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Meghalaya Polls
Violation of Code of Conduct
Congress takes on BJP over terror
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Forward Bloc ultimatum to Buddha
ULFA Plane Hijack Plot
29 ULFA militants give up arms
Hawk aircraft to add to IAF strength
Tribals joined voluntarily: Naga rebels
Varsity does volte face, says Brig holds professional degree
Additional package for Palestine soon
Visit to holy places in Israel
SP to oppose frisking of MLAs
MP minister dies in road mishap
Farah Khan gives birth to triplets
Porcupine attacks farmer
Budget session from Feb 25
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Meghalaya Polls
Guwahati, February 11 What is significant in the move is that three main regional parties who have initiated the pre-poll alliance move are the constituents of the present Congress-led ruling coalition in the hill state that is going for Assembly polls in March 3 next. It was the regional Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP) that initiated the move by giving a clarion call to all regional political parties to come under one regional umbrella to keep the Congress and the NCP out of power. The MDP argued that only regional parties could understand the root causes of problems plaguing the hill state. The United Democratic Party (UDP) and the Khun Hynnewtrap National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) have responded to the call positively. The MDP has offered to support nominees of other regional parties in constituencies where it has not fielded its candidates. The UDP and the KHNAM have lauded MDP president Martle Mukhim's proposal of "a regionalism theory" to bring all regional parties together to upset the applecart of the national parties. The executive committee meeting of the MDP held on Saturday decided to ask its workers to extend support to candidates of other regional parties in constituencies where the MDP had not put up any candidate. “There is a need for consensus candidates in constituencies where the MDP or other regional parties have not set up their candidates,” the MDP chief said, adding, “We should strengthen regionalism with national outlook. Only regional parties understand the problems of local people better”. “We welcome the MDP decision,” a UDP spokesman said. KHNAM president Paul Lyngdoh, a former Khasi Students Union (KSU) leader, also sounded optimistic about the move for unity among the regional parties. The MDP president has been egging on the UDP and other regional parties for quite sometime to come forward for unification of all regional parties or revival of the erstwhile Regional Progressive Alliance (RPA) ahead of the elections. MDP has already released a list of 19 candidates for the elections. The party had won four seats in the 60-member Meghalaya House in the last Assembly polls.
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Violation of Code of Conduct
Dehra Dun, February 11 Rawat alleged that the state government was trying to influence the electorate by announcing new projects and appointing ministers as election in charges of different segments of the constituency. "We have several instances of misuse of the official machinery by the BJP ministers who are also putting pressure on various government employees unions to favour the ruling party candidate. So we have decided to lodge a complaint with the Election Commission," he told mediapersons at the state Congress office here. Meanwhile, the election scene is hotting up with allegations and counter-allegations flying thick and fast. The Congress alleged that the BJP government was responsible for the ongoing power crisis in the state which during the Congress regime earned the reputation of 'Urja Pradesh' due to surplus availability of power. But the people were facing hardships due to unprecedented power cuts as the BJP government neglected power banking during the summer season as was done during the five-year tenure of the Congress government. On the other hand, BJP blamed the crisis was the doing of the Congress-led UPA government at whose behest gas-based power plants were shut down without any prior notice. "The state government was not at all informed about unscheduled shut down of these plants on which power needs of the state are dependent during the winters," alleged state BJP spokesperson Davender Bhasin. Health Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank tried to counter the Congress' allegation of the shortage of LPG, wheat and kerosene in the state alleging that the situation arose only due to cut in the state quota by the UPA government. Congress leaders claimed that the BJP allegations were baseless and the state quota for these essential things has remained unchanged since the BJP came to power.
