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Five-phase polls in J&K, Jharkhand from Nov 25 to Dec 20 

JAMMU: Ahead of the announcement of elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress Minister Sham Lal Sharma, who has been facing criticism over handling of recent floods, has tendered his resignation from the Omar Abdullah ministry.

Citing alleged sabotage of regularisation of daily wagers as a reason for tendering his resignation, Sharma, who is Minister for Public Health Engineering and Flood Control, met Jammu and Kashmir’s Congress Chief Saif—ud—din Soz last night and handed over his resignation.

“I have submitted my resignation to the Prof Saifuddin Soz as the Chief Minister is out of station,” Sharma told PTI.

Alleging sabotage by National Conference leader and Finance Minister Adul Rahim Rather in taking steps for regularisation of daily wagers in the state, Sharma said “it was intentional dilly-dallying tactics by the Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather who is head of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on the regularisation of thousands of casual workers engaged from time to time since 1994.”

“Justice is being denied to such a large number of casual workers since 2009 when Cabinet Sub-Committee was constituted to look into the grievances of all sections of employees and workers,” he said.

In an attempt to play "Jammu card", he claimed National Conference ministers were blocking the move because there were more daily wagers from Jammu region.

However, the charge was denied by National Conference as a “political stunt” ahead of announcement of elections in the state. “It’s a political stunt and this move has more to do with the internal dynamics of Congress party,” said National Conference’s Jammu province President Davinder Singh Rana.

Indicating that Sharma may be leaving Congress, Rana said, “There is a possibility also that he may be nursing some other political ambitions.”

Sharma, an MLA from Akhnoor, was recently criticised by his own Congress Minister Taj Mohiuddin who alleged that the flood control minister had stopped dredging work in the Kashmir Valley which aggravated the flood situation.

Mr. Sharma, however, said he would continue to be in Congress.

“I have only resigned from the government and not from the Congress party. I was a Congress worker and will remain one,” he said.

Meanwhile, state Congress’s chief spokesman Farooq Renzu Shah has tendered his resignation to party president Sonia Gandhi, alleging that the “floods were fully mismanaged” by Sharma which led to “deliberate drowning” of Srinagar and South Kashmir. — PTI

Modi praises media for coverage of ‘Clean India’ campaign

NEW DELHI: Reaching out to media, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday lauded its role in spreading awareness about his pet ‘Clean India’ campaign, saying it has helped remove the perception that government is responsible for everything.

At his first interaction with the media in Delhi after becoming the Prime Minister and in many years, he recalled his fond relations with the media when he was a BJP office-bearer before going to Gujarat as Chief Minister in 2001. 

Using the Diwali Milan (get-together) organised by BJP chief Amit Shah at the party headquarters, Modi freely mixed with a few hundred journalists, including top editors and beat reporters.

“I used to arrange chairs here (BJP office) waiting for you (media). Those were different days when we used to interact freely. I had a beautiful relationship with you and it helped me in Gujarat,” he told the assembled editors, reporters and other journalists at the Diwali Milan.

Fondly recalling the deep relationship he had with the media, Modi said he was looking for ways to further deepen and expand the old relationship.

“Some way will be found. It is important to interact with the media directly rather than the reportage and articles. By interacting directly, one gets to know things which media persons cannot report. Not only does one get information but also vision, which is very valuable,” he said.

Referring to 'Swachh Bharat' campaign launched by him, Modi said he was happy to see several articles, TV features and social media write-ups on the subject, giving the mission a wide publicity.

"The media has converted its pen into broom... This is a service to the nation," he said, saying he felt indebted by this.

He said although 80 percent of the media coverage is criticism of governments but this is an issue which affects the image of the country and impacts the poorest most.

"More important than health care is preventive health care and cleanliness plays a crucial role in this," he said, adding that it is a national duty to raise awareness about the issue.

Noting that all including influential people are getting involved in the 'Swachh Bharat' campaign, he said the notion that government has to do everything has changed.

"For the last 60 years, the thinking was that government has to do everything. Now the thinking is that we all have to work together. This demonstrates how big a role the media can play," Modi said.

