N A T I O N

NCERT to replace para on Sikh Guru
New Delhi, November 10
Following the objections raised by Sikh organisations against “objectionable” references to their Guru, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has decided to replace a paragraph on Guru Gobind Singh in its history textbook for class XII.

BJP flays Paswan’s stand on quota for Muslims
New Delhi, November 10 The BJP today criticised Union Chemical, Fertiliser and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s stand on reservation for Muslims in jobs calling it as “unfortunate and unconstitutional.”

News Analysis
Wooing Muslims in UP no cakewalk for Congress
Patna, November 10
Irrespective of the overtures made by the Congress in the recent past to woo the minority - from Vande Mataram to promises on quota - the Muslims seem to be slowly drifting away from the party as it was evident from the outcome of the Jamunammukh Assembly byelections in Assam.

Mamata cosying up to Sonia
New Delhi, November 10
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is officially still with the NDA. But it has not prevented her from cosying up to the Congress. And the Congress is reciprocating the gesture.

Left divided over bandh in IT sector
Kolkata, November 10
The CPM leadership which met at an urgent meeting at the party office in Alimuddin Street today, was strongly divided over the issue of observing strike in the IT sector on 14 November. The Left parties have decided to observe a country-wide industrial bandh against the UPA's industrial policy.

Claim on Sridevi costs man Rs 1 lakh
New Delhi, November 10
A man from Chennai today approached the Supreme Court claiming himself to be the husband of noted Bollywood actress Sridevi and sought a direction for the restoration of his conjugal rights.

Patna ex-DM gets bail
Patna, November 10
The Patna High Court today granted bail to the former Patna DM Gautam Goswami in the multi-crore flood relief scam case. Mr Goswami, who early last year was awarded the Time magazine Asian Hero Award, is an accused in the Rs 17 crore scam which allegedly took place during the previous RJD regime in 2004 under the then Chief Minister Rabri Devi.

Fair to showcase EU varsities
New Delhi, November 10
More than 100 recognised European higher education institutions from over 25 countries will gather here for the European higher education fair (EHEF)from November 24 to 26.

Top Maoist leader shot dead
Hyderabad: Eleven Naxals, including CPI (Maoist) state committee’s key member Obuleshu and five women, were killed in two encounters with the police at Warangal and Kadapa districts, near here, on Friday. — UNI

Train derails
MUMBAI: At least 92 passengers were injured when the 113 Surat-Bhusawal train derailed near Kolde station, 10 km from Navapur, in Maharashtra in the early hours on Friday. According to railway control room sources, five boggies of the train derailed near the station at 0500 hours. A medical relief train rushed to the accident site. — UNI

Pawar in hospital
New Delhi: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar was admitted to Escorts Hospital here on Friday after he complained of restlessness. His condition was stated to be stable and doctors attending on him said “there is nothing serious about his health”. — PTI

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NCERT to replace para on Sikh Guru
Tribune News Service

BJP flays Paswan’s stand on quota for Muslims
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 10
The BJP today criticised Union Chemical, Fertiliser and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s stand on reservation for Muslims in jobs calling it as “unfortunate and unconstitutional.”

BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to clear the UPA government’s stand on religion-based reservation.

Pointing out that the demand for religious reservation had been rejected by the courts time and again, Mr Prasad said such demands were more guided to garner minority votes rather than their welfare.

The demand by Mr Paswan reinforced the “competitive oneupmanship” for minority appeasement championed by the Congress and now UPA.

Mr Prasad referred to court rulings in Andhra Pradesh and in the case of Aligarh Muslim University which clearly stated that religion-based reservation had no constitutional sanctity.

“Yet to revive it for the sake of pure vote bank politics points to a dangerous doctrine, which has the mischief potential to divide the nation once again,” he said.

News Analysis
Wooing Muslims in UP no cakewalk for Congress
Ambarish Dutta
Tribune News Service

Patna, November 10
Irrespective of the overtures made by the Congress in the recent past to woo the minority - from Vande Mataram to promises on quota - the Muslims seem to be slowly drifting away from the party as it was evident from the outcome of the Jamunammukh Assembly byelections in Assam.

The byelections in Jamunamukh was held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha byelections in Nalanda and Bhagalpur in Bihar and Kodarma in Jharkhand on November 6.

The overtures made by the Congress to bring back the minority to its fold also included the latest move by the Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh who proposed the expansion of government’s scholarship programme for SC/STs to include Muslims with a focus on girl child.

