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To tackle Naxalism, Congress for carrot and stick, BJP only for stick
PM tours AP, announces 1,000 cr for flood relief
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Maharashtra
Poll
SC stays work on Ambedkar memorial
Yashpal to get UNESCO award
RJD to support Left in Bengal
Mother kills 15-day-old female twins
Court reserves order in Bofors case
Gadchiroli goes to polls on schedule
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To tackle Naxalism, Congress for carrot and stick, BJP only for stick
New Delhi, October 9 Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmad today advocated a two-pronged strategy to curb Naxalism. Ahmad said “We have always said that law and order is the responsibility of the state governments. But the Centre has all along readily provided logistical support to the the states to fight Maoist attacks, be it the specialised Cobra force and arms and equipment,” he said Elaborating on the Congress policy towards Naxalism, Ahmad said, “We are not saying don’t use force where it is absolutely necessary. A dialogue with the people who are forced to join Naxalism due to poverty and deprivation is equally important. We agree with the Home Minister who said that those who leave Naxalism should be allowed to join the mainstream. The Congress spokesman denied that his party had started singing a different tune since Home Minister P Chidambaram’s recent comments. The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley pinned down the government on these counts. He said here today that the government’s intransigence on how to tackle the Naxal problem has encouraged the Maoists to strike at will. He felt the government’s lack of clarity on whether it wants to deal with Naxalism strictly as a law and order matter or as a socio-economic problem has only caused all-round confusion in the state machinery while dealing with the Maoists. Jaitley also charged the govenrment with discouraging intelligence agencies, resulting in lack of availabailty of proper intelligence inputs. He warned against human rights groups which he described as the “overground face of the underground Maoists” and indicated that the Government should deal with such organisations and individuals the same way it deals with Maoists and charge them with sedition and working against the Indian State.
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PM tours AP, announces 1,000 cr for flood relief
Hyderabad, October 9 “When it comes to human tragedies, we will not discriminate between the states on the basis of political complexion. As long as I am the Prime Minister, it will not be done. That has never been our approach and it will never be our approach,” Singh told a press conference after an aerial survey of flood-ravaged areas of Andhra Pradesh. The PM was replying to a question on the allegation that Karnataka, which is also affected by floods, was not given adequate relief because of political reasons. Singh, who is scheduled to visit Karnataka tomorrow, said a standard procedure was in place for fixing Central assistance in times of natural calamities. The affected states would first send reports to the Union government and a central team would be sent to study the damage and arrive at the estimation, he said. He announced Rs 1,000 crore advance to the AP government to commence restoration works and extend relief to the flood victims. A Central team would be sent soon to assess the extent of damages and work with the state government on the quantum of assistance required. Earlier, the PM arrived at the coastal city of Vijayawada by a special IAF aircraft and undertook an hour-long aerial survey of the flood-affected Krishna and Guntur districts. He also reviewed the relief and rehabilitation works with Chief Minister K
Rosaiah, his cabinet colleagues and officials here. Asked about the demand for declaring Andhra floods as a national calamity, he said, “It is a national calamity. When it affects a large number of people it is a calamity. In its own way it is a national calamity.” Refusing to be drawn into any discussion on administrative failure in minimising the impact of floods, Singh said, “I am not here to find fault or point accusatory fingers at anyone or any agency. If at all there were any lapses, they will be looked into.”
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Development no poll issue in Bhiwandi
Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service
Bhiwandi, October 9 Unemployment is a major problem in this town, which still remains communally polarised after all these years. The power looms that once dotted every household lie silent. “Daily power cuts extend up to 10 hours,” says Ismail Khan, a former power loom owner. “I had 120 looms that ran to full capacity at one time, but now I have only three,” says Khan. The industry took a beating after India liberalised the textile industry and de-reserved several categories of textiles reserved for small and medium units. The Maharashtra Government’s moves to crack down on large-scale power theft in this town also spelt the industry’s death knell. “The town has grown in a haphazard manner and there is no planning for ensuring water or power supply,” says Shiv Sena MLA Yogesh Patil, who is seeking re-election from Bhiwandi (East). “The Congress-NCP government ignored the requirements of Bhiwandi,” says Patil who managed to win in 2004 with the help of the town’s Muslim population. However, the community that backed Patil is disenchanted with him this time. “He did nothing over the past five years,” says Khan. However, Patil who faces Congress’ Gurunath Taware may draw solace from the Samajwadi Party’s Maharashtra president Abu Azmi who is bound to divide Muslim votes. However, issues like lack of hospitals and poor condition of roads have been lost in political posturing by various parties who play on identity politics of various sections of the population here.
