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Maharashtra Votes 2014
Amid record turnout, Cong keeps chin up
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Exit polls see BJP in driver’s seat
Celebs make a point, vote
coal scam
3 held for beating up northeast students in B’lore
Tata Camelot project not in Sukhna’s catchment area: Firm
IndiGo places largest-ever order for 250 Airbus A-320 neo jets
Indian gets death for killing baby, her grandmother in US
85% area of tobacco packs to carry health warnings
MEA seeks CBI report in Saradha scam
Black money: Swiss to give time-bound info
3 held for beating up northeast students in B’lore
Prosecutor files report in SC in 2G case
Divorce plea: SC orders DNA test on child
Had asked Guv Qureshi to quit: Home Secy to SC
Court to hear case against Tytler on Nov 22
All-weather Char Dham yatra in the offing
Burdwan blast: NSG team joins probe
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If ‘chaiwala' can become PM, why can’t I be CM: Uddhav
Mumbai, October 15 "It is true that the Thackerays have never fought elections. But we have never backed out from responsibilities. If a common man like (Narendra) Modi, who started off as a chaiwala (tea-seller) goes on to become the PM, I can become the CM as well," Thackeray said in an interview to his party mouthpiece Saamana. BJP leaders lashed out at Thackeray following his remark, saying they would not tolerate such disrespect for the Prime Minister. The Sena chief clarified that he meant that the people had the power to make an 'aam aadmi' the country's Prime Minister. "I said that a common man is the most powerful in a democracy. It means that the people have the power to make an 'aam aadmi' the Prime Minister," Thackeray said, adding that Prime Minister Modi himself said that he is a 'chaiwala' in his address to people. Thackeray accused the BJP of "backstabbing" allies like his party and Haryana Janhit Congress. “They (BJP) were with us when they needed us and left us when the need was fulfilled. What did they do with Bishnoi? They said in a public rally that he would be the next Haryana chief minister. I have the tape recording to prove it," he told reporters after casting his vote in suburban Bandra. “Why did they stab us in the back? BJP will have to answer that,” he said. — PTI Repeat telecast of Modi’s US speech under EC lens The Election Commission on Wednesday said the issue of the repeat telecast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at Madison Square Garden by several Marathi channels ahead of Assembly polls in Maharashtra was “under examination”. Congress had complained to the poll body that BJP had misused the speech for electoral gains by sponsoring its repeat telecast last week. “It is under examination," DG in the Commission, PK Dash, told reporters.
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Amid record turnout, Cong keeps chin up
“The results will be as per our expectations. The fight in Haryana is between us and the INLD. In Maharashtra also we will do well,” Congress general secretary in charge of Haryana Shakeel Ahmad said as exit polls predicted a surge for the BJP in both the states. Though party strategists were curious about the massive increase in voter turnout in Haryana, which last saw around 73 per cent polling way back in 1967, they explained the trend on the basis of too many players in the field. Congress general secretary in charge of Communications Ajay Makan said the conclusion that heavy voter turnout was always for change of guard in a particular state was too generalised. “In Haryana, we have seen a multi-cornered contest for the first time. Every party has put in their best in terms of campaigning, resources and energy. That has given the voters a reason to rally behind someone or the other. Traditionally in Haryana, there have been only two parties but now voters have greater choices which they are exercising.” However, a section of leaders in the Congress admitted the signs were not so encouraging for the party in Haryana or Maharashtra. A top leader said, “The support of Dera Sacha Sauda is likely to benefit the BJP in the Hisar belt.”
