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Rail services
hit, 1,000 held in Consult parties
before talks with Pak, NCP undecided on
pact with BJP CBI gives clean
chit to Sonia on
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Left wants Cong
to lead Jaya contests
POTA panel’s jurisdiction Ex-police chief
challenges arrest in court SC notice to
Punjab on attack on union leader SC to hear
petition against Naidu today Madhok’s plea
against Article 370 dismissed ‘Bhishma’
ready to join Army
Lakhs take holy
dip at Sangam A-I sacks pilot
for violating orders
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Rail services hit, 1,000 held in Bihar bandh
Patna, January 7 Top Left leaders, including state CPI secretary Jalaluddin Ansari, his CPM counterpart, Mr Ganesh Shanker Vidyarthi, CPI-ML secretary Ramjatan Sharma and former CPI MP from Madhubani Bhogendra Jha were among those detained while trying to enforce the bandh, official sources said. The bandh’s supporters disrupted railway traffic at Ara, Samastipur, Bhabhua, Sasaram, Begusarai, Fatuha and Nadaul, but were dispersed by the police, railway sources said. The agitators also blocked traffic on the GT Road at Sasaram and the national highway at Begusarai. Train services were disrupted for more than seven hours on the Patna-Gaya section of the East Central Railway with CPI-ML supporters locking up the Station Master of Nadaul in a room, according to IG (Railway) A. K. Gupta. He said the line was cleared after police intervention and the Station Master was unharmed. The bandh, however, evoked little response in the state capital with most shops and business establishments remaining open and vehicular traffic within the city normal, official sources said. The bandh was jointly called by the CPI, CPM, CPI-ML, RSP, Forward Bloc, Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), and MCPI against the “growing criminal-politician-feudal-police nexus, deteriorating law and order, and poor development.” The bandh was called also to demand making public the report of ousted Director-General of Police D.P. Ojha, which allegedly referred to links of controversial RJD MP Mohammed Shahabuddin with international crime syndicates.
— PTI |
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Consult parties before talks with Pak, says CPI New Delhi, January 7 “The present initiative by the two sides at the SAARC Summit can herald a new era of no-military conflicts and no wars between India and Pakistan. But the secular democratic forces in both countries must be vigilant in order to thwart any attempt by communal fundamental forces to sabotage the peace initiative,” the CPI said in a statement here today. The Left party also welcomed the outcome of the SAARC Summit and expressed hope that SAARC would emerge as a vibrant body in the common interest of the South Asian region. “It was heartening to note that the member countries of SAARC had raised the issues of fighting terrorism, reducing poverty, improving cooperation for higher learning and human development, promoting health and preserving the environment in the region.” The CPI said the Islamabad declaration could serve as a collective development framework, if all member countries carried forward the commitment expressed at the 12th session of SAARC. The party said the establishment of South Asian Free Trade Agreement
(SAFTA) could be a powerful lever to create a just and equitable partnership for peace, development and prosperity in the region. |
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NCP undecided on pact with BJP New Delhi, January 7 Realising that the NCP joining the NDA would give the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra a definite advantage, the move to rope in the NCP came got a boost with Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani talking to Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, who favoured such a tie-up provided former state Deputy Chief Minister Chaggan Bhujbal was kept out. A further impetus to the efforts was given when NCP General Secretary Purno Sangma met Mr Advani. The BJP sources, however, said there were three different views in the NCP: one favouring alliance with the NDA, a second for a tie-up with the Congress and a third pitching for an independent course. In Tamil Nadu, the sources indicated that everything depended on what move the DMK makes towards CPI(M) General Secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet’s overtures for roping in the Dravidian party in a proposed third front.
