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MLA loyal to Uma quits
Bachchan’s condition most unfortunate
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Help to Kabul on road project to continue
Pact with China on
boundary soon
Sonia unhappy over poor attendance in Parliament Opposition seeks White Paper on Naxalism
Bring file notings under Information Act: PM
Walkout over MLA’s murder
Howrah station completes 100 yrs
Decision on “one rank, one pension” soon
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MLA loyal to Uma quits
Bhopal, December 1 Mr Patel was in the first lot of six Uma supporters who were suspended from the party after Ms Bharati walked out of the BJP legislature party meeting and her loyalists indulged in vandalism outside the BJP office, where the meeting was being held to elect the leader on Monday night. Mr Patel’s resignation indicates the Uma Bharati camp has little hope of the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister being allowed to continue in the party, her humble entreaties to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and Mr Lal Krishna Advani notwithstanding. At least five party MLAs, who had joined Ms Bharati in the walkout from the legislature party meeting, have apologised to the party leadership for their behaviour. They are Mr Ram Dayal Prabhakar, Mr Maruti Rao Khapse, Mr Ramesh Dube, Mr Bhagwant Singh Patel and Mr Prem Singh Patel. The party leaders have assured a lenient view to those Uma supporters who apologise. Meanwhile, the winter session of state Assembly, which was scheduled to commence on December 5, has been postponed to December 16. The new Chief Minister, Mr Shivraj Singh Chauhan, is still engaged in the exercise of the constitution of his council of ministers. According to party sources, the names for the council of ministers will be finalised only after the BJP’s central leadership has decided the Uma Bharati issue. |
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Bachchan’s condition most unfortunate
Mumbai, December 1 In an exclusive interview to ANI TV, gastro-intestinal surgeon Dr. Jugal Aggarwal said that the perforated diverticula that Bachchan had experienced over the past six days was a rare and unfortunate medical condition that required immediate surgery. Asked whether the condition could have been treated by an alternative system of medicine like Ayurveda, Dr. Aggarwal replied in the negative. Dr.Aggarwal, who was one of three doctors (the other two being Cancer surgeon P.Jagannath and General Surgeon Sadanand Shetty) who operated on Bachchan for four hours forty five minutes late on Wednesday evening, said: "Normally, a diverticula can occur at anytime. A perforation can occur at anytime. There is no Ayurvedic cure for diverticula. When the intestines perforate, surgery is the only option." When he was asked how long had the operation taken, Dr.Aggarwal said: "It was an operation that lasted for sometime. It is amajor operation. Everything has gone off well. Eveything is going well." Asked when he expected Mr. Bachchan to be released from the hospital, Dr. Aggarwal said: "It all depends on how he progresses. At present, it will take him (Bachchan) a week to recover in the hospital. It is difficult to say anything right now. Now, once the perforation is sutured, there is no problem as such." Describing the condition called Multiple Diverticula, Dr. Aggarwal said: "It is an unfortunate situation. It is a rare condition that usually takes place in the large bowel (intestine). He is stable. Everything should go smooth. — ANI |
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Help to Kabul on road project to continue
New Delhi, December 1 Replying to clarifications on his two-day old suo-motu statement on the recent killing of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) official in Afghanistan, the Defence Minister said the Taliban’s desire is to ensure that the road project is not completed as it will help Afghanistan gain access to Iran. “I’m also reiterating that we will not succumb to any kind of pressure and continue to help Afghanistan, in particular in this project.” Taking a bold stand on the issue, Mr Mukherjee said amidst thumping of tables by his colleagues in the Congress, “In no part of the world, you can buy peace by surrendering, compromising or succumbing to the pressure of the terrorists-whatever be the price. Somewhere, we have to pay a price.” He said, “I would not like to go into the entire psychology and philosophy of the Taliban... the Taliban is a terrorist oufit. It is not confined to a state or geographical boundary and they are trying to establish contracts. Terrorism is the biggest menace to the world today.” The minister said India is worst affected by terrorism and stands committed to its resolve to put an end to terrorism. While indicating that the National Security Advisor had been misquoted by the media on Pakistan’s hand in the killing of the BRO official, Mr Mukherjee said, “I spoke to the National Security Advisor. While having conversation with mediapersons, he was explaining growth of the Taliban and said Pakistan was in touch with the Taliban but he did not mean that in this assassination Pakistan has a hand.” The minister clarified that the government spared no efforts and lost no time in tapping the right channels to negotiate the release of Maniappan Raman Kutty. He said the government swung into action right from the time it received information about Kutty’s abduction on the evening of November 19. He claimed that India’s Ambassador was prompt in getting in touch with the National Security Advisor of Afghanistan and requesting for a search and rescue operation. Besides, he also contacted the Foreign Office. The BRO also contacted the Governor of the Province of Nimro. |
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Pact with China on
boundary soon
New Delhi, December 1 Siddiqui had sought a clarification from the PM on whether the issue of areas of Kashmir ceded by Pakistan to China would also be discussed by the two nations. Replying to a clarification during the question hour, Dr Singh said, "It will be difficult for me to give a categorical answer. The two representatives appointed by the Prime Ministers of India and China are going through various stages.'' He said the two countries signed a broad framework agreement during the recent visit of the Chinese Prime Minister to India. "Now, the next step is for the Special Representatives to work out the agreed framework or actual delineation and demarcation of the boundary. Whatever differences of opinion, where there is a dispute, they will be tackled.'' Earlier in his reply, Minister of State for External Affairs, E. Ahamed said Special Representatives of the Prime Ministers of India and China have already met six times. They would be meeting for the seventh time in New Delhi, he said. Ahamed, however, said no time frame has been fixed for the settlement of the boundary issue between India and China. "Both India and China have expressed the conviction that an early settlement of the boundary question will advance the basic interests of the two countries and should, therefore, be pursued as a strategic objective.'' The minister said both sides signed the 'Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question' based on the initial five rounds of talks between the Special Representatives of India and China on the boundary question. It was signed on April 11, 2005 during the visit of the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to India. The sixth round of talks between Special Representatives of the two countries was held in Beijing from September 26 to 28 and this marked the beginning of the second phase of negotations. Ahamed said talks between the two countries were being held in three stages.
