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Police, protesters clash in Assam; two killed
Spying charge bogus, says Pranab; BJP wants probe
US businessman claims to be Sathya Sai’s living will
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Consensus eludes women quota Bill
I was threatened, told not to join: MCI Secy
Munde falls in line, says he will remain in BJP
Chandigarh metro is possible, but financially impractical: Sreedharan
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Police, protesters clash in Assam; two killed
Guwahati, June 22 The police was compelled to open fire to control a mob of protesters who went on a rampage on the arterial Guwahati-Shillong Road in front of the state secretariat at Dispur pelting stones on policemen and damaging vehicles. Some miscreants set fire to several vehicles, including three government buses. Thousands gathered near the Dispur capital complex under the banner of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS) at noon demanding an immediate stop to the Assam Government’s latest drive to evict illegal settlers from forestland, hills and wetlands around the city. The protest all of a sudden turned violent with the mob going on a rampage on the road. The police first resorted to baton-charge and firing tear gas shells but before opening fire to control the mob that was threatening to gate crash into the state secretariat. Negotiations between protesters and senior civil and police officials failed to as protesters demanded that either the Chief Minister or the Chief Secretary assure them that the eviction drive would be halted right away. Deputy Commissioner’s J Balaji’s assurance to arrange a meeting between KMSS leaders and principal secretaries of forest, revenue and SC development on the eviction drive on June 28 failed to cut ice with the protesters.
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Spying charge bogus, says
Pranab; BJP wants probe
New Delhi, June 22 “It's bogus. Don't waste your time on this,” a visibly irritated Mukherjee told reporters outside his North Block office, a day after a report that the minister had told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last September about a “serious breach of security” in his office. Mukherjee had reportedly demanded a secret inquiry into the alleged planting of “adhesives” at 16 key locations in his office, suggesting that there was a possible surveillance attempt. On Tuesday, Mukherjee, the number two in the government, had said that the Intelligence Bureau had investigated the matter and “they found there is nothing”. But the Opposition was not satisfied. Calling it “India's Watergate”, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said the Intelligence Bureau's reported argument that the adhesives found in Mukherjee's office were chewing gum was a joke and shocking. In her tweet on Tuesday night, she said: “In either case it is a matter of grave concern. It is India's Watergate and needs to be thoroughly investigated. Is it that the government was spying on its own Finance Minister? Or is it a corporate house?” The CPI said the story read like “an American thriller”, while the Congress said it was disgusted with the BJP. Party spokeswoman Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters that Mukherjee had already called the reports “bogus”. — IANS
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US businessman claims to be Sathya Sai’s living will
Hyderabad, June 22 Stating that he would soon reveal the secrets handed over to him by Baba, Tigrett -- an American businessman and founder of Hard Rock Café and House of Blues -- claimed that Baba had revealed several secrets to him and given instructions on how to run the ashram. “If Sathya Sai Trust approaches me, I will disclose these instructions to them. Otherwise, I will go ahead and make them public within six weeks,” he said in a media interview. Tigrett was considered close to Baba and had made huge donations to build a multi-specialty hospital at Puttaparthi. He currently lives at the ashram. “In 2007, Sathya Sai started giving me a series of interviews and during the course of these, told me exactly how he wanted Prasanthi Nilayam to be run. I will disclose them if the Trust approaches me," Tigrett said, adding that an ardent devotee was witness to these intense discussions. However, the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust (SSSCT), which manages the global network of spiritual and charity activities, rubbished Tigrett's claims and said that Baba used to hold sessions with several devotees and no one can claim himself to be a "living will". Tigrett’s claims came at a time when the reputation of Baba’s spiritual empire stood tarnished by the reports of huge cash and other valuables being smuggled out of the ashram and the growing internal war for control over the massive wealth. Baba's nephew to be questioned
The Andhra Pradesh police on Wednesday called late Sathya Sai Baba's nephew RJ Ratnakar and Sathya Sai Central Trust member V Srinivasan for questioning in connection with the seizure of Rs 35.5 lakh from Puttaparthi town recently within the next 3 days.
