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Chidambaram, BJP in war of words
Blast Effect |
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1,000 pellets in body of a blast victim
Amar lodged in separate cell: Tihar Jail officials
Phalke Award for filmmaker K Balachander
Ishrat Case
Boy traced after 16 years reunited with father
Delhi-Dhaka deal win-win: N-E CMs
Wine from India goes global
125 Tribune employees donate blood
Members of The Tribune Employees Union donate blood on the 113th death anniversary of Tribune Trust founder Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia in Chandigarh on Friday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan
Uncertainty grips politics in U’khand
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Chidambaram, BJP in war of words
New Delhi, September 9 The Home Minister has been under fire from the BJP in the recent past, which many believe, is due to his insistence of duly following up terror cases in which some RSS-ideologues have been found to be involved. Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley took on the government accusing it of failing to solve any recent terror attacks in the country. “In any such event before this, not finding any clues never happened. Some events would get resolved and some wouldn't. It shows our intelligence agencies are not able to decipher the way of working of the terror organisations", Jaitley said at press conference this morning. By afternoon, Chidambaram was ready with his reply “I regret what leaders of opposition have said, especially when families are suffering and people are dead. It was unfortunate that the BJP had to so quickly give up its pretence of bi-partisanship and statesmanship… Perhaps it is not in the DNA of the BJP to maintain bipartisanship when India faces the challenge of terrorism”, the Home Minister said as he took on the BJP. Chidambaram listed facts to counter Jaitley. He pointed to unsolved cases in the BJP-ruled states to elucidate his point. The Home Minister admitted that the "three terror attacks that happened since I took over have been blots," but said other “governments were not free from blemishes.” The Home Minister reminded mediapersons about the December 2001 Parliament attack (during the NDA rule) and said “I do not re-call if the then Leader of Opposition held a press conference to criticise the government when India was under attack… if any of you (mediapersons) recollect, please correct me”. Jaitley had said in the morning, “National security has been a huge issue. Only saying (statements made by PM) that we will have zero tolerance towards terrorism does not help.” He claimed that Congress leaders, including Chidambaram, were heckled at by the blast victims and their relatives at the RML Hospital. Home Minister retorted that he was not heckled. “Relatives of the victims poured out their grief to which I listened and that is the way people approach elected representatives.” He took a swipe at Jaitley saying “my friend has been out of office for too long to know how people react” Chidambaram said nobody can accuse the government of not doing enough “Not a day passes that we don't reinforce our terror infrastructure. We are looking at every threat from all over the nation.”
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Blast Effect
New Delhi, September 9 The PM’s move comes in the wake of the September 7 bomb blast at the Delhi High Court, located just a kilometer away from the SC, and the reported threat by terror groups to target the apex court for upholding death sentences awarded to their members. Manmohan Singh is believed to have issued the directive at a meeting of the Congress Core Group. Though Khurshid is not part of this group, he was invited to involve his ministry in the proposed security measures. Swinging into action after the HC blast, the apex court has already stepped up
the security. Hand-held metal detectors have been introduced at the inner gates in addition to the metal detector gates and the X-ray machines. Checking and frisking are being done at three places now as part of the multi-layer security system - first at the compound gates, then at the inner gates and finally before entering the courts. Further, security personnel are posted all around the compound, while police vehicles are stationed on all sides. The CCTV system is also in place to monitor people’s movements through cameras installed at various places in the complex. Minutes after the blast, the CJI reviewed the security drill with his senior colleagues and sought suggestions from top government law officers and senior advocates. He explored the feasibility of replicating the security mechanism in Parliament. “Whether you like it or not, security will be revamped soon taking into account all aspects,” Justice Altamas Kabir, the second senior most Judge, had remarked during the proceedings in Court No. 2.
