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Sikhs irked over the use of ‘Sardar’ in ‘Shabd’
Marandi battles rumours in
Dumka
Pappu Yadav’s supporters rough up
mediapersons
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Cong, RJD friendly fight may not
last
Karnataka sits on 938-cr public
money
JD-U activist shot
Drastic fall in number of wetlands: study
Links with underworld embarrass Maharashtra
NCP
FIR against Taslimuddin for violating EC code
Ravi Sidhu withdraws petition from SC
SC notice on quake-resistant buildings
Panic in TN after quake in
Indonesia
SC notice to Survey of India
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Sikhs irked over the use of ‘Sardar’ in ‘Shabd’
Mumbai, February 19 The Sikh Brotherhood International has rushed off letters to Pritish Nandy Communications Limited, the Censor Board of India, and the National Commission of Minorities, expressing resentment of the community. In the letter, organisation's president Parbinder Singh Chandhok stated that the movie has hurt the self respect of the community as the the word "Sardar" has been used in a disrespectful manner. In the movie, the word "Sardar" has been used in a comical sense. "What makes the writer, director and actors think that the word just expresses amusement ?," he sought to know in the letter. In India and abroad, "Sardars" were torch-bearers of the freedom struggle. History will support us if we assert that "Sardars" sacrificed themselves in overwhelming numbers during the freedom struggle, he went on to state in the letter. In fact, the word literally means a person who places his "sar (head)" on the "dar (guillotine)". It is no joke to be a "Sardar", Mr Chandok went on to point out. The "Sardars" should not be ridiculed, he said. Meanwhile, Pritish Nandy Communications Limited has tenderred a written apology saying that they respect the Sikh community and hold it in high esteem. About the objectionable scene, Pritish Nandy Communications Limited said there was no intention to ridicule anybody. But, "Shabd" has already been certified by the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC) for adult viewing, and any change now will have to be done with the CBFC's permission and carried out with the board's concurrance. We will talk to the censor board immediately and try to find a possible solution at the earliest, the letter said. —UNI |
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Marandi battles rumours in
Dumka
Dumka, February 19 The JMM apparently wants to give the impression among the vast rural population in the tribal belt that Mr Marandi is still with the party. It is extensively using the posters which show Mr Marandi in company of JMM chief Shibu Soren and some other party leaders. The posters, used in the earlier two phases of election, now find a place in the JMM campaign in the Santhal Parganas. Seemingly working to a strategy, Mr Soren has desisted from taking disciplinary action against Mr Marandi despite grave provocation. Mr Marandi has complained to the Election Commission about use of his photograph in the election posters of the JMM’s Dumka candidate Hemant Soren, who is younger son of Mr Shibu Soren. The EC has called for an explanation from the JMM candidate. But more than the posters, Mr Marandi is wary of the “rumour campaign” in Dumka villages about his election symbol being the same as in earlier elections. Mr Marandi has won five times on JMM election symbol ‘bow and arrow.’ “Symbols have huge significance in the life of tribals. Some of them consider bow and arrow as their own symbol and not of the JMM,” says Mr Kamal Hansda, a resident of Dumka. Apart from countering their inclination towards the symbol of bow and arrow, Mr Marandi is telling rural population about his distinct identity in the election and familiarising them with his election symbol. “Rumours are being spread in villages that I am contesting on my previous symbol. I am going to each village to counter it,” says Mr Marandi. Mr Marandi, who leaves home early and returns late, has so far covered 150 of the nearly 250 villages of his constituency. Mr Marandi’s associates, who have landed at his home in Dumka from all over the state, are adding their bit to popularise his election symbol, ‘drum’. They have arranged for tailors at his home who work round-the-clock to stitch flags with the election symbol. Mr Marandi’s flags are green and white compared to the dark green of the JMM. To add to his appeal among the educated lot, Mr Marandi has brought out a 59-point election manifesto which promises among other things a mini-secretariat in Dumka. Mr Marandi alleges use of money power by the JMM to influence voters. His supporters say that youths are being given money to carry out cycle rallies in villages in favour of Hemant Soren. Mr Shibu Soren’s elder son, Durga Soren, who is contesting from neighbouring Jama, has been accused of distributing JMM caps and jackets. The Election Commission has sought a reply over the allegations from Mr Durga Soren. |
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Pappu Yadav’s supporters rough up
mediapersons
New Delhi, February 19 Around 50 supporters of the controversial MP from Madhepura, Bihar, along with his wife, were waiting to receive him at the railway station. They shouted slogans and smashed the cameras of mediapersons for covering his arrival in Delhi. “I was pushed around and they even snatched my lens,” said one cameraman. Yadav, who was lodged in Patna’s Beur Jail, was brought in the Rajdhani Express. After his arrival at the New Delhi Railway Station this morning, Yadav was taken to Tihar in a police bus. He will be lodged in judicial custody. The Supreme Court had ordered that Pappu Yadav be shifted to Tihar in connection with the CPI-M MLA Ajit Sarkar murder case. Ordering the shifting be done within a week, the Bench had warned the officials involved in the transferring of the accused from Bihar to Tihar Jail not to “extend any special privileges to him and to scrupulously follow the jail manual.” |
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Cong, RJD friendly fight may not
last
New Delhi, February 19 Concerned over reports of a division in the secular votes, AICC sources said its strategy is to maximise the gains for the
