|
|
|
|
|
Delhi
Blast
PC: Recent terror strikes blot on govt
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram addresses inaugural session of Two-day DGPs/IGPs conference at Vigyan Bhavan
Mumbai-Gujarat buses on terror radar, warn intelligence agencies
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ex-home minister fears Modi may dilute Lokayukta Act
Top BJP
leaders scramble to attend Modi’s fast DA hiked by 7%
Sonia back to work, chairs CEC meeting
Nine new faces in Parliamentary panel debating Lokpal Bill
Women MPs: India ranks 100th in world
Cash-for-vote
scam Amar Singh
Hansi-Butana
Row
China warns against oil exploration in Vietnam, India rejects objection
Make PC co-accused in Spectrum case: Swamy
Already done enough on greenhouse emissions: Minister
Western Command marks 64th Raising Day
Lt Gen SR Ghosh, GOC-in-C, Western Command, on the 64th Raising Day of the Command at the Veer Smriti war memorial in Chandimandir on Thursday. A Tribune photograph
Armed Forces Tribunal to be armed with contempt powers
Fake
Documents Case
1.4 lakh bogus school students in Maharashtra
Manipur govt to take possession of licensed guns
More voices join anti-AFSPA protests
Ban on actress Nikita lifted
Yeddyurappa gets anticipatory bail
|
|
Delhi Blast
Jammu, September 15 Official sources said Amir Abbas (21), alias Hafiz, in connivance with his friend Hilal Amin (19) had drafted the mail before handing it over to Abid Hussain Wani and Shariq Butt, both in custody, in a pen drive three days before the blast. “The two boys were given clear instructions that they need to mail the draft to media houses immediately after the blast in the national capital,” said
sources. Amir, who is alleged to be a HuJI operative and has links with a religious
organisation, was picked up after detailed interrogation of Wani and Butt, who were arrested yesterday, sources added. Amir is suspected to have been involved in brainwashing youths to join the militant
ranks. Hilal Amin has been held on suspicion of having helped Amir. “They were detained at around 11 pm last night. As far as Hilal is concerned, he is a close friend of Amir and lives in Dool Nagsani village, some 25 km from
Kishtwar. But he used to frequently visit Amir’s house,” said sources. “Though HuJI is the prime suspect in carrying out the blast in Delhi, at this stage, we can’t say that Amir was the mastermind. We have to broaden the base of our investigations to know the entire plot,” they added. The police may produce Amir and Hilal before Principal District and Sessions Judge ML Manhas seeking their remand. Meanwhile, it has been reliably learnt that NIA DIG Mukesh Singh, who is heading the 20-member team to probe the case, is likely to reach
Kishtwar.
|
|
|
PC: Recent terror strikes blot on govt
New Delhi, September 15 “Two terrorist attacks in the space of two months are indeed a blot on our records. Naturally, the Central government and security forces have been severely
criticised,” the minister said while addressing a conference of DGPs here, “We accept the responsibility for the incidents and legitimate criticism,” he said, adding that no country in the world was entirely immune to the threat of terror. Reeling off some stats, he said in 2011, up to August, there have been 279 major terrorist incidents in 22 countries. The worst affected are Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Noting that the challenge of terrorism was “formidable,” Chidambaram referred to Indian modules that have the capacity to attract radicalised youth. “Some modules are loosely knit under an organisation called Indian Mujahideen (IM). Many old cadres of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) are morphed into IM cadres,” he said. “Then there are other Indian modules that espouse the cause of Right-wing religious fundamentalism or separatism,” he added. “Many of these modules have acquired the capacity to make bombs,” the Home Minister asserted. Reiterating what he had already said in Parliament, Chidambaram termed the
Af-Pak region as the epicentre of terror. He warned the attending police chiefs, including Director IB Nehchal
Sandhu, that four out of five major terrorist groups are based in Pakistan and three of them -
Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Majahideen - continue to target India. There is no let up in attempts to infiltrate from across the Line of Control in Jammu & Kashmir.