— PTI |
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CBI gives clean chit to Sonia on Swamy’s charges New Delhi, January 7 Senior advocate P.P. Malhotra, appearing for the CBI before a Bench comprising Chief Justice B C Patel and Mr Justice Bader Durez Ahmed, submitted that the agency “has prima facie” found no truth in the allegations, levelled in his two petitions against Ms Gandhi by Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy. Mr Malhotra told the court that “there is no need for further investigation” in either of the matters. The CBI had not found sufficient material to back Mr Swamy’s allegations that the two shops in Italy’s Milan province had any connection with Ms Sonia Gandhi’s relatives in that country. On a specific query by the court whether the agency had ever thought of registering FIRs in these cases, the CBI said as per the CBI’s rules and guidelines the FIR could only be registered if some concrete material was found in a case. Mr Swamy contested the CBI claim and alleged that the agency had not done its home work properly. He said the oral submission by the agency had no meaning and it should put everything in an affidavit. Following this, the court adjourned the hearing in the case. |
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Left wants Cong to lead anti-BJP front Kolkata, January 7 Talking to senior party colleagues at Alimuddin Street, he told them, if necessary, he would talk to Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Mr Mulayum Singh Yadav to make them reach an understanding for the elections, party sources said. He appreciated Mr Harkishen Singh Surjeet’s initiatives to bring all anti-BJP parties on a common platform. Mr Basu said it would have been better if there was only one front against the BJP. But since both Mr Mulayum Singh Yadav and Ms Mayawati differed and some Left parties still had reservations about joining hands with the Congress, two fronts could be formed which could make an electoral understanding among themselves against the BJP in the forthcoming elections. The CPI (M) leader felt that after the joint declaration in Islamabad by Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mr Pervez Musharraf, the Lok Sabha poll was knocking at the door and he advised the party workers to prepare themselves accordingly. |
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Jaya contests POTA panel’s jurisdiction New Delhi, January 7 “This is not a matter where the committee would have jurisdiction to review the registration of an FIR by the police officer concerned,” state government’s counsel
C.S. Vaidyanathan told the three-member committee headed by Justice Arun B.
Saharya. He was outlining the Jayalalithaa government’s preliminary objections to a notice by the committee, asking the state to explain if it had a case for registering the FIR under POTA. “When information of an offence is communicated to a police officer, he has no option but to register an FIR,” he said.
— PTI |
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Ex-police
chief challenges arrest in court Mumbai, January 7 The Bombay High Court today admitted his petition challenging his arrest under the above said Act in the multi-crore fake stamp paper case. The former Mumbai Police
Commissioner contended that the provisions of the Act under which he was being held was illegal and ultra vires of the Constitution. His lawyers
V.R. Manohar and S.R. Chitnis argued that the sections under which Mr
R.S. Sharma was held did not apply to his case. Specifically, his counsel have challenged the application of Section 3 of the Act against the former police chief. They contended that the section dealt with conspiracy along with organised crime syndicates and abetting offences. These sections, his lawyers said must not be used just because he did not transfer policemen guilty of not performing duty. The former Police Commissioner further contended that he should not be held in the custody of the special investigating team and must be released. Admitting his plea, Mr Justices
V.G. Palshikar and P.V. Kakade deferred the matter till January 15. The court will also fix a final hearing of the petition on that date. Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s Principal Accountant-General acting on the orders of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has begun an inquiry to verify the extent of revenue loss due to the scam. A similar probe is being conducted in several other states, sources here say. |
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Another cop held Mumbai, January 7 The arrest of Sawant, DCP, Special Branch, followed his over two-hour interrogation by the special investigating team(SIT) at its Worli office this evening, SIT sources said.
— PTI |
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SC notice to Punjab on attack on union leader New Delhi, January 7 A Bench of Mr Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Mr Justice B.N. Srikrishna sought replies from the Punjab Home Secretary and the accused, Tej Bahadur Singh, Ashok Kumar Singh, Varinder Singh and Chakar Pal Singh, on a appeal by Uttariya Railway Mazdoor Union (URMU) general secretary Bipin Chand Sharma. The accused were allegedly involved in the attack on Mr Sharma, who was fired upon indiscriminately on April 14, 2002, which reportedly was a fall out of union rivalry. According to an FIR lodged in the case, seven to eight bullets were fired upon Mr Sharma and four had hit him, causing serious injuries. Mr Sharma’s counsel T. L. Garg argued that the High Court had granted bail to the accused persons in September, last year, “without assigning any reasons” and “ignoring” an affidavit of the SP, Ludhiana, which categorically stated that they would tamper with the evidence and also were not joining the investigation. “The High Court had failed to consider the threat being given to the petitioner by the respondents whereas they have already made attempt to eliminate Mr Sharma,” Mr Garg said. The motive behind the alleged attack on Mr Sharma was his refusal to appoint a person of the choice of a particular group in the union as the secretary of the Lucknow branch of URMU in 2002, Mr Sharma’s counsel claimed adding that they had held a threat to the petitioner that he would face “dire consequences” for this prior to the attack on him.” |
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SC to hear petition against Naidu today New Delhi, January 7 A public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Kanna Lakshmi Narayana, a Congress MLA in the dissolved state Assembly and party’s state unit General Secretary K. R.