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Exit polls see BJP in driver’s seat
Mumbai, October 15 According to the Today’s Panchari exit poll, the BJP is poised to bag 151 of the 288 seats, a clear majority. The Congress and the NCP are projected to lose heavily while the Shiv Sena was tipped to take the Number 2 position in the state. The C-voter’s exit poll gave the BJP 129 seats, falling short of a majority in the 288-member House. It gave the Shiv Sena 56 seats, Congress 43, NCP 36, MNS 12 and others 12. AC Nielsen predicted 27 seats for the BJP, 77 for the Shiv Sena, 40 for the Congress, 34 for the NCP 34 and five for the MNS. India TV predicted that the BJP would bag 124-134 seats, Shiv Sena 51-61, Congress 38-48, NCP 31-41 and MNS and others 9-15 each. Polling also took place for the Beed Lok Sabha seat where a bypoll was necessitated following the death in June of central minister Gopinath Munde. Senior BJP leader and MP Poonam Mahajan confidently said "the people would support the vision of development propounded by Modi.” Sena youth leader Aditya Thackeray asserted that not only would his party form the government, but its president (his father) Uddhav Thackeray would be the next CM.
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Celebs make a point, vote
Mumbai, October 15 Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan were among the celebrities who exercised their franchise today and urged the electorate to step out and cast their vote. Tendulkar after casting his vote said, "Every citizen must vote. Your opinion matters. I urge all to vote. Explaining the meaning of the word 'vote', Amitabh Bachchan tweeted, "Vote comes from the Latin word Votum, which translates as vow, wish, promise, or dedication. Go Vote."
— PTI
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Closure report vetted by CBI chief lacks logic: Court
The court, which ordered further probe in one of the case arising from coal blocks allocation scam, said the vetting of reports by top officers of CBI, including its Director, should be based upon “sound and legally sustainable reasons”. Refusing to accept the closure report, it cautioned the agency that line of distinction between an “inadvertent act or a malafide act” was very thin and the vetting of reports should conform to well-settled principles of law and hoped that no such mistakes shall occur in future. “I may also mention that since the final reports are vetted by prosecution branch of CBI and thereafter by Director CBI as per the practice being followed, then it is expected that in view of the vast experience of the legal officers of CBI and the senior officers of CBI, including the Director, the vetting of the reports should not only conform to the well settled principles of law but also to sound and legally sustainable reasons and logic,” Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar said. The observations came in a case involving Vikash Metals and Power Ltd (VMPL) and its officials in which they were accused of making false claims related to land allocation to get undue advantage in the coal block allocation. The agency, however, had later on filed a closure report saying the allegations against VMPL or its directors or even against the public servants could not be substantiated during the course of investigation. The court, in its 23-page order, asked the CBI to further investigate the case and file a progress report on the probe on November 10. The court also asked the CBI Director and DIGs, who are supervising probe in coal scam cases, to ensure proper training of the officers to hone their skills for probing the case. “The Director, CBI and DIG, CBI supervising the investigation of the case, shall also ensure that if they find the officers working under them to be lacking in the skills of investigation, they shall ensure proper training and refresher courses for them at CBI Academy so as to hone up their skills of investigation,” it said. — PTI 2G case prosecutor files report in SC The Special Public Prosecutor in the 2G case on Wednesday filed his report before the Supreme Court on the controversy arising out of CBI Director Ranjit Sinha's (pic) residence guest list that purportedly showed him having frequent meetings with several accused in 2G and Coal blocks scams. The court is likely to hear the case on Thursday.
