Coimbatore, April 2
The CPM wants law related to special economic zones (SEZ) to be amended as it feels that the central government’s policy on the issue is flawed but welcomed entry of corporates into retail trade in Left-ruled states.

CPM politburo member and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said here today: “We have discussed this issue and feel the law on SEZs needs be amended. The Centre seems to be going mad and has sanctioned 400 SEZs all over the country.”

He stated: “There should be a policy on this issue and industries should be identified which can be set in SEZs. SEZs cannot be for real estate. It should be for industries which need foreign technology and are export-oriented and the Centre should formulate a land ceiling for SEZs.”

He said the Centre should also ensure that trade union rights be protected for the workers and industries in SEZs were not exempted from labour laws of the country.

Bhattacharya admitted that when the law on SEZs was passed in Parliament, the Left parties were bothered about the rights of the workers and overlooked some vital points.

“Now we are facing the music with 400 SEZs being approved by the Centre,” he remarked.

Though the issue of industrialisation in West Bengal by evicting farmers came in for criticism from many CPM delegates from non-Left ruled states, Bhattacharya said the party congress had approved the industrial policies of the three Left ruled states of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura.

However, he said: “The party Congress has asked us to approach the issue of industrialisation on agricultural land with caution. We have to be careful about compensation and rehabilitation of the farmers evicted.”

Regarding retail trade, Bhattacharya said: “We do not want foreign companies to enter this arena. We welcome Indian corporates but with some regulations as we need to protect the interests of small traders. If big business houses totally takeover retail trade then small traders will perish. That is why we want some checks and balances on the issue," he said.

Lucknow, April 2
Chief Minister Mayawati today charged the Central government of attempting to build political pressure on her by making the income tax department file a fresh petition in the Delhi High Court today.

The notice that the Chief Minister received today is merely regarding the maintainability of an appeal made by the IT department, she claimed.

“Two Central ministers — Pranab Mukherjee and Lalu Prasad Yadav — are facing similar cases. But no such fresh appeal has been filed in their case. It has been done in my case, which clearly points out that the Central government wants to build pressure on me,” she charged.

Briefing the press at her official 5 Kalidas Marg residence, Mayawati clarified that unlike what a section of the media was projecting, the present notice was in no way connected with the disproportionate assets (DA) case.

“It in fact relates to a routine income tax matter of the year 2003-04. It should not have been sent in any case after two appeals of the IT department had been summarily rejected by the IT commissioner on November 15, 2006 and Income Tax Appellate Tribunal on November 30, 2007,” Mayawati pointed out.

According to her, the matter relates to two gifts that should have been exempted from income tax. They are two immoveable properties gifted to her by registered gift deed and Rs 2 lakh given to her by account payee cheque.

An IT officer, while routine investigation, had included these two items in the list of things to be taxed.

Mayawati said she had challenged this order of the IT officer in an appeal before the income tax commissioner (appeal).

A decision on November 15, 2006 decided the appeal in her favour stating that the items were genuinely gifted and hence not subject to income tax.

Relating the sequence of events in the case, Mayawati said the IT department again challenged this decision by filing another appeal before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. The tribunal also squashed this appeal and upheld the earlier decision of the commissioner in an order delivered on November 30, 2007.

Guwahati, April 2
A commission of inquiry has blamed militant outfit the All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA) for instigating violent clashes between tribal Adivasi protestors and local residents at Beltola area in Guwahati on November 24 last year that left one dead and 250 inured. A 16-year-old Adivasi girl was stripped by miscreants during the mayhem.

The commission also castigated the authorities and the police failing to anticipate the trouble in the waiting-in-view of the All Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam (AASAA) taking out a protest rally in the city to press for their demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

It blamed the authorities for letting the situation going out of control after the rally turned violent in Beltola area of the city.

“There were lapses on the part of the authorities, who were concerned in maintenance of law and order, including public order,” the report says.

It also suggested that the government should amend the Assam Police Act to minimise such incidents. It further stated: “The damage caused to the property and assault on the public and the adivasis could not be controlled due to absence of sufficient police force.”

The report of Justice (Retd) Manisana Singh Commission of Inquiry, which was tabled in the Assam Assembly today remarks that the AANLA militants paid money to the AASAA to organise the rally in Guwahati.