|
|
|
Mumbai-Gujarat buses on terror radar, warn intelligence agencies
Mumbai, September 15 Several hundred luxury buses belonging to private operators ferry passengers between the two cities several times a day. "We are checking all the buses as we have information of possible terror attacks," Shashank
Jadhav, a police officer posted at the check naka at Dahisar on the outskirts of Mumbai told this reporter. Buses leaving Mumbai in the afternoons were pulled up and passengers were asked to open their baggage. "We want the bus operators to obtain the names and mobile numbers of all passengers boarding the buses," Jadhav said. It is not clear what shape the terror attacks could take. However bus operators admit that it would not be easy
to check every passenger boarding these buses. Most drivers pick up passengers illegally at highways without issue of proper tickets, pocketing the fares themselves. Passengers also use these buses to ferry expensive liquor from Mumbai to Gujarat. Because of prohibition in Gujarat liquor fetches high prices.
|
|
|
Ex-home minister fears Modi may dilute Lokayukta Act
New Delhi, September 15 Zadafia, who now heads the Mahagujarat Janta Party (MJP), presented a memorandum today to President Pratibha Patil supporting the action of Governor Kamla Beniwal in appointing Justice RA Mehta as the state Lokayukta. Later, he stated that the Chief Minister was planning to move an amendment to the Gujarat Lokyaukta Act on September 27-28 to dilute the Lokayukta’s powers and said he had told the President about it. He said that she asked him to bring this to the notice of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister as they were the proper authorities who were competent to act in this regard. Earlier reports had indicated that the Governor had appointed the Lokayukta when Modi sent an ordinance diluting the Act for her seal of approval. But the former member of the Narendra Modi Cabinet wondered why the Chief Minister was running scared of an effective Lokayukta. Upholding the Governor’s action to be fully in accordance with the law, Zadafia said, “If Modi is so clean and has nothing to hide from the Lokayukta, why has he not allowed the appointment of a Lokayukta for the past seven years and why does he not allow the Lokayukta to start functioning now?” The MJP leader said volume of corruption being alleged against the state amounts to Rs 1 lakh crore and even the CAG has pegged it at Rs 26,000 crore. “For the Governor, it was compulsion of the situation in the larger interest of Gujarat to take the decision,” he said. He requested the President to direct the Governor to order functioning of the Lokayukta in Gujarat with immediate effect.
|
|
Top BJP leaders scramble
to attend Modi’s fast New Delhi, September 15 BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad told The Tribune today, “Advani, Prakash Singh Badal and I will be going to Ahmedabad on September 17 to attend the fast.” Sources however clarified that Advani may be there only for a few hours. Prasad also said that Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley is flying to Mumbai tomorrow and reaching Ahmedabad tomorrow night, will sit on fast with Modi when it begins tomorrow morning. Other leaders whose names were mentioned, include BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar and Gujarat in charge Balbir Punj (both away in Singapore to attend a seminar. LoP in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj is leading that delegation. But her name was not there. The list further includes BJP spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Husain and BJP general secretary Vijay Goel. Curiously, when Vijay Goel ‘sms’ed yesterday his decision to join Modi’s fast, most leaders dismissed it lightly as another publicity gimmick. In fact one of the prominent participants today laughed away the suggestion yesterday. Another prominent leader had to fall in line only after a news agency ran his name. The leader who had dismissed the suggestions barely an hour before a news agency ran the story told The Tribune, “I have learnt about this only from this report.” However, now, he did not have the nerve to deny that he was going there.
|
|||||
|
DA hiked by 7% New Delhi, September 15 “Dearness Allowance of central government employees has been raised from 51 per cent to 58 per cent. The hike is effective from July 1, 2011,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said after a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Soni said the hike in dearness allowance would provide major relief to the employees and pensioners as prices of essential commodities have been consistently rising. “Total financial implication due to the hike will be Rs 7,228.76 crore per annum. In the current fiscal, it will be Rs 4,819.22 crore,” Soni said. The Cabinet also approved the Approach Paper for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-13 to 2116-17), which targets 9 per cent growth.
