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Tamil Nadu assembly polls
Protests after Karnataka CM sacks three ministers
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Pune Blast
terror trail
Col, Major killed in U’khand avalanche
Cong plays down Khare’s statement
BJP, Asom Gana Parishad part ways
All have right to free drinking water: SC
States to blame for current floods: Experts
Telangana stir triggers student exodus from AP
Dry spell from Sept 26
AASU blockade continues
Delhi cops nab Pak spy
Accidental firing kills CRPF jawan
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Tie-up with DMK to stay: Cong
N Ravikumar/TNS
Chennai, September 21 Talking to mediapersons after the state working committee meeting at the party headquarters here, Azad asserted that the ties between the DMK and the Congress were “strong” and “it would be successful in the next Assembly elections”. Sending a clear message to a section of senior Congress leaders, who were criticising the DMK in public, the Union Minister strongly warned that the high command would initiate stern action against those airing their views on alliance issues. Sounding the poll bugle, he appealed to Congress cadres to start working for the Congress-DMK alliance in the forthcoming elections in Tamil Nadu. It was decided at the meeting to give a grand welcome to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi who would visit the state on October 9 and Rahul Gandhi who would lead a Youth Congress yatra on October 30, Azad added. Azad's remarks put an end to speculations that the Congress was considering breaking its ties with the DMK and joining hands with Jayalalithaa or actor Vijaykanth's DMDK. His confirmation crystallises the fluid situation in the state and parties like the AIADMK and Vijaykanth’s DMDK, which were waiting for the Congress decision, will now begin formulating their own alliance strategy. Azad’s announcement is certain to set in motion hectic parleys between other parties and build the momentum for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, which is due before May next. A section of Congress leaders, particularly former TNCC president EVKS Elangovan, were continuously criticising the DMK and its leader and charging the UPA ally with corruption, nepotism and misgovernance, raising doubts over the continuance of the alliance. DMK leader M Karunanidhi himself had openly said the continuous attack by a section of the Congress leaders would harm the relationship between the two parties, while major allies of the DMK like Thol Thirumavalavan had raised suspicion whether the Congress high command was behind the criticism.
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Protests after Karnataka CM sacks three ministers
Bangalore, September 21 Chaotic scenes were witnessed in front of the Chief Ministers residence today where supporters of Limbavali held a demonstration and even tried to block the Chief Ministers cavalcade from proceeding to the Raj Bhavan for handing over the letter recommending the suspension of the three ministers. Supporters of Shekhar also held a demonstration in front of the Chief Minister’s residence in Bangalore and also met revenue minister Karunakara Reddy to argue on Shekhar’s behalf. Shekhar is among the five Independent MLAs who extended support to the BJP and helped it to form the government in Karnataka when it failed to secure simple majority in the Assembly elections held in the state in May 2008. While Shekhar was dropped for allegedly working for the JD(S) candidate in the recently held Assembly by-election in Kadur segment, Limavali was sacked due to poor performance by the party in the local bodies election in his area. Naik was reportedly shown the door over a controversial purchase deal he had struck with a supplier of books for the libraries in the state. The swearing-in of the new ministers is slated to take place tomorrow morning. All six seats are to be filled up since three vacancies already existed in the council of ministers owing to resignations by incumbents facing charges ranging from rape to land scam. Throughout the day today news kept pouring in about the tumultuous events related to the cabinet reshuffling. In Chitradurga in southern part of the state, three of sports minister Shekhar’s supporters reportedly tried to commit suicide by consuming poison to protest against his removal from the cabinet. Shekhar had himself threatened yesterday that he would kill himself in the event of his removal. Two BJP MLAs CT Ravi and A Ranjan also claimed to have submitted their resignations to the Speaker’s office after they came to know that there was no chance of their being inducted in the Ministry. However, the Assembly Speaker’s office, when contacted, denied having received resignation letters from the MLAs. A cabinet meeting convened by Chief Minister Yeddyurappa today to discuss the issue of reshuffle was not attended by the powerful Reddy brothers of Bellary--Karunakara and Janardhana and health minister Sriramulu, a mining lord himself and a close confidante of the Reddys. Karunakara and Janardhana, revenue minister and tourism minister of Karnataka respectively, as well as mining barons, have openly opposed the dropping of Shekhar since it was they who had obtained the support of Shekhar in 2008. The Reddys had earlier brought Yeddyurappa to his knees when they engineered a revolt by MLAs against the Chief Minister last year.