According to the commission, there were materials on record to substantiate that a representative of the AANLA gave Rs 20,000 to the AASAA. “There is also material that one Bikash Munda alias Bijoy Munda, an extremist leader, gave some money to one of the leaders of AASAA to create the situation at Beltola,” the report states.

The commission concludes that the rally and meeting that preceded it were unlawful and the protestors had damaged property, both private and government, and also assaulted the government officials who had tried to stop them. This had provoked a section of residents to retaliate.

The controversy regarding whether the local people had attacked the adivasis without reason was also addressed by the commission which stated that the ‘local people were provoked by the activities of some of the marchers’ and had ‘avenged upon the retreating procession marchers and assaulted them’.

The commission has further found out that there was a prima facie case of conspiracy amongst some adivasis at the instigation of the All Adivasi National Liberation Army and has recommended an investigation by the central or state government to identify the persons responsible.

The state government, in the action taken report, had mentioned that it had already approached the CBI for conducting an investigation to fix responsibility and has initiated steps to identify those responsible for the incident.

The government said in the report that it would issue comprehensive guidelines to deal with the issues of permission for holding rallies or taking out procession and preventive measures in case of refusal of permission. The government also stated that it would initiate necessary steps for amendment of the Assam Police Act to include the commission’s recommendations.

New Delhi, April 2
In an apparent show of her acceptability among all factions of the Punjab Congress, PPCC chief Rajinder Kaur Bhattal today led a delegation of Congress leaders to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. She sought specific tax concessions for the state, benefits for border areas, besides the release of Sarabjit Singh, who is facing a death penalty in Pakistan.

The delegation included Bhattal loyalists like Tej Prakash Singh and had leaders who at one time were seen close to former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh like Rana Gurmeet Sodhi, Surinder Singla and Lal Singh. Others in the delegation included Brahm Mohindra, Pratap Bajwa, Randeep Nabha, Munish Tewari and Parminder Singh.

Notably, Amarinder Singh is also camping in Delhi, but he is not part of the delegation. Bhattal and Amarinder have had a public spat levelling allegations against each other through the media.

Emerging from the meeting, Bhattal said the Prime Minister was requested to re-open the border with Pakistan at Hussainiwala and went on to claim that the PM had said, “The demand will be taken up with the Pakistan authorities”.

The re-opening of this border has been a long-standing issue in the Ferozepur area and residents there have been demanding that the pre-1971 status should be restored as trade and crossing of people is permitted, said Parminder and Rana Sodhi, who hail from the area.

Bhattal said she also submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister requesting that tax concessions be given to Punjab on the pattern available to Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.

The Congress wanted the Prime Minister to intervene in the release of Sarabjit Singh and ensure that he was brought back home safely.

Bhattal also took up the issue of enhancing the compensation for farmers whose fields were across the electrified fencing on the border with Pakistan. At present farmers are paid Rs 5,000 per acre per annum. Notably Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had also raised the same demand when he called upon the PM a few days back.

The Congress delegation has also requested the Prime Minister to sort out the issue of the electrified fencing. At present there is a two-tier fence. One of the tier should be removed as thousands of acres of lands are locked between the two-tiers of the fence.

Hyderabad, April 2
Confronted with technicalities and jurisdictional issues, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly has dropped the idea of passing a resolution seeking judicial probe into assets of all its sitting members and those who served as ministers since 1978. Instead, Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy today directed the government to directly write to the High Court on the issue.

The climb-down came a day after the members belonging to all political parties agreed for a House resolution and forwarding it to the court, a move that would have created a legislative history in the country.

However, the issues of legislative sovereignty and independence appeared to have influenced the Speaker’s ruling on the matter.

“We need to maintain the sovereignty of the constitutional bodies, without subjugating one’s authority to the other. The authority and independence of the House should not be diluted,” the Speaker said in his ruling. Since the Assembly has its own sovereignty, it would not be proper for it to approach another constitutional body to scrutinise the affairs of its members.

“While appreciating the unanimous views of the members, I rule that the decision of the House can be implemented through the government. Instead of the Assembly sending such a resolution, it would be better for the government to directly take up the matter with the court,” Reddy said.

New Delhi, April 2
Amidst the standoff over the Hogenakkal issue, union shipping minister T.R. Baalu today called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urged him to advice the Karnataka government not to oppose the water project.

Baalu also presented a copy of the resolution adopted unanimously by the Tamil Nadu assembly yesterday to the Prime Minister and apprised him of the facts relating to the Hogenakkal Integrated Drinking Water Project.