The media has inspired people to take part in cleanliness exercise, he said.

Earlier, Shah said the central government is doing a good job after people have reposed faith in Modi's leadership. He hoped that it will rise to the expectations of the people.

Modi later mingled with journalists many of whom jostled to get clicked with him. Several young journalists did selfies with the Prime Minister who happily obliged them. — PTI

Netaji deputy, Nehru aide was a Soviet spy: British documents 

LONDON: A deputy of freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, an "old friend" of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and a former Indian Ambassador, A.C.N. Nambiar, has been described as a Soviet spy.

According to documents declassified under the 30-year-rule at the National Archives here, Nambiar went to Berlin in 1924 as a journalist and worked with the Indian Communist group, visiting Moscow as a Soviet "guest" in 1929.

"On the outbreak of the Second World War Nambiar was expelled from Germany but later allowed to return as Subhash Chandra Bose's deputy in Berlin. Nambiar became the German-financed leader of the Free India Movement in Europe when Bose moved to the Far East to join the Japanese.

"He was also concerned with the Indian Legion, composed of Indian prisoners of war, which in 1944 was absorbed by the SS," an archive release said in a statement.

Arathil Candeth Narayan Nambiar was arrested in Austria in June 1945 and interrogated as a Nazi collaborator.

After the war, he worked as counsellor at the Indian Legation in Berne, as Indian Ambassador to Scandinavia and then to West Germany and finally as European correspondent of the 'Hindustan Times'.

He claimed this last post was a cover for industrial intelligence collection, the documents claimed.

In 1959 he was reported by a defector source to have been an agent for the Soviet GRU from the 1920s.

The British documents include names and details of Netaji-led Azad Hind activities in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

The declassified files also include copies of letters from Nambiar to Bose recovered from the German submarine U-boat 234 after it surrendered during the Second World War.

A note in the files by V.W. Smith implies Nambiar's close association with Nehru, saying: "One may hazard the conjecture that the 'very prominent person' referred to be Nambiar is Pandit Nehru, who undoubtedly knows the full facts".

It goes on to say that his appointment as an Indian diplomat made him "indebted to his old friend Pandit Nehru".

The documents released on Friday include the latest batch of files on Britain's MI5 activities as well as seven files on British Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm and his activities as a member of the Communist Party and the wartime stories of British fascist sympathisers and 'Fifth Columnists' exposed by an MI5 agent posing as a representative of the Gestapo. — PTI

Maharashtra govt formation
BJP-Sena back-channel talks on

Pak violates ceasefire in Poonch 

Nitin Gadkari meets RSS chief

NAGPUR: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and discussed “important” issues but said there was no talk on politics in Maharashtra, where BJP is in the process of government formation.

The meeting took place a day after Maharashtra BJP president Devendra Fadnavis, said to be a front-runner for the Chief Ministership, called on the RSS chief.

The Lok Sabha MP from Nagpur came to Sangh building in Mahal in eastern part of the city on a two-wheeler.

“I met Sarsarsanghchalaji (Bhagwat). It was a routine visit during Diwali like every year. Yes, we discussed many important issues barring Maharashtra politics and the Chief Ministership,” Gadkari told reporters after emerging out of the building.

The senior BJP leader’s meeting with Bhagwat comes a day ahead of the high tea being hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Sunday for NDA MPs.

Bhagwat was out of Nagpur when Gadkari arrived from Delhi early this week to a grand reception from BJP workers.

Post- October 19 election result, which pitchforked BJP to the top of the heap with 123 Assembly seats (one of them won by an ally) in the 288-member House, a section of the new MLAs pushed Gadkari’s name for Chief Ministership.

Three of them went one step further and offered to quit their seats so that the Union Transport Minister could get elected to the Assembly from one of them.

Though initially reluctant to return to state politics, Gadkari added fuel to the speculation of being in the race for the top job when he said he was willing to take any responsibility entrusted by the party Central leadership. 

