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Sonia
too plays Ram card Protesters
disrupt PM’s meeting, 32 arrested
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Cong
asks PM to retire BJP,
NDA nervous: Cong
Dalmia,
Bansal new AICC secys Priyanka
woos Sultanpur Varun to finish Sanjay Gandhi’s mission Modi
questions Sonia’s ability to rule Declare
choice of PM, Jaitley asks Congress Gehlot ministers shown taking bribe on tape Help
withdraw Textile Ministry order, EC urged USA
condemns pre-poll violence in Kashmir
Fear
continues to haunt Godhra Pak
hijacks UN forum for raising Kashmir issue Authority
collapse led to Hardwar mishap: BJP team 
In video: Curfew lifted in Hardwar. (28k,
56k)SAARC
Award nominations’ date extended Hunt
for India’s smartest kid begins Navy
to have new ensign More
free-sale sugar quota may sour things for govt ‘Only
when people protest, things change’
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Sonia too plays Ram card Faizabad, April 24 Fifteen years later, Congress President Sonia Gandhi chose to close her campaign for the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh in the Faizabad constituency. Congress supporters, however, must be hoping that history will not be repeated this time round Gandhi, however, skirted controversy by addressing her last public meeting at a safe distance of 20 odd Km. from the Faizabad-Ayodhya towns, in the largely rural area of Sohawal where her audience comprised mostly farmers, khet mazdoors, women and a sprinkling of Muslims. Yet, she was not distant enough to avoid any mention of the Ayodhya imbroglio or invoke the name of Lord Rama. Mrs Gandhi began her speech by referring to Faizabad-Ayodhya as a holy land , the land of “Ram, also known as Maryada Pushottam Ram”, and then went on to send a clear message to the BJP ,which has appropriated Rama as its personal icon, that no single section could lay sole claim on Ayodhya’s reigning deity. Lord Rama belongs to all sections of society, he is a an icon for all the people. He was a just ruler who worked selflessly for everybody without any discrimination and was representative of India’s composite culture,” Mrs Gandhi told an enthusiastic and responsive crowd. Lord Rama, she added for good measure, struggled all his life without any ulterior motive of grabbing power. As for the Ayodhya controversy, Mrs Gandhi reiterated that a judicial verdict be awaited on the matter. A negotiated settlement between the two communities, she added, was most welcome but
this, too, ought to be endorsed by the courts. Mrs Gandhi, who arrived here after addressing similar rallies in Salempur and Azamgarh, repeated her charges against the NDA government which, according to her, had fuelled communal passions and divided society with the sole purpose of staying in power. “What has the BJP had to offer to the people...only scams, unemployment and rising prices,” she thundered while seeking support for the Congress representative Nirmal Khatri. Coming down heavily on the Vajpayee government for doing little for the common man, the Congress President was equally critical of Samajwadi Party leader Mulayum Singh Yadav. “There are some parties which claim to be secular but somewhere along the line, they have a strong connection with the BJP government at the Centre,” she said. The two parties, she maintained, were only putting up a front of fighting each other in order to maximise their votes. In reality, she said, the two had a hidden understanding. In fact, this has been the thrust of Mrs Gandhi’s speeches over the past few days. Her attack against the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav is apparently based on the party’s feedback that the Muslims are gradually getting disenchanted with the Samajwadi Party and are showing signs of moving towards the Congress. Signs of this shift are discernible in this constituency. Conversations with local Muslim residents reveal the tilt in the community. “ I voted for the Samajwadi Party but I am having second thoughts after it joined hands with a communal party like the BJP,” said Zafar Ilahi, a shop owner in Faizabad. Although this sentiment finds echo among other Muslims, who say, as of now , it appears their vote could well be divided between the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party . At the same time, they are well aware that a division in their vote will only end up helping the BJP. As a result, the Muslims here are still weighing their options and, as Nooruddin, a local resident, pointed out, We will decide at the last moment. We will see which candidate is capable of defeating the BJP. |
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Protesters disrupt PM’s meeting,
32 arrested Kolkata, April 24 The meeting, however, ended in a fiasco as some members of the audience raised slogans against the organisers “for sponsoring the BJP at the cost of secularism”. All India Haj Committee Chairman Tanvir Ahmed, one of the speakers, was not allowed to complete his speech as the some of the protestors shouted slogans demanding as to why the organisers were keen to support the BJP even after the Gujarat riots which rendered thousands of Muslims homeless. Ahmed said that there was no reason for not supporting the BJP “because top leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani had themselves admitted that the only dark patch in the feel good factor was that of the Gujarat riots”. The protestors, however, did not relent and forced organisers to call off the meeting. Meanwhile, about 50 members of minority forum, who were staging a noisy demonstration outside the venue, tried to burn effigies of the Prime Minister. The police swung into action and arrested 32 demonstrators, including forum president Idris Ali, and cleared the road. Earlier talking to reporters before start of the meeting, Maulana Jameel Illyasi said that Muslims should “support the BJP and not the Congress because the latter had used them as a vote bank and had done nothing for the welfare of the community”.