Earlier in the day, former Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna met the Prime Minister and said the Centre should “exert” its influence on Tamil Nadu to put on hold the project.

Baalu told the PM that the Centre had given all necessary clearances to the state to implement the project way back in 1998, after convening a meeting of both the states on the issue.

The Tamil Nadu government had also obtained necessary clearances from the union ministries of environment and forests, urban affairs and rural development, Balu said, adding the Karnataka government was kept informed about these issues.

The minister also told the Prime Minister that the early implementation of the 1,334-crore Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) funded water project is “imperative” as it would provide drinking water to two drought-hit districts of Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri.

Later speaking to reporters, Baalu said the NDA government gave its nod for the project in 1998 and the then Karnataka Chief Minister J.H. Patel wrote to the Centre that Tamil Nadu should not have any objection to the Bangalore Water Supply Scheme as long as it was utilising the Cauvery water from its allotted share.

Obstructing a drinking water project was “highly deplorable” and some “vested interests” in Karnataka are opposing it for petty political gains that they are not likely to get in any case as the “right thinking” people in that state would understand their game plan, he said.

On reported remarks of Krishna that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had used “harsh words” against the people of Karnataka, Baalu said the DMK chief is widely acknowledged as an “elderly statesman of this country”.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly had yesterday passed a resolution condemning violence in Karnataka, where pro-Kannada groups opposed to the Hogenakkal Integrated Water Project, attacked theatres screening Tamil movies, and urged the Centre to immediately intervene to “maintain the sovereignty and integrity of the nation”.

The standoff between the two southern states had sparked violence against Tamils in Bangalore and on Monday a theatre screening Tamil movie and Tamil Sangham were attacked allegedly by pro-Karnataka outfits. — PTI

New Delhi, April 2
The Civil Defence Advisory Committee of the ministry of home affairs has unanimously agreed to entrust the five lakh force of civil defence (CD) with the additional responsibility of disaster management.

The committee is also in an agreement on the proposal to carry out necessary amendments in the Civil Defence Act of 1968 to integrate civil defence in the disaster management framework. This suggestion was first made by the committee headed by National Disaster Management Committee (NDMA) member K.M. Singh to strengthen and widen the scope of civil defence.

The suggested amendment would entail insertion of the definition of ‘disaster’ spelt out in the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in the provisions of the Civil Defence Act.

Chaired by union minister for home affairs Shivraj Patil here today, the first meeting of the reconstituted Civil Defence Advisory Committee approved the far-sighted suggestions of the K.M. Singh committee to strengthen civil defence and extend its coverage six fold to 604 districts in three phases across the country by changing the town specific concept of civil defence, as disasters are not confined to towns alone.

At present, CD infrastructure is activated in 124 of the 225 towns catergorised as CD towns. The Civil Defence Act is meant to provide protection to individuals and property against any hostile attack and in a limited number of categorised towns.

The home minister’s Civil Defence Advisory Committee is the apex policy making body in civil defence. It was constituted recently and has representation of the union government (ministers of home, finance, defence and agriculture), state governments (ministers of select states) and senior officers of the ministry of home affairs and state governments.

Sources in Ministry of home affair are optimistic that enabling civil defence with disaster management would help the national disaster management authority in accelerating disaster mitigation efforts in hour of crisis. “This will enable CD to reach out to communities faster as they are part of the community.”

New Delhi, April 2
Four days after the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), trebled the fees for its two-year postgraduate programme, its top official Vijaypat Singhania today met the human resource development minister Arjun Singh and assured him that the hike would not hit poor students. Singhania, chairman, board of directors and society of IIM-A, said after the meeting that he had managed to “convince” the minister, and the fee hike would stay.

Singhania called on Singh late this evening after the latter wanted to know what steps the institute had in mind to guard the interests of poor students following the three-fold fee hike. The fee for the two-year PG programme at IIM-A has gone up from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 11.5 lakh, beginning this academic year; it has risen from Rs 2 lakh each year to Rs 5.5 lakh for the first year and Rs 6 lakh for the second.

Allaying the minister’s fears, Singhania yet again advocated the fee hike saying it was not being done for “profiteering”, but for cost cutting. He said the IIMs were institutes of excellence and social good, but it was time they stood on their feet and not depended on government for funding. Singhania also supported the claim of IITs to enhance their fee, following IIM-A’s decision to hike the same, saying: “Our Board reviewed the cost structure of the two-year PGP programme and after extensive discussion, decided to raise the fee. Each student at the programme costs us Rs 5.5 lakh a year,” he said.

