New Delhi, October 6
The Akhil Bhartiya Gurjar Sangharsh Samiti (ABGSS) held a demonstration in front of the BJP headquarters at Ashoka Road today.

The demonstration was part of the ‘jail bharo’ agitation launched by the community in Rajasthan, against the state government targeting Gujjar leaders.

They demanded removal of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundra Raje Scindia, as she had failed to confer tribal status to Gujjars in the state. She had promised this during the assembly polls.

The ABGSS patron Ramvir Singh Bidhuri (MLA), Yashvir Singh and Haryana president of ABGSS Chaudhary Sukhbir Singh Jaunpuria led the demonstrators.

Bidhuri alleged that Gurjjar leaders in Rajasthan were being ill treated, after they had launched the ‘jail bharo’ agitation. False cases were being registered against them. Around five lakh people were arrested on the first day of the agitation. He warned the BJP leadership of intensifying the agitation, if the party did not intervene in the matter. Addressing the demonstrators, Jaunpuria flayed the indifferent attitude of the Rajasthan government.

The protestors gathered at Jantar Mantar and marched towards the BJP headquarters. Many people were detained. Prominent among those detained were Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Sukhbir Singh Jaunpuria, Harish Pal, former finance minister of Haryana Chaudhary Kataar Singh, Yashbir Singh, Chaudhary Ratan Singh, Delhi municipal councillors Mahesh Awana and Rohtas Singh, Rajkumar Bhati, Baburam Arya, Laxmi Chand Chechi and Kesri Singh Gurjar.

New Delhi, October 6
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has rejected the proposal of giving recognition to Star Shine Public school where a girl student was stripped recently, standing committee chairman Vijender Gupta said.

Gupta warned the primary schools recognized by the MCD that mental and physical torture or exploitation of any student would not be tolerated and the recognition of such schools would be cancelled if any such incident was reported.

He reiterated that the senior officers of education department of the MCD had also been alerted that strict action would be taken against those officers found guilty of conniving with such schools in hiding such incidents.

The committee chairman also appealed the parent teacher associations to remain vigilant about any incident of physical or mental torture to students. Director, primary education, should be informed in case such an incident takes place.

New Delhi, October 6
BJP Delhi Pradesh president Dr Harsh Vardhan has said that due to the failure of the Delhi government there is steep price spiral of all the essential commodities. The harassment of women has also increased during the rule of a woman Chief Minister.

He said this at a dharna organised by the Mahila Morcha of the party unit. “Condition of the vegetable producer and vegetable consumer is very bad. The middlemen and the speculators are benefiting. There is no scarcity of onion, potato, tomato etc in the country. It is due to the failure of the government machinery and the corruption the price spiral is not being curbed. The Government has not raided even a single hoarders till date.

The mandi mafia is so strong that they have slapped the Chief Minister by selling onions at a price lower than the government stalls.”

Dr Harsh Vardhan said that the mandi mafia was looting the consumers by creating artificial scarcity of onion, tomato; potato etc deliberately. They are being protected by the Congress leaders. In view of higher demand of potatoes; onions; tomatoes and other vegetables due to the Ramzan, Pitripaksha, Navaratra, Id, Dasehra, Divali, the speculators and middlemen active at the mandies have deliberately obstructed the arrival of the goods so that they may be able to recover higher prices.

When there is scarcity of onions, how the government is selling onion at the rate of Rs 20 per kg by installing parallel stalls in the markets? Harsh Vardhan asked.

Mahila Morcha president Vishakha Sailani said that the prices of essential commodities including vegetables had increased many times in Delhi. This government has completely failed to curb the price spiral. It seems that there is nothing like government in Delhi.

The women participating in dharna had garlands of onions around their necks. They raised slogans demanding resignation of the Chief Minister. With the banners of Mahila Morcha in their hands, hundreds of women resolved that they would dislodge this anti -women and anti -people government. Pradesh general secretary Pawan Sharma, former MP Anita Arya, Rajesh Yadav, Shakuntla Arya addressed women.

New Delhi, October 6
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today termed the rise in onion prices as a temporary phenomenon and said the government has no control over production of the commodity.

This is a large country. These things happen. Centre does not control production. It is a temporary phenomenon, Singh told reporters at an Iftar party.