— PTI |
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Cong asks PM to retire New Delhi, April 24 How can he rule the nation when he cannot control his own people around. We are advising the Prime Minister to retire,” Congress spokesman Abishek Manu Singhvi stressed to newspersons at the party briefing. Mr Singhvi said Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray “is the naughtiest of them all.” Asked who would be the leader of the Congress after the election, Mr Singhvi said Ms Sonia Gandhi was now leading the party as its President. She would be the natural choice in the event of the Congress getting majority. However, the party’s allies would select a ‘consensus’ candidate to head the government if the Congress and its allies together got majority. Earlier, BJP spokesman Law Minister Arun Jaitley had asked the Congress to specify its candidates for the Prime Minister’s post. Asked about the presence of rebel candidates in Tirunelveli and Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu, Mr Singhvi said ‘strongest’ disciplinary action would be taken against those partymen who contested against the party’s official nominee. “I do not know about any individual constituencies. But I can assure you, in keeping with established practice in the Congress, that strongest of disciplinary action would be taken against the rebels.” |
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BJP, NDA nervous: Cong New Delhi, April 24 “We want to know whether realignment includes the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with the BJP in Uttar Pradesh,” Congress spokesman Abishek Manu Singhvi lobbed a question at a media conference yesterday, while reacting to Mr Vajpayee’s statement on realignment in his interview to All India Radio (AIR) on April 21. The Prime Minister should clarify to the nation and to the voters as to whom the voters should vote for - the BJP or the BJP-led NDA or an unspecified and unknown political combination, Mr Singhvi said. “In particular, who does the Prime Minister have in mind for post-poll alliance. Is it the SP, the BSP or some other party,” he asked. Dwelling to Mr Vajpayee’s statement on realignment, Mr Singhvi asked the Prime Minister whether this was his special SOS both to the existing alliance and the proposed future post-poll alliance. Neither the BJP nor the Prime Minister even had hopes that his party would get a majority on its own. |
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Dalmia, Bansal new AICC secys New Delhi, April 24 Ms Dalmia would be in charge of the office of AICC President Sonia Gandhi, party sources said today. Earlier, noted screen playwright, director and producer Iqbal Durrani joined the Congress today, declaring his
alliance to AICC President Sonia Gandhi. Mr
Durrani, who was introduced to the press by AICC spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi at the party’s headquarters, said he had always been a supporter of the Congress “which alone has a history and character.” |
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Priyanka woos Sultanpur Sultanpur, April 24 “On the contrary, politics is a noble ideal which provides both an opportunity and an instrument for serving the people and translating their dreams of a better life into a reality,” she says, adding that for the past six years she has been precisely trying to do that. She was talking to a group of reporters during her road show late last evening in Sultanpur from where the family’s trusted friend Capt Satish Sharma, is fighting the Lok Sabha election, Priyanka said she was faced with persistent queries from various quarters, especially from the members of the Fourth Estate, about the time-frame for her entry into active politics. “But active politics is not necessarily synonymous with fighting elections, and I am pretty sure about it,” she asserted. She said most of the leaders were now entering politics only for fighting elections. “But this does