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Probe reveals major fake identity racket
Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service
Mumbai, September 21 Himayat Baig and Bilal Ansari, the two suspects arrested in connection with the Pune blast, had genuine documents like multiple voters’ identification cards, driving licenses, caste certificates and cards for handicapped persons issued by various government organisations. These documents were issued in different parts of Maharashtra and carried both Hindu and Muslim names.“These documents were not fake but genuinely issued by various government agencies,” a police official said. Both Baig and Ansari had used these documents to procure cellphones and other equipment from Mumbai and other places, the police said. These documents were also used to stay at various hotels and guest houses in Mumbai and arrange for travel within Maharashtra. The Anti-Terror Squad of the Mumbai police, which is investigating the Pune blast case, has informed the Maharashtra government that agents who help people acquire official documents were a major security risk. The police also want verification procedures to be made more foolproof, sources said. However, Baig had three genuine voters’ identity cards complete with his photograph from Beed and Latur in Maharashtra. Only the names and addresses in the document were different. Photocopies of five more voters’ identity cards issued elsewhere in the state were recovered from Baig. These were apparently used to procure cellphones, according to the police. He also had an ID card issued by an organisation working for disabled persons. The document described Baig as a deaf-mute. A driving license carries Baig’s name as Prakash Bung. Some blank caste certificates carrying the name and stamps of tehsildars were also recovered. The police sources say, the seizure of genuine documents bearing fake identities has virtually defeated the goals of identity checks that were introduced in the wake of terror attacks in different parts of the country.
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No clues on Jantar Mantar e-mail sender
Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service
Mumbai, September 21 Tracking the Internet Protocol address from which the e-mail was sent led investigators to Borivli in North Mumbai. The message was sent from a mobile phone equipped with a Tata Communications SIM card. However, investigators could not find the woman in whose name the connection was given. The documents provided for obtaining the connection turned out to be fake, police said. Sources said the mobile phone vendor who helped get the connection and another person were detained on Monday evening. However, they were let off later today. Police, however, said they were on the lookout for some suspects early this evening. Notably, the anti-terror squad of the Mumbai police had busted the media cell of the Indian Mujahideen two years ago following the arrest of a Pune-based software engineer, Mohammad Peerbhoy. The engineer hacked into unsecured wi-fi connections owned by users in Mumbai and sent messages to media on behalf of the IM. Police suspects that IM may have found fresh recruits to take Peerbhoy’s place in Mumbai. Meanwhile, security has been tightened at the KEM Hospital in the city after the email message threatened retaliation for, what the writer said, “ill-treatment of a burkha-clad Muslim woman”. Additional police personnel were deployed to frisk visitors and patients at the hospital.
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Col, Major killed in U’khand avalanche
Dehradun, September 21 According to army officials, Lt Col Puran Chandra and Major Manoj Gusain were killed in the avalanche. A team of six officers, three JCOs and 32 men of other ranks under the leadership of Col Ajay Kothiyal of 18 Garhwal Rifles, were participating in an expedition to Mount Kamet (7,756m) with an aim to select a team for an expedition to yet another difficult peak -- Mount Manaslu (8,163m) in Nepal -- scheduled for March next year. The team got together at Joshimath on August 9 and after undergoing mandatory acclimatisation and pre-expedition training near Joshimath, opened a route for base camp on August 24. Moving successfully, the team established the Advance Base Camp (5,300m) on September 10 followed by occupation of Camp-I (5,800m). While advancing ahead, the team divided itself into four sub-teams with 10 members each to select participants for Mount Manaslu. After two teams had completed their selection process, the third team which included Lt Colonel Chandra of 9 PARA Field Regiment, the Deputy leader, and Major Gusain of 11 KUMAON Regiment went on to occupy Camp-I. As per information obtained from the team leader, no movement was carried out ahead of Camp-I owing to bad weather from September 17 to 19. A fierce avalanche hit camp-I in the afternoon of September 19 and buried it completely under the snow. The expedition leader and personnel of other ranks managed to extricate themselves out of the accumulated snow. Despite desperate efforts made by the survivors to extricate Lt Colonel Chandra and Major Gusain, they could not be rescued alive. Kamet is the second highest mountain in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, after Nanda Devi (7,816 m).
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Cong plays down Khare’s statement
New Delhi, September 21 Sources said that Khare was expected to make a statement on the issue. "The Congress by nature is entirely a status quoist, centrist party. It does not believe in conviction. The only conviction it has is in how to win elections," he had said. Khare, a political analyst of repute, had also referred to the KHAM (Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi and Muslim) coalition of the Congress in Gujarat saying such experiments do not yield lasting political benefits. Soon after Khare made the statement, the Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, who was also a panelist in the discussion, said, "I do not agree that Congress is a party of status quoists". He referred to steps like the abolition of zamindari and privy purses to drive home the point that it was not the case. — PTI
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BJP, Asom Gana Parishad part ways
Guwahati, September 21 The AGP leadership felt that the tie-up with the BJP during the last Lok Sabha elections in Assam had benefited the BJP at its own cost and hence decided to part ways with the BJP with approval from the general assembly of the party. In the last Lok Sabha elections, the BJP contested in eight out of the total 14 parliamentary constituencies in Assam and emerged winner in four while AGP won only in one constituency out of six contested by it. Both parties had come together to put up a joint fight against the common enemy, the Congress. However, the discouraging performance of party candidates in the Lok Sabha elections created apprehension in AGP ranks about having any future truck with the BJP. The BJP said it would augur well for the party in strengthening its organisational base throughout Assam in all 126 Assembly constituencies.
