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Maya alleges plot to eliminate her
Natwar, 2 Samajwadi MPs join BSP
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Fake Currency
Mamata stays away from Buddha’s meeting
ISI agent held
India to upgrade missile interceptor technology
It’s decided: Speed governors by 2009
Orissa assembly marshal to move court
Tribals file 8 lakh cases for land allocation
Flood Control
Shiv Sena in eye of Naxalite storm
Japanese baby gets birth certificate
Aamir shows concern for animals
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Maya alleges plot to eliminate her
Lucknow, August 9 Addressing a mammoth crowd at Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan on the outskirts of the city, the one-day national party convention took the form of a rally where she formally announced the beginning of her party's campaign. The theme of the rally was the slogan that she raised at the end of the speech: "UP hui hamari hai, ab dilli ki bari hai' (UP is ours, now is Delhi's turn). Neither was any leader from the UNPA or Left partners present, nor did she once mention them during her address where she also announced the launch of her party's countrywide public awareness campaign. Mayawati wondered why a Dalit woman who had assumed power in the most populous state could not become Prime Minister. She lashed out at the UPA, NDA and their partners for hatching a political conspiracy to prevent her from becoming PM. The choicest expletives were reserved for members of the Gandhi-Nehru family and Congress “Yuvraj” Rahul Gandhi in particular. In her over hourlong speech, she made a dramatic announcement of having finalised her successor whose name she said would be revealed only after her death. Urging her supporters not to lose heart if she was killed by terrorists or Naxals or jailed before the Lok Sabha elections, Mayawati said she had already chosen a successor who was a "Dalit ka beta" and like her was from the 'chamar' subcaste and the son of an agricultural labourer. Playing dumb charades, she refused to name the person or disclose from which She claimed to be grooming him for the last few years and that he was at least 18 to 20 years younger than her. However, she did assure the surprised crowds that he was not a member of her family. Expressing satisfaction at the developments catapulting her as a potential PM candidate on the eve of the confidence motion in Parliament last month, Mayawati said this had helped her party achieve "within six days what it would have taken six years to do". She spoke at length on three points, the reason for withdrawing from UPA, price rise and poverty and the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls in five states. She mocked at Rahul Gandhi's address to the Lok Sabha, describing it as
a "The lives of Kalawati would not improve through nuclear energy which is expensive and unsafe but with something more concrete." Terming the younger Gandhi's speech as false propaganda, she said criticised Rahul Gandhi for his visits to Dalit households during his travels. She said poverty could not be resolved by sleeping in Dalit homes or having food in their houses. She said if the Congress had done enough for the Dalits, Ambedkar would not have formed his own party and even Kanshi Ram had no need to set up the BSP. Lalu Prasad Yadav was criticised for his statement that a Dalit could not become the Prime Minister. "But for Bhimrao Ambedkar, he (Lalu) would still be grazing buffaloes in the fields of Bihar. That applies to Mulayam Singh Yadav as well", she said while eulogising the contribution of Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram in the uplift of Dalits and OBCs. Projecting the BSP as the only hope for eradicating poverty with right economic policies, Mayawati said this was possible as her party "never took favour from any industrial house and did not compromise the interests of the poor".
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Natwar, 2 Samajwadi MPs join BSP
Lucknow, August 9 If the traditional rivalry between the Jat and Jatavs will be bridged beyond UP, with Natwar Singh joining the BSP bandwagon, remains to be seen. What is clear that the other Jat leader, Ajit Singh, may be upset as Mayawati today declared that she had already finalised candidates for all 80 Lok Sabha seats. What becomes of the eight seats his Rashtriya Lok Dal had been promised in
Uttar Pradesh is not clear. Two SP rebels formally joined the BSP today -- Rajya Sabha MP Shahid Siddiqui and sitting MP from Jalesar SP Singh
Baghel. While Baghel has been re-nominated from the Jalesar seat, Siddiqui is now the Lok Sabha candidate from Bijnore in western UP.