|
|||||
|
Sonia back to work, chairs CEC meeting
New Delhi, September 15 The meeting of the Central Election Committee, which she presided over, was her first collective interaction with Congress leaders after she arrived here last week from the US. Party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said, "Sonia participated in the meeting today happily and normally as she used to do earlier. Like in the past, she came out of her house to welcome Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and see him off after the 65-minute-long meeting. She discussed issues as she used to do earlier." Dwivedi recalled that soon after returning, Sonia had begun going through papers related to party work. "She is quite fine, but as per the doctor’s advice, it will take her some time to resume all the work she earlier did. It will take her a little more time to recover fully," the Congress media department chief said. Sonia Gandhi was operated on in the US on August 4 for an undisclosed ailment and returned to the capital on September 8. Congress general secretary in charge of UP Digvijay Singh said that Sonia was looking "quite happy and actively participated in the meeting. Nobody could make out that she has undergone any operation. Touch wood, she was looking quite good". The CEC meeting was attended among others by AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, senior ministers Pranab Mukherjee, AK Antony, Congress president's political secretary Ahmed Patel and Dwivedi. Dwivedi said the meeting discussed names of 98 candidates from which about 70 were finalised. — PTI
|
|||||
|
Nine new faces in Parliamentary panel debating Lokpal Bill
New Delhi, September 15 In the newly formulated committee notified tonight, the Congress has also renominated most of its members including chairman Abhishek Manu Singhvi from the Rajya Sabha and Manish Tewari, Deepa Dasmunshi, Meenakshi Natarajan and Chandresh Kumari from the Lok Sabha. The Congress has added to the committee the following members - Arun Yadav, its Lok Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh and Shantaram Naik, the Rajya Sabha MP from Goa. In the Rajya Sabha, a nominated member from Maharashtra, Bhalchandra Mungekar, has also found space to ensure Dalit representation on the panel. The BJP has nominated three new MPs from the Lok Sabha - Kirti Azad from Darbhanga in Bihar, Arjun Meghwal from Bikaner and Madhusudan Yadav from Chhattisgarh. Pinaki Mishra of the BJD, the Supreme Court lawyer who represented Rajesh Talwar, father of Arushi Talwar, in the Noida double murder case, A Sampat of the CPM and Prasanta Majumdar of the RSP are other additions to the committee which was awaiting finalisation to start working on the draft of the controversial Lokpal Bill. The Parliament had, in the wake of the Anna Hazare anti-graft movement, conveyed to this committee agreement with the three demands Hazare had raised to make the Lokpal Bill effective. The committee is supposed to submit its report in two months. Today, it was to meet the CBI representatives to know their viewpoint on whether the agency as a whole should be brought under the Lokpal Bill's ambit. Today's meeting, however, could not take place as the committee was in the process of getting reconstituted. Other members of the committee include BJP's Ram Jethmalani, LJP's Ram Vilas Paswan, SP's Shailendra Kumar and Parimal Nathwani, an independent Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, known for his proximity to RIL (Reliance Industries Limited). Importantly, some parliamentarians, especially the Yadavs from Lok Sabha - Sharad Yadav of the
JDU, Lalu Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav of the SP - have sought that the Lokpal should also cover corporate houses.
