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Tourist raped in Jodhpur, two held
Maya erupts in House
Sonia dissuaded from extending Budget session |
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Information Bill passed
PM, Left leaders try to chew differences
Bhopal disaster: BJP’s obsession with 20 wards
Judiciary interfering with legislature, says Speaker
Hearing in Forest Hill Club case put off
Fertiliser scam: 11 get 2-yr RI ‘Cannibal’ held
Woman agrees to marry rape accused
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Tourist raped in Jodhpur, two held
Jaipur, May 12 The two, who have been arrested, also took away a mobile phone and cash from the victim, Additional Superintendent of Police Hemant Sharma said. Shankast Lal, the driver, and Rakesh were arrested early today after the police cordoned off the Dangiawas area of Jodhpur city, he said. The 47-year-old woman from Frankfurt, who is an employee with Lufthansa airlines, had arrived in Jodhpur yesterday and hired the auto-rickshaw in the evening, he said. She was allegedly raped some time between 9 pm and 10 pm in the Dangiawas area, but the case was registered at the Shashtri Nagar police station around 1 am, he said. The victim was too traumatised to record a detailed statement and efforts were on to recover the items stolen from her, the ASP added. Doctors at the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital confirmed the rape after examining the victim and the accused, SP Ravi Prakash Meharda said. The police also recorded the statement of the woman and identified the location of the crime as a barren land in Kharda village under the Dangiawas police station, 17 km from Jodhpur, he said. The woman, who had boarded the auto-rickshaw to go out for dinner, was forcibly taken to the deserted place. Some villagers came to her rescue on hearing the cries and informed the police, he added.
— PTI |
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Maya erupts in House
New Delhi, May 12 As soon as the Rajya Sabha assembled for the day, Ms Mayawati got up during Question Hour and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene and direct the CBI to stop harassing her. The total cost of the Taj corridor project was Rs 175 crore of which only Rs 17 crore was released by the state government during her tenure. However, the CBI clubbed her income with that of her parents and other relatives to pursue the case of disproportionate assets, she alleged. “The CBI is being directed by the Prime Minister’s office to harass me. Why? Just because I’m a Dalit,” she said. The BSP would reconsider its decision to lend outside support to the UPA government unless the CBI stopped harassing Dalits, she said. The agency’s functioning should be transparent and people from socially weaker sections should be appointed at crucial positions, she said. Rebutting her charges, Minister for Personnel Affairs Suresh Pachauri said, “When the CBI registered cases against Ms Mayawati, the previous NDA government was in power.” He said the appointments in the CBI were made by following a set procedure and the government cannot interfere in the process. The investigating agency was an autonomous body and the UPA did not believe in using it to settle political scores, he said. Subsequently, Rajya Sabha Chairperson Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said the matter was sub judice in the Supreme Court and hence should not be discussed further in the House. In the Lok Sabha, as soon as the House assembled, BSP members created a ruckus over the issue of CBI questioning Ms Mayawati and forced the adjournment of the House for 10 minutes. As soon as the House reassembled at 11.15 am, the BSP members again raised the issue and demanded a statement from the government and delayed the commencement of Question Hour by another 10-15 minutes shouting slogans like “CBI murdabad”, “CBI ko barkhaast karo” and “Behenji ka CBI dwara apmaan nahin sahenge”. Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee said he was not in a position to respond on the issue, but assured the BSP members that the government would look into the issue. “It is not our intention to harm a leader...Since Mayawati is our colleague, and her party supports the UPA, the Home Minister would look into it, and even sit with the BSP members to resolve the issue,” he said. Meanwhile, the government today denied that the autonomy of the premier investigating agency CBI was a myth and that at times it came under political pressure. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Personnel Affairs Suresh Pachouri said that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had been given superintendence over the CBI in respect to investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
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Sonia dissuaded from extending Budget session New Delhi, May 12 Congress President Sonia Gandhi had also favoured this suggestion but Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Arjun Singh and Hansraj Bharadwaj dissuaded her from going ahead with it on the plea that such a move would end up worsening relations between the UPA and the Opposition. The proposal was subsequently abandoned. The Opposition had made it clear that it was in mood to relent and UPA parliamentary managers went into an overdrive and loaded the two Houses with business. The subtext of this exercise was to signal to the Opposition that its absence had not derailed business but had actually improved government’s efficiency as it managed to pass a number of