IIM-A has, meanwhile, modified its scholarships programme to ensure that more poor students can benefit from it, especially after the fee hike. From now on it would disburse Rs 8.5 crore annually as scholarship amount instead of Rs 40 lakh earlier - a 20 times increase. As per the new arrangement, 62 per cent of IIM-A students would be covered, Singhania said.

As regards scholarship policy - the Board of directors has decided to increase the annual family income limit from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 6 lakh for a student to be eligible for financial support.

“We will offer graded and need-based economic support to the students, who qualify as per the new scholarship policy,” Singhania said, adding that SBI, which was represented on the IIM-A Board, had agreed to extend loans to its students despite the fee hike.

“Talks are also on with ICICI to offer easy loans to students, who have always paid back in time. The trend now is that the employers pay off the loans for our students, who get the best jobs in the market. We are here to run the IIM professionally,” Singhania said.

The industrialist repeatedly hited at several private academic institutes charging more fee than IIMs. The fees for one-year programme at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad is a whopping Rs 17.63 lakh a two-year programme at Management Development Institute at Gurgaon costs Rs 6 lakh.

It has been a fee hike hike season at the IIMs, with all of them announcing enhancement. IIM-A’s hike, however, is the highest among all the IIMs.

New Delhi, April 2
A reshuffle of the union cabinet is learnt to be in the offing following indications that two ministers have expressed their willingness to step down after the expiry of their Rajya Sabha terms.

Union minister Suresh Pachauri’s tenure ended today, while M.V. Rajashekaran’s membership will end on April 9. Pachauri was not re-nominated as the Congress did not have the numbers in the Madhya Pradesh assembly to get him elected. Rajashekaran was unable to make it back to the Upper House as the Karnataka assembly was dissolved and the state is under President’s rule.

Although the Constitution allows a minister to stay in office for six months without being a Member of Parliament, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi were not in favour of using this provision on grounds of “political impropriety”.

UPA sources indicated that the Cabinet reshuffle would take place by April 11 as President Pratibha Patil is slated to go abroad the next day.

It was stated that the ministerial reshuffle would acquire urgency once the two ministers step down.

Pachauri has been handling the crucial ministry of parliamentary affairs and the department of personnel which will have to be allocated to another minister on a priority basis since the budget session of Parliament is to resume on April 15.

It is learnt that Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot are among those who are likely to be inducted. Their inclusion is expected to send out a political message as both MPs belong to the election-going states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The Congress leadership is hoping that Pilot, who has been taking up the case of agitating Gujjars, will be able to prevail upon them to moderate their demand for Scheduled Caste status.

Another name being mentioned is Congress Rajya Sabha MP V. Hanumantha Rao, who also chairs the OBC parliamentarians’ forum.

The Congress leadership is also expected to take a call on divesting Priyaranjan Dasmunsi of one of his two portfolios as he is overburdened with work after his appointment as West Bengal Congress chief.

Overseas affairs minister Vayalar Ravi and minister of state P.K. Bansal are among the contenders for the parliamentary affairs portfolio. Dasmunsi is likely to retain the information and broadcasting ministry.

Among the allies, JMM chief Shibu Soren has been waiting to get back his coal ministry after he was acquitted in the murder case for which he had been convicted.

New Delhi, April 2
The BJP moved swiftly today and extended support to Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Mahendra Singh Tikait and demanded the withdrawal of cases against the farmers’ leader with the objective of making a dent in the electoral politics of caste-ridden Uttar Pradesh.

Party chief Rajnath Singh attacked the Mayawati government for harassing Tikait, who was arrested earlier in the day for his alleged castiest remarks against the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.

We demand that all cases against Tikait be withdrawn immediately and he be released, Rajnath Singh said in remarks seen as the party’s attempt to reach out to the sizable Jat community in western Uttar Pradesh.

Underlining that Tikait has already apologised for his remarks against the UP Chief Minister, Rajnath asked the BSP government not to go ahead with the cases against the veteran and respected farmers’ leader.

We condemn the attempts of the UP government to pressure Tikait. He had even said that Mayawati was like his daughter. Despite that he was being harassed, the BJP chief told news persons here.