RJD-Congress combine in the final phase of polls in Bihar. While plans of installing a secular government appear shaky at present, it is hoped that the RJD and the Congress will be able to muster a strength of about 100-odd seats in the 243-member Assembly. In such a scenario, it plans to meet the shortfall by wooing the smaller parties and the sizeable number of independent candidates who are expected to win. Since many candidates fielded by Paswan’s LJP are not contesting on the party symbol and are, therefore, independent candidates, they could well be persuaded to shift allegiance without attracting the provisions of the anti-defection law. In case the numbers
do not add up, which is entirely possible, and the LJP has to from a secular alliance, the Congress will have a tough task persuading Mr Paswan given his strained relations with the RJD chief. Reports, so far, suggest that Mr Paswan is set to play the role of a king or a kingmaker in the formation of a new government. Congress sources said though the party has a tacit alliance with Mr Paswan, if push comes to shove, it would rather opt for Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav than the LJP chief. Mr Yadav, it is argued, has been the Congress party’s most trusted ally and was the first to openly support Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s candidature for the Prime Minister’s post. Besides, the UPA government is critically dependent on RJD’s 25 Lok Sabha MPs while the LJP has only four members. This belated realisation about the RJD’s indispensability follows internal reports that the Congress has failed to emerge as a siginificant force in Bihar. The Congress is, therefore, making a last-ditch attempt to make some gains in the final round of elections on February 23. Party sources said since the areas of going to polls in the third phase are essentially an NDA stronghold as these are dominated by the upper castes and
Kurmis. The responsibility for weakening the NDA rests with the Congress as it is more likely to garner the upper caste vote. Consequently, the Congress is working on pushing up its tally in this round by focussing on 10 favourable seats. Mrs Sonia Gandhi, it is learnt, has virtually issued an ultimatum to party cadres that they must win these seats at all costs. How this strategy will play out is yet to be seen as reports received here indicate that the upper caste vote has consolidated in favour of the BJP-JD (U) combine as the Congress is perceived as a RJD proxy. |
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Karnataka sits on 938-cr public
money
Bangalore, February 19 The High Court is currently hearing petitions from those whose land was acquired for the layout, called the Arakavathy layout. The state government says the sites will be allotted once litigation is resolved, and the refund process for those who do not make it will begin soon after. The court is still hearing the case however, and the BDA, which already has an allottees’ list, expressed a desire to return the deposits of those not on that list. The BDA is awaiting a nod from the Chief Minister’s Office. Chief Minister Dharam Singh, when quizzed about it recently, declined to given any guidelines for the return of depositors’ money. Many of the applicants are first- timers who have no chance of getting a site this time - the number of attempts is one of the criteria for allotment. The deposit amounts range from Rs 14,200 for a 6 X 9 metre site to Rs 56,700 for a 12 X 18 mt site and Rs 94,500 for a 15 X 24 mt site. The Arakavathy layout project got into trouble immediately after the elections, when the S.M. Krishna Government had to bow out, to be replaced by a Congress- led coalition supported by Mr H.D. Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (S). Tenders for the project were cancelled, with the JD (S) leading the way in alleging irregularites, making the then BDA Commissioner ,Mr Jaykar Jerome ,proceed on leave. The spat spiralled, with allegations and counter- allegations, with Mr S.M. Krishna strongly defending many of the BDA projects ranging from flyovers to ring roads. Tenders were re-issued, with Mr Dharam Singh promising the sites as a Sankranti gift to Bangloreans. Many depositors have borrowed from banks, pledged jewellery, and otherwise put themselves in hardship in the hope of a government site. They are now regretting their decision. No interest on this money is going to be paid anyway. Even if the government hopes to get over the litigation issues surrounding the layout, there is no point in keeping the money of depositors with no chance of a site. |
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JD-U activist shot
Munger, February 19 Angry residents blocked the Munger-Patna national highway near Shivkund village for several hours demanding immediate arrest of the killers. —
PTI |
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Drastic fall in number of wetlands: study
New Delhi, February 19 According to a study conducted on wetlands in 72 districts of the country, including those in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Conservative estimates revealed a substantial loss in the number of wetlands. What has been even worse is the fact that almost all wetlands in the 14 states surveyed in the study funded by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the UNDP, have been found to be heavily polluted with pesticides and heavy metals. The director of the centre, Mr V.S. Vijayan, said that in many cases fish from these wetlands were not even fit for human consumption due to a high level of heavy metals and pesticides. “It is a cause for concern that not even one of the over 1,249 fish studied from 115 wetlands were free from pesticides or heavy metals. The level of toxicity in some cases is so bad that eating just 250 gm of fish from one of these wetlands every day can also kill,” added Mr Vijayan. One of the major reasons for such a drastic decline has been the failure to consider wetlands as a productive unit of the land. Instead, it is considered to be a wasteland with the land-use statistics of none of the states showing a separate category for wetlands. Wetlands are also one of the most preferred landfills for dumping solid wastes from a variety of origin and an ultimate end point for discharging industrial and domestic untreated effluents. Meanwhile, releasing two books — “Inland Wetlands of India: A Conservation Priorities” and “Inland Wetlands of India: A Conservation Atlas” — of the centre, by the Minister of Environment and Forests, Mr A. Raja, yesterday called for a determined and proactive national wetlands conservation strategy and action plan. |