important Bills. Congress sources said the suggestion for the extension of the session came up during the meetings of the party’s newly-constituted parlaimentary affairs committee. Several senior leaders, including Ms Ambika Soni, Mr Ahmed Patel, Mr Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, Mr Jairam Ramesh and Mr Rajiv Shukla proposed that the session could be extended by a few days to send out the message that the government could conduct the session without the Opposition. Mrs Gandhi favoured this proposal, it is learnt. However, Mr Mukherjee and other ministers maintained that such a move would not help in improving relations with the Opposition. Mrs Gandhi, however, proposed that the government should speed up on the legislative front and ensure the passage of as many Bills as possible. It was at her instance that the right to information Bill was rushed through the Cabinet and passed by Parliament in two days. Congress sources said Mrs Gandhi had sought details about the status of the Bills promised in the CMP and wanted the ministers to hasten work on them. Besides taking up legislative business, she also wanted that the members should partake in serious debates on issues of national importance like population. In her address to the Congress parliamentary party’s general body on Wednesday, she mentioned that the session had seen the introduction and passing of the maximum number of Bills. This is obviously to counter the BJP’s offensive against the UPA government.
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Arms chopped for opposing child marriage
New Delhi, May 12 The woman was admitted to the Gokuldas Hospital in Indore. Taking note of the incident, National Commission for Women Chairperson Girija Vyas and member Anusuiya Uike will leave for Indore tomorrow to get a first-hand account of the attack. The NCW Chairperson told mediapersons here today that the commission had taken a serious note of the incident and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babu Lal Gaur’s statement after the incident was insensitive. Ms Vyas said she would meet with the victim and go to Dhangarh village to get a first-hand account of the incident. “The victim should get compensation immediately. I spoke to the surgeon at the hospital today. If need be, we will recommend that she be sent abroad for reconstructive surgery,” Vyas said. The NCW Chairperson said she received calls from Anganwadi workers who assured her of continuing their campaign against social evils. Meanwhile, denouncing the brutal attack on the social worker, the Lok Sabha today expressed anguish over the rising incidents of child marriage in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other parts of the country. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Samajwadi Party member Ramjilal Suman demanded immediate measures to curb child marriages, which had been solemnised in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan despite clear directions from the National Human Rights Commission to take steps to end this social evil. He alleged that a Madhya Pradesh minister had also attended the child marriage in Dhar. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee appreciated the SP leader for bringing the issue to the attention of the House. Referring to the existence of the child marriage in several parts of the country, Chatterjee said: “These incidents are to be condemned. Women should be properly respected and secured.” Senior Congress member Pavan Kumar Bansal said Girija Vyas would visit Dhar and see for herself the incident involving the attack. |
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Information Bill passed
New Delhi, May 12 The Bill, which was passed yesterday by the Lok Sabha with 149 amendments, seeks to provide right to information for people to secure access to information under the control of public authority to promote transparency and accountability. Earlier, intervening in the debate on the Bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh termed the Bill as a pace-setting measure and said it would see the “dawn of a new era” and strive to eliminate the scourge of corruption and strengthen democracy. Referring to Mr P.C. Alexander’s observation that 120 days were too short for putting in place the required information for the operationalisation of the Bill, the Prime Minister said he would try to address the issue while formulating the rules of the legislation. |
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PM, Left leaders try to chew differences
New Delhi, May 12 The meeting covered a range of issues, including the proposed legislation on employment guarantee, the banking regulation amendment Bill, legislation for agricultural workers, land rights to tribals, resumption of arms supply to Nepal and the controversial sale of Centaur Hotel in Mumbai. Dr Manmohan Singh sought to apprise the Left leaders of the progress made in fulfilling the promises made in the Common Minimum Programme. Besides the Prime Minister, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat, CPI general secretary A. B. Bardhan and party leader D Raja, RSP leader Abani Roy attended the hour-long meeting. The Left leaders clearly stated that they were not convinced with the provisions of the Banking Regulation Amendment Bill and had sought further discussion on the matter. Mr Bardhan told reporters that “at this point, the UPA government is assessing its performance. We have pointed out certain shortcomings, especially in the banking sector reforms Bill”. He said the leaders also sought the government’s views on the proposed legislation on employment guarantee, besides expressing concern over a proposal to divest equity in public sector undertakings. The CPI leader said they criticised the UPA government for not speeding up the process to bring comprehensive legislation on agricultural workers. The Prime Minister assured the Left leaders that the government would pursue the Centaur case in the wake of the CAG’s remarks to its “logical conclusion”. The Left leaders have been demanding a probe into the deal. The Left leaders also expressed strong objections to the resumption of arms supplies to Nepal, where little effort had been made by King Gyanendra to restore democracy. |