He was talking after holding a kisan adalat (farmers court) at the party headquarters here, an exercise which the party has launched to take on the Centre on the issue of agrarian crisis.

Rajnath Singh held the Congress squarely responsible for the agrarian distress, slammed the Rs 60,000 crore debt loan waiver package as an eyewash and attacked the government on the issue of price rise.

He said the prices of essential commodities shoot up whenever the Congress was in power.

Panaji, April 2
The Goa government today finally decided to hand over the Scarlette Eden Keeling death case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

“I have written to the Home Department to hand over the case to the CBI. We want to come clear on the issue that we have nothing to hide,” IG Kishan Kumar told reporters here.

Scarlett’s bruised corpse was found on the Arjuna beach on February 18. Her mother, Fiona Mackeown, had alleged police cover up in the entire case and demanded a CBI inquiry even after the state police arrested two locals — Samson D’Souza, a barman, and alleged drug dealer, Placido Carvalho in the case.

The Goa government was under immense pressure on the issue as the main opposition BJP had laid a scathing attack on the law and order situation in the state during the recently held Goa State Legislative Assembly session.

Goa Chief Minister Digamber Kamat, who was initially reluctant to give the case to the CBI, had later announced on the floor of the House that the government was willing to hand over the case to the central agency.

Finally on Tuesday evening, the government took a decision to seek a CBI inquiry after the police requested for the same.

“The state government had given its nod for the transfer of the case to the CBI. All the formalities in this regard will be completed in the next couple of days,” a senior government official stated.

The British teenager death case hogged media attention with questions being raised on Goa’s credibility as a safe tourist destination.

The police line of investigation was challenged by Scarlett’s mother and more recently by the National Commission for Women, which had alleged that the police was completely misleading the probe. — PTI

Panaji, April 2
The Goan police is investigating into a complaint of a 52-year-old NRI, who told the Delhi police that she was raped while holidaying in a posh hotel here last month.

The Delhi police has forwarded a copy of the complaint to the Goa police, who sought medical reports and details of the case.

If necessary, the alleged victim will be called back to Goa from New York to help investigate the case, the police said.

The victim had reportedly lodged a complaint with the Delhi police and later left for New York. — UNI

Patna, April 2
A special CBI judge, who had acquitted railway minister Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi in a disproportionate assets case, has landed in trouble with Patna High Court directing the Bihar government to stop payment of his full pension on the charge of judicial misconduct pending departmental proceedings.

Acting Chief Justice of Patna High Court C.K. Prasad directed the state government to withhold payment of full pension to former CBI judge, Patna, Muni Lal, on the recommendation of the HC standing committee last week after preliminary inquiries into the charges levelled against him were prima facie found to be true by Patna district judge as also the inspecting HC judge for the district.

“The Bihar government has no option, but to honour the HC directive and we have done that,” Advocate General P.K. Shahi told PTI.

“The government has to accept the order unless there are sufficient reasons on the contrary. In this case, no such reasons apparently exist,” he said.

Shahi said Lal would be entitled to 90 per cent of his pension amount pending disposal of departmental proceedings against him under clause 43(b) of Bihar pension rules applicable to all former state government employees.

The inspecting judge of the high court for Patna district, Shivkirti Singh, had found Lal guilty of “judicial misconduct” in grant of bail in two cases related to alleged rape and threats for transfer of land. FIRs in both cases were registered in 2006. — PTI

New Delhi, April 2
The Communist Party of India yesterday rejected the steps announced by the government to bring down prices and demanded a rollback in prices of petrol and diesel.

In a statement issued by its central secretariat, the party has appealed to all sections of society to join its nationwide agitation against price rise on April 17. While pointing out that prices of food grains and all essential commodities have register nearly 20 per cent increase within a month of presentation of the budget, the CPI has said, “All assurances about the good impact of the budget from April 1 have been proved futile. The theories of imported inflation bring no comfort to hungry stomachs.”

The party has emphasised on the need to immediately import a large quantities of ‘Dal’, which is the most essential item for consumption by the common man. It has demanded that the recent hike in prices of petrol and diesel be withdrawn.

The party central secretariat has further said the ban on forward trading should be extended from present four commodities to all 25 essential commodities.

New Delhi, April 2
Young, upwardly mobile professionals in India are hard-pressed for time, but that shouldn't stop them from indulging in flexi-holidays - short breaks that last for a day or even half and are customised by tour operators.

