fresh application on which the court has ordered lodging of case.
The women have alleged in their petition that they were subjected to a cavity search during their medical examination at AIIMS, which was an humiliating
experience. They also alleged that Bharti and his people had asked them to give urine samples in public.
The women had earlier approached Malviya Nagar Police Station seeking action against the men, including the Law Minister, who had allegedly roughed them between 1
am and 3 am on the intervening night of January 15-16.
When asked about the matter, Bharti said, "The whole incident would have been recorded by the TV cameras present there. I don't think any of our workers hit anyone there or said anything to anyone".
— PTI
Tharoor writes to Shinde, offers full cooperation in Sunanda death probe
NEW DELHI: Union Minister Shashi Tharoor on Sunday wrote a letter to
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde offering his full cooperation in the probe into the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, saying he was "horrified to read the rampant reckless speculation" in the media.
In the letter, Tharoor said the relevant authorities be asked to expedite the investigation and come to a rapid conclusion, so that the truth emerges at the earliest regarding the death of 52-year-old Sunanda at a luxury hotel on Friday evening.
"In the midst of my mourning, I have finally had a chance to catch up with the media reports and am horrified to read the reckless speculation rampant there. I am appealing to you to issue instructions to the relevant authorities to expedite their investigation and come to a rapid conclusion so that the truth emerges at the earliest," the
Minister of State for HRD said.
"I pledge full and unstinting cooperation. Nothing short of the truth will end the indignity to which my wife and I are being subject at a time when all I seek is to be allowed to grieve in private with her and my near and dear ones," Tharoor, 57, said.
AIIMS doctors, who conducted her post-mortem, have said Sunanda had died a "sudden, unnatural" death.
A member of the autopsy team has said her body bore "some physical injuries" but it was not clear if they were related to her death.
Sunanda's death came two days after she went public on Twitter alleging that her husband was having an affair with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar.
However, the next day, the couple announced that they were happily married and wanted to remain so. — PTI
1st ODI: New Zealand beat India by 24 runs
NAPIER: Virat Kohli's exhilarating hundred went in vain as New Zealand staged a dramatic turnaround to pull off a thrilling 24-run win in the first one-dayer against India to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series on Sunday.
Set a formidable target of 293, India seemed on track for a facile win with Kohli (123 off 110 balls) anchoring the chase with his 18th ODI century before pacer Mitchell McClenaghan's three-wicket burst 11 balls changed the complexion of the game completely.
From a comfortable 224 for five, the Indians were all out for 268 in 48.4 overs with McClenaghan being the wrecker-in-chief with a match haul of 4/68.
Earlier, electing to bowl after winning the toss, India's inconsistent bowling effort helped New Zealand pile up 292 for seven.
For the Kiwis, apart McClenaghan, Corey Anderson shone bright with an all-round effort, scoring 68 runs off 40 deliveries before knocking off two wickets in his 10 overs of medium pace bowling.
Tim Southee (1-43 in 9.4 overs) and Adam Milne (1-40 in 7.3 overs) gave Anderson good support, even as the latter walked off mid-way in the 41st over with a side-strain.
After being put in to bat, half-centuries from Anderson, Kane Williamson (71) and Ross Taylor (55) helped the hosts reach 292/7 in their allotted 50 overs.
However, the brightest star of the match ended up in the losing side.
Kohli, who scored his a first hundred in a losing cause while chasing, found no support from other batsmen, none of who managed to reach even the 50-run mark.
Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan started with great caution. Southee bowled two maiden overs first up as the batsmen took time settling down.
In fact, the first wicket came before the first boundary in this innings, as Rohit failed to rotate the strike and came under pressure to score, holing out to Southee off a short ball from McClenaghan in the sixth over. He scored only 3 runs off 23 balls.
Kohli came to the crease and got off the mark with a signature cover drive, the first four for India on the 29th ball of the innings.
Along with Dhawan, he put on 58 runs for the second wicket as the two batsmen tried to build a platform from which to launch the chase.
The runs were coming in a trickle and the first 10 overs yielded only 43. India's 50 came up in the 12th over, while their 50-partnership came four overs later.
Dhawan tried to be the more aggressive of the two, but his timing was off as he could only muster a strike-rate of 69.56. His dismissal in the 19th over reflected as much, a mistimed pull off a short ball from Anderson. It was a huge blow for the team as the partnership was developing well at that time.