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Congress takes on BJP over terror
New Delhi, February 11 After it revealed that Parliament House attack convict Afzal Guru was arrested and let off by the NDA regime just two months before the incident, the Congress today upped the ante and raised a series of questions on the BJP’s track record in handling terrorist activites. At the same time, the UPA also fielded its minister of state for home Sriprakash Jaiswal who has released official figures to show that terrorist activity has actually declined during the UPA’ regime. Describing the BJP’s terror record as deplorable and condemnable, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the number, scope and gravity of terrorist incidence were much worse during BJP leader and former home minister L.K. Advani’s stewardship. While remarking that Advani and his government specialised in releasing and escorting dangerous terrorists out of the country, Singhvi wanted to know what had led to the Indian government’s stated policy of not dealing with terrorists leading to the country’s abject surrender at Kandahar. He also asked the BJP to explain why it was necessary for Jaswant Singh to escort terrorists abroad. “Why was Afzal Guru released just before the Parliament attack,” Singhvi queried and then went on to question the NDA government’s decision to grant clemency to Peter Bleach, accused in the Purulia arms dropping case, even though the request was turned down twice by then President K.R.Narayanan. The Congress also recalled how Kargil intruders occupied 130 posts during the NDA’s regime and whether Advani and the NDA government ever raised these issues with Pakistan at Lahore or at Agra. The Congress has sharpened its attack against BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate L.K. Advani in a deliberate effort to dent the latter’s acquired image as an “iron man” and to push him on the back foot as Advani prepares a series of country-wide rallies to publicise the UPA’s failure to contain terrorism.
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Forward Bloc ultimatum to Buddha
Kolkata, February 11 The Forward Block alleged that the CPM had been misusing police and official power against Trinamool Congress, Congress and other parties, and now they had started applying the same method against the front partners, which were opposing their “coercive and various anti-people” policies. Veteran leader Ashoke Ghose alleged today that the recent Dinhata incident was a glaring example of the CPM's misuse of the police, adding that "it was pre-planned" and was similar to the Nandigram
incident. Ghose charged that all 40 Forward Block leaders and workers, including the Forward Block district secretary, Udayan Guha were falsely implicated in the murder charge of the NVF personnel in accordance with the practice they had been following against the TMC, SUCI and even a section in their party which was not endorsing the CPM's policies. Forward Block general secretary Debabrata Biswas, who was at Dinhata, warned the Chief Minister that they would launch massive agitation against the CPM if the "false charges against their workers in connection with the Dinhata were not withdrawn by February 29". He said they would not remain in the front as the CPM's stooge and he reminded the CPM that the front did not belong to them alone. The Chief Minister, however, reiterated that the criminal cases against the Forward Block workers would not be withdrawn, which CPM secretary Biman Bose already declared yesterday. But Bhattacharjee agreed to appoint the chairman of the judicial commission and formulate the commission's terms and conditions after consulting Ghose. But the RSP, another front partner, came out publicly in support of the Forward Block's stand. RSP leader Debabrata Bandopadhyya and RSP minister (PWD) Kshiti Goswami alleged that the CPM had now turned into the petty bourgeois party like the Congress. They warned the Chief Minister against misusing police and official powers for gaining vested interests. Both leaders made it clear that they would leave the front if the CPM did not rectify their “wrong and coercive policies” against their political rivals.