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1,000 pellets in body of a blast victim
New Delhi, September 9 Nitin, a 37-year-old software consultant, who is recovering in Ram Manohar Lohia Trauma Centre, has pellets buried in his legs, right hand and right side of his face. "Many of the injured have pellets lodged in their bodies. “In the case of Nitin, it is shocking that over 1,000 alone are lodged in his body. Nails, precariously large, have been used in the blast this time. In Pramod Kumar Mahindra case, the nail has got embedded in his thigh in C shape," Sunil Saxena, chief medical officer, RML hospital said. Nitin was unconscious when he was brought to the hospital. "He was bleeding from the legs, hands and face. The sight was horrible. He has undergone a surgery and was in the ICU for some time. Now his condition is stable and we will conduct another tomorrow," he said. "Since the pellets get sterile due to high temperature during the blast, so they won't cause any infection. As such we will not make any attempt to remove any of the pellets until the medical examination suggest that they might be dangerous. Ratan Lall Shroff, whose both legs were severed in the blast, has pellets lodged on the back side of
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Amar lodged in separate cell: Tihar Jail officials
New Delhi, September 9 The report submitted in the court of Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal also revealed that the outcome of some crucial medical tests of Singh is still awaited and would take another day or two. As a result, the court posted the matter for further arguments on Singh’s interim bail plea till September 12 and directed the jail authorities to submit all medical reports by 11 am that day. “As per the doctor, attending on accused (Amar Singh), some tests have been advised like blood and urine. Results and outcome of these reports are awaited. Let the report come on September 12 by 11 am,” the judge said. Amar Singh, who is under 14 days judicial custody in connection with the 2008 cash-for-vote scam, had sought an interim bail on health grounds. Tihar jail authorities also told the court that Amar Singh has been kept in the cell which is closest to he well-equipped jail hospital and an ambulance has been stationed to rush the a patient to AIIMS or any other specialised hospital in case of an emergency. Amar Singh has been kept in ward number 4 of Tihar sub-jail number 3. The report also said that Amar Singh does not have to share the toilet with other inmates. “Each cell has its own separate toilet and bathroom and Amar Singh does not have to share common public toilet,” said the report, adding that since his arrival at the Tihar three days ago, the MP has not made any complaint regards to his health. However, Amar Singh’s counsel Hariharan told the court that ‘this’ report is based on the opinion of the jail superintendent and cannot be taken as a final word.
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Phalke Award for filmmaker K Balachander
New Delhi, September 9 Amid a thunderous applause, the President conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke award for the year 2010 to Balachander at a glittering function at the Vigyan Bhavan here. The Dadasaheb Phalke award is conferred by the government for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema. The award consists of a ‘Swarna Kamal’, a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh and a shawl. The highlight of this year's function was that four child artistes won the trophies for various films - Harsh Mayar for 'I am Kalam', Shantanu Ranganekar for 'Champions', Machindra Gadekar for 'Champions' and Vivek Chabukswar for 'Baboo Band Baaja'. The Best Actor awards were bagged by Dhanush for the film 'Aadukalam' (Tamil) and Salim Kumar for 'Adaminte Makan Abu' (Malayalam) in which he played a protagonist in a serious role for the first time. The National Award for Best Feature Film was bagged by Malayalam flick 'Adaminte Makan Abu' produced by Salim Ahamad and Ashraf Bedi. The Indira Gandhi award for Best Debut Film of a Director was given to 'Baboo Band Baaja' (Marathi) directed by Rajesh Pinjani and produced by Neeta Jadhav. Bollywood had a low-key presence at the awards function as compared to previous editions with only the Salman Khan-starrer 'Dabbang', Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Ishqiya' and the Rishi Kapoor-Neetu Singh-starrer 'Do Dooni Char' featuring in the awards category. 'Dabangg' (Hindi), produced by Arbaaz Khan, Malaika Arora Khan and Dhilin Mehta and directed by Abhinav Singh Kashyap won the award for Best Popular Film providing wholesome entertainment. Present at the function to receive the award were Arbaaz Khan and his Malaika Arora Khan. ‘Do Dooni Chaar’ produced by Arindam Chaudhuri and directed by Habib Faisal, won the Best Hindi Film award while the film 'Ishqiya' won four trophies, including the award for Best Audiography - Location Sound Recordist to Kaamod Kharade, the Best Audiography - Re-recordist of the final mixed track to Debajit Changmai, Best Music Direction to Vishal Bhardwaj and Best Female Playback Singer to Rekha Bhardwaj. The Best Actress award was shared by Mitalee Jagtap Varadkar for the film 'Baboo Band Baaja' (Marathi) and Saranya Ponvannan for 'Thenmerkku Paruvakkatru' (Tamil). The Nargis Dutt award for Best Feature Film on national integration went to 'Moner'. The film is an Indo-Bangladesh collaboration venture. The function saw the film 'Aadukalam' winning six awards including the Best Director to Vetri Maaran, Best Actor to Dhanush, Best Screenplay (Original) to Vetri Maaran, Best Editing to TE Kishore, Best Choreography to V Dinesh Kumar and a Special Mention to V I S Jayapalan, who is a Sri Lankan actor. Four awards were bagged by the film 'Adaminte Makan Abu' including that for Best Feature Film, Best Actor to Salim Kumar, Best Cinematography to Madhu Ambat and Best Music Direction to Issac Thomas Kottukapally.