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Fake Currency
Lucknow, August 9 The CBI probe came two days after the state government ordered a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was objected to by the Centre as per the Supreme Court ruling that necessitated a CBI probe in case of recovery of printed phoney Indian currency above Rs 50,000. Confirming this, the official sources said a recommendation for the probe by the premier investigation agency was sent this morning. The recovery of fake currency from the currency chest of the Dumariaganj branch of the SBI had come in as a shock as the preliminary probe had indicated of wider ramifications in the racket. The fact that the SBI branch was situated very close to the Indo-Nepal border was also a cause for worry. Six persons, including Sudhakar Tripathi, cashier of the SBI branch, were arrested after the fake currency racket came to the fore. On July 29, the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police had arrested Sudhakar and seized Rs 7.21 lakh, including fake notes worth Rs 5,000, from his house and had later requested the RBI for currency screening in the SBI branch. On August 5, a team comprising senior RBI officials had reached the bank and seized counterfeit Indian currency worth Rs 20 lakh from the branch’s main chest. After screening the currency, a total of Rs 1.58 crore notes were detected as fake. Immediately after the recovery, the RBI had banned transaction of 14 other SBI branches connected to the Dumariagnaj branch of the SBI. Meanwhile, the SIT team reached the Dumariaganj branch and started with the investigation today, a report from Siddharthnagar said. Prior to this, a couple of incidents of fake currency being in circulation in Uttar Pradesh had come to the light. Siddharthnagar: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) started its investigation here on Saturday. The SIT had reached the district late last night and took the related documents from the police, official sources said. The team began the work by collecting information from the branch and interrogating few employees. The sources also revealed that the SIT was planning to take accused suspended cashier Sudhakar Tripathi, and co-accused Abid Sheikh in remand. Meanwhile, the sources said SBI branch manager Dashrath Chirgauya had also been suspended. In order to speed up the screening, more machines had been pooled in. On August 7, state home secretary Mahesh Gupta announced the government’s decision to order a SIT-probe into the Domariaganj fake currency racket. — UNI
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Mamata stays away from Buddha’s meeting
Kolkata, August 9 No decision was taken at the meeting regarding returning 400 acres forcibly acquired at Singur for Tata Motors to their owners as was demanded by Mamata. The Chief Minister also did not agree to the redeployment of the CRPF and other para-military forces at Nandigram. The Trinamool, the Congress and other parties had demanded the redeployment of the CRPF as they believed it could help restore peace and normalcy at Nandigram. Mamata did not attend the meeting and was present in the nearby Sutahata town, where she addressed a public meeting. The Chief Minister left the place after the meeting suddenly under heavy police security without talking to media persons. Union information minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi along with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and AICC general secretary Mohsina Kidwai was present at the party conference at the Netaji indoor stadium in Kolkata today. But local Congress leaders at Nandigram attended the all-party meeting. At the meeting in Kolkata, Dasmunshi and Mukherjee gave a call to all party men to fight against the CPM, the BJP and other communal forces. Mamata said at the public meeting that she had agreed to bilateral talks with the Tata Motors management for resolving the Singur crisis, as she was not against the Tatas or industrialisation in the state. She said she wanted to take part in the Chief Minister’s meeting today, but she No local party leader at Nandigram attended the meeting as most of them had been “falsely” implicated in the murder case of a CPM leader on Wednesday. She alleged the CPM was as usual engaged in taking on its political rivals at Nandigram and elsewhere by using the police and the officials machinery. She announced that agitations would be relaunched from August 20.