|
|||||
|
Women MPs: India ranks 100th in world
New Delhi, September 15 The compilation, shared during closed door sessions with 47 delegates here to attend the Regional Seminar of Asian Parliaments on “Preventing Violence against Women and Girls”, places India at a poor 100th level in 141 ranks awarded to 154 countries (some share the same level). With just 10.8 per cent women in Parliament, India is bracketed with Benin at rank 100 and placed in the bottommost eighth category out of the 11 the IPU has listed to reflect global position as on January 1, 2010. The figures are reflective of the fact that a law to reserve 33.3 pc seats for women in the Indian Parliament has been pending for over 16 years. While the highest representation (56.3 pc) of women in the world is in Rwanda (ranked first) followed by Sweden at 46.4 pc and South Africa at 44.5 pc, the lowest - nil - is in Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. In South Asia, Nepal is the best placed at 17th rank with 33.2 pc women in Parliament. Beating Germany which stands 18th in the listing, Nepal is placed in the third best bracket, followed by Iraq (rank 38) and in the fourth best category alongside Surinam. Also ahead of India are Singapore, Pakistan and China at 44th, 49th and 55th respective levels. Pakistan, represented today by Fozia Habib of the People’s Party of Pakistan (PPP), talked of how social challenges in India and her country were similar especially those in respect of women. Pakistan and Singapore in fact beat Canada (ranked 50th) at the rankings. Among nations in the sixth best category (women’s representation ranging from 15 to 19.9 pc) are UK (62nd); France (65th), Bangladesh (66th), Greece (73rd) and Mauritius (74th). In Bangladesh, women’s representation in the parliament is 18.6 pc, ahead of India. Even Gabon, Slovenia, Swaziland and Thailand finish ahead of us with Thailand ranked 91st. Americas with 22 pc are the second best followed by Europe OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe -- Nordic countries included) at 21.4 pc; and Europe OSCE (Nordic excluded0 at 19.9 pc. Even Sub Saharan Africa and the Pacific finish ahead of Asia with 18.7 and 15.3 pc women in Parliaments, respectively. No wonder Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar today, during her inaugural address, mentioned that though 45 parliaments had women presiding officers globally and two-third nations had laws to check domestic violence, 127 countries still didn’t explicitly criminalise rape. “In 17 of the 41 South East Asian countries and the Pacific, over a quarter of the population believes it is justifiable for a man to beat his wife. We must change these attitudes…,” she said.
|
|||||
|
Cash-for-vote scam
New Delhi, September 15 Amar Singh was initially remanded in judicial custody for 14 days for his alleged involvement in the cash-for-vote scam of 2008. On Monday, he was taken to AIIMS from Tihar Jails after a board of doctor’s recommended his immediate hospitalisation as he had developed symptoms of diarrhoea and complained of vomiting continuously. After considering the medical report from AIIMS doctors, Special Judge Sangeeta Dhingra Sehgal today accepted Amar Singh’s interim bail application on submission of a surety bond of Rs 2 lakh. “The accused (Amar Singh), Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and a known figure cannot be shown extra indulgence, but he must also not be subjected to undue harshness as humane angle can never be lost sight of by the courts of equity, justice and good conscience,” said the Judge. Amar Singh has also been asked to surrender his passport in the court, implying that he would not be able to leave the country until he gets regular bail. The court also directed the AIIMS authorities to submit before it a daily report on Amar Singh’s health condition. According to medical report presented before the court, Amar Singh is said to be a patient of diabetes who underwent a renal transplant in September 2009, besides an intestinal surgery 10 years ago. “He is also a patient of hypertension, tuberculosis infection, chronic kidney disease and urinary tract infection,” says the report.
|
|||||
|
Hansi-Butana Row
New Delhi, September 15 Punjab contended that the Central Government had conveyed the CWC remarks to the apex court in a brief “unsigned” note submitted on August 26, 2011 without explaining the process adopted and the conclusions arrived at. The Centre did not even state whether it had accepted the report, Punjab said in its response filed in the apex court. Arguing for Punjab before a Bench comprising Justices JM Panchal and HL Gokhale today, senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan said the strengthening of the canal arbitrarily by Haryana was in total breach of cooperative federalism. Haryana must have simply repaired the damage caused to the canal during the July 2010 floods, instead of going further by putting a concrete lining and constructing a toe wall for a distance of 3.5 km, he said. During two hours of submissions, Dhavan said so far the flood fury was being shared by Punjab and Haryana but strengthening work being carried out on the 109-km canal, constructed at a cost of Rs 260 crore, would totally tilt the scales against Punjab. The additional work on the canal was admittedly to protect Haryana “at the expense of Punjab” as the reinforced 10-ft high canal walls would prevent the natural flow of the rain waters from entering Haryana and exacerbate the food situation in Punjab, he said. The canal, meant for taking Haryana’s share of water from an upper point of the Bhakra Main Line, is yet to be functional as the SC has restrained Haryana from puncturing the line following a suit filed by Punjab. Rajasthan has also come to the apex court, opposing Haryana’s move. Quoting a report by Dr Rakesh Khosa, Associate Professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Punjab contended that strengthening work on the canal would result in frequent flooding of its areas during the monsoon. The arguments will continue tomorrow.