It was a clear indication shown by the Congress to win confidence of the minority before the crucial UP Assembly elections next year. The Jamunamukh Assembly byelectionsl outcome in Assam is perhaps a testimony to its growing isolation from the strong minority of the country.

Notwithstanding the best possible effort, the ruling Congress in Assam failed to wrest the Jamunamukh Assembly constituency from the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF) which had emerged winner in the byelections as per the results declared on Thursday.

The president of the All-India Quami Majlis Dr Nuruzzaman claimed the growing dissociation of the Congress from the minority.

Talking to the Tribune Dr Nuruzzaman alleged that by and large the minority now realised how the Congress had hoodwinked them with false promises since independence and had deprived them to enjoy the due share in power based on their population."After Assam the minority in UP too in the coming Assembly elections will assert for their due share", he said ,adding that the 2009 Lok Sabha elections might prove to be a turning point in minority politics in India.

The AUDF,a political outfit representing minority in Assam, defeated the Congress by a margin of over 13,000 votes.The AUDF candidate, Mr Sirajuddin Ajmol, a Mumbai-based businessmen, retained the seat against his nearest Congress rival Mr Khalulur Rahman Choudhury.

The AUDF president, Mr Badaruddin Ajmol, had won minority-dominated Jamunamukh seat in the Assembly election in March-April this year.Mr Ajmol had also won from the South Salmora constituency, which he later vacated.

In its maiden electoral battle in March-April this year, the AUDF had won 10 Assembly seats of a total 126 in Assam and had defeated the Congress in at least 20 seats by splitting its minority votes.

This was the reason which had deprived the Congress to cross the magic figure of 63 in 126-member Assam Assembly subsequently forcing it to lead a coalition government with the Bodo people`s Progressive Front(BPPF), an outfit by the cadres and workers of erstwhile extremist outfit, Bodo Liberation Tigers(BLT).

The Tarun Gogoi-led Congress had made Jamunamukh a prestige contest vis-à-vis the AUDF-led by Mr Ajmol who had made deep inroads into the minority bastion in the state. The Congress was naturally worried of the AUDF upsurge in the minority areas and desperately wanted to wrest Jamunamukh from the AUDF to prove a point.

For this, the Congress had even usurped the prospective Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) candidate Mr Khalilur Rahman Chaudhury who had won from the constituency as the AGP candidate in 1996 and 2001, to field as its candidate.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi deputed his three most trusted Cabinet colleagues, the Forest and Tourism Minister, Mr Rockybul Hussain, the Health Minister, Mr Himanta Bishwa Sharma, and the Education Minister Mr Ripun Bora to lead the electioneering for the Congress in the Jamunamukh byelections. But even then, much to its embarrassment the Congress had lost the battle to the AUDF.

What could probably have sent a warning signal to the Congress was the fact that encouraged by the electoral success of the AUDF comprising Muslim bodies in Assam, the Muslim political outfits and noted scholars of the community in Uttar Pradesh this year launched a political party - the Peoples` Democratic Front (PDF) - has decided to contest the Assembly elections next year.

Mamata cosying up to Sonia
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 10
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is officially still with the NDA. But it has not prevented her from cosying up to the Congress. And the Congress is reciprocating the gesture.

In the latest development to this renewed friendship between the two estranged parties, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has promptly responded to a letter from Mamata Banerjee in which the latter drew attention to several West Bengal-related issues, including farmers’ problems and the controversy over SEZs. She suggested that the Trinamool and the Congress join forces and launch combined protests on these issues.

Mrs Gandhi has asked Ms Mamata Banerjee to get in touch Mrs Margaret Alva, AICC general secretary in charge of West Bengal, to chalk out their future plan of action. Mrs Alva told mediapersons today that she would be meeting the Trinamool chief before the winter session of Parliament commences on November 22.

Although the Congres has always maintained that it would be willing to do business with the Trinamool Congress only if it severed its links wih the BJP, the two have been cooperating with each other in recent months. The two parties helped each other out in the recent bypoll when they did not field candidates against each other. This helped the Congress to cruise to a victory in Malda and the Trinamool Congress to bag another assembly seat.

After the elections results, Mrs Sonia Gandhi especially called up Ms Mamata Banerjee to thank her for her support.

Recently, the Congress came out in strong support of the Trinamool leader after she was roughed up by the state police when she protested against the West Bengal government’s decision to allocate farm land for a Tatas project. Subsequently, the two parties had even led a joint protest rally.