On 15 not out, Dhawan had been given a life in the ninth over, when Anderson, at square leg, managed to only get a hand on a high pull shot.
But the Indian failed to capitalise and was finally out for 32 runs off 46 balls. He hit three fours. It resulted in two more quick wickets with Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina back in the hut within ten overs.
Rahane (7) was out to a superb one-handed catch by Nathan McCullum. The ball, played towards mid-off, seemed to dip before the off-spinner caught it, leaving the batsman shocked.
Raina added 45 runs with Kohli for the fourth wicket and their runs came in good time at a run-rate of 6.14. But even so, the asking run-rate was always climbing higher and trouble resurfaced when Raina was out, attempting a loose pull-shot like Dhawan, off Milne. He scored 18 runs off 22 balls, with two fours.
At the other end, however, Kohli continued unfazed. He had come to the crease to pull off this chase and he went about the job not caring about the dismissals too much.
In Raina's company, in the 26th over, he had brought up his half-century off 58 balls, hitting four fours and one six. But after the double blows in the middle overs, he settled down with skipper Dhoni to try and dig India out of the hole.
The Indian captain scored 40 runs off only 46 balls, with two fours and two sixes. More importantly, he rotated the strike well with Kohli as the two put up 95 runs for the fifth wicket in just 85 balls.
In the 38th over, Kohli reached his 18th ODI hundred, off 94 balls with 10 fours and a six. He celebrated with joy as the chase looked set. They accelerated with a plan in mind as 51 runs came off the second powerplay without any loss of wickets.
But the turning point came when Dhoni was out caught behind in the 43rd over, off McClenaghan. Three balls later, he removed Ravindra Jadeja (0), also caught behind fending a rising delivery.
Kohli still didn't give up, hitting boundaries at will, but he was finally out in the 45th over, caught sharply by Jesse Ryder, who had earlier misjudged a skier from Kohli when he was on 95, at cover.
In the next over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was run-out for 6 runs. R Ashwin (12 runs) was out to Kane Williamson, who completed Milne's 41st over after he had walked off with a side strain.
The Indian innings came to an end when Southee bowled Ishant Sharma (5). Mohammed Shami was unbeaten on 7 runs.
Earlier in the day, Corey Anderson hit 68 off 40 balls, his first ODI half-century, to take New Zealand to 292/7 in their allotted fifty overs. This was after Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor put on 121 runs for the third wicket.
Mohammed Shami was the most successful bowler for the visitors, finishing with 4-55 from nine overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1-38), Ishant Sharma (1-72) and Ravindra Jadeja (1-61) were the other wicket-takers, while R Ashwin (0-52) and Virat Kohli (0-13) finished wicket-less.
Taylor and Williamson together flayed the Indian bowling in the middle overs. The two batsmen put on a hundred-plus stand for the third wicket during which they amply punished the two spinners, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Taylor completed 4000 ODI runs in 121 innings, at the personal score of 15 not out, becoming the second-quickest Kiwi batsman after Nathan Astle (120 innings) to do so. In the 23rd over of the innings, Williamson brought up his seventh ODI half-century, off 66 balls and hitting five fours.
Eventually Taylor edged to Dhoni in the 37th over off Shami, becoming the Indian skipper's 300th ODI victim.
Dhoni is the first Indian wicket-keeper to breach this mark, in 239 matches, and the fourth overall after Australia's Adam Gilchrist (472 dismissals in 287 matches), Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (424 dismissals in 362 matches) and South Africa's Mark Boucher (424 dismissals in 295 matches).
Taylor was the only batsman to fall in the second powerplay as Brendon McCullum and Corey Anderson took 41 runs off those five overs. — PTI
Dhoni becomes first Indian keeper to cross 300 dismissals
NAPIER: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday became the first Indian wicketkeeper and the fourth overall to effect 300 dismissals in One Day Internationals when he caught a Ross Taylor nick in the opening ODI against New Zealand in Napier on Sunday.
Prior to the series, Dhoni had 299 dismissals (220 caught and 79 stumpings).
He now joins a legendary club which features the celebrated trio of Australia’s Adam Gilchrist (472), Sri Lankan veteran Kumar Sangakkara (443) and South Africa’s Mark Boucher (425).