|
|||||
|
China warns against oil exploration in Vietnam, India rejects objection
New Delhi, September 15 “Our cooperation with Vietnam or any other country is always as per international laws, norms and conventions,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash told reporters here, virtually dismissing Beijing’s objection. Earlier in the day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, at a briefing in Beijing, said China enjoyed indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea and, without directly referring to India, asked all countries to refrain from oil exploration in maritime areas offered by Vietnam. New Delhi said the OVL had been in Vietnam for quite sometime in offshore oil and natural gas exploration field and was in the process of further expanding its operations. Essar, a subsidiary of Essar Oil Ltd, has also been awarded a gas block in Vietnam. India said it supported freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and hoped all countries would abide by the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. The Indian spokesman explained that cooperation in the field of energy, hydrocarbon and renewable energy was an important facet of India-Vietnam relations. Of the nearly 400 Million dollars worth of investments by India in Vietnam, the OVL alone had made investments to the tune of about 225 million dollars. India’s stand is apparently guided by Vietnam’s claim that it had the rights over the two blocks under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Seas. With claims over the entire South China Sea, China is engaged in running disputes with several members of ASEAN and Japan. China and Vietnam, besides the Philippines, had a major spat over the issue recently after Chinese maritime vessels stopped exploration activities in the waters they claims as theirs. Increasing China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea would, in fact, figure prominently during the Indian Foreign Minister’s talks with Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi tomorrow against the backdrop of the recent incident in which the Chinese Navy “harassed” an Indian naval vessel, INS Airavat, off the Vietnamese coast while it was on a goodwill visit to Vietnam from port Nha Trang to Hai Phong. The incident led India to come out with a strong defence of the freedom of navigation in international waters. Krishna will co-chair the 14th India-Vietnam Joint Commission meeting in Hanoi tomorrow with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh, focusing on deepening economic and strategic ties between the two countries.
THE TRIGGER ONGC Videsh Limited’s plan to undertake oil exploration in two Vietnamese blocks in the South China Sea. CHINESE CLAIM Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has claimed that China enjoys indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea. Without directly referring to India, he asked all countries to refrain from oil exploration in maritime areas offered by Vietnam. INDIAN ASSERTION Dismissing Beijing’s objection, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said India’s cooperation with Vietnam or any other country was always as per international laws, norms and conventions.
|
|||||
|
Make PC co-accused in Spectrum case: Swamy
New Delhi, September 15 “Spectrum allocation was a Cabinet decision and Chidambaram, as the then finance minister, was party to it. They (Raja and Chidambaram) decided that both the entry fee and price of spectrum should be lumped together at the 2001 level and decided against the market price of 2007-08 for the entry fee. This is even confirmed by the PM’s speech,” Swamy said. He told the court that the chargesheets filed by the CBI did not cover the role of Chidambaram, who “jointly took important decisions” on allocation of radio waves.
|
|||||
|
Already done enough on greenhouse
New Delhi, September 15 Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan said India had voluntarily done far more than developed countries on the issue of carbon emission cuts. She questioned the efforts made by the developed countries on that front. "We need to look at the stock of emission, which is historical emission, where developed countries have emitted more than 80 per cent," she said, standing firm by the Kyoto regime which is due to expire in 2012. The Kyoto Protocol, which requires developed countries to cut emissions, expires at the end of 2012.
|