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3 Manipuri students thrashed in Bangalore
Bangalore, October 15 The incident took place last night when the students from Manipur had been to a restaurant and were having their food, DCP (North-East) Vikas Kumar told PTI, adding that as they were talking a bit loudly at the dinner table, the locals asked them to tone down their voice. “As the northeast students replied to them in English, the locals who did not understand the language asked them to talk in Kannada,” Kumar said. Michael, one of the victims, said he and the other two were discussing about an event they were planning to hold when three locals came up to them. “They said you are eating Karnataka food. You are living in Karnataka. You have to speak in Kannada. Why don’t you speak in Kannada. Or else, get lost from this state. They later attacked and I had to defend and thus I received injuries," Michael said. All three accused were arrested last night and a case has been filed against them for assault, Kumar said. Bangalore is home to a large number of people from the northeast. — PTI
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China warns India against paving road in Arunachal
New Delhi, October 15 China disputes India’s control over the North Eastern State. The two countries have an undemarcated 3,488 km Line of Actual Control (LAC). China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei at a press conference in Beijing today said: “A dispute exists in the eastern sector of the China-India boundary, pending final settlement of the boundary question. We hope that the Indian side will refrain from taking actions in disputed areas that may complicate the (boundary) question.” Hong’s remarks come a day after Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said a road was planned between Mago-Thingbu in Tawang to Vijaynagar in Changlang district of Arunachal. This is the east-west axis all along the disputed Macmohan Line that defines the northern limit of the state and is disputed by China. “The proposed 2,000-km road is still in the conceptual stage. It would be beneficial from the security point of view but would also accelerate border area development,” said Rijiju, who is also an MP from the same state and is also looking after border area management in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Hong reacted to the Indian proposal by advising New Delhi “…safeguard peace and tranquility of the border areas and create conditions for the settlement of the boundary question and the development of China-India relations”. He went on to say that the China-India boundary question is an issue left over by the western (British) colonists and should be properly resolved with concerted efforts. This is the first flare-up between the two neighbours separated by the Himalayas since troops on either side were asked to withdraw from a two-week stand-off on September 25 at Chumar. Meanwhile, military authorities of the two countries have decided to conduct a four-day joint military exercise from November 3 at Pune. Called the ‘hand-in-hand’ exercise, this will be the fourth edition since it started in 2007 with Kunming in China hosting the first edition, followed by an exercise in Belgaum Karnataka in 2008. The third edition was hosted after five years at Miaoergang in China. India had suspended all military-diplomatic relations with China and called off all such exercises after Beijing refused a visa to a Lt General on the premise that he was serving in J&K. The original venue of the exercise was Bathinda in Punjab. However, China said the location was too “hot” in terms of weather. Sources said the average mean temperature for Bathinda during November is 28.9 degree Celsius, but this was more of a diplomatic way for Beijing to avoid sending its Army close to Pakistan border. Joint military exercise
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Tata Camelot project not in Sukhna’s catchment area: Firm
New Delhi, October 15 Arguing before a Bench comprising Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice RS Endlaw, senior advocate Gopal Subramanium said the project area was not covered under the Punjab Land Preservation Act or the Punjab Re-organisation Act which had specified the catchment area. The authorities concerned had replied in the negative to a clarification sought by the company as to whether the project was within the lake’s catchment area. The company had filed affidavits to this effect in the court and the petitioners who were opposing the project had not disputed the contentions, Subramanium pleaded. Also, the Centre had acquired the lake’s entire catchment area for soil conservation and not even one acre of the project area in Kansal village was covered under the land acquisition. All this made it very clear that the project was not in the catchment area and would not hinder the flow of rainwater down to the Sukhna Lake, he contended. The company also argued that the environment clearance given by the state authorities to the project was subject to approval by the National Wildlife Board, which was legally valid. On the contention of the petitioners – advocate Alok Jagga and Sarin Memorial Legal Aid Foundation —that the Survey of India map showed the project area as part of the catchment area, Subramanium said that going by the map even the Punjab and Haryana High Court was covered under the catchment area. He also disputed the petitioners’ plea that Tata Camelot had lost the right to go ahead with the project as some of the housing societies had terminated their joint venture agreements with the company. The HC slated the next hearing for October 27. The contention
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IndiGo places largest-ever order for 250 Airbus A-320 neo jets