Left divided over bandh in IT sector
Tribune News Service

Kolkata, November 10
The CPM leadership which met at an urgent meeting at the party office in Alimuddin Street today, was strongly divided over the issue of observing strike in the IT sector on 14 November. The Left parties have decided to observe a country-wide industrial bandh against the UPA's industrial policy.

While the Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and a section of the leadership strongly opposed the inclusion of the IT sector in the proposed bandh, the CITU leaders, Mr Chittabrata Majumdar, Mr Shyamal Chakraborty and the state Transport Minister, Mr Subhas Chakraborty, were among those, who demanded that the IT sector too should be brought under the purview of the bandh since the exploitation of employees in this sector was larger and strong.

The veteran leader, Mr Jyoti Basu, suggested that a final decision in this regards could be taken at the state committee's meeting. But, he wanted that during the bandh on November 14, the IT sector at the Salt Lake be treated as emergency service and its functioning should not be disturbed. Accordingly, the state government was requested to provide special transport facilities and the security for maintaining the basic services on that day. Incidentally, the CPM Politburo which was also divided over the issue, left it to the Chief Minister and the party's state leadership to take an appropriate decision in this regard. The CPI, RSP, Forward Bloc and other partners of the Left Front were also divided over the issue of observing bandh in the IT sector.

However, the INTUC leader, Mr Subrata Mukherjee, declared that they would organise bandh in the IT sector on that day. He wondered how the Chief Minister and the CPM who allowed employees working in hospitals, the Water Supply Department and in the police force to go on strike, could now deprive workers of the IT sector from oberving bandh on November 14 .

He said Mr Bhattacharjee was suffering from ego problem and this was prompting him to take whimsical decisions on the question of observing bandh in the IT sector, transferring of agricultural lands to industries and on some other vital issues.

The SP leader, Mr Amar Singh, who was in the city today, said while the CPI and other Left parties had been agitating with a former Prime Minister, Mr V.P.Singh, in Uttar Pradesh against setting up of IT industries in Lucknow by Mr Anil Ambani's Reliance, these parties were supporting the decision of granting exemption for bandh to the Salt Lake IT sector.

Claim on Sridevi costs man Rs 1 lakh
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, November 10
A man from Chennai today approached the Supreme Court claiming himself to be the husband of noted Bollywood actress Sridevi and sought a direction for the restoration of his conjugal rights.

But a Bench of Mr Justice B.N. Agrawal and Mr Justice P.P. Naolekar threw away a special leave petition (SLP) of Vicharapu Ramakrishna Gowd and upheld the Madras High Court order imposing a fine of Rs 1 lakh on him for filing such a frivolous suit.

The High Court had imposed the fine on him following a review petition by Sridevi against a Chennai civil court order issuing notice to her on Gowd’s suit for the restoration of the conjugal rights under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

Since under the Hindu Marriage Act, it is mandatory to issue a notice to a person against whom a suit is filed by another claiming to have married him or her, the civil court had acted purely on the mandate of the law to seek reply from Sridevi.

But the High Court in its order, passed on her appeal on December 2, 2005, had said that Gowd had “failed” to prove his marriage with her and as a result it ordered quashing of the suit, filed in March, 2004.

Gowd in his suit had claimed that he had married the noted actress on March 15, 1992, and to prove his claim, he had attached a wedding invitation card printed on January 27, 1992, with his plaint before the civil court as well as the High Court.

Patna ex-DM gets bail
Ambarish Dutta
Tribune News Service

Patna, November 10
The Patna High Court today granted bail to the former Patna DM Gautam Goswami in the multi-crore flood relief scam case. Mr Goswami, who early last year was awarded the Time magazine Asian Hero Award, is an accused in the Rs 17 crore scam which allegedly took place during the previous RJD regime in 2004 under the then Chief Minister Rabri Devi.

The state Vigilance Bureau had filed charge sheets against the former DM and 10 others, including the scam mastermind Santosh Kumar Jha in August last year.

Fair to showcase EU varsities
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 10
More than 100 recognised European higher education institutions from over 25 countries will gather here for the European higher education fair (EHEF)from November 24 to 26.

The fair will showcase more than 100 universities under one roof and the entire gamut of high-quality study opportunities in all European Union member states.

The European Union has taken the initiative to provide an opportunity to Indian students to get an insight into the high quality and diversity of the European higher education and research and to get to know Europe better.

The European Commission will organise seven such fairs and Asia-link symposia in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.