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Women’s quota Bill faces new hurdle
Nikahnama gives equal divorce right to women
Bihar gains from Nitish-Lalu rivalry
Tata Motors plant: TMC, Naxalites to intensify stir
Hangman takes to histrionics
BJP defers adjournment motion on national security
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Himachal Govt gets SC rap for not implementing order
Intruders break into Mahesh Bhatt’s house
SC acquits man charged with murdering wife
KBC: Shah Rukh replaces Amitabh
MDMK opposes defence pact with Lanka
Wedding bells? Bachchans, Ash in Kashi
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Women’s quota Bill faces new hurdle
New Delhi, November 26 This became clear in the wake of the CPI, an outside supporter of the Congress-led coalition, opposing plans for an all-party meeting to thrash out a consensus on the issue. Demanding the introduction and passage of the Women's Reservation Bill, CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan said there was no need to hold another all-party meeting on the Bill as many such meetings had been held in the past. "Further meeting will become an excuse for delay in bringing the Bill and betray the women's cause for political empowerment," he said. Bardhan's remarks at a press conference came close on the heels of an RJD demand for an all-party meeting for evolving a consensus on the measure. It has been trouble from the word go as discordant notes have started coming out from the treasury benches over the UPA decision on introduction of the Bill in Parliament in its original form. "Informal consultations are on but no date has been fixed for the all-party meeting," government sources said. Agitated RJD members want nothing short of an all- party meeting to arrive at a consensus with one of their senior members Devendra Prasad Yadav already declaring that the party would not compromise on the issue of “quota-within-quota”. Meanwhile, Bardhan asked the government to take action on the Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee report on the socio-economic status of Muslims across the country. The report is expected to be placed in Parliament tomorrow. The CPI was in favour of providing reservation for the Dalit converts for which there was a provision in the Mandal Commission recommendations, Mr Bardhan said. The Left also wanted the government to go ahead with introducing the Women's Reservation Bill that would ensure 33 per cent of seats in Parliament and state Assemblies for women. Another Bill that required to be passed in the current session was the Tribal Bill which had been cleared by the joint select committee. The move would accord land rights on tribals and check their displacement from the forest areas. The CPI would continue to oppose the government proposal to bring reforms in pension and the financial sector, Mr Bardhan and national secretary D. Raja said. The party would carry out a national campaign between December 7 and 10 to protest against the government's failure to check the price rise in essential commodities, they said. It had also asked its state units to create awareness among the Dalits about their right to dignity on the occasion of the 50th death anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar on December 6. The party had taken a serious view of the increasing atrocities against the Dalits.
— PTI, UNI
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Nikahnama gives equal divorce right to women
Mumbai, November 26 “Our model nikahnama, which has been approved by the highest Shia cleric of Iraq, Ayatullah Sistani, and constitutional experts, came into force today,” board president Maulana Mirza Mohammad Athar said here today. “In this contract both bride and groom can put their conditions at the time of the wedding. The bride will have the right to demand divorce which she can use if needed,” Athar said. He, however, said the board could only publicise it and it would be up to Shia Muslims to follow it. “It will not be obligatory,” he said, adding that it would be implemented with the consent of both parties to a marriage. The nikahnama was approved at the board’s second general body meeting here. Board secretary Zaheer Abbas Rizvi said a wife would have the right to seek divorce if she was cheated and barred from her right to education and improving life. She can use it against men who get married by providing false and misleading information. They can also seek divorce if the groom disappears for two years, if he does not inquire about the wife for months together, does not fulfil her essential needs, or uses physical force or forces her to have sexual relations with other men. The wife, however, cannot indulge in “wasteful expenditure” that lands her husband in debt, and must approach arbitrators mentioned in the document for seeking divorce and not directly approach a court. With regard to dowry-related crimes, it makes it clear that the groom cannot ask for any dowry, either in cash or kind. The board also discussed other issues and demanded a national policy for the development of Shias. It also demanded reservation for them in government jobs and education. Its other demands include creation of a separte Shia Waqf board and adequate representation in Parliament, state Assemblies and Haj committee.— PTI
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Bihar gains from Nitish-Lalu rivalry
Patna, November 26 Competitive politics was often said to be detrimental to the interest of the state unless it could transcend populism. For a break, however, both Mr Kumar and Mr Lalu Prasad are now apparently looking beyond populism. The respective electotal promises by two Bihar stalwarts and their penchant to overshadow each other proved to be a happy encounter for the state which was able to bag over Rs 5,000 crore bonanza in the past one year. In his quest for image makeover as a man committed to development, Mr Lalu Prasad’s rail has virtually been unstoppable ever since his wife Rabri Devi was defeated by Mr Nitish Kumar last year. In the past one year he can take the credit for over Rs 1,400 crore worth of Railways’ ongoing projects in Bihar and a proposed Rs 1,000 crore engine factory. The other “vikas
