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New DC for Rohtak
CPI aligns with LJP in Bihar
Centre, Mulayam at loggerheads |
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Cancer test mandatory for Army men
One feared dead, 3 hurt in communal clashes
Urdu conference at Hyderabad
Boom likely in hotel industry
Four VCs sacked
in UP
Quake rocks North-East
Put Vedas in layman’s language: Shekhawat
No hike in power tariff in AP
Floral tributes paid to Veerappan
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New DC for Rohtak
New Delhi, September 18 The poll panel which had directed the removal of Mr Rakesh Gupta as Deputy Commissioner of Rohtak following a complaint by the state unit of the BJP and the report of the fact-finding team of the Election Commission, sources said. The commission appointed Mr Trilok Sharma, present Deputy Commissioner of Kurukshetra, from a panel of names submitted by the state government. The byelection to the Rohtak Lok Sabha seat is scheduled for September 28. The poll panel directed the Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana to direct the new Deputy Commissioner to rectify the errors committed by the earlier Deputy Commissioner and follow the standing instruction of the EC of giving permission on the basis of first-cum-first served basis for holding rallies. Sources said Mr Rakesh Gupta had misled the commission when the poll panel had asked for a report on the allegation of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announcing a grant of Rs 5 lakh for a school in the district. Mr Gupta had denied that the Chief Minister had made any such statement. However, the report by the EC team and a CD of the speech delivered by Mr Hooda clearly indicated that the Chief Minister had made such a statement. The commission found that the Deputy Commissioner had not conducted the inquiry in a fair manner and had tried to mislead the poll panel, EC sources said. Another instance of partisan manner came to light when the BJP complained that it had not been given permission to hold a rally in Rohtak Jat College. The state unit of the BJP had filed an application on August 23 for holding the rally on September 26. The Deputy Commissioner asked the Superintendent of Police and Principal of the College who filed that no-objection certificate to the Deputy Commissioner on August 31. However, the Deputy Commissioner sat on the NoC for 12 days and on September 12 wrote to the SP that the permission he had issued did not bear his signature. At the same time, on September 11, the Congress made a request to hold a rally at the same venue on the same date. They had attached the NoC from the SP and the Principal of the college. The Deputy Commissioner reportedly called the Principal after the Congress request to hold the rally and asked how both parties have been given permission. Mr Gupta also asked the college principal to decide who should hold the rally, upon which the Principal withdrew permission to both the parties. Aggrieved by the action of Deputy Commissioner Mr Gupta, the BJP filed a complaint before the Election Commission and a team of the poll panel and the report of the CEO clearly indicated that the Deputy Commissioner had acted in a partisan manner and did not follow the guiding principle of first-come-first served basis for holding political rallies. The new Deputy Commissioner, Mr Trilok Sharma, has been asked to rectify the error committed by the previous Deputy Commissioner, which would imply that the BJP would be able to hold the rally at the college venue as it had applied first. Earlier, the Election Commission had reprimanded Mr Hooda for violating the model code of conduct in the Rohtak parliamentary constituency and also asked for the filing of FIRs against BJP and INC candidates for violating the code. The commission, in a letter, expressed its “serious displeasure” to the Hooda government and reprimanded officials responsible for the lapses, EC sources said. The poll panel had found that the state government had violated the code on two counts - issuance of an advertisement on August 25 for the award of Rajiv Gandhi scholarship which would benefit 50,000 schoolchildren and expression of interest for consultants for setting up a Rajiv Gandhi educational city at Sonepat where the code was in force, EC sources said. The commission, the sources said, also found that the press note stating the government’s plan to establish polytechnics at Rewari and Rohtak as a violation of the code. |
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CPI aligns with LJP in Bihar
New Delhi, September 18 The CPI has also firmed up alliance with CPI (ML), Samajwadi Party, All-India Forward Bloc and SUCI for the electoral battle, setting the stage for a triangular contest. The announcement of the formation of the third front dampened the hopes of the RJD-Congress alliance, which was hoping against hope that the communists would be finally roped in “as any split in secular votes would be advantageous to the BJP-JD (U)-led NDA in the state.” The state is going to the polls second time within a year as the February poll had thrown a hung Assembly and President’s Rule under Governor Buta Singh threw up several controversies and the Supreme Court is hearing a case challenging the dissolution of the Assembly. “We are opposed to the misrule of the RJD. That is the single most reason why we have formed a separate secular alliance,” CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said at the conclusion of the party’s two-day emergency National Executive meet here. “There will be an alliance between our party and the Paswan-led LJP. Talks with the CPI (ML) are going on. We are also talking to parties such as the Forward Bloc and the RSP and the Samajwadi Party,” he said. The CPI veteran said the alliance proposed to contest all seats in the election “on this basis”. ‘’Our alliance proposes to contest all 243 seats and finalise our electoral strategy at one go for all the four phases,’’ he said. “Some disagreements have to be sorted out” on seat-sharing, he adding that by September 23 we will certainly complete all seatsharing. As far as we are concerned, we are sharing seats for all the four phases of the elections so that the picture is complete. “Our political campaign will be against the NDA, which consists of the JD (U) and the BJP in Bihar and the aim is to defeat the NDA combine”, Mr Bardhan said adding that it was for the Congress, the RJD and the CPM to say how they proposed to proceed at the hustings. Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India today rejected the charges “with the contempt that they deserve” the allegations made in a new book on the KGB operations that Soviet intelligence agency had funded it. “These are all old allegations, which are baseless, untrue and false. I dismiss them with the contempt that they deserve,” CPI National Secretary D Raja said in response to media reports citing the allegations in “Mitrokhin Archive Volume II the KGB and its operations” based on records smuggled out of the USSR by a former senior archivist. Denying charges that that CPI had received funding from the Soviets, he said, “we don’t need to depend upon others... My party has nothing to do with this (charges).”