not apply to my family, and this fact is known to the world.” Priyanka is the campaign manager for her mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who has shifted from Amethi to Rae Bareli to ensure a smooth entry for Rahul into electoral politics. As Priyanka’s motorcade, comprising vehicles manned by SPG personnel and Uttar Pradesh state police, traversed through hamlets and townships of the district, there was a near stampede as people on both sides of roads scrambled to catch a glimpse of her. Appealing to the people to maintain peace, Priyanka said, “Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee dons caps of various shapes and colours on different occasions. Sometimes he wears a turban, sometimes a cap to get photographed. This is only a ploy to attract members of a particular community”. “But if the Prime Minister is really keen to exhibit sympathy for a particular religious community, then what prevented him from doing so during the brutal Gujarat riots?” she queried. “Yeh jor-tor aur swarth ki rajniti jyada din tak nahi chalegee ,” she said, sending the crowd into a frenzy of applause. —UNI For the battery of mediapersons which followed her convoy, it was an incredible sight as the people aged and young, men and women waited patiently for hours. And when she finally arrived, they showered flower petals on her. Fidgety security personnel, exasperated by the crowds thronging Priyanka, had a tough time. Apparently, they had been told not to be brusque with the people. Accompanied by Capt. Sharma and his daughter, Priyanka made a series of short speeches as the motorcade began its journey from Amhat and moved through the hamlets of Payagipur, Hanumanganj, Kamta, Lamhua, Chanda, Kadipur, Motinagar, Parauta, Gosaiganj, Saifulaganj, Dhanpatganj, Jamalgir and Dhamaur. During her short speeches en route, she never forgot to address the constituency which she values most — the youth who form a sizeable chunk of the electorate. “You are the hope of the future. I want to work with you for the progress of the country. I have full faith in your capacity to think correctly and understand the intricacies of politics. You are fired up with a zeal to accomplish something new. You want to rise over the hackneyed and dangerous politics of caste and community. For the people in general, her message was simple and unambiguous. “Vote like an Indian for the future of India. Don’t get trapped in any artificial distinction. Show the door to those who have not fulfilled the promises made to you. Politics is an instrument for change and realise its power.”
— UNI |
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Varun to finish Sanjay Gandhi’s mission Lucknow, April 24 “After
Pilibhit, my mother’s constituency, Sultanpur has an emotional value for us since my father had nursed the area,” he told mediapersons here on his way to Sultanpur. He said even Rae Barelli and Amethi were special for him but he would not like to campaign against his aunt and cousins. Varun assured the people that he would continue to nurse Sultanpur even after the completion of the elections as “he had to fulfil the dreams of his father for the constituency.” “I am visiting Sultanpur after a long time. The last time I went there was with my mother,” he said. Stating that this time he would prefer to campaign in the entire country, rather than only in
Pilibhit, Varun said he had gone there for the nomination of his mother, Ms Maneka Gandhi, and would be there on the last day of electioneering also. “This time my mother does not need my help as she is sure to win by a landslide margin,” he said. He said he would concentrate on holding election meetings in Uttar Pradesh during the next two phases by visiting seven or eight constituencies. “In the Prime Minister’s constituency, Lucknow, I will campaign for two days on April 30 and May 1,” he said. “I am enjoying campaigning as people want good and young people to come into politics,” he said.