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ULFA Plane Hijack Plot
Guwahati, February 11 Assam police IG (special branch) Khagen Sharma, while confirming that the police had picked up the rights activist and the airline employee for interrogation in connection with the case, said that more persons were likely to be picked up by the police on the basis of confession of arrested ULFA cadre Manoj Tamuly, one of the ULFA members who was allegedly trained by an ISI operative on plane hijacking. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has warned that the police crackdown on those involved in aiding and abetting ULFA activities will continue in the state. Rights activist Lachit Bardoloi, who was member of the Peoples Consultative Group (PCG) constituted in 2005 by ULFA to facilitate direct talks with the Government of India, was rounded up by the police from Moran in Upper Assam this morning. The police also seized the laptop computer of the rights activist. It also picked up one Suman Dutta, an employee of a private airline, from his residence at Azara in the city today for alleged connection to ULFA’s plane hijack conspiracy. The police claimed that the airline employees had made some startling revelations during the interrogation so far. Another prominent Gauhati High Court lawyer Nekibur Zaman and a TV journalist Pradip Gogoi had already been booked by the police yesterday in connection with the same case. The police has claimed that ULFA was conspiring to hijack a plane from Guwahati airport to Rawalpindi in Pakistan via Thimphu in Bhutan. IGP Sharma informed that arrested ULFA man Manoj Tamuly along with others had received hijacking training in the jungles of Baksa district of Assam, adjacent to the Bhutan border. The training was imparted by one Rasik Ahmed, suspected be an ISI operative. Meanwhile, a team of officials from Union home ministry is here to interrogate the ULFA cadre Manoj Tamuly. Talking to reporters while he was being taken to be produced before a magistrate, Tamuly said that the conspiracy to hijack a plane had taken root in a restaurant in Karol Bagh in New Delhi where he had gone for health check-up. He said there were four senior ULFA leaders - Akash Thapa, Bhagin, Bikram and Bhaskar - during the discussion in the Karol Bagh restaurant "We were trained by a person who was wearing sherwani. His name was Rafiq and we were not sure whether it was his real name," said Tamuly.
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29 ULFA militants give up arms
Guwahati, February 11 The surrendered militants included 29 cadres from the ULFA and one each from the Karbi tribe militant group, the Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF) and Bodo tribe militant group, National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) that is now in truce with the Government of India. The ULFA militants were led to the surrender by commander of the “27th battalion” of ULFA “captain” Keshab Hazarika. Army’s General Officer Commanding (GoC) 4 Corps, Lt-Gen B.S. Jaswal, commandant of the 2nd Mountain Division Jatinder Singh, DIG (eastern range) of Assam Police L.R.Bishnoi, deputy commissioners of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts were among the top officials present at the surrender ceremony. The surrendered militants also laid down a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including nine grenades, IEDs, pistols and rifles.
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Hawk aircraft to add to IAF strength
New Delhi, February 11 Considered an important milestone in the history of the IAF, the AJT will effectively bridge the gap between the slow jet trainer like “Kiran” and the AJT now in the inventory of the IAF. The IAF believes that there existed a quantum difference in the skill and the judgement levels required of a young fighter pilot as he transited to the state-of-the-art fighters such as Su-30 MKI, Mirage 2000 and MiG-29. The Hawk would serve as a lead trainer for these advanced aircraft. Its formal induction marks the operationalisation of the aircraft. The contract for the supply of Hawk AJT was signed between the IAF and BAE Systems in 2004. The deal envisaged the supply of 66 aircraft, 24 built in the UK and 42 licensed production by the HAL at Bangalore. The initial four Hawk aircraft were flown from Warton to Bidar by a combined team of BAE Systems and IAF pilots. The aircraft is a variant of the highly successful BAE Systems and incorporates an open architecture mission computer, glass cockpit and a state-of-the-art avionics suite, including a new generation intertial navigation system with GSP. It is also equipped with several Indian-made components such as communication sets, identification friend or foe system and radio altimeter. In addition to being an AJT, Hawk 132 is fully combat capable and can carry air to air missile and air to ground armament. It could also be used as a lightweight fighter. The Bidar airfield chosen as the main operating base for Hawk is 150 km away from Hyderabad. This base has been a training establishment for budding fighter pilots of the IAF since 1963. To ensure the smooth induction of Hawk, the Air Warriors under the command of Air Commodore Ramesh Rai have worked hard to put the required infrastructure in place. The work included the extension of the two runways, improvement in landing facilities and the creation of servicing facilities for the technology-intensive Hawk aircraft. The first two Hawk aircraft arrived at Bidar on November 12 last year and were welcomed to the Indian skies by Air Marshal G.S. Chaudhry, AOC-in-Chief, Training Command, Bangalore.