"Executives look forward to weekends wherein they can attach Fridays or Mondays to rush off for short holidays. They look forward to refreshing themselves during these short stays," said Jahangir J. Ghadiali, managing director of International Travel House (ITH), a leading Delhi-based tour operator.

Flexi- holidays are the latest trend in the free individual travel (FIT) segment. They can cost anything from Rs 10,000 to Rs 100,000, depending on the traveller's budget.

Flexi-tourists usually prefer to holiday in destinations closer to their places of work. Short holidays, he said, are the best way to de-stress.

"Professionals breaking free from rigorous and stressful lifestyles have made short holidays a trend. They usually spend quality time with families and friends in an environment out of their regular routine," Ghadiali said.

Budget hotels, low airfares and lifestyle trends have spurred the demand for one- or two-day holidays. These holidaymakers are usually adventure tourists, couples with double incomes and no liability, and singletons with hefty pay packets.

The ITH recently customised an ultra-short holiday for 16 fresh graduates from the Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, who wanted to celebrate their graduation ceremony.

"It was impromptu.They came in unannounced, hired cars from our ITH rental fleet and wanted us to customise a day's getaway for them. They demanded something offbeat with a good view of the hills. It was real adventure,” said a holiday planner at ITH. — IANS

Pathanamthitta (Kerala), April 2
An eight-year-old girl died here while enacting before her younger brother, the scene of a suicide she saw on television.

The fifth standard student, while playing with her brother Appu (5) yesterday in the absence of her parents, attempted to demonstrate the scene of the hanging, she had seen in a TV serial, the police said. While enacting the scene, she went to a room and closed the door.

When she failed to come out of the room, Appu started shouting for help, alerting the neighbours who broke open the door and found the girl hanging from an iron bar placed across a window, the police said. — PTI

New Delhi, April 2
She felt disempowered by the 'selfish' and 'worthless' ways of India's burgeoning urban middle class.It were the rural and urban poor, who taught her the true meaning of life. Unlike the upwardly mobile upper middle class, the much-neglected Indian backward class which struggles for a daily living knows better how to lead an enriched and harmonious life, believes Magsaysay awardee and eminent RTI activist Aruna Roy.

"India is today running on two different tracks followed by the backward class and the middle class.The former made me understood how to make your life better enriched and harmonised, while the latter only taught me how to make life worthless and selfish," Roy told PTI.

"India's backward class, which has always been neglected and considered as socially irrelevant has empowered me and taught me how to struggle in life, while the middle class disempowered me with its urbanised thoughts," she adds.

Roy, who is known as one of the pioneer figures to have advocated that RTI and NREGA be made a law, reiterated her view that women in India have always been subjudicated and urged the government to immediately bring in the "Women's Reservation Bill".

"In our country,women have always been devoid of rights”. All political parties should make a consensus to pass the 'Women's Reservation Bill' in Parliament so as to strengthen women power and to redefine democracy in India," she says. — PTI

BRIEFLY

3 burnt to death in Gujarat
PORBANDAR: Three people, including two women, were burnt to death in Adityana village near here after their house was set afire by a relative on Tuesday night. The accused, Fatesinh alias Ramlal, torched the house after locking the three when they were sleeping, the police said. The deceased have been identified as Hasmukhbhai Popat, his wife Manjuben and Rita Popat, they said. — UNI

Protest over engineer’s killing
IMPHAL: Hundreds of employees of the Public Works Department (PWD) on Wednesday launched a sit-in protest in front of their office here against the killing of a PWD assistant engineer, Keisam Nabachandra, by militants on Monday. A PWD spokesman said employees from other departments also joined the sit-in protest. — PTI

Kidnapped boy rescued
BIJNOR: A schoolboy, who was kidnapped in J.P. Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh, was rescued from the abductors, the police said on Wednesday. The boy was rescued by three youths on Tuesday when the abductors were taking him to an unknown destination by Gajrula-Najibabad Passenger train. — PTI

Dog sniffs his way to fame
SHILLONG: It is no longer a dog’s life for Dinesh, the Labrador with Assam Rifles, who has sniffed his way to fame by getting a Governor’s gold medal for his explosive detection skills. The six-year-old canine was honoured for his skills in detecting explosives, which has saved several lives in the Northeast. Besides Dinesh, 40 soldiers were honoured for their gallantry at the investiture ceremony on the occasion of the 173rd anniversary of Assam Rifles on March 25. — PTI