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2 Indian war veterans take part in Moscow parade
New Delhi, May 12 “It was a moment of great honour for us to be invited by the Russian Government to participate in the 60th anniversary celebrations in Moscow. The atmosphere was full of emotions as tears rolled down the cheeks of old women who had lost their husbands as they witnessed the historic parade in Moscow’s Red Square on Monday,” the 89-year-old former naval engineer, who along with Indian Ex-Services League (IESL) President Major General Bikram Singh Kanwar, was felicitated here yesterday by the Russian Ambassador Vyacheslav I Trubnikov on their return from Moscow after their participation in the ceremony, told newspersons. Commander Mudaliar, who had fought in the World War II with the Royal British Navy, was full of praise for the befitting celebrations in Moscow. He said, “I wish the Indians did like that. We have forgotten our heroes of Independence.” During the World War II, Commander Mudaliar, who was a 19-year-old naval engineer at that time, was part of a team of the British Navy that ensured regular military supplies to Murmansk in the former Soviet Union between 1941 and 1942. Major-General Bikram Singh Kanwar, who hails from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, said it was honour to be part of the celebrations in Moscow as state guests. “Moreover, during the dinner on May 9, I was lucky to share the table with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Russian Defence Minister Igor Rodionov and Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi,” he said. He was full of appreciation for Russian President Vladimir Putin for organising such a big befitting event and ensuring the participation of Heads of State of 60 governments. In a lighter vein, he said, “My only regret is that I left behind in Moscow the gifts received from my Russian friends.” Welcoming the two ex-servicemen at the Russian Embassy here, Mr Trubnikov said, “For us it is very significant that you were with us during the celebrations. Because of the sacrifices made by your generation, we are living free from wars and cherishing our independence.”
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Bhopal disaster: BJP’s obsession with 20 wards
Bhopal, May 12 A detailed study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had identified 36 wards out of the 56 as having been affected by the disaster. Residents of the 36 wards as identified were thus declared eligible for payment of compensation. In its election manifesto, the BJP enumerated several steps it intended to take to ameliorate the sufferings of the victims, including the "rehabilitation of the gas victims on war footing" The BJP's attitude towards gas victims changed once it won the majority allegedly because most of the 36 wards were predominantly inhabited by Muslims and had been considered strongholds of the Congress party. Residents of the remaining 20 wards, comprising mostly the upper middle class Hindus, had been traditional supporters of the BJP. The BJP claimed that the whole of Bhopal and not only the 36 wards should be considered as gas affected. |
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Judiciary interfering with legislature, says Speaker New Delhi, May 12 Criticising the 1998 order of a composite floor test in the Uttar Pradesh assembly as well as the verdict on the Jharkahand issue, Mr Chatterjee said, “I respectfully reiterate that in the Jharkahnd Assembly case the Supreme Court gave an unfortunate non-speaking order which, to my mind, violates, Article 212 of the Constitution in several respects”. Mr Chatterjee vented his ire on the Supreme Court verdict while delivering the second Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture on “The Scheme of Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances in Constituion” here this evening. “I pointed out then and I would like to repeat here that if the Assembly had ignored or flouted the order, the Supreme Court would have been confronted with a most embarrassing situation in which it would have been unable to secure the enforcement of its order,” he said. Not ready to give any credit to the Supreme Court for resolving the Jharkahand issue when the NDA and UPA alliances had put a claim and counter-claim about majority, Mr Chatterjee asserted that the issue was “actually resolved by executive (Prime Minister’s) intervention.” Raising various questions about whether the Speaker of the Assembly could be forced by the court to implement its order, whether the court could set an agenda for House proceeding and whether the Speaker could be hauled up for contempt if he failed to implement the order, Mr Chatterjee said this had not been contemplated in the scheme of Constitution.