Of the three international stars, only Sangakkara is an active player.
Dhoni achieved the record off young pacer Mohammed Shami’s bowling in the match here. In the 37th over of the game, Shami got Taylor to play a tired shot outside off which only took the edge on the way to Dhoni.
Besides, Dhoni has now surpassed Mohammed Azharuddin for most number of catches against New Zealand by an Indian captain. His catch of Taylor was his 10th against the Kiwis.— PTI
22 Pak soldiers killed in attack on Army convoy
Islamabad/Peshawar: At least 22 security personnel were killed and 38 others
were injured when the Pakistani Taliban attacked a military convoy in the country’s restive northwest on Sunday.
The convoy, heading to North Waziristan, was attacked by a remote-controlled bomb in the cantonment area near Aamandi
Chowk, Razmak Gate on
the Bannu-Miranshah road in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu.
The blast is suspected to have occurred in a rented car, part of private vehicles hired to transport the soldiers.
It was not immediately clear if it was a suicide attack. The Taliban have claimed the responsibility for the attack.
Security forces have cordoned off the area while rescue and relief operations continued. Sources said the death toll might increase.
Geo TV, quoting hospital sources, reported that 22 security men were killed while 38 have been injured.
The injured, including Frontier Corps and army personnel, were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital. Ten of the injured are in critical condition.
Bannu, which stands at the gateway to the semi-autonomous Waziristan tribal region, is 150
km southwest of Peshawar.
The town has witnessed a number of attacks and was the scene of a massive jail break in April 2012, during which 384 prisoners escaped from its central prison.
President Mamnoon Hussain strongly condemned the blast that resulted into loss of precious lives.
Such cowardly attacks can never weaken the resolve of law-enforcing authorities and the nation to continue pursuing their struggle against the scourge of militancy and terrorism, the President said in his message. — PTI
PM to meet northeast
Chief Ministers on Monday
Agartala: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet the
Chief Ministers of eight northeastern states on Monday in New Delhi to review the ongoing infrastructural projects in the region, officials said here on Sunday.
"The Prime Minister will meet the Chief Ministers of eight northeastern states to review the ongoing infrastructural projects and decide plans to complete the task at the earliest," a Tripura government official
said.
He said the meeting, where several Central ministers and top officials would be present, would discuss the ongoing projects of rail, roadways, power, airports and telecommunication besides other related issues.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar left here Sunday to attend the meeting.
"Sarkar might also raise the connectivity issues between the northeastern region and the rest of India via Bangladesh," the official added.
India has decided to set up a new railway line between Tripura's capital Agartala and Akhaurah in Bangladesh and construct a bridge over river Feni to get access to the Chittagong international port, around 72 km away from Tripura's border town Sabroom, 135 km south of Agartala. — IANS
Cold conditions renew in Punjab, Haryana after overnight
rain
Chandigarh: Cold conditions, which had abated in past few days, were renewed today in most parts of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh with mercury plummeting by up to two degrees after overnight
rain.
Some parts of Punjab and Haryana were drenched by rains overnight, bringing down the temperature in the region, the MeT office said here, however, adding that foggy weather had eased out to some extent in the plains of the twin states.
The minimum temperatures hovered between two degrees Celsius below normal to three notches above normal limits in the region, MeT officials said.
Adampur in Punjab was coldest place with a low of three degrees Celsius.
While Hisar braved a low of 3.6 degrees Celsius, which was two notches below normal, the minimum temperature at Amritsar was 5.6 degrees C, three notches above normal.
Among other places, Narnaul settled at a low of 6.5 degrees C, two notches above normal followed by 6.6 degrees C at Chandigarh, one notch above normal and 7.1 degrees C at Paiala, also one notch above normal.
Ludhiana settled at a low of 7.4 degrees C whereas Ambala had a low of eight degrees C, two notches above normal.
While Chandigarh was drenched by 3.8 mm of rains, Ambala received 0.5 mm of rainfall.
Most parts of the region had clear sky providing relief from the foggy weather.
However, some parts in Punjab and Haryana, including Hisar, Bhiwani, Amritsar and Ludhiana had fog in the morning.
Most of the flights were on schedule from Chandigarh airport, officials said.
The MeT forecast dry weather in the region with rise in minimum temperatures during the next 24 hours.
— PTI
|