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Consensus eludes women quota Bill
New Delhi, June 22 Indications, that the future of the much-awaited Women’s Reservation Bill remains bleak, came today after the all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to work out a consensus on the law, remained inconclusive. The Speaker said she would soon call another meeting to evolve agreement on the Bill before the Monsoon session of Parliament began on August 1. Rajya Sabha had passed the Bill on March 8 last year. The Bill seeks to reserve 33 per cent seats for women in parliament and state legislatures and has been pending for 16 years with political parties failing to agree on its provisions. Meanwhile, traditional rivals of the Bill - that requires a constitutional amendment - voiced dissent at the 1.5-hour meeting, which the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, the legislation’s most vocal critics, skipped. Even the BJP, which supports the law, admitted today that it didn’t want to see the Bill passed amid acrimony as witnessed in Rajya Sabha on March 8 last. “We want everyone to agree to the provisions and want that the Bill is passed in a peaceful atmosphere,” Sushma Swaraj, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said after the meeting. She was sympathizing with the concerns of NDA allies JDU and Shiv Sena who are against political representation to women, as proposed in the current law. Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal also stuck to its known stand today, with Lok Sabha member Raghuvansh Prasad Singh seeking quota within quota to protect the interests of backward classes. SP and BSP also want a sub-quota. JDU’s representative Ram Sundar Das rejected the law in the present form and Shiv Sena’s Anant Geeta wanted the authority of women’s reservation to vest with the political party.
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I was threatened, told not to join: MCI Secy
New Delhi, June 22 “From March 8, when my appointment was confirmed, to March 25, when I finally joined, I received threatening calls at my residence. I was warned against joining the council and told that I would be embroiled in CBI cases,” Sharma told The Tribune. Sources in the Ministry of Health said there was a controversy over Sharma’s appointment as former BoG Chairman SK Sarin never took a clearance from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet which needs to clear every appointment at the level of a Joint Secretary. “The permission had not been sought. The appointment remains controversial,” ministry officials said. While the ministry maintains the appointment is not fair, Sharma asks why the MCI is sitting on her resignation when now she wants to leave. “Why are they trying to defame me? Why don’t they accept my resignation?” she asks. MCI sources said the Secretary-Chairman standoff was fuelled by the latter’s refusal to give file signatures sought by Sharma on a certain matter. Dr Talwar did not answer his phone despite repeated attempts were made to reach him. Charges fly against Talwar
President of the PGI Faculty Association Dr Virender Singh on Wednesday alleged that Dr Talwar, who was Director, PGI, used to often misbehave with faculty members. “He was rude to many senior faculty members, including me. But I must admit no one ever gave any written complaint against him,” he claimed.
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Munde falls in line, says he will remain in BJP
New Delhi, June 22 After day-long speculation about Munde negotiating with the Congress party, he appeared before the media at the residence of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and insisted, “I am in the BJP and will continue in the BJP.” Denying any contact with Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary, BJP’s OBC face in Maharashtra said, “Never in my life have I met Ahmed Patel.” Speaking alongside Sushma Swaraj, Munde, however, admitted, “I have some grievances, which I had come here to tell Sushma Swaraj. But I will not speak about these to the media and will only raise these at the party fora.”
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Chandigarh metro is possible, but financially impractical: Sreedharan
New Delhi, June 22 Sharing his thoughts with The Tribune, he called the mega project “technically feasible but financially not viable, however, justified in view of the unique position of Chandigarh”, struggling with increasing vehicular pollution. Sreedharan says he had warned the government about financial impracticality, but the UT Administration is willing to go ahead. “It all depends upon the Government of India. We (DMRC) will prepare the report and give our recommendations within the next eight months,” the DMRC chief said, and hopefully before he call it a day this December. As far as choosing the right “mass rapid transport system” (MRTS) for Chandigarh is caoncerned, Sreedharan says while monorail was not a good idea keeping in mind its elevated structure, a tram system may have been a better choice for the UT. “However the city is keen to have a metro,” he added. The DMRC received a request from the Chandigarh Administration for preparing a DPR in May.
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Rao to be Indian envoy to US Kanimozhi learning candle-making 2G correspondence Murder case cracked
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A mass protest against the administration’s drive to evict illegal settlers on forestland and wetlands around the city today turned bloody on the street in front of the state secretariat, Capital Complex
here.