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Hearing in Forest Hill Club case put off
New Delhi, May 12 “We are not going to pass any order today,” a Bench of Mr Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Mr Justice P.P. Naolekar told senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for B.S. Sandhu, owner of the club, and posted the application for hearing to August 1 along with his special leave petition against the judgement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordering the demolition of the club. The high court had ordered the demolition of the resort in October, holding that it was built on forest land in violation of laws.
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Fertiliser scam: 11 get 2-yr RI
New Delhi, May, 12 The Special Judge, Lucknow, also slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 on each, a CBI spokesman said here. The CWC officials in connivance with fertiliser suppliers had caused financial loss of nearly Rs 4 lakh to the public exchequer by showing ante-dated deliveries after the revision of fertiliser price on June 8, 1980. The CBI had filed the chargesheet against three officials of the CWC and 16 others on December 12, 1981, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. Those sentenced are CWC technical assistant Vijender Singh, junior technical assistant A.D. Dwivedi, Sharvan Kumar Aggarwal, Shiv Kumar Aggarwal, Hare Ram Pandey, Pradeep Kumar Kedia, Anant Mohan Katta, Jaishree Prasad, Jai Prakash Prasad, S.M. Aggarwal and Govind Kaviraj. — PTI
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‘Cannibal’ held
New Delhi, May 12 The man, who seems to be dumb, was arrested near Hariharan Anand Public School at about 12.30 p.m. after a boy spotted the toe of a child ‘peeping out’ from the bag he was carrying, said a police official. When chided by the boy to release the ‘kidnapped’ child, the accused started hitting the boy which was challenged by a shopkeeper, Sher Khan, at whose shop the boy worked. Soon he was pinned down by Sher Khan and the police called which took him to the Kashmere Gate police station. On search of his bag the body of the a girl child was found with its head and arms chopped off. “He seems to be a wanderer and looks like he cannot speak”, the officer said. ‘’Despite several attempts the man did not utter a word,’’ he elaborated. ‘’We have not been able to identify his credentials,’’ he added.
— UNI
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Woman agrees to marry rape accused
Mumbai, May 12 Mangesh Mahadik was acquitted of rape charges by the court here yesterday and offered to marry the woman who once had an affair with him and bore his
child. Mahadik and the woman, both hailing from Dongroli village in Raigad district, fell in love, according to prosecution. In 2003, the girl came to her cousin's place in Mumbai and Mahadik followed her. In September that year, both fled to Pune and during their stay there, Mahadik repeatedly raped her, public prosecutor Usha Makasare said.
— PTI |
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Natwar to visit Sri Lanka
in June
New Delhi, May 12 Among other things during the visit, Mr Natwar Singh would co-chair a meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission with his Sri Lankan counterpart Lakshman Kadirgamar. The stalled peace process between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will also come up for discussions. |
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Daily hearing on Lalu-Rabri plea
Patna, May 12 On constitution of Bench, acting Chief Justice Nagendra Rai said an administrative order would be passed in this regard.
— PTI |
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A visibly upset BSP supremo Mayawati erupted in anger today in the Rajya Sabha over the CBI probe against her in the Taj corridor case and threatened to withdraw BSP’s support to the UPA government, while her party colleagues forced adjournment of the Lok Sabha for 10 minutes even as the government said it would look into the issue.
In video (
