|
 |
| L
A T E S T N E W S |
US envoy Nancy Powell resigns
New
Delhi, March 31
In a sudden development, US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell has resigned from her post, days after media speculation that she may be
shipped out.
"US Ambassador to India Nancy J Powell announced in a US Mission Town
Hall meeting March 31 that she has submitted her resignation to President Obama and, as planned for some time, will retire to her home
in Delaware before the end of May," an announcement on the US Embassy website said tonight.
— PTI
Business comfortable with
UPA; Modi for crony capitalism: Chidambaram
New
Delhi: The Indian economy is more stable than it was 20 months back and businesses are comfortable with the UPA,
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Monday hitting back at BJP's criticism of economic mismanagement.
Chidambaram criticised BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi saying that his brand of liberalism is "crony capitalism" and aims to
appease only a section of businesses.
Addressing a press conference a day after former finance minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha called him "a spoiler" of the Indian
economy, Chidambaram said: "The economy today is far more stable and far stronger than it was 20 months ago."
"Nobody is talking about downgrades today," he stressed.
Chidambaram said many of the 18 questions posed by Sinha are "quite puerile" and do not deserve discussion.
At a media conference Sunday, Sinha had slammed Chidambaram terming him a spoiler of the economy and posed 18 questions ranging from
growth, rupee slide to infrastructure.
"Businesses are comfortable with Manmohan Singh and his finance minister... there is a section of businesses that is comfortable with
BJP and Mr. Narendra Modi," Chidambaram said.
"His (Modi) brand of liberalism is crony capitalism," Chidambaram said.
The finance minister claimed that the country's current account deficit is estimated to come down to $35 billion in the 2013-14
financial year from a record high of $88 billion in the previous year.
On fiscal deficit, he said it would be around 4.6 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), as outlined by him in the
union budget for 2013-14.
Chidambaram said the government has also succeeded in controlling inflation and creating more jobs.
"We have contained inflation. Our biggest success is containing fiscal deficit. We will end financial year 2013-14 with a fiscal deficit of
4.6 percent, as planned," he said.
The finance minister claimed that the unemployment rate has come down during the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) government.
On the surge in the stock markets, Chidambaram said it is because of the UPA government's policy and should not be seen as a rally for the
Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) possible victory in the general election.
Chidambaram said his ten-point agenda outlined in the interim budget for the fiscal 2014-15, could help India return to the higher growth
trajectory.
"I talked about a ten-point agenda for the economy in my Vote on
Account speech. It is not a party specific agenda. Any government that is concerned about the economy will have to follow this," he said.
IANS
Congress fighting for secularism: Sonia
MEWAT (Haryana): Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday said this election is not just about development and her party is fighting for safeguarding the secular values enshrined in the Constitution.
“This election is not only about the development of country. This election is to safeguard the constitutional framework which our freedom fighters, our forefathers have bestowed on us after much struggle and sufferings.
“This Constitution recognises our secular values and teaches us how to respect them,” she said, addressing a rally here, in a veiled attack on BJP and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Ms Gandhi went on to say that Congress will fight for a country which is not just for a few but a country which belongs to everyone and where everyone enjoys equal rights.
“We will fight for a country where it is not important what is our religion, language, place of birth or in which caste we were born, but we will fight for a country which is secular and where it is important that we all are Indian,” she said.
The UPA chairperson said no other government has undertaken as much developmental activities during the last 10 years as done by the Manmohan Singh government, including in the backward region of Mewat.
“You can see the changes which have taken place here (Mewat) if you compare the development with the previous government here, be it giving backward region status, providing drinking water facilities or developing a separate cadres for teachers and doctors,” she said.
She said Congress manifesto also promises right to health for everyone, even as it has fulfilled its promises on rural job scheme, implementation of Right to Education and RTI, besides stringent law to stop violence against women. - PTI
Supreme Court commutes Bhullar’s death sentence
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday commuted the death sentence of 1993 Delhi bomb blast case convict and Khalistani terrorist Devinderpal Singh Bhullar to life term on the ground of delay in deciding his mercy plea and his medical condition.
A four-judge bench headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam granted life to Bhullar on the ground of delay on the part of the government in deciding his mercy plea and also on the basis of his present medical condition.
The bench, also comprising justices R.M. Lodha, H.L. Dattu and S.J. Mukhopadhaya, passed the order on a curative petition filed by Bhullar’s wife Navneet Kaur.
She pleaded before the court to relook into its verdict, in which Bhullar’s plea for commuting the sentence was rejected, in view of its recent judgment where it was held that delay in deciding mercy plea can be a ground for commutation of death penalty.
Bhullar was convicted and awarded death penalty for triggering a bomb blast in New Delhi in September 1993, which killed nine persons and injured 25 others, including then Youth Congress president M.S. Bitta.
The Centre had earlier on March 27 told the court that it had no problem with commutation of Bhullar’s death sentence to life term.