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Tribals joined voluntarily: Naga rebels
Guwahati, February 11 An indirect admission about fresh recruitment by the rebel group in truce came to the light when refuting the allegation by All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU) that it had abducted 39 young boys at gunpoint from several villages in Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh. The rebel group stated that these boys had volunteered to join its ranks. An NSCN-K spokesman, P Tikhak told the media here that the 39 Arunachalee boys were not taken as hostage by the outfit, rather they had volunteered to participate NSCN-K’s recruitment drive. He said the fresh recruitment drive was started January and would be continued this month. The admission by the rebel group has rendered credence to the often repeated allegations by security forces that many North East insurgent groups in truce with the Centre are yet to stop fresh recruitment to their ranks and are keeping their training camps running in violation of ceasefire ground rules. The militant group’s spokesman claim that all 39 Arunachalee boys, who had come to join NSCN-K ranks on their own will, had been put through test and those found ineligible for being underage were sent back home. The NSCN-K is known to maintain a base inside Myanmar across the international border in Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh. In fact, both the factions of the NSCN - the NSCN-K and the NSCN-IM - have presence in Tirap and Changlang districts bordering Myanmar and are accused by the Arunachal government of creating trouble in both the districts. Earlier, the Arunachal Pradesh Police and AAPSU maintained that the NSCN-K abducted the young boys at gunpoint to force them to join ranks of the outfit. Two FIRs were lodged in this regard in two police stations in the hill state. The police claimed to have rescued 15 boys from the clutches of the NSCN-K during a joint operation with the Army. The AAPSU had set a deadline for February 15 to rescue the abducted boys to avoid an intensive state-wide agitation.
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Munnabhai takes the big leap with Manyata
Mumbai, February 11 Ending all speculation, Dutt (48) and Manyata Dilnasheen Amir Ahmed Sheikh (32) exchanged their nuptial vows at the bride's residence at suburban Versova. The formal wedding was attended by close friends but Dutt's family members, including sisters--Lok Sabha MP Priya Dutt and Namrata Gaurav, were conspicuous by their absence. After the marriage, a beaming Dutt wearing a golden hued kurta-pyjama with a red embroidered 'chunri' said he was very happy and thanked all his fans. Lobbing a question at the media, Dutt asked the media,"Are you happy with my marriage?". On getting an affirmative reply, he thanked them and said,"I am also very happy and I thank you for the positive support". Manyata, who appeared overwhelmed by the occasion, said "I am so happy that I don't have words to express". Wearing a red and gold coloured lehanga with golden embroidery, Manyata looked every inch a typical Indian bride with her forehead and her hair parting full of sindoor. Asked about his daughter Trishala's reaction, Dutt paused and said,"she is happy". Trishala(18) was born out of Dutt's first wife Richa Sharma, who died of cancer. She is abroad and told a TV channel, "I have nothing to say." Dutt, whose second marriage to model Rhea Pillai ended in a divorce, is now on bail pending appeal in the Supreme Court in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. According to industry sources, Sanjay married Manyata at a five-star hotel in Goa before a registrar on February 7 under the Special Marriage Act with a few close friends as witness. Priya Dutt said she is happy for her brother but claimed he was not aware of the marriage. Rumours were rife that Dutt's sisters did not attend the marriage ceremony as they were not in favour of his alliance with Manyata. However, Priya set the record straight. "I am very happy and will wish him when he comes home," Priya said, who was also surprised with media's keen interest in her brother's marital status. "I don't think the marriage should be given so much importance. Sanjay and Manyata were seeing each other for a long time. This is just a formality," she said Asked what present he gave to his new wife, Dutt answered, 'myself', ending all speculation that were raised about their relationship in the last few months. Dutt appeared very happy at the turn of events and was seen joking with his friends and mediapersons. He was jailed last year for illegal weapons possession and links to Mumbai's underworld.