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SC stays work on Ambedkar memorial
New Delhi, October 9 The Forest Bench, headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, issued the order after senior counsel Harish Salve, Amicus Curiae in the case arising from a PIL filed against the memorial, said the state government had cut as many as 6,000 trees for the project. Senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi, appearing for the state, strongly opposed the plea for the stay, arguing that 75 per cent of the work had been completed and there was no point in stalling work till the next hearing on October 26. Further, the memorial covered only two per cent area of the park and was aimed at beautifying the park. The Bench, which included Justices SH Kapadia and Aftab Alam, however felt that the state would not lose anything if work was halted until the final order on the issue. Anyway, the project would have to be pulled down if it was held that it had been put up without necessary clearances. In the order, the court, however, allowed the Noida Authority to continue with other work on the park. The Bench asked the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to file its response before the next hearing as there were contending claims as to whether the park could be treated as a forest.The court-appointed Central Empowered Committee was of the view that though the park had a high density of trees, it was not a forest under the Forest Conservation Act.
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New Delhi, October 9 UNESCO-Kalinga Prize is the oldest prize of UNESCO. HRD minister Kapil Sibal today expressed happiness over the decision. The Kalinga award was instituted by the Government of India and the Orissa government in 1951 and has been administered since then by UNESCO, the HRD Ministry said. Some of the Kalinga awardees are Nobel Laureates including Dr Louis de Broglie, Dr. George Porter, Sir Peter Medawar and Dr. Nicolai G. Basov. The award would be presented at the 4th World Science Forum in Budapest next month. — PTI
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RJD to support Left in Bengal
Kolkata, October 9 He regretted that they had voted against the Left parties confidence motion in the Lok Sabha against the Manmohan Singh government in which he was a minister. Lalu admitted that he had made the mistake in extending the support to the UPA but in future they would think twice before supporting the UPA. In his four-hour-long whirlwind tour in the city, the RJD leader met the local RJD leaders and workers and other like-minded people.
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Mother kills 15-day-old female twins
Chennai, October 9 The police said the two women Revathy, mother of the twins, and her mother Thenila (45) murdered one of the female child by slitting its throat and strangulated the other girl child. The children were born at the government hospital, Ottapidaram (Tuticorin district), around two weeks ago. Revathy, who was married to an auto driver, Duraipandi, last year, was admitted to the government hospital around two weeks ago. The babies were born premature and they were kept in an incubator. They were taken out of the incubator only for breastfeeding. Thenila took the babies out of the incubator yesterday morning, telling the nurse that she was taking them to their mother for breastfeeding.
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Court reserves order in Bofors case
New Delhi, October 9 Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Kaveri Baweja deferred the order after hearing arguments on the CBI’s application filed under Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) pleading that there was no evidence to proceed against Quattrocchi. “The continued prosecution of Quattrocchi is unjustified in the light of various factors, including the failed attempts” to get him extradited from Malaysia and subsequently from Argentina, Additional Solicitor General PP Malhotra, appearing for the CBI, contended.
— TNS
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Gadchiroli goes to polls on schedule
Mumbai, October 9 The entire Maharashtra goes to the polls on Tuesday. Patil and senior police officers, including DGP SS Virk, would visit Gadchiroli to pay homage to the slain policemen, state government sources said here.
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asserted that there would be no ‘political discrimination’ between the states in sanctioning aid for flood relief and rehabilitation.
“When it comes to human tragedies, we will not discriminate between the states on the basis of political complexion.