— UNI |
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Modi questions Sonia’s ability to rule Chaibasa
(Jharkhand), April 24 Addressing an election rally, his first in the state, Mr Modi asked the Congress, which was projecting Mrs Sonia Gandhi as the Prime Minister, whether it was aware of her background and pre-marital status. “Even a house owner inquires about the tenant who wants to take the house on rent. But unfortunately, the Congress has not bothered to learn about Sonia Gandhi’s past,” the firebrand BJP leader said. He accused the Congress of trying to go back to the “foreign rule”. “But this time not from England, but from Italy,” he said. “We are not going to give the country’s rein to the foreigners for a second time,” he asserted. Stating that this election would decide the country’s fate in the 21st century, the Gujarat Chief Minister asked the people to be judicious before casting their votes. Listing the achievements of BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, Mr Modi said Mr Vajpayee was a non-Congress Prime Minister and “this has resulted in a difference in the country’s development in the past 50 years and the past six years”.
— UNI |
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Declare choice of PM, Jaitley asks Congress New Delhi, April 24 BJP spokesperson Arun Jaitley said here it was the responsibility of the Congress to indicate its preference for the country’s top job ahead of three more phases of polling. Accusing the Congress and the Left parties of keeping the people in the dark on the leadership issue, Mr Jaitley reiterated that it was an important issue as several factors, including running the coalition, economy and national security were linked to it. He said as far as the NDA was concerned, it had projected Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the prime-ministerial candidate. He said though Mr Yadav had joked about the issue in an interview with a private TV channel, the claim was “pretty serious” and hence the Congress should tell the people about the leadership in clear terms. The BJP leader pointed out that the leadership issue had been the “single-most destabilising factor” of the two United Front coalition governments. Mr Jaitley ruled out the possibility of the NDA seeking support from other parties in the event of a fractured mandate and hoped the situation would not arise as the BJP and the NDA coalition was hoping to get majority on its own. About the possibility of Samajwadi Party of UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav extending support to the NDA after the elections, he said he had not seen any statement from Mr Yadav to this effect. Mr Jaitley also refused to comment on the controversy regarding the marriage of BJP candidate from Bikaner, Dharmendra, and BJP Rajya Sabha member, Hema Malini. |
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Gehlot ministers shown taking bribe on tape
Jaipur, April 24 A property dealer released CDs of the video to the electronic media, showing former ministers Choggaram Bakolia, Taqiuddin Ahmed and Gulab Singh Shaktawat taking money while promising official favours. The tape also showed a few of Mr Gehlot’s associates striking deals for commissions on the compensation of acquired land. While Mr Shaktawat, a veteran Congress leader from Vallabhnagar in Udaipur, was the Home Minister with additional charge of the Bureau of Investment, Mr Bakolia was the Urban Development and Local Bodies Minister with Cabinet rank. Mr Ahmed was the Minister of State for Social Welfare. Mr Ranveer Pehalwan, the property dealer who carried out the sting operation, said he had taped the deals last year, but was releasing the CDs now since his family had started receiving threat calls. The video also showed deals being struck between Mr Pehalwan and Mr Kanwarsain, elder brother of Mr Gehlot.