— PTI
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Varsity does volte face, says Brig holds professional degree
Chandigarh, February 11 A letter issued by the university a few days ago states that Brig A.K. Srivastava, Deputy Judeg Advocate-General, Western Command, had passed the two-year academic law course from the university in 1971 and obtained the three-year professional degree in 1988 as an ex-student. Earlier, in response to the contents of a letter written to the university by Captain Indu P, posted in the Judge Advocate-General’s Branch at Army Headquarters, Delhi, the university had maintained that the brigadier’s law course was incomplete till date and no professional degree was issued by the university. The university’s fresh letter, issued by the vigilance officer and counter signed by the registrar states that the letter addressed to Captain Indu was issued erroneously due to a gap of 17 years between the academic and professional examination and at that point of time the record could not be linked. Confirming the receipt of the letter, sources at Headquarters Western Command said that the university has cancelled the earlier letter and “regretted” the inconvenience caused. Sources said that Brigadier Srivastava has now sought an inquiry into the episode, though the Army is yet to take up the issue. Alleging it to be a conspiracy, he has maintained that the department did not have any authority to seek details or investigate into the matter but could only have made make a recommendation for the same to the Military Secretary’s Branch or the Discipline and Vigilance directorate in the Adjutant
General’s Branch. Earlier, an ex-serviceman had alleged that the officer did not possess a law degree at the time of joining the Army in 1971 and had sought an investigation into the matter. The Brigadier had contended that he had been commissioned into the Gorkha Rifles and had converted to the JAG department in the
1980s.
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Additional package for Palestine soon
New Delhi, February 11 “We stand ready to extend additional assistance to help the people of Palestine to overcome the suffering they are facing now. A package of such assistance is being worked out and will be announced shortly. India also stands ready to help the peace process move forward,” foreign office spokesman said today. The spokesman said India followed recent events in Gaza and the West Bank with deep concern and anguish. He said the misery and hardship faced by the people of Palestine, especially in the Gaza strip, was deplorable. He reiterated New Delhi’s condemnation of the use of force on the civilian population of Palestine and called upon all sides, including Israel, to exercise restraint. The spokesman took note of recent moves by the Egyptian government to address humanitarian needs through dialogue, including among the Palestinian groups, and said such moves deserved support. “However, peace cannot wait much longer, and threatens to become a casualty in the region and for its people, irrespective of boundaries, cultures and history. The time to act is now with trust and understanding for a new beginning of hope and
fulfilment, and an end to violence. It is imperative that normalcy be restored expeditiously so that the aspirations of the people in the region are
realised.”
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Visit to holy places in Israel
Hyderabad, February 11 This was stated by Governor N.D.Tiwari in his address to the joint session of Legislative Assembly and Council on the opening day of the budget session. In his 50-page address, the Governor outlined various welfare measures for minorities and said, “My government has decided to extend the Haj Pilgrim scheme to Christian minorities for their religious visits to Christian holy lands in Israel.” The government also gave its nod to a proposal to perform mass marriages for poor Muslims and Christians from the next financial year on the lines of the“Kalyanamasthu” programme being implemented for Hindus. The Governor also announced that the state government would meet the salaries of teachers in Madarsas, the Islamic schools of learning, and provide computers to them. “With a view to ensuring that the students in madarsas learn modern education, my government has advised madarsas to appoint the teachers on their own for teaching mathematics, science, English and computer education. The government will meet their salaries,” Tiwari said. The government, he said, was also in the process of formulating a scheme for the development of Wakf properties in the state. The minority students were being provided pre-matric and post-matric scholarships on a par with the Backward Class students from the current financial year, while the eligible candidates among them would also get fee reimbursement. Orders have also been issued for setting up 12 pre-matric and 16 post-matric and 12 residential schools for minority students.