On Thursday the 58-year-old former BJP president, who received Fadnavis at his residence on Diwali day, sought to clear the air on the issue, saying he was “happy” in Delhi.

Fadnavis, who left for Mumbai today morning, met Bhagwat last night. The BJP MLAs are likely to meet in the next couple of days to elect their leader.

Both Gadkari and Fadnavis, who also hails from Nagpur, are considered close to RSS, which is headquartered in the city. — PTI

Cong frowns at write-up on Nehru in RSS journal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Congress in Kerala has expressed strong resentment against an article carried by RSS journal ‘Kesari’ allegedly running down India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

On getting a complaint seeking action from KPCC General Secretary Sooranad Rajasekharan, state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has asked DGP K.S. Balasubraniam to examine the issue and take action, if necessary.

The Editor of the weekly, however, stood by the article and stoutly refuted Congress’ allegations.

The article by BJP state committee member B. Gopalakrishnan said, “actually Nehru was responsible for the partition of the country and other tragedies including Gandhi’s assassination.”

The write-up also said Nehru was a “selfish” leader who concealed important facts from Gandhi on the partition and eventually kept him away from the final round of discussions.

Taking strong exception to the article, KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran said this was yet another attempt of the Sangh Parivar to distort history and denigrate Nehru.

Reacting to the charges, Editor of Kesari N.R. Madhu said this was a sheer distortion of facts by the Congress leaders with political motives.

“This is not for the first time we are criticising Nehru’s policies and approaches to vital issues including the partition. But nowhere the article has even remotely suggested that Nehru should have been physically targeted,” Madhu told PTI.

He said this was a ploy by the Congress leaders to show that they were more vehement in opposing the RSS and the BJP than the CPI-M.

“The CPI-M has been accusing the Congress of being soft towards the RSS after the Oommen Chandy government decided to go in for a CBI inquiry into the murder of the Sangh activist Elamthottathil Manoj at Kathirur in Kannur district. Now, the Congress wants to blunt this criticism by seizing and distorting facts,” Madhu claimed. — PTI

2 killed, 4 injured in US school shooting

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Saina bows out of French Open 

PARIS: Ace India shuttler Saina Nehwal crashed out of the French Open Super Series after going down to World No. 2 Shixian Wang of China in a hard-fought women's singles quarterfinal contest here.

Seeded fifth, Saina posed a quite a challenge to her Chinese rival but in the end it was a case of so close, yet so far for the Indian who lost 19-21 21-19 15-21. The battle lasted an hour and 10 minutes here last night.

Having lost the opening game, the world number six Indian bounced back to snatch the second but failed to sustain the pressure in the deciding game against a superior opponent.

The London Olympics bronze-medallist looked strong and confident in the opening game. Having broken away from a 5-5 tie, the Indian surged ahead to take a 10-6 lead and then in no time extended it to 14-8.

However, at 17-13, Saina failed to tighten the noose and allowed her opponent to climb back into the game. Wang bagged six consecutive points to first tie the scores at 17-17 and then take a 19-17 lead.

Although Saina earned a couple of points to inch closer by making it 19-20, the Chinese shut the door on her 21-19 in the first game.

The second game was a neck-to-neck affair with none of the two conceding any massive lead. At the break, Saina was ahead only by a slender margin of 11-10.

Saina then went ahead to 14-13 before the Chinese forced the Indian to make some errors and take a 18-15 lead.

But the shuttler from Hyderabad, determined not to give away so easily, compelled her rival to move around the court and tired her out.

Saina went on to bag five consecutive points to draw level at 18-18 and then make it 20-18. She quickly wrapped it up 21-19 to take the match to the decider.

In the third game, Saina started positively, while Wang seemed to be completely out of colour initially.

Having opened up a 6-1 lead, Saina soon increased it to 10-5 and then went on to extend it to 15-10.

But just when it seemed that the Indian would run away with the match comfortably, Wang turned things upside down to totally flummox Saina.

The Chinese upped her ante to take the last 11 points on a trot to seal the issue in her favour and advance to the semifinals. — PTI