— UNI |
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Help withdraw Textile Ministry
order, EC urged New Delhi, April 24 “The order will hit hard the jute industry employing 2.5 lakh workers and 40 lakh jute growers mostly in West Bengal and Bihar,” CPM General Secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet said in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Mr T.S. Krishnamurthy. “The order will bring huge business benefits to non-jute packaging industry, engaged in the production of synthetic, which has been lobbying hard for a long time with political parties for such a favour,” the letter, which was released to the media, said. The letter expressed concern over Order No SO 506(E) dated April 16 issued by the Textiles department, drastically reducing the reservation percentage for compulsory use of jute bags for packaging foodgrains from 100 per cent to 60 per cent and for packing sugar from 90 per cent to 50 per cent. |
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USA condemns pre-poll violence
in Kashmir New Delhi, April 24 The US Embassy here issued a statement saying: “We condemn unequivocally the attack on candidates, on political rallies, and other election related events prior to and on polling day.” The statement condemned the terrorist attacks on candidates and political rallies. “These attacks are cynical attempts to scare voters away from choosing their political representatives and from exercising their fundamental right of franchise.” The statement said that as in the 2002 state Assembly elections, “we applaud the courage of Kashmiris who braved the threat of violence and intimidation and turned out to vote.” The US Embassy had issued a similar statement earlier this month condemning terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir. The statement came a day after militant violence rocked Srinagar where terrorists made an unsuccessful bid to storm the state Congress Headquarters. |
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Fear continues to haunt Godhra New Delhi, April 24 An intriguing silence confronts a visitor and efforts to bring the citizens out of their shell invariably ends in a naught. A deeper probe and enquiry tells that little has been done to give the proverbial “healing touch” as the ruling political leadership and the state
administration has remained oblivious to the state of affairs in Godhra town. Wounds, inflicted on the minority community in the aftermath of the February 27, 2002 sordid incident, were reopened on February 18 this year when a police operation was launched for allegedly nabbing one of the main accused in the Godhra Sabarmati Express incident Salim Panwala, senior journalist Digant Oza pointed out. According to a fact-finding report of the Alliance for Defence of Democracy (ADD), a police team had gone to a masjid in the Geni Plot area of the city during the afternoon namaz to arrest Panwala. The accused ran away from the place and in the process there was a skirmish between the plainclothes policemen and some residents. A four-member ADD team, constituted for investigating the incident, visited the town and interacted with people of six areas namely Geni Plot, Hathila Plot, Ranta Plot, Khalpa Plot, Giteli Plot and Jakat Naka. “The intent of the police for this operation was to send a message to the Muslim community of its capacity to terrorise the entire community without any legal constraints and build a leadership in the police force for this task”, the ADD report said in its conclusions. “The large scale ransacking of houses, beating, abusing, looting, smashing of vehicles is meant to terrorise the Muslim community and instill a feeling of their inferior and degraded status of second class citizens”, the report observed. “The police forces are made to operate and act within a medieval policy framework that makes a community accountable and responsible for an act of an individual and therefore retribution against a community for an act of an individual is legitimised”, the ADD team said and stressed that “this is absolutely violative of all principles of modern and democratic policing and criminal jurisprudence”. Obviously, the police action this year has widened the gulf between the citizenry and the state administration and the disturbing silence writ large on the faces can be understood and not difficult to comprehend. Life drags on in this divided city as citizens make mechanical motions. When shall the social dynamics get restored, nobody seems to have a clue as even the hurly burly of the electioneering failed to make a difference. |
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Pak hijacks UN forum for raising Kashmir issue New Delhi, April 24 Pakistan’s Ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nation’s Mission in Geneva hijacked the 60th annual session of the UN Commission on Human Rights and raised the Kashmir issue at the conference which concluded on April 20, diplomatic sources here told The Tribune on Thursday. As if this violation of the recent India-Pakistan understanding was not enough, Pakistan infiltrated western and Arab NGOs at this conference in Geneva and its people used virtually every agenda item — be it human rights, development, women and children or racism — to launch scathing attack on India. Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN Mission in Geneva, Shaukat Umer not only raised Kashmir issue at the Geneva conference but also did something unprecedented: he spoke on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). On “self-determination under colonial or alien or foreign domination”, Mr Umer said: “For 40-odd years the people of Jammu and Kashmir tried to achieve their right to self-determination through peaceful means... Continued suppression unleashed the impulse for armed struggle. Its attribution to external sources and its derogation as terrorism cannot detract from the legitimacy of the cause... Human rights situation in Kashmir would provide an important barometer of the (Indian) sincerity, engaged in meaningful talks to resolve this dispute.” Purporting to speak as the representative of the OIC on the subject of human rights, Mr Umer said, “Recent steps initiated by India and Pakistan... including the core dispute of Jammu and Kashmir, were long awaited.” Also “a solution to this dispute ... must be predicated on the wishes of the Kashmiri people enshrined in the relevant UN resolutions which are fully supported by the OIC.” India’s Permanent Representative to the Mission in Geneva, Mr Hardeep Puri, had to strongly rebut the Pakistani claim. He said: “Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India... The only occupation is that of Pakistan and the only threats faced by the people of the region stem from cross-border terrorism... Pakistan had extolled the virtues of the Taliban, from the effects of which regime the world is trying to recover.” Sources said the Pakistani side had brought in its own captive delegates posing as members of western NGOs. For instance Raja Najabat Hussain, who is actually the political adviser to the so-called Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir, claimed to represent a US NGO called IHRAAM (International Human Rights Association of American Minorities). |
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Authority collapse led to Hardwar mishap: New Delhi, April 24 The team said the riots of April 20 were a result of the “total collapse of authority”. Submitting their report to the party, team leader and Rajya Sabha member Balbir K Punj alleged that the state government had no control over the “mela police”, which was deployed from outside the district during the “Ardh Kumbh” at the pilgrim centre. Outnumbering the local police, the “indisciplined and mutinous” mela police went “berserk”, not even sparing the Deputy Inspector-General of Police Ashok Kumar and mediapersons. A 20-year-old youth was killed in the “unauthorised” firing, the report said. The team has also recommended immediate suspension of “mela adhikari” U. K. Singh and Deputy Inspector-General P. K. Joshi and action against the “rioting” policemen. Mr Punj said the mela police, numbering about 600 to 700, had “unleashed terror” on the local population and traders and they robbed around 60-70 locked shops on the night of April 20-21 after hearing that three of the guilty policemen were arrested for beating up and harassing a local businessman and his wife. The mela police had “violated the sanctity of the Ganges” by stepping in with their shoes on and had used filthy language “beating up anything that moved”. “Majority of the injured victims in the unauthorised firing were boys in the age group of 11 to 15, who had nothing to do with violence. Most of them had received injuries from pellets from country-made pistols secured after allegedly breaking open the maal khana.” The team alleged that the attitude of the state government was indifferent and that it had not taken any tangible steps to bring the guilty to justice, even though a judicial inquiry had been ordered on paper. “It should make speedy and proper arrangements for the treatment of the injured and prosecute the policemen for shooting without magisterial order,” Mr Punj said. |
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SAARC Award nominations’ date
extended New Delhi, April 24 The award carries a citation, a gold medal and a cash component of $ 8000. Earlier, the last date for submitting nominations was April 21. The award was instituted on the basis of a concept paper drawn up by Nepal King Gyanendra to honour and recognise outstanding individuals and organisations within the region in the fields of peace, development, poverty alleviation and in other areas of regional cooperation. The SAARC Award was instituted at the Twelfth SAARC Summit held in Islamabad on January 4-6, 2004. The first SAARC Award will be conferred at the next summit scheduled to be held in Dhaka in January 2005. Nominations are to be sent in eight sets to the Secretary General, SAARC Secretariat, PO Box 4222, Tridevi Sarak, Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal. Application forms can be downloaded from SAARC website
www.saarc.sec.org |
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Hunt for India’s smartest kid begins New Delhi, April 24 Over 20,000 kids from all over the country in the age group of 10-13 years are participating in this mega competition. It includes over 8,000 entries from the north zone including Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and J&K. The programme is claimed to be the first “thinking programme” to be telecast in India,