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Thousands bid adieu to Mahesh Yogi
Allahabad, February 11 The funeral pyre was lit at the stroke of 12.45 p.m., the auspicious time on Basant Panchami, near the Sangam, the holy confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the Saraswati. A senior functionary of the TM movement, Girish Varma, also the seer’s nephew, lit the pyre in the presence of two of the Maharishi's close relatives Anand Prakash and Ajay Prakash, both part of the seer's TM family, a host of dignitaries, global leaders of the organisation and at least 70,000 devotees. The rites were performed according to the wishes of the Shankaracharya of the Jyotirmath near Badrinath in the Himalayas and were presided over by Varma and Tony Abu Nadar, Yogi’s newly nominated successor. Uniformed policemen lowered their guns as the last post was sounded as a mark of state honour to the departed spiritual guru. Renowned spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who had been a disciple of the Maharishi, also paid obeisance to his guru.
— IANS
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SP to oppose frisking of MLAs
Lucknow, February 11 More trouble is expected tomorrow with this categorical refusal of the main opposition party to undergo frisking to enter the House when it reassembles and Chief Minister Mayawati presents her second budget. In view of the release of black gas-filled balloon inside the House considered to be a major security breach, the Speaker had announced that the Vidhan Sabha staff in the presence of the district civil police would frisk every MLA entering the House. A high-level meeting convened immediately after the incident on Friday had also ordered a probe to be conducted by the Home Department. The investigation would examine how such a large number of balloons found their way inside the House. The security of the Vidhan Sabha has also been transferred to the district police directly under the SSP, Lucknow. Till now, the marshals under the direct command of principal secretary Vidhan Sabha were handling it.
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MP minister dies in road mishap Bhopal, February 11 The car, in which 50-year-old Gaud was travelling from his hometown Indore to Bhopal, rammed into the dumper truck parked near a roadside eatery, Indore district collector Vivek Agrawal said. The minister suffered severe head injuries and was taken to Bombay Hospital in Indore, about 40 km from the accident site, where he was declared brought dead, he said. Gaud’s driver Preetam Prajapati, gunman Rishi Tiwari and personal assistant were injured and admitted to a hospital in Dewas. Gaud, who was inducted into the BJP government in August last year, is survived by his wife and three sons. The driver of the dumper truck Santosh was also injured in the collision. The minister’s injured gunman and roadside eatery owners informed the authorities about the accident after which police arrived on the scene and took Gaud to Dewas district hospital from where he was sent to the Bombay Hospital. Beginning as an RSS activist, Gaud had been a leader of the youth wing of the BJP and the party’s students’ front. He was a three-time MLA from Indore. The state government declared three days of state mourning and said its offices, schools, and colleges would remain closed tomorrow as a mark of respect to Gaud. — PTI
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Farah Khan gives birth to triplets
Mumbai, February 11 Speaking to UNI, her doctor Dr Feroza Parikh said, “Farah has delivered a son and two daughters by cesarean section at 9.45 this morning. We allowed her husband Shirish Kunder to be with her during the birth of the babies.” “Everything went off normally and she is resting now. The babies are normal and healthy. The boy weighs 2.4 kg, her one daughter weighs 2.4 kg and other weighs 2.1 kg,” Dr Parikh said. “Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, along with wife Gauri, also came to see Farah,” Dr Parikh added. — UNI
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Porcupine attacks farmer
Gulbarga, February 11 The police today said Mahanthe Sharanappa was working at the field at Yedrami alone last night when it attacked him. The furious porcupine gored him with its sharp thorns when he tried to drive it away after noticing it destroying his jowar crops. He was admitted to the government hospital here, the police said. Raitha Sangha leaders complained that it was not an isolated instance as several similar incidents have occurred earlier. They said porcupines were more in numbers in Shapur, Yedrami and Khembavi Talukas and appealed to the officials concerned to take steps to protect the farmers from such attacks by wild animals.
— UNI
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Budget session from Feb 25
New Delhi, February 11 President Pratibha Patil will address both Houses of Parliament in the Central Hall at 11 am on Feb 25. In order to enable the standing committees to consider the demands for grants and prepare their reports, Parliament will adjourn on March 20 to meet again on April 15.
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