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ISI agent held
Roorkee, August 9 Acting on a tipoff, a team of 10 sleuths raided a shop in Kaliyar, where the accused was trying to negotiate fake currency notes. The police recovered fake Indian currency worth Rs 4,000 from his possession, besides a notes of Pakistan currency, the police said. The police team also seized four fake passports and a sizeable quantity of
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India to upgrade missile
interceptor technology
New Delhi, August 9 The
country would test its apparatus to destroy an enemy missile 80 km above the
earth and if successful, join a select band of nations such as the USA, Russia
and Israel, who have similar capabilities. Countering an incoming missile is one of the biggest challenges in modern warfare. The technology is very complex. China has recently destroyed a defunct geo-stationary satellite using it and India has done it on moving targets. This would be the first of the two tests the defence research and development organisation has been asked to conduct. In the first test scheduled for September or early October, a missile will be fired to counter another missile that will be assumed to be an enemy missile. The point of impact will be 80 kilometres above the earth. So far, India has successfully tested destruction of such a missile 50 kms above the earth. All intercontinental ballistic missiles leave the earth’s atmosphere and re-enter it near the destined target. China and Pakistan both possess such missiles. The test will be to destroy the missile at a greater height so that the debris of the missile gets burnt out on re-entering the atmosphere hence reducing the damage on the ground. The second phase of the test, to be conducted in December, is more complex. During this, two interceptors will fired at an ‘enemy missile’. The first will hit the oncoming missile 80 kms above the earth.
The next will be fired to hit the falling debris 30 kms above the earth. The second interceptor besides aiming at the debris (that could be spread across a vast area) will also act at back up in case the first interceptor does not hit the target. Both the tests will be conducted over the deep seas. Sources said long range missiles once fired can hit destined targets within a About a year ago, India had shot an interceptor missile and brought down another missile. The test was conducted over the Bay of Bengal.
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It’s decided: Speed governors by 2009
New Delhi, August 9 Last week, the Supreme Court considered one of the writs by truckers’ lobby asking for quashing of notification of speed governors in Karnataka The urgency for speed governors is because of the fact that India has arrived in terms of world-class road infrastructure and, hence, needs speed increase for transport and other vehicles from the present
60 KMPH to 70 KMPG in general and over 100 KMPH on highways. After having done their homework with three committees, namely Sundar Committee, Thangaraj Committee and Nehru committee, and after having considered all options on road transport policy, road safety policy and implementation of speed control devices, it was felt that speed control was not possible without speed governors. India overtakes all other countries in road accidents and deaths because of improper illumination, absence of railings, markings on roads and missing signs as well as missing traffic management. It is a country where 96 per cent children dying of unnatural deaths are killed
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Orissa assembly marshal to move court
Bhubaneswar, August 9 Gayatri Panda, who had in March alleged that then Speaker Maheswar Mohanty was sexually harassing her, expressed her dissatisfaction with the findings of the Orissa Human Rights Commission and said she would move the Orissa High Court for justice. Her allegation that she was suspended after she refused the speaker’s sexual advances caused a political storm and forced Mohanty to resign. Though the police have registered a case against Mohanty and is currently investigating the matter, the state government had requested the Orissa Human Rights Commission to probe the allegations. The commission on Thursday dropped the case saying it did not find credible evidence on the charges levelled against
Mohanty. But Panda asserted that she had no faith in the police and the state government.
— IANS
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Tribals file 8 lakh cases for land allocation
New Delhi, August 9 The claims, said the ministry, were being processed, adding that the states had constituted committees at different levels to verify the authenticity of these. The highest claims in the category had been received from Andhra Pradesh, which filed about 2.28 lakh cases. These were for allotment of 6.6 lakh acres. In Chhattisgarh, about 2.5 lakh claims had been received and were under verification. In Gujarat, 33,185 individual and 425 community claims had been received by the Forest Rights Committee. In Madhya Pradesh over 1.30 lakh claims had been filed and were in final stages of clearance. Maharashtra is reported to be processing 75,000 claims while Orissa comes next with 77,894. The ministry added that the process of inviting claims and their verification is in progress in other states also.