purush” was also not in a mood to be left behind. In the past three months Mr Nitish Kumar has announced Rs 3,000 crore of development schemes. Even though both leaders promised to bring Bihar back on track, five districts of the total 38 hold their special attention for obvious reasons. These are
Chapra(Saran), Saharsa, Madhepura, Nalanda and Gopalganj. It was indeed a windfall of fortunes for Chapra ever since it had returned Mr Lalu Prasad in the 2004 Lok Sabha poll. The district boasts of a Rs 470 crore wheel factory, a Rs 90 crore goods wagon periodic overhauling workshop and a demo shed (Rs 10 crore) for the Railways. Besides, in August the Railways Minister had announced the setting up of a locomotive factory at
Marhaura, near Chapra, at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. In September the UPA had announced to construct a new brige across the Ganga at a cost of Rs 1,389 crore, connecting Chapra with Patna via
Sonepur. On his part, Mr Nitish Kumar tried to level the game by unveiling projects worth Rs 250 crore for Saran district, which covers
Chapra. This move was largely being viewed as an attempt to poach into his rival’s electoral territory. After
Chapra, the battle shifted to Madhepura, the Yadav heartland, that represented both Mr Lalu Prasad and
JD(U) president Sharad Yadav. It was thus quite but natural that the Nitish-Sharad duo was ready with a matching response by launching projects worth Rs 651 crore for
Madhepura, including an engineering college, soon ater Mr Lalu Prasad flagged off the air-condition Garib Rath for Punjab-bound labourers in October. The melee is crucial as many belive that Mr Lalu Prasad’s possible return to the centrestage of Bihar politics can be stopped if he is uprooted from Koshi region dominated by Yadavs, which represented both Madhepura and
Saharsa. While Mr Nitish Kumar has uneviled 46 projects worth Rs 840 crore for his native district Nalanda,Mr Lalu Prasad’s love for his home district Gopalganj was refelcted through a new railway line that would connect his native Phulwaria village to that of Ms Rabri Devi’s
Selarkela. Insiders in both RJD and JD(U) claimed that their bosses were equally committed to the remaining 33 districts. In what appeared to be a mega finish to complete the year-long tussle, Mr Kumar today delivered a lecture at the
IIM, Ahmedabad, on “turnaround of Bihar”. Mr Lalu Prasad had addresed the same gathering a month back on his rustic management skill leading to the turnaround of the Railways.
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Tata Motors plant: TMC, Naxalites to intensify stir
Kolkata, November 26 Ms Mamata Banerjee, along with a large number of party supporters and workers, was also present and she herself transplanted potato seeds at three different places where paddy crops had recently been harvested. Ms Banerjee gave a call to the people to stand united against the CPM’s decision to dislodge poor farmers from their lands and transfer the agricultural lands to Tata Motors for its new car project. Senior Naxalite leader Kanu Sanyal at a separate meeting of the Kishans Sabha in the city today also asked the farmers and other agricultural labourers to support Naxalite’s “old-fashioned movement of bloodshed and killing” for protecting their lands at Singhur and elsewhere against any industrial aggression. Meanwhile, Mr Ravi Kant, Chief Executive of Tata Motors, who was in Kolkata yesterday, announced that all preliminary works on implementing their small cars project has been completed. He hoped by January next, they could start setting up the proposed plant on some 1,000 acres which were allotted to the company officially. He said earlier the company had decided to set up the plant in Haryana, but decided to shift to West Bengal after Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s personal request to Mr Ratan Tata. He claimed that about 50 associates companies of Tata Motors would be investing over Rs 500 crore in the state during the construction of the plant. The company itself has earmarked Rs 1500 crore for the small car project.
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Hangman takes to histrionics
Kolkata, November 26 "Enough of hanging. I have other abilities too, which I could not put to use earlier," Mullick, who last hanged apartment guard Dhananjoy Chatterjee two years ago for raping and killing a girl, said. "I have come to bring a smile on people's lips," Mullick who have also acted as a hangman in Mrinal Sen's film 'Mrigaya' in the 70s, said. 'Desher shatru neta, Baper shatru beta' (Enemy leader, father's enemy), a Bengali folk drama is already being staged in rural areas with shows registering large turnouts in South Bengal districts of East and West Midnapore and South 24 Parganas since October. Mullick enacts the role of an idealistic music teacher who tutors his pupils for free but fails to countenance his drug peddlar son, whom he kills towards the end of the show, said Haradhan Roy, director of the play and an official of 'Mangaldip Opera', staging the 'jatra' (folk theatre).
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BJP defers adjournment motion on national security
New Delhi, November 26 The Motion will now be moved on Tuesday combining the international situation, internal security, corruption issues all rolled into one. BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said the Lok Sabha would take up the issue concerning sealing, confronting Delhi region, and the party would put up its viewpoint in the Rajya Sabha which was slated to discuss the internal security situation in the country. Mr Malhotra voiced his party’s disappointment about Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ruling out tougher terror laws. He said it was unfortunate that the Prime Minister’s statement came at a time when Home Minister Shivraj Patil was painting a grim picture of national security. He accused the government of delaying the execution of Mohammad Afzal for appeasing Muslims in view of the coming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Punjab.