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All have right to free drinking water: SC
New Delhi, September 21 A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia asked the NGO-petitioner, Voice of India, to approach the high courts with the plea for free drinking water. “We cannot monitor such local institutions under Article 32 of the Constitution. We refuse to believe that the concerned High Courts will not look into such grievances, if specific detailed instances are brought to their notice,” the Bench, which included Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar, said in a detailed order. It made the remark in response to a plea that the SC should entertain the plea, instead of asking the petitioner to move the HCs. Recording the petitioner’s plea for “free potable drinking water” through the municipal bodies of various states, the Bench said, “We are fully conscious of the fact that even after 60 years, a citizen of this country is not getting clean potable water. In this regard, we agree with the petitioner. “It is, however, not possible for this court to monitor and grant relief to the petitioner on all India basis…. Lastly, the subject matter of this writ petition is a state subject under the Constitution.”
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States to blame for current floods: Experts
New Delhi, September 21 Manoj Misra of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, in fact, insists that land belonging to the river cannot belong to anyone else. Misra, who along Rajendra Singh has been fighting an incessant battle over construction of the Commonwealth Games Village on the Yamuna riverbed, says his worst fears have come true with floods in the Ganga and Yamuna. “Haphazard development on floodplains is an open invitation to disaster,” he said. Misra says absence of a river policy, no legal protection to rivers in the country and the lack of an appropriate and correct land-use policy are some of the reasons for the current flood chaos in the North. “What we are seeing in Haryana, Uttarakhand and UP is primarily the result of man’s foolishness,” he said. Explained Rajendra Singh, “Floods are a natural phenomenon — whenever there is a heavy downpour, water will flow into the river and overflow its bank. When there were no dams or barrages, floods were not so devastating because the water increased gradually and people knew how to deal with it.”
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Telangana stir triggers student exodus from AP
Hyderabad, September 21 The Telangana protagonists’ warning of “civil war” if the Justice BN Srikrishna Committee failed to recommend the formation of separate state has further fuelled fears among student community. The five-member panel, set up by the UPA government to examine the competing demands for and against the bifurcation of AP, is expected to submit its report by the end of December 31. Many observers predict a volatile situation next year, given the bitter regional divide prevailing in the state. And education sector will have to bear the brunt of the agitation. “Though there are some good engineering colleges in the city, I do not want to take any chance. I have taken admission in SRM University in Chennai,” said 18-year-old R Ajay Kumar. He says more 20 of his classmates at a city junior college have also decided to move out of Hyderabad.
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Dry spell from Sept 26
New Delhi, September 21 The next 48 hours will most likely be the last time the northwest experiences intense rains this season, said IMD Director SC Bhan. “Fairly widespread rains and thundershowers and isolated heavy rainfall would occur over Uttarakhand, Himachal, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi in the coming 48 hours. By September 24, the intensity of the system will weaken after which there will be a substantial decrease in rains,” he said. Bhan said that the present weather conditions were a result of upper air circulation over Rajasthan and adjoining parts of Haryana. He also stood by the IMD’s earlier forecast of the monsoon withdrawing from the northwest by September-end. Last week, the weather office said it expected the withdrawal of the June-September rains by the end of this month. The monsoon usually starts retreating from parts of northern and western India on September 1.
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AASU blockade continues
Guwahati, September 21 The Nagaland Government has regretted the incident involving the 12 NAP (IR) Bn “B” Coy who assaulted picketers on NH 39 at Murphuloni Tiniali point in Golaghat district of Assam. A high-level inquiry has been initiated.
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New Delhi, September 21 A native of Lahore, Haider was staying at Samalakha village in Haryana. According to the police, confidential documents related to the Indian Army, a fake Indian driving licence, an Indian PAN card along with Western Union money transfer receipts, rent agreements, mobile SIM cards and phones have been recovered from his rented accommodation in Samalakha. Haider was arrested by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on September 14 after a tip-off. — TNS
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Accidental firing kills CRPF jawan
Jamshedpur, September 21 “Mohan Singh Bist, 39, a resident of Uttarakhand, was cleaning his rifle when it accidentally went off in the camp this morning,” Ranjit Kumar Rural Police Superintendent said. A case has been registered and inquest proceedings were on into the matter. “Bist, who suffered the bullet injury near his stomach, was immediately rushed to M G M Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. We have ordered further investigations into the matter,” Kumar added. — PTI
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Chennai, September 21