It had said that the petition in this regard has to be allowed in view of the court’s January 21 verdict that delay in deciding mercy pleas can be a ground for such relief.
The bench had on January 31 stayed Bhullar’s execution and had agreed to review its judgment by which it had rejected the 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict’s plea to commute his death sentence to life term.
It had issued notice to the Centre and Delhi government on a curative petition and had also directed the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), where Bhullar is being treated, to file a medical report on the condition of the death row convict who is alleged to be suffering from mental illness.
The apex court had on January 21 said that inordinate and inexplicable delay by government in deciding mercy plea of death row convicts can be a ground for commuting their sentence.
The apex court had on March 26, 2002 dismissed Bhullar’s appeal against the death sentence awarded by a trial court in August 2001 and endorsed by the Delhi High Court in 2002.
He had filed a review petition which was also dismissed on December 17, 2002. Bhullar had then moved a curative petition which too had been rejected by the apex court on March 12, 2003.
Bhullar, meanwhile, had filed a mercy petition before the President on January 14, 2003.
The President, after a lapse of over eight years, dismissed his mercy plea on May 14, 2011. Citing the delay, he had again moved the apex court for commutation of the death sentence but his plea was rejected.
The apex court on January 21 had held inordinate delay by government in deciding mercy plea of death row convicts can be a ground for commuting their sentence and had granted life to 15 condemned prisoners including four aides of forest brigand Veerappan.
In the landmark judgment, the court had held that prolonging execution of death sentence has a “dehumanising effect” on condemned prisoners who have to face the “agony” of waiting for years under the shadow of death during the pendency of their mercy plea. - PTI
Modi deranged, needs help: Pawar
JALANA (Maharashtra): Launching a scathing attack on BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, NCP chief Sharad Pawar has said that Narendra Modi needs to be treated in a “mental hospital for talking rubbish”.
“Modi must be deranged as he talks rubbish and he is needs to be treated in a mental hospital,” the Union Agriculture Minister said on Sunday at a rally at Ghanswangi, while campaigning for NCP candidate Vijay Bhamble.
He said Modi does not know about the sacrifices of Congress leaders in the freedom struggle. “Modi is talking about Congress mukt Bharat. Does Modi know the sacrifice and contribution of the Congress in the freedom struggle? Because of Congress’ ideology, we got freedom,”
Sharad Pawar said.
Attacking Modi for the 2002 Gujarat riots, Sharad Pawar said, “Members of minority community and Congress ex-MP Ahsan Jaffari were killed in Gulbarga society, which is only 20 km from Ahmedabad where the carnage happened, but
Modi neither visited the victims’ family nor bothered about them.”
He said Narendra Modi is “dangerous for the country”.
Pawar also said that the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate is not bothered about the problems of rain and hailstorm affected people in Maharashtra. - PTI
President confers Padma awards
NEW DELHI: Eminent scientist R A Mashelkar was today conferred the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, while acclaimed artiste Kamal Haasan and ace shuttler P Gopichand were among the 12 personalities conferred the Padma Bhushan by President Pranab Mukherjee here.
Award winning actor Vidya Balan, coach of Indian women kabaddi team Sunil Dabas, sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik and activist Jawahar Lal Kaul were among the 53 personalities conferred the Padma Shri award at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhawan's Durbar Hall.
The award ceremony was attended, among others, by Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, his wife Gursharan Kaur, Union ministers Sushuilkumar Shinde, P Chidambaram, Sharad Pawar and Sriprakash Jaiswal, and Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath.
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and leaders from opposition and other political parties were not present.
Mashelkar (71) is well known globally for his path breaking research in polymer science and engineering. He has chaired 12 high powered national level committees to look into diverse issues of higher education, national auto fuel policy and measures to deal with the menace of spurious drugs.
Anumolu Ramakrishna, who pioneered the use of precast concrete technology, was conferred the Padma Bhushan posthumously. He passed away last year at the age of 73.
Kaul (69), known for his voluntary services for the blind, had lost his eyesight due to smallpox at the age of five. The President climbed down from the podium to confer the Padma Shri on him. - PTI
Former Pakistani president Musharraf pleads
not guilty to treason
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court charged former president Pervez Musharraf with five counts of treason on
Monday and he pleaded not guilty, in the latest chapter of a long-running drama between the country's increasingly assertive judiciary and its former military ruler.
Musharraf faces the death penalty if convicted of the charges over his suspension of the constitution and imposition of emergency rule in 2007, when he was trying to extend his rule as president. Judge Faisal Arab, who heads the special panel of three judges, rejected a defence plea for additional time.
Musharraf stood ramrod straight and replied "Not guilty" to each charge. Later his lawyer asked the court's permission for Musharraf to visit his sick mother in Dubai. The former military ruler is currently under house arrest. - Agencies
|