K Balachander’s body of work
K Balachander (81) is known for his masterpieces "Ek Duuje Ke Liye", "Iru Kodugal", "Apoorva Raagangal". The writer-director-producer, who introduced Kamal Hasan, Rajinikanth, Prakash Raj and Sri Devi, has produced more than 60 films and directed nearly 100 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi.
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Ishrat Case
Ahmedabad, September 9 At the last hearing, High Court had asked the SIT to try and complete the investigation and submit the final report by September 8, giving a finding whether the encounter was fake or not. However, SIT head RR Verma today sought more time from the division Bench of Justices Jayant Patel and Abhilasha Kumari, saying that some points in the FSL and AIIMS reports needed clarification. The Bench then asked the SIT to submit the final report on October 5. The next hearing would be on October 7. SIT had called a team from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)and Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), New Delhi, for reconstruction of the case and collection of data. — PTI
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Boy traced after 16 years reunited with father
New Delhi, September 9 The case was handed over to the CBI on
the orders of the Supreme Court in January 14, 2011. Sayeed had filed a petition that his son went missing 16 years
ago under mysterious circumstances. "The boy was born on November 20, 1994, to A Sayeed and his partner, a national of UAE who had come to India along with him," a CBI spokesperson said. Soon after the birth of the child, Sayeed left for the UAE for a job while the mother, a foreign national, left the child with an unknown person and went to her country to join her parents without his knowledge. When Sayeed returned, he could not find his son and approached various agencies, including the police, to trace him but all in vain. Finally, Sayeed reached the Supreme Court which ordered handing over the case to the CBI. On the direction of the court, teams of CBI officials swung into action and identified some persons from Tamil Nadu who were working with the parents of Sayeed's partner in the UAE. “Sustained investigation led to one person employed as maid to his partner's parents. The maid was a native of Tamil Nadu and was present when the mother of the child was in Tamil Nadu," the spokesperson said. The probe revealed that mother while leaving for UAE had left the son with the maid's relatives as he did not have a passport. Meanwhile, the maid's family fostered the kid as no one made any claim on the child. "The boy was located and DNA tests confirmed that Sayeed is his
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Delhi-Dhaka deal win-win: N-E CMs
Guwahati, September 9 While opposition
BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) are crying hoarse over India-Bangladesh land pact, Assam CM Tarun Gogoi today said it would go a long way in improving bilateral relations. There are as many as
25 points along the 4,156-km boundary, across which India adversely possesses 1,165.49 acres of Bangladesh land, while Bangladesh possesses 1,880.81 acres on the Indian
side. Gogoi clarified that as per the pact, Bangladesh would get 193 acres of adversely possessed land at Boroibari in Mankachar sector of Dhubri district and 74.5 acres land out of the total of 455 acres in Pallathat tea estate in Karimganj district. “Government of India has rejected Bangladesh’s claim over 145 acres of adversely possessed land at Naygaon in Karimganj district and they have accepted this,” Gogoi said. “In case of 714 acres undemarcated area in Latitila-Dumabari in Karimganj district, dispute regarding over 3-kilometre stretch of unfenced border has been resolved. Now, Bangladesh will get only 90 acres of the area. Twenty five Indian families were holding land in that area, but they left during 1965 war with Pakistan (during East Pakistan days). They don’t want to go back, and want compensation,” Gogoi said, adding that in all, Bangladesh would get 357.4 acre land in Assam
sector. Meghalaya CM Dr Sangma has said the give-and-take policy adopted by India and Bangladesh to sort out the border dispute will safeguard the state’s interests. “We would be gaining around 240 acre land under adverse possession of Bangladesh while we stand to lose only around 41 acre to Bangladesh,” he said. Both the CMs are of the view that the land pact with Bangladesh which has to be ratified by both the Houses of Parliament, will facilitate better border management, check infiltration, boost bilateral trade and cross-border tourism.