An MoU to this effect was signed by IndiGo’s co-founders, Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia, who is also the Managing Director of the airline’s parent firm InterGlobe Enterprises, at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France. The airline was in news for placing bulk orders of aircraft. Its previous orders include 100 A-320s in 2005 and another180 A-320 neos in 2011 worth about $11 billion, which was the largest-ever at that time. With its fleet of 83 new Airbus A320 aircraft, IndiGo offers 540 daily flights connecting 36 destinations. Aditya Ghosh, president, IndiGo, said, “Theorder reaffirms IndiGo’s commitment to the long-term development of affordableair transportation in India and overseas. The additional aircraft will enableus to continue to bring our low fares and courteous, hassle free service tomore customers and markets and will create more job opportunities and growth”. “The A320 neo continues to dominate the worldmarket share and this commitment confirms the A320 family as the aircraft ofchoice in the most dynamic aviation growth markets,” said Fabrice Brégier,Airbus president and CEO. The aviation market is set to grow in Indiawith the new FDI policy in the airlines sector and the entry of two new domesticairlines —- AirAsia and Vistara by Tatas and Singapore Airlines. An Assocham study says the Indian aviation industry,with an estimated market size of Rs 60,000 crore, has witnessed an annualgrowth of 5% and 7% in domestic and international passenger traffic, respectively,during 2007-12. The per week flight average has increased to 12,107 in 2011 from8,724 in 2006 and is expected to reach 15,000 by 2014-15. Profit-making airline
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Indian gets death for killing baby, her grandmother in US
New York, October 15 Raghunandan Yandamuri was convicted by a Montgomery County Court jury of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Satyavathi Venna, 61, and the suffocation death of her 10-month-old granddaughter, Saanvi Venna, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. During the trial, Yandamuri showed no remorse and said he would rather accept the death penalty than sit through arguments. The jury could have chosen to sentence Yandamuri to life in prison without the possibility of parole but in making their decision, the five women and seven men considered aggravating factors such as the elements of Yandamuri's crimes and mitigating factors such as testimony regarding his gambling addiction and mental state. Formal sentencing will be scheduled within 45 days. Philly.com reported that Yandamuri had no visible reaction to the announcement as he looked down and continued scribbling notes, as he had for much of the month-long trial in Norristown, when the verdict was read.
— PTI
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85% area of tobacco packs to carry health warnings
Of the 85 per cent, 60 per cent is mandated to be a pictorial warning and the remaining 25 per cent a textual anti-tobacco warning. The new rules issued today under India’s anti-tobacco law (the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco products Prohibition of Advertisement Act 2003) will come into force from April 1, 2015. All nations that are signatories to WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control must rotate anti-tobacco warnings every 24 months to discourage tobacco use. The new warnings by India come at a time when it has been placed the last among SAARC nations on anti tobacco warning assessment for 2014. But with the notification today, India has joined Thailand, which tops the world on FCTC’s assessment of anti-tobacco warnings’ size. India has adopted Thailand’s requirement to cover 85 per cent package area with a warning. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said, “We have been working to make anti-tobacco laws more stringent. This is a step in the same direction.” India joins top-ranked Thailand
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MEA seeks CBI report in Saradha scam
New Delhi, October 15 Top officials said the CBI had been asked to submit its report whether any such issue has cropped up during its probe. CBI sources, however, clarified that so far they had not encountered any such instance of funds being transferred to any terror group, including Jamaat-e-Islami, but the probe was still on and nothing conclusive can be said as of now. They said the MEA could be interested because of the news reports being published in India as well as in Bangladesh. “We are not aware of all this international terror linkages. No such indication has surfaced in our probe so far. We have not looked into that aspect. We will inform MEA about it,” said an official. The sources said they had got some of the money trail on the basis of which action is being taken.
— PTI
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Black money: Swiss to give time-bound info
Berne/New Delhi, October 15 The Swiss authorities would also "assist in obtaining confirmation on genuineness of bank documents on request by the Indian side and swiftly provide information on requests related to non-banking information". The breakthrough, which comes after Switzerland's repeated refusal to share information with Indian authorities on alleged cases of black money stashed in Swiss banks, was achieved at a high-level meeting between senior government officials of the two countries in Berne. “... the Swiss competent authority will provide the Indian side with the requested information in a time-bound manner or else indicate the reasons why the cases cannot be answered within the agreed timeline," a Swiss-Indian joint statement said after a high-level meeting between the officials of the two countries on tax matters.