Amos, alleged that Mr Naidu while in the office had acquired assets, including land and other property worth Rs 76 crore, which “is disproportionate” to his known sources of income. The Congress leaders alleged that Mr Naidu, in an affidavit before the Andhra Pradesh High Court on becoming Chief
Minister in 1988 had stated that his annual income from agriculture was Rs 30,000, while in a statement before the Assembly Speaker in April 1999, he had stated that his total assets were worth Rs 19.29 crore. However, the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly had placed documents before the House to show that Mr Naidu had acquired assets worth Rs 56 crore, they said. The petitioners claimed that they could produce documentary proof that Mr Naidu had actually acquired assets worth “Rs 76 crore or more” during his tenure in the office. They have enclosed voluminous documents as proof with the petition to substantiate their allegations. |
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Madhok’s plea against Article 370 dismissed New Delhi, January 7 “You cannot challenge constitutional provisions on political grounds,” a Bench of Ms Justice Ruma Pal and Mr Justice S. B. Sinha said, dismissing the petition after a brief hearing. The court also rejected the plea by Madhok’s counsel N. N.Keshwani for giving him more time to argue the matter. Mr Madhok, who had filed the petition prior to the recent winter vacation, had challeged Article 370 on the ground that it had provided for creating two constitutions in a sovereign country and,therefore, was “violative of the basic structure of the Constitution of India”. |
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Chennai, January 7 The first tank was handed over to the Chief of Army Staff, Gen N C Vij, by Minister of State for Defence O Rajagopal on the HVF premises in the presence of Director-General of Ordnance Factories and Chairman of Ordnance Factory Board P K Misra, Additional Director of Ordnance Factories (Armoured Vehicles) A.K. Lamba and HVF General Manager B S Bhatia. The biggest advantage of T-90, when compared to T-72 tank, was that it had tremendous night fighting capability and could fire missiles to a range of 4000 m. The T-90 had undergone all trials and proved its capability. The highly versatile and state-of-the-art battle tank, was assembled here with parts imported from Russia and aimed at meeting the needs of the Indian Army in the coming decades. The superior features of the tank included its mobility, lethal fire power, surprise-hit at first sight and self-protection. An upgraded 1000 HP engine for enhanced mobility, ballistic computers for sight and accuracy and capability to fire all types of ammunitions in addition to firing guided missiles makes ‘’Bhishma’’ rank among the best in the world. The main gun was upgraded and had an excellent field maintainability and the night vision device and thermal imaging system fitted on the tank were the latest in the world. The capability of the tank was enhanced with superior armour protection with the Explosive Reactor Armour Panel (ERA) and nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, including the most modern communication system. There were about 80 T-90s in the assembly line in semi-knocked down condition which would be put together under the technical guidance from the Russian collaborators. About 100 T-90s in completely knocked down condition, would be assembled at Avadi in about an year and the indigenous production of the tank would begin in the next three years.
— UNI |
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Lakhs take holy dip at Sangam Allahabad, January 7 An estimated five lakh pilgrims had taken holy bath at Triveni Sangam early morning and several lakhs were seen gathering at various ghats to mark the month-long Magh Mela, which commenced today, official sources said. The banks of Ganga and Yamuna wore a festive look, with Vedic chants and hymns adding to the spiritual atmosphere. Tight security arrangements were in place with cops deployed in the area to maintain law and order situation. Seven close circuit camera were installed in the region to keep a watch on visitors, the sources said. Bomb disposal squads too were kept on alert to prevent any untoward incident, they said.
— PTI |
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A-I sacks pilot for violating orders
New Delhi, January 7 Captain A Kaushal’s contract had been terminated as he had failed to abide by the airline’s directions to all operating crew to use Mumbai as an alternative airport for Delhi. The incident occurred on December 23, when Kaushal diverted the AI-164 Frankfurt-Delhi flight to Ahmedabad, causing widely reported inconvenience to the 300 passengers on board. “If the directions had been followed and the flight diverted to Mumbai — the base station of A-I — instead of Ahmedabad, relief crew would have been readily made available to take the flight back to Delhi, thus minimising the hardship caused to passengers,” the spokesperson said. The airline clarified that the pilot was not sacked on account of his refusing to extending his flight duty hours. “The flight duty time limitation has always been respected by the management in the interest of air safety,” the spokesperson said. To deal with innumerable flight disruptions due to the thick blanket of fog over the capital, the airline said it would induct extra staff on contract to see to the affected passengers’ convenience.
— IANS |
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Patna, January 7 |
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BJP man found dead Allahabad, January 7 |
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