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Wine from India goes global
Mumbai, September 9 “The quality of Indian wine has improved a great deal over the last five years, with investment and expertise pouring into the industry,” Matt Smith, representative of Waitrose who sourced the wines, has been quoted as saying. According to reports in the British press, Ritu Viognier from the Four Seasons stable is a crisp, aromatic white wine with floral and peach aromas and is ideally suited to dishes like Vindaloo. Zampa Syrah is a 100 per cent Syrah wine, also produced in the Nashik region by winemaker Nic Van Arde, according to reports. The two Indian wines made it to the British markets after a joint marketing effort by the Indian government and the wine industry here. Last month, the newly set up Indian Grape Promotion Board participated in the London Wine Show, showcasing wines made in India at the British market. According to those in the trade, buyers from the UK have placed trial orders from several wine-makers in Nashik and regular exports of wine to that country could begin soon. Connoisseurs are already cheering the quality of Indian wine. According to Decanter, Sula Vineyards’ Sauvignon Blanc 2010, also produced in Nashik, was given a silver medal in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2011. “Indian wineries have spent the last five years improving their cellars. It’s all very recent and a lot of money is being invested,” the awards’ chairman Steven Spurrier told Decanter. The Indian government is doing its best to push wines from the country on to foreign shores. The Ministry of External Affairs is now serving wines from here at Indian Missions abroad. “Ranjan Mathai, secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, says Indian wines are being served at Indian Missions wherever a regular supply is available,” says Subash Arora, President, Indian Wine Academy (IWA). The IWA has been lobbying with the government to promote Indian wine through its missions abroad. Among the measures mooted by this body are regular wine tastings for local journalists, wine buyers and the hospitality industry. With support from the Indian government, owners of wineries are also doing their bit to get their wares approved by Indian embassies worldwide. For instance, wines from the Good Earth Winery were approved for being served at the Indian Embassy in Washington. Other arms of the Indian government have also got into the act. The Union Ministry for Civil Aviation recently agreed to serve Indian wines on board international flights of Air India. "It will be on a trial basis for three months," says Jagdish Holkar, president, All India Wine Producers Association (AIWPA). The wines to be served on board the flights will be decided by the Indian Grape Processing Board.
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125 Tribune employees donate blood
Chandigarh, September 9 Inaugurating the camp, Kamlendra Kanwar, Senior Asssociate Editor, The Tribune, appreciated the employees’ efforts in organising such camps. While appreciating the efforts of the union, Dr JG Jolly, a pioneer of the blood donation movement in the region, lauded the efforts of Sardar Pratap Singh Kairon, former Chief Minister of Punjab and a former Trustee of The Tribune Trust, Dr Tulsi Das, who provided unstinting help in making this movement a success. He also lauded the role of The Tribune and its employees in spreading the message of blood donation. In a message, Justice SS Sodhi (retd), Trustee, The Tribune, exhorted the employees to work for the social welfare of society. Lt General SS Mehta (retd), Trustee, and Naresh Mohan, Trustee, The Tribune Trust, in their messages blessed the donors. The Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune publications, Raj Chengappa, in his message showered accolades on the blood donors. Uttam Sengupta, Associate Editor, The Tribune, extended his best wishes to the union and the donors. General Manager Sanjay Hazari also lauded the blood donors. The employees who have donated blood more than 25 times include Arun Kaushal (81), Vinod Kumar (47), Anil Kumar Gupta and Ashok Kumar (41), Surinder Singh (38), Jitendar Awasthi (37), Sukhwinderjit Singh Manauli (32), Kamal Kumar (30), Haresh Vashishth and Bhajan Singh (29).