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3 held for beating up northeast students in B’lore Bangalore, October 15 The incident took place last night when the students from Manipur had been to a restaurant and were having their food, DCP (North-East) Vikas Kumar told PTI, adding that as they were talking a bit loudly at the dinner table, the locals asked them to tone down their voice. “As the northeast students replied to them in English, the locals who did not understand the language asked them to talk in Kannada,” Kumar said. Michael, one of the victims, said he and the other two were discussing about an event they were planning to hold when three locals came up to them. “They said you are eating Karnataka food. You are living in Karnataka. You have to speak in Kannada. Why don’t you speak in Kannada. Or else, get lost from this state. They later attacked and I had to defend and thus I received injuries," Michael said. All three accused were arrested last night and a case has been filed against them for assault, Kumar said. Bangalore is home to a large number of people from the northeast. — PTI
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Prosecutor files report in SC in 2G case
New Delhi, October 15 Appearing before a Bench headed by Chief Justice HL
Dattu, prosecutor Anand Grover submitted that two reports, including one in a sealed envelope, had been filed in the court, which is likely to hear the case tomorrow. The court had on September 22 sought the help of the prosecutor, appointed by it for trial in 2G cases, saying any order passed by it may have ramifications on the
cases. — PTI
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Divorce plea: SC orders DNA test on child
New Delhi, October 15 The couple got married in January 2003 and according to the husband he had not shared the bed with his wife since September 2007 and despite this his wife delivered a child. The family had rejected his plea for a DNA test, but the HC accepted it in December 2012 while allowing his appeal. The Bench rejected the SC verdicts cited by the wife in support of her contentions against the DNA test. The judgments pointed out by her were on the legitimacy of the child born during the subsistence of valid marriages, it said. "The question that arises for consideration in the present appeal pertains to the alleged infidelity of the appellant-wife. It is not the husband's desire to prove the legitimacy or illegitimacy of the child born to the appellant," the Bench pointed out.
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Had asked Guv Qureshi to quit: Home Secy to SC
New Delhi, October 15 He, however, refuted the charge that he had threatened the Governor to step down. In an affidavit filed in the apex court, Goswami submitted that no Governor was forced to resign by the NDA government after it came to power in May except in the case of Mizoram Governor Kamla Beniwal who was removed as her conduct was not compatible with the high constitutional office. He said that Governors had resigned on their own volition. The Home Secretary was at the Centre of controversy after some Governors appointed by the UPA regime alleged that he had nudged them to relinquish office.
— PTI
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Court to hear case against Tytler on Nov 22
New Delhi, October 15 Tytler had told the court that he was ready to tender "unconditional apology" to senior advocate HS Phoolka, complainant in the case, to settle the matter, but Phoolka had refused to accept the offer.
— PTI
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All-weather Char Dham yatra in the offing
Dehradun, October 15 Currently, the Char Dham yatra is closed during winter months. He said holding the Char Dham yatra in winter homes of deities would not hurt religious sentiments. He reiterated that his government respected local traditions and beliefs and all winter yatra arrangements would be with consent of local priests. The Chief Minister said Chal Vigrah of Yamunotri shrine is taken to Kharshali, Chal Vigrah of Gangotri shrine is taken to Mukba, Chal Vigrah of Kedarnath is taken to Ukhimath and Chal Vigrah of Badrinath shrine is taken to Padukeshwar during winter months when these shrines are closed. He said the Char Dham yatra can be conducted at these places.
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Burdwan blast: NSG team joins probe
Kolkata, October 15 Earlier, the NIA team detected a tunnel inside a madrassa at Simulia in Mongolkot, where suspected ISI-backed terrorists had a hideout while planning attacks in several strategic places of Kolkata during the ongoing festive season. NIA DIG Anuragh Tankha said the tunnel had been sealed and soon officials would be deployed to find how it was being used by the militants.
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New Delhi, October 15
New Delhi, October 15
New Delhi, October 15
New Delhi, October 15