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Himachal Govt gets SC rap for not implementing order
New Delhi, November 26 The court found various shortcomings in the state government’s approach in implementing its directions regarding various facilities to judicial officers like transfer grants, medical facilities, leave encashment, rent-free accommodation, special pay and electricity allowance. The court was hearing a petition by the Himachal Pradesh Judicial Service Officers Association whose counsel said the state Assembly had initially passed a resolution directing the government not to give effect to the apex court order of 2002. “Subsequently, the State Legislature passed the HP Judicial Officers (Pay and Condition of Service) Act, 2003, and made a half-hearted attempt to implement the judgement,” the association alleged.
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Intruders break into Mahesh Bhatt’s house
Mumbai, November 26 Bhatt was not at home at the time. In a police complaint filed by Bhatt’s son Rahul, three persons armed with knives entered Bhatt’s house and asked for him. According to Rahul, the assailants roughed up the guards at the house before barging in. The film-maker is presently in Singapore. Bhatt later told media outlets that he had no idea about the motives behind the incident. He denied that he was under threat from the underworld. Meanwhile, the police has prepared sketches of the three men, which are being circulated in different police stations. Only in June last, a gunman entered Bhatt’s house and fired shots. Gangster Ravi Pujari had owned up to the incident. He later claimed that Bhatt would be eliminated for his pro-Muslim stand regarding communal issues.
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SC acquits man charged with murdering wife
New Delhi, November 26 A Bench comprising Mr Justice S. B. Sinha and Mr Justice Markandeya Katju rejected the reliance placed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the circumstantial evidence collected by the investigating agency while affirming the death sentence passed by the sessions court against Vikramjit Singh. According to the prosecution in July, 2002, accused Singh allegedly took his wife Meena Rani in his Maruti car and got her murdered with the help of some persons on Bukan Wala bridge in Punjab. Rani suffered as many as 23 stab wounds, but in his defence, Singh demonstrated some injuries on his self to claim that the attack was engineered by a gang of robbers in which he managed to survive. The sessions court sentenced Singh to death on the basis of statements made by some
witnesses, including the mother of the accused mother Amarjit Kaur, who supported the prosecution theory, though she subsequently retracted. Despite the witnesses turning hostile, the High Court confirmed the death sentence by relying on the circumstantial evidence including the injuries on Singh, which the court believed, was self-inflicted to divert the prosecution’s attention. However, the Supreme Court reasoned that it was a well “settled principle of law that suspicion, however, grave may be, cannot be a substitute for proof. The same would lead to the only conclusion herein that the prosecution has not been able to prove its case beyond all
reasonable doubt.” The Apex court observed that where two views of a story appear to be probable, the one that was contended by the accused should be accepted and cited various earlier precedents set by the court in this regard. Hence, the court directed that the accused be released unless he was wanted in some other case. — PTI
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KBC: Shah Rukh replaces Amitabh
New Delhi, November 26 They said the hosting of KBC by Shah Rukh was aimed at reaching out to the below 35 age group. Considering that Shah Rukh has a huge fan following among the youth, the producers of KBC feel that in his new role of host, he would help draw to the programme viewership from a whole new set of audiences. “KBC is very close to our hearts as it laid the foundation for Star Plus’ unprecedented domination over the past six years. With Shah Rukh as its host, we promise to engage and deliver to our audiences a whole new entertainment experience,” Sameer Nair, CEO, Star Entertainment India,
said. Shailaja Kejriwal, senior creative director of Star India, said he had been signed for two seasons of KBC of 52 episodes each. The replacement of Amitabh came about after he expressed his unwillingness to host the show. “The channel had approached Amitabh for the resumption of the show but he expressed his disinclination. While there is no denying that he was instrumental in the show becoming the most popular game show on Indian television, it is time to move on,” she said.
— UNI
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MDMK opposes defence pact with Lanka
New Delhi, November 26 These sentiments were conveyed by MDMK leader Vaiko to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee when he met the minister here this morning. “The Sri Lankan President is cunningly trying to trap to get India's naval assistance for their military offensive (against the LTTE). India should reject such a proposal,” Mr Vaiko told a press conference here.
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Wedding bells? Bachchans, Ash in Kashi
Varanasi, November 26 The Bachchans, Aishwarya and Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Sing flew into this temple town by a chartered flight. Seven suites have been booked for the stay of the star guests in Hotel Taj Ganges. Sources here said no wedding was planned during the puja which is to be performed at the Sankatmochan temple. There have been considerable speculation in the media about marriage between Abhishek and Aishwarya but neither family has confirmed it. Amitabh had said in London on November 9 this year that he wanted Abhishek to settle with a “good girl” of his choice. Asked about the prospect of Abhishek marrying Aishwarya, the older Bachchan had quipped: “I have also heard about it. You
should ask the people who spread the rumour.” Abhishek and Aishwarya have starred together in Hindi films like “Dhai Akshar Prem Ke”, “Kuch Na Kaho”, recently-released “Umrao Jaan” and soon-to-be screened “Dhoom II” as also Mani Ratnam’s forthcoming “Guru”.—PTI
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Sex workers to help police 11 buried alive |
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