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Uncertainty grips politics in U’khand
Dehradun, September 9 Although, there was no official confirmation of the move by any of the senior central party leaders, it was believed by party sources here that the odds were heavily stacked against Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. Interestingly, Uttarakhand Chief Minister and state BJP chief Bishan Chufal denied having any knowledge of the proposed change. Nishank was supposed to go to New Delhi, but cancelled his visit following strong rumours of his removal. According to his close aides, the Chief Minister would leave for New Delhi on Saturday. “I have no knowledge about any such move,” Chief Minister Nishank told mediapersons here today. The decision to replace Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank with former Chief Minister Maj-Gen BC Khanduri (retired) has been dictated by the electoral compulsions and extreme pressure by Khanduri and Bhagat Singh Koshiyari on the party high command in the past few weeks. If the BJP decides to go in for a change in the state, Khanduri will be the sixth Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He will be the fifth BJP Chief Minister of the state. After the formation of the state in November 2000, the first BJP Chief Minister Nityanand Swamy was replaced by Bhagat Singh Koshiyari in the interim government after near rebellion by senior party leaders led by Koshiyari and Nishank. However, the BJP was defeated in the first ever elections held in the state in February 2002, paving the way for ND Tewari-led Congress government in the
state that lasted the full five year term. In the second Assembly elections held in February 2007, the BJP rode to victory on the plank of providing a corruption free government and Maj-Gen BC Khanduri (retired), a former Union Surface Transport
Minister in the Vajpayee-led government was elected as the Chief Minister. However, his elevation was not hassle-free as former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari rose a banner of revolt against his style of functioning. In August 2008, he led a delegation of party legislators to the party high command to demand a change of guard. Finally, after the Lok Sabha debacle in May 2009, when the BJP lost all the five Lok sabha seats of the state to the Congress, Khanduri was asked to go and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, a Health Minister in his government emerged as a Chief Minister in June 2009. However, the tenure of Nishank has been marked by several controversies, including corruption charges. His government had to wriggle out of tricky situations by reversing its decisions, following fear of adverse High Court judgements on the issue of change of an industrial land to residential belonging to Citurgia chemicals and allotment of 56 small hydro-electric projects to those, who had no previous experience of running hydro-electric projects. While, the Nishank government stumbled from one controversy to another, Khanduri and Koshiyari started demanding the replacement of Nishank as the Chief Minister. With Assembly elections scheduled for February 2012, Khanduri became aggressive and exerted extreme pressure on the party high command. One of the closest aides of Khanduri , Lt-Gen TPS Rawat (retired), who left the Congress and vacated his Assembly seats for Khanduri in 2007 left the BJP and formed his own Uttarakhand Raksha
Morcha.
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked Home Minister P Chidambaram and Law Minister Salman Khurshid to take urgent steps for providing adequate security in and around the Supreme Court complex.
New Delhi, September 9
New Delhi, September 9
Chandigarh, September 9
A villager stands by a leaking pipe of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited
(ONGC) in an oil field at Changpang village, some 120 km away from Wokha district in Nagaland on Friday. A large amount of crude oil leaking from an improperly capped oil well has affected the surrounding environment as well as villagers’ lives. The ONGC shut down its drilling of the crude oil due to social unrest in 1994. An estimated geological reserve of 110 million barrels of oil with a recoverable reserve of approximately 1,600 barrels per day is reportedly available in the Changpang village oil fields. —
AFP
He said, “We will do everything to protect the people of India” while adding that “I will give my utmost by providing the best of equipment.” 
Earlier this month, Waitrose, a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom, said it will stock two upmarket wines from India, which would be positioned as accompaniment to spicy Indian food. According to trade publication Decanter, the wines Ritu Viognier and Zampa Syrah - a red and white wine respectively - are made from grapes grown in Maharashtra’s Nashik region.