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Centre, Mulayam at loggerheads
New Delhi, September 18 Trouble arose when Health Minister A. Ramadoss travelled to Gorakhpur with Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh in the latter’s helicopter to review the steps taken by the state government to contain the epidemic which has so far claimed nearly 700 lives. Not just that but PMK’s Dr Ramadoss even gave a clean chit to the Mulayam Singh Yadav government for its management of the epidemic. If this was not enough to send temperatures soaring in the Congress camp, the Health Minister followed it up by sharing a platform with Mr Amar Singh earlier this month when he went to Lucknow for the inauguration of the National Rural Health Mission. Not only was the PMK leader seen to be cosying up to the “enemy camp” but he clearly crossed the line when he again declared that the UP government was doing its bit to deal with the epidemic. The UPA sources said that PMK’s motives have always been suspect given its tendency to change political parties and its natural affinity with Third Front forces, Dr Ramadoss’s proximity to the Samajwadi Party leaders is not surprising. The PMK leader, it is learnt, also wishes to keep Mr Amar Singh on his right side since he heads the Health Ministry’s parliamentary standing committee. Dr Ramadoss requires support from all quarters, especially now when he is being targeted by the medical community over his proposals to amend the MCI Act. Things came to a boil when Japanese Encephalitis claimed its first life in Rae Barelli, Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s constituency. Ms Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi rushed to the spot and spent several days visiting ailing patients, decrying the state government’s efforts and promising necessary help by the Centre. This had Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav up in arms as it not only show his government in poor light but it also spoilt the grand party he had organised for former US President Bill Clinton who paid a flying visit to Lucknow at that time. |
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Cancer test mandatory for Army men
New Delhi, September 18 The ICS believes that preventive oncology will help in reducing the cancer burden in India where 900,000 new cases of cancer are reported every year. The society had written to the AFMS seeking its cooperation in adding cancer screening to the heart-lung function test during the annual medical examination for all employees. In its letter, the ICS said cancer touches the lives of most families in India and the world. "Most doctors admit that with some awareness, education and regular screening, a full 70 per cent of cancer can be prevented.." The Director-General, AFMS, Admiral V.K. Singh, in a meeting with the ICS Honorary Joint Secretary, Jyotsna Govil has assured that the process of cancer screening for all personnel of the armed forces has been set in motion. Apart from getting an assurance from Admiral V.K. Singh, the ICS has succeeded in persuading him to deliver the keynote address at the its seminar on October 1 on the theme 'Cancer related cancers'. Ms Govil who has been working in the area of cancer awareness and screening for two decades, told TNS that Admiral V.K. Singh would like to include cancer screening in the Armed Forces AME at the age of 40 initially. Prior to her meeting with Admiral V.K. Singh, the ICS honorary Joint Secretary had received a formal assurance from the then Group Captain Mandeep Singh who was Director AFMS (Health). The letter read, "Instructions have been passed to the three services for ensuring cancer screening during the AME held for all personnel of the armed forces.