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Flood Control
Dehra Dun, August 9 Kunwar Pranav yesterday said while most of the plain areas of Uttarakhand were reeling under floods, the state government had made little preparations for dealing with such flood related exigencies. He, in particular, referred to his Luxor constituency asserting that as many as nine villages of Khanpur block and 10 more villages in Luxor development block were directly affected due to floods. He accused the Chief Minister of paying no heed to his requests for prompt relief Referring to June 7 Gujjar agitation in Luxor, Kunwar Pranav, a Gujjar leader himself, said the Uttarakhand government had hurled false cases on Gujjars of the region who were only peacefully protesting in support of fellow Gujjars in Rajasthan. The Congress MLA also took the opportunity to criticise the ruling BJP on its policies linked to power and
industrialisation. "There is no point in scrapping power projects on frivolous grounds,” Pranav said, asserting that the power projects were the main strength of
Uttarakhand. He also alleged that industrialisation in the state had come to a standstill ever since the BJP government came to power in Uttarakhand. Responding to a query, the MLA did not rule out the possibility of contesting from the Haridwar parliamentry seat in the next Lok Sabha elections.
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Shiv Sena in eye of Naxalite storm
Mumbai, August 9 The police here released some transcripts of the narco-analysis test conducted on Arun Ferriera, who was arrested last year for alleged links with Naxalites, which contained these allegations. A number of other organisations involved with slum dwellers figured in transcripts. Ferriera is being held in the custody of senior police officials based in Maharashtra's Gondia district, which is the hotbed of Naxal activities. The two narco tests on Ferriera were conducted in Bangalore. He is said to have named some top political figures as well as people who fund the Maoist groups. However, Ferriera's alleged confession has embarrassed the Shiv Sena. In a statement published in party mouthpiece Saamna, Uddhav Thackeray dismissed the allegations. "We are a nationalist party and the people of Maharashtra know our credentials in this regard. Hence the allegations that we supported them (Maoists) is ridiculous. We do not believe the credibility of such narco-tests," Thackeray's statement said. Questioning the veracity of claims made by accused persons during the
narco-
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Japanese baby gets birth certificate
Jaipur, August 9 The certificate, with Manji's father Ikufumi Yamada's name on it, will hasten the process of securing a temporary passport for the baby from the Japanese embassy, facilitating her travel to her native country, Dr Sanjay Arya, director of city-based Arya Hospital where she is admitted, said. The baby got caught in a legal wrangle after she was delivered by her surrogate mother in Anand, Gujarat, on July 25. Her father Ikufumi got separated with his wife Yuki before her birth and Yuki subsequently disowned the child. As Indian law does not allow her father -- now single -- to adopt her, Ikufami could not take the child out of the country despite desiring to do so. Dr Arya said after getting the birth certificate issued by the Anand Municipal Corporation, it has been sent to Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaisingh, who is pursuing the case, for further action. Jaisingh, the lawyer of the child's grandmother Emiko, will initiate the process for obtaining passport, he said. While Emiko is in the hospital to look after the baby, Ikufumi is likely to fly in a couple of days, he said. Manji was shifted to the Jaipur hospital after the Ahmedabad serial blasts with the help of Kamal Vijaywargiya, a city jeweller who is a friend of the baby's father. The wife of Vijaywargiya, who has also given birth to a baby girl on Tuesday, has come forward to breast-feed Manji, who is in the ICU after developing some complications. — PTI
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Aamir shows concern for animals
New Delhi, August 9 “I believe all life is one whether it is animals or plants. Whether for luxury or entertainment it would be wrong to trouble the animals,” said Aamir, who was in the capital yesterday to support the endeavours of People for Animals (PFA). The actor
known to voice his concerns about different social issues said: “What the PFA is doing is something we all ought to support and I
am happy to be here.” Aamir was accused of filming a Chinkara deer, a Schedule I animal under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, for commercial purposes without taking due permission, during the shooting of the movie ‘Lagaan’.
— PTI
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Raj: Nameplates in
Marathi only Divorce after 46 years 
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Former foreign minister Natwar Singh formally joining the BSP today has given a further impetus to Mayawati's Jat votebank which was fortified with Rashtriya Lok Dal's Ajit Singh coming out in her support last month.