Meanwhile, the prices of onion, a politically sensitive commodity, have begun to soften as the new crop has started arriving at different mandis in Maharashtra, the largest producing state.

The steps announced by the Centre, such as the hike in minimum export price (MEP), have also helped in increasing the availability of the commodity and curbing the price rise.

Onion prices today fell to Rs 15-18 per kg from Rs 16-19 a kg yesterday in the wholesale market of national capital, traders said. Prices are likely to come down further to Rs 14-15 per kg by Monday, they added.

The government has formalised canalising of onion exports and quantum of the licence would be decided by the food ministry. — PTI

New Delhi, October 6
In wake of the recent stampede at Mughal Sarai station, which left 15 persons dead, the Railways has drawn up a composite security plan restricting the entry of people accompanying passengers and relocate kiosks in stations.

The over-crowding and congestion at railway stations are posing a serious safety hazard as well as security threat for genuine passengers. We are looking for a long-term solution to the problem by finalising a composite security plan, said a senior Railway official.

A high-powered committee consisting of senior officials from the Railways, IB, NSG, CRPF, CISF and the RPF was constituted by the government to formulate a composite security plan.

The committee headed by the special director general RPF, has submitted an interim report highlighting the issue of rampant commercial use of platforms and unauthorised entry of people into platforms.

The report also highlighted the need to restrict platform tickets.

It is the responsibility of the Railways and the RPF to control the access to stations like airports. One has to develop the security model as in the aviation sector. It may be modified in the Indian context, RPF director-general M K Sinha told PTI.

After the Mumbai serial bomb blasts in suburban trains in July, last year, the railway ministry has been seriously considering a move to restrict the entry of non-passengers and permitting only passengers to go to platforms.

Barring the elderly and those needing physical support, the entry would be restricted for others.

The report is critical of the commercial use of platform space. The mushrooming of kiosks at platforms are proving to be hindrance for smooth movement of passengers and at times pose a great risk during rush hours, said a Railway official involved in finalising the composite security plan.

A platform cannot be a commercial arena. There are malls, food plazas, cybercafes, commercial complexes operating on railway lands in foreign countries. But all these commercial activities are outside the stations and no way hinder the passenger movement, he said.

Hiking the rates of platform tickets to reduce the number of people buying it is another option being mulled by the Railways. — PTI

New Delhi, October 6
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University is organising the third national case studies symposium, Vishleshan 2007, on its premises on October 6 and 7.

The idea behind the symposium is to highlight the changing trends, for the better, in the highly competitive corporate sector. The two-day symposium provides an opportunity to management students, corporate professionals and faculty members to develop an insight into the process of case development, analysis and presentation, apart from serving as a platform to demonstrate their knowledge, creativity and corporate experience by way of presenting the cases developed by them.

Representatives from organisations like- the National Power Training Institute, Convergence India Ltd and Axis Bank, academicians and students from various institutes of GGSIPU including USMS, Gitarattan International Business School, Amity Business School, Delhi School of Professional Studies & Research, Tecnia Institute of Advanced Studies, Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Northern India Engineering College participated in the symposium.

Prof Mukesh Chaturvedi from the Birla Institute of Technology was the chief guest at Vishleshan 2007. He said, “Case study should be presented in such a manner that a reader is not lost in comprehending it but, is able to analyse and appreciate it.” He added, “Case method is more of active learning since the onus is largely on a student to learn. It is collaborative learning. It tells one how to think rather than merely what to think. A faculty member becomes a facilitator than just being a teacher.”

Speakers at the inaugural session included V.K. Jain, registrar, GGSIPU, Satiender Juneja, chief marketing officer, Aricent; and Prof R.K. Mittal, dean, USMS. Jain expressed hope that the symposium would enable participants to increase their knowledge and help them in self-analysis.

Vishleshan 2007 includes an intensive case method workshop, a national case writing competition, which is open to academicians, professionals and researchers. Besides, it includes a case analysis contest for students.

New Delhi, October 6
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today visited BR Camp, opposite Race Course Road and Sanjay Camp at Chanakyapuri.

Dikshit instructed senior officials of the NDMC to provide proper civic amenities to the residents. NDMC chairperson Parimal Roy and other senior accompanied the Chief Minister.

She visited BR Camp and heard the residents’ grievances related to sanitation, water and other issues. The Chief Minister assured them of help to solve their problems.