especially for kids. According to Ms Anita Kaul Bassu, programme producer, “This will be the first TV programme which aims to select India’s smartest kid. India has a large number of children with higher intelligence quotient, but because of lack of fast-track education system for them, their talent is wasted. We are trying to focus on them.” The selected child will be awarded with Rs 10 lakh, besides consolation prizes in each round for other kids. The show, to be telecast at 9 pm on Star World channel, is being produced by the Synery Communications, and would be broadly based on the original Fox format that was telecast in the USA. Ms Basu said: “Out of the total 20,000 entries, 5000 kids (1250 per zone) were shortlisted from four zones- north, south, east and
west, for the written tests conducted at 26 centres across the country.” She added that in the north zone, the written tests were conducted at Chandigarh, Dehra Dun, Delhi, Lucknow, Allahabad and Varanasi. The programme will have 27 episodes, and in each episode 16 kids will participate, with five rounds from each zone. Interestingly, the participating kids showed concerns about the national issues like “corruption, depletion of eco-system, diseases, unemployment and rise in population.” After the success of “Mastermind” and University Challenge, Mr Siddharth Basu has decided to focus on the child segment. The organisers claimed that the advertisers and marketing gurus are also awaiting for the programme, as they expect that it could be another successful
programme after “Kaun Banega Crorepati.” |
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Navy to have new ensign New Delhi, April 24 The change in the Ensign, Flag and Pendent has been necessitated as Navy’s present blue-and-white colour combination on the flag makes it almost invisible on the high seas. The Navy, which shed its ensign of Flag of Saint George on the ground that it smacked of colonial hangover on August 15, 2001, has now decided to go in for a new colour combination for its flag. But it would be going back somewhat to the St George’s sign by having a horizontal and a vertical red stripe intersecting at the middle, with a white ensign backdrop. A golden yellow state emblem would be superimposed on the intersection and the national flag in the upper canton next to the staff, according to an official release here. The Navy said it had decided to drop the blue and white colour combination on the flag as the sailors and officers voiced had concern over its low visibility on the high seas as it blended with the blue of the sky and the sea. |
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More free-sale
sugar quota may sour things for govt New Delhi, April 24 Official sources said the quota release is two lakh MT more than the amount of sugar release in April. With a levy quota of 2.16 lakh MT for this month, the total availability would be 18.16 lakh MT for May. The sugar quota release is meant only for internal consumption and is subject to the stipulation that the mills should sell 50 per cent of their free sale sugar quota allotment by May 15 and another 50 per cent by next fortnight. Sources said the government had indicated that the Centre would not hesitate to release further quantities if required as it had enough stock at hand. Observers said the increase in the free sale of sugar quota at this juncture by the government could help the government electorally, which could be a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Electorally crucial state Uttar Pradesh is going to the polls in the next three phases and the payment to sugarcane farmers is a major issue amongst the electorate in the sugar belt of the state. |
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‘Only when people protest, things change’ New Delhi, April 24 Delivering the fifth Dr B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Lecture here yesterday, Mr Justice A.K. Sikri said: “Merely because an act is passed and rights are conferred, implementation is not assured. An active role needs to be played by the executive and the judiciary, apart from society as a whole, to make sure laws are followed.” Speaking on the topic ‘Human rights of the disabled, Mr Justice Sikri said despite having several laws for the disabled, people with disabilities did not get education, employment and easy access and convenience only because of the mindset of society that such people were inefficient and incapable of working. He said: “Everyone has a right to live with dignity and this is just what needs to be done for those with disabilities. The biggest grudge they bear is that no one understands their needs, they are not looking for our pity.”
— UNI |
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Copter crash: IAF
waits for pilot’s recovery New Delhi, April 24 An IAF spokesman here said Flying Officer Sharma was yet to regain full consciousness and was not medically fit to answer queries of a team of experts that had flown to Kashmir to find out the reasons for the crash. His colleague Sqn Ldr A. Tripathi who was piloting the helicopter was killed in the crash. Sqn Ldr Tripathi’s body was flown here en route to his home town. At the start to the inquiry the experts were sifting the debris to know about the reasons behind the crash. The wreckage of the helicopter had been recovered today. Flying Officer Sharma, when fully recovered, is expected to throw more light on the cause of the crash. |
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Bhaswati posted
to UNESCO New Delhi, April 24 Ms Mukherjee succeeds Ms Neelam D. Sabharwal and is expected to take up her assignment shortly. |
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Faizabad, April 24