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Links with underworld embarrass Maharashtra
NCP
Mumbai, February 19 The NCP has expelled prominent activist Arshad Siddiqui after his name cropped up in the confessions of an accused in the gutka case. The police says Siddiqui ,who is in the travel business, allegedly provided visas to Jamirrudin Kalia ,alias Jumbo, who is under arrest for exporting
gutka- manufacturing machines to Dawood Ibrahim’s brother, Anees, in Karachi. Siddiqui, however, proclaimed his innocence ,saying that he helped process thousands of visa applications every year and had no intimate acquaintance with Jumbo. According to the police ,Jumbo and some of his accomplices confessed to moving the gutka- manufacturing machines to Karachi via Dubai. The controversy over Siddiqui comes days after the Shiv Sena alleged that top NCP politicians pressured police officials to let off Rasiklal Dhariwal, owner of Manikchand Gutka ,and Jagdish Joshi of Goa Gutka. Former Chief Minister Narayan Rane of the Shiv Sena alleged that senior police officials were asked by NCP leaders not to file charges against the two businessmen and instead let them leave the country. The two men have not been made accused in the charge sheet filed in the case and they are only wanted for questioning as witnesses. Mumbai’s Police Commissioner
A.N. Roy ,however, denied the allegations and said there was no influence on his officers. Backing Mr Roy is Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil of the
NCP, who says none of his colleagues has been influencing the police. |
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FIR against Taslimuddin for violating EC code
Kishanganj, February 19 The case was lodged against Taslimuddin, an RJD Lok Sabha member from Kishanganj, and others under the defacement of property Act and violation of model code. The Election Commission's Special Advisor, K.J. Rao, during his visit to Kishanganj on February 15, has noticed slogans and posters pasted on the walls in the town and asked the protocol officer Sanjay Upadhyay, accompanying him, to ensure that an FIR was filed in this connection. Earlier, a case was lodged against another Union Minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi for allegedly violating the model code in course of campaigning for the Congress nominees. —PTI |
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Ravi Sidhu withdraws petition from SC
New Delhi, February 19 After Sidhu’s counsel S Murlidhar proposed to withdraw the petition, a Bench of Mr Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Mr Justice Tarun Chatterjee in its ordered recorded that it be treated as “dismissed as withdrawn”. Additional Solicitor -General Amrendra Sharan, appearing for the Punjab Government along with state’s standing counsel Bimal Roy Jad, opposed his petition for clubbing the trial stating that all the three cases against him were different in nature and a result of different FIRs. The government counsel told the court that the cases against him pertained to alleged acceptance of a bribe of Rs 50 lakh from a person for promising a job in which he was caught red- handed by the police, the disproportionate assets case and the Arms Act case. The trial against him is being held in three different courts at Patiala, Ropar and Chandigarh, the court was informed. Sidhu’s counsel during brief arguments pleaded that all the cases be clubbed together against his client, claiming that they were the result of the same alleged transaction. But later he proposed to withdraw the petition, which was pending in the court since 2003. |
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SC notice on quake-resistant buildings
New Delhi, February 19 Notices were also issued to the Bureau of Indian Standard, the Council of Architecture, the Institute of Engineers and various other agencies, including the DDA and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. |
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Panic in TN after quake in
Indonesia
Chennai, February 19 As television news channels reported about the earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale, which rocked Indonesia’s Sulawesi island had caused sea levels to rise, people staying in tents on the sea shore along the East Coast Road from here to Pondicherry panicked and immediately shifted to the other side of the road fearing another tsunami. The quake under the sea occurred early morning with an epicentre 224 km south of Kendari, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi province in Indonesia. Though experts ruled out another tsunami, people in Tamil Nadu being superstitious recalled that the last tsunami was on a Sunday and today being a Saturday was inauspicious and they did not want to take chances. |
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SC notice to Survey of India
New Delhi, February 19 A Bench of Mr Justice N Santosh Heged, Mr Justice S B Sinha and Mr Justice A K Mathur also issued the notices to the Survey of India and Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), who had pointed out the irregularties in its report for 2002-04. The issue was brought before the court in an SLP by a private organisation, after its petition was rejected by the Delhi High Court. The petitioner, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), alleged that CAG had pointed towards “gross contravention” of general financial rules in awarding the contracts to make arrangements for the celebrations by the Survey of India. “Various contracts were awarded on a single tender to various parties at exorbitant rates” without appointing any expert committee of officials for short listing of the contractors, it said. |
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Rashtriya Janata Dal’s controversial Lok Sabha MP Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav, was today brought to Delhi and lodged in the high-security Tihar Jail, following the Supreme Court’s directive.
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