She directed officials of the NDMC to provide better and more toilets.

At Sanjay Camp, she directed officials concerned to provide better sanitation and also help them to solve their problems.

New Delhi, October 6
The Andhra Pradesh government yesterday contended before the Supreme Court that the law providing four per cent reservation to Muslims in professional and educational institutions was not on religious lines but based on careful identification of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBC) among the community.

The Act providing four per cent reservation to the socially and educationally backward Muslims is based on careful identification of the SEBC of Muslims based on best expertise available in the field ..., the state government said in an affidavit.

The apex court, while stopping any further admissions under the controversial law on September 28, had sought response of the Andhra Pradesh government on sub -categorisation of SEBC Muslims for extending the benefit of reservation.

Defending the legislation, the state government said that neither the Act nor the report of the commission based on which an ordinance was promulgated and subsequently the Act was passed can be termed as religion based .

The Andhra Pradesh government has accepted the report of the P.S krishnan Commission which contended that the bulk of Muslim SEBC were lost sight of over several decades, whereas other groups had the benefit of reservations for over 30 years, including Scheduled Castes converted to Christianity.

The sub -categorisation of SEBC of Muslims is not based on religion alone. But it is on account of their delayed and recent inclusion on their relative backwardness vis-a-vis existing SEBC and therefore, the same is lawful, the affidavit said that not to give reservations to the sebcs of muslims having regard to their backwardness would be a denial of equal opportunity based on religion alone, the affidavit added.

The petition filed by T.Murlidhar Rao and K.Sriteja has contended that providing reservations exclusively to the Muslim community on religious lines was violative of Articles 15(1) and 16(2) of the Constitution. — PTI

New Delhi, October 6
Goal — a women’s empowerment programme training girls from different communities in sports to inspire and motivate them to become leaders, celebrated the completion of its first phase here today.

Standard Chartered Bank had started the programme in December 2006, in partnership with Naz Foundation (India) and the International Netball Federation (IFNA).

“This programme is an effort to empower women to become leaders through sports and leadership courses. Over 38 employees of Standard Chartered have contributed their time and skills to success of Goal by designing the modules on environment, communication and financial literacy,” said Sumeet Singla, regional head, India and South Asia of Standard Chartered.

“We are very happy to see that Goal has benefited more than 70 girls and their families. Owing to this success we are expanding it to Mumbai and Chennai” said Debbie Whittaker, group head of sustainability, Standard Chartered.

Girls from Govindpuri, Aligaon and Sanjay Gandhi Camp with the NGOs and local sporting bodies such as IFNA as well as schools and colleges from Delhi came forward to implement the programme. — IANS

This is the story of Gym and Jill, the two main characters in the film, who come tumbling down. Watch ‘Go’ and you will agree that producer Ram Gopal Varma’s factory needs to be shut down for serious overhauling.

And this is despite the fact that the story of Gym (newcomer Gautam) and Jill (Nisha) has some peppy and perky moments. In fact debutante director Manish Srivastava pumps up the adrenaline real hard in this rowdy road movie.

But overall, the movie is a maddening mix of guns and songs. Unlike ‘Daud’ and ‘Road’, Varma’s earlier two road movies, ‘Go’ has no star value. It has a pair of lovers who talk in terrible, tongue-twisting riddles and squirmy one-liners.

The lovebirds squabble incessantly while Kay Kay Menon, playing a dour cop, often stands around watching the couple with the look of a man who has just encountered an unpleasant smell.

Do not blame Kay Kay. The odour comes from Ramu over-doing the gangster-politicians-cops theme. His supporting cast, which includes Ravi Kale, Govind Namdeo and Rasika Joshi, has become so predictably inter-changeable, you wonder where Ramu is heading with his cinema.

Arshad Syed’s dialogues too need a serious re-write.

Muscle-boy Gym snorts drugs in a club, womanises to tease his neighbour-lover and barges into her bedroom in his underwear, while her mother (Rasika Joshi) goes into a swoon.

If you have not already fainted at the brain-dead antics of Gym and Jill, there’s more. The squabbling neighbours and their much-in-love children is borrowed from K. Balachander’s ‘Ek Duje Ke Liye’. Nisha’s character is even named Vasu after Kamal Haasan in Balachander’s film. — IANS