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Sonia unhappy over poor attendance in Parliament New Delhi, December 1 Consequently, Parliamentary affairs minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi and Congress chief whip P.K.Bansal have drawn up roster duties for all Congress members and also shot off letters to them asking them to attend Parliament more regularly. It is barely a week since the current Parliament session got under way but the two Houses already wear a deserted look, especially in the post-lunch session. Except for the debate on the Volcker controversy when both the Opposition and Treasury had ensured a good presence of their respective members, attendence has dipped sharply since then. Admitting that this is a perennial problem, Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh pointed out that there were only 28 members present in the Rajya Sabha when the Disaster Management Authority Bill was passed this week. It was the same story today when the debate on internal security was taken up in both Houses. It is not just Congress MPs but even Opposition members, who made a vociferous demand for this discussion, were conspicous by their absence. Upset over this large-scale absence of Congress members, Mrs Gandhi is learnt to have asked the party whips and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister to crack the whip. Following up on this, party managers have divided party MPs into two groups and assigned them shift duties in the post-lunch session. “We realise that not everybody can attend Parliament on all days but we want to make sure that at least 50 MPs are present in the House at all times,” said a senior Congress leader. Congress MPs have now been told that they must take their parliamentary duties more seriously and, if for some reason, a member cannot attend, he or she must make alternative arrangements.
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Opposition seeks White Paper on Naxalism
New Delhi, December 1 The BJP accused the government with pursuing policies that were promoting terrorism, saying militants were sneaking into the country in large numbers taking advantage of the opening of points along the Line of Control with Pakistan. Initiating a discussion under Rule 193 of the Lok Sabha on internal security, Deputy Leader of the Opposition V. K. Malhotra said the opening of the LoC at five places to facilitate relief work following the October 8 earthquake had resulted in about 500 terrorists sneaking into Kashmir. Pakistan was making use of the Rs 100 crore quake relief provided by India to purchase weapons and in rebuilding terrorist camps in the Occupied Kashmir which were destroyed by the earthquake, he alleged. Mr Malhotra regretted that even 32 days after the blasts at three places in Delhi, the police had not been able to nab those who planted the bombs. — TNS
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Bring file notings under Information Act: PM
New Delhi, December 1 The Prime Minister has instructed the Department of Personnel and Training to incorporate certain changes in the rules under the Act in consultation with the Ministry of Justice, PM's Media Adviser Dr Sanjaya Baru said in a statement. The decision to this effect has been taken after considering various representations made by concerned citizens and taking into account all relevant factors, Dr Baru said. The exemptions would cover clauses under Section 8(1)(a) to (j) of the Act, he added. However, the Principal Information Officer appointed under the Act may withhold the individual identity of the functionary who has made the notings, the statement read. File notings related to identifiable individuals, group of individuals, organisations, appointments, matters relating to inquiries and departmental proceedings would not be disclosed, it was mentioned. |
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Walkout over MLA’s murder
New Delhi, December 1 As BJP Deputy Leader V.K. Malhotra raised the issue during zero hour, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said: “It is not a Central Government matter. This is a state matter”. “I am sure all appropriate steps would be taken by the Uttar Pradesh government”. Mr Ram Gopal Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party heads the state government, accused the BJP of using the incident as an excuse to spread communal tension. He alleged in three districts of eastern UP, minorities were being targeted. Several houses had been burnt in the aftermath of the Tuesday killing. Yesterday, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the government would seek a report from Uttar Pradesh on the killing of Rai. Rai and six of his supporters were killed on Tuesday evening by suspected political rivals near a village in his Mohammadabad
Assembly constituency, 100 km from Varanasi, when they were going to attend a marriage. |
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Howrah station completes 100 yrs
Kolkata, December 1 Howrah would henceforth be considered the second centenary station in the country after Mumbai's Victoria Terminus. The week-long centenary celebration which was opened today at Howrah, included an exhibition on the history of the Indian railways and several other educative programmes, meant for the commuters and specially the students and the children. Eastern Railway's General Manager Syam Kumar welcomed the guests. The Governor said it was an historic occasion in the India Railways. He highlighted the importance of Howrah station in the Indian Railways service network. Mr Gandhi advised the commuters to help the Railways in proper maintenance of Howrah station. Mr Syam Kumar narrated several passengers amenities programme at Howrah station, where some development schemes were already at the implementation stage. |
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Decision on “one rank, one pension” soon
New Delhi, December 1 |
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