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One feared dead, 3 hurt in communal clashes
Gandhinagar, September 18 Vadodara range DIG Deepak Swaroop did not confirm the fatality , dismissing it as a minor matter and said the situation was well under control. In Vadodara, the trouble started in the Moghulwada area under the Wadi police station when stones were reportedly pelted at a Ganesha
procession. The attack triggered off communal clashes and pitched stone battles. The police opened fire after firing was reported during the trouble. One person was feared killed and three others sustained injuries. However, no confirmation of the fatality was available. The police said the ritual Ganesh idol immersion was continuing unhindered and about 350 idols had been immersed while another 2000 remained to be immersed. In Ankleshwar, the police is reported to have burst teargas shells to quell rioters and the situation was reportedly under control. Highly placed sources said the police was not forthcoming in giving information about the trouble in view of the BJP party meet going on in Chennai. |
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Urdu conference at Hyderabad
Hyderabad, September 18 Mr Zahed Ali Khan, president of the conference, said the meet would deliberate on the problems the language is facing and, chalk out strategies to popularise it in Asia and Europe. He said the main objective of the meet was to promote Urdu language. Eminent writers from the USA, Pakistan, Japan, and UK will participate in the meet, which will be attended by Pakistan Sports, Culture and Youth affairs Minister Md. Ali Durani, and Information and Broadcasting Minister, Mr Anees Zaib Taher Kheli. Mr Khan said Urdu lovers from Pakistan and other countries were extending support to organise the conference in Hyderabad, and said that since Urdu was largely spoken and written in India and Pakistan, the promotion of the language would give boost bilateral relations between the two countries. Eminent poets from Pakistan, including Himayat Ali Shayer, Iftekar Arif, Naseer Turabbi, Naseer Bagdadi, and Amajad Islam Amjad will participate. |
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Boom likely in hotel industry
New Delhi, September 18 As per the government estimates, at present there are about 1.2 million hotel rooms, of which the star category hotels account for a seven per cent. This number is expected double and rise up to 2.9 million by 2010. By 2020, there will be about 6.6 million hotel rooms and 3.8 million job opportunities in the sector. A number of factors, including an upsurge in the tourism industry, industrial progress, liberalisation of trade and opening up of economy are expected to contribute to revolutionary growth in the hotel sector, which can be easily termed as one of the most and important aspects of any country’s infrastructure. Add to it the Commonwealth Games, scheduled to be held in 2010 in the Capital, and the picture is complete. As per the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations, currently there are 13,937 managers, 20,707 supervisors and 1,28,077 staff in all star categories, totalling upto 1,62,721 employees in 1722 star category hotels, ranging from one star to five star deluxe, in the country. But in itself, the entire industry is offering employment to about 8,00,000 persons. Besides, more than one lakh persons are employed with motels on state and national highways. At present, the hotel and restaurant industry in the country has an annual induction capability of 15,000 trained personnel at all levels.
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Four VCs sacked
in UP
Lucknow, September 18 The VCs have been “relieved of their responsibilities with effect from September 17, for various gross irregularities”, a Raj Bhavan communique said here today. The institutions are Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University in Jaunpur, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University in Bareilly, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology in Kanpur and Sardar Ballabh Bhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology in Meerut. While the commissioners of Varanasi and Bareilly have been asked to take charge of Purvanchal and Rohilkhand universities, senior-most professors would head the agriculture universities during the interim period. The charges of gross irregularities were proved in an inquiry conducted by Principal Secretary (Environment) Vinod Malhotra and Principal Secretary (Agriculture) G.B. Patnaik, the communique said. The VCs have been charged with “unauthorised and illegal franchising” of various centres all over the country. “These shops or centres were opened in practically every state...In case of Jaunpur University alone as many as 677 centres were opened,” it said.
— PTI |
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Quake rocks North-East
Agartala, September 18 The Shillong Central Seismological Observatory Centre and Agartala met office officials told UNI that the epicentre of the quake was in Manipur. The tremors were felt between 1256 hours to 1300 hours. As three major
tremors were experienced, people in the area panicked. However, reports from various state capitals said the quake-prone region experienced mild
tremors and there was no report of damage to life or property. A report from Guwahati said tremors were felt at about 1300 hours and lasted for a few seconds. Doors and windowpanes of some houses were shattered under the impact, but there was no report of any serious damage.
— UNI
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Put Vedas in layman’s language: Shekhawat
Jaipur, September 18 Mr Shekhawat was dedicating the building of the newly established Sanskrit University constructed at a cost of Rs 15 crore at Madau village on the outskirts of the state capital here on Wednesday. Christened as Shri Ramanandacharya Rajasthan Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, it is the first university in the state exclusively devoted to Sanskrit language and literature and oriental studies. Mr Shekhawat observed that Jaipur was traditionally known as the second Kashi and it had given a number of internationally known Sanskrit and Vedic scholars . |
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No hike in power tariff in AP
Hyderabad, September 18 The decision was taken at a high level review meeting the Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had with the officials of Power Department. At present, the government is implementing free power policy for agriculture sector, covering over 95 per cent of the 23 lakh farmers in the state. An annual subsidy of over Rs 1,700 crore is being provided to sustain this ambitious programme.
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Floral tributes paid to Veerappan
Dharmapuri, September 18 The youths also stuck a flag of the ‘Vanniyar Sangam’, a caste based outfit, on the portrait. People from Jarugu, Ajipatti and Gongalpuram villages also reportedly joined in garlanding the portrait, police said. Police pickets have been posted in the area as a precautionary measure. The brigand was killed in an encounter at Padi village, near here by the special task force on October 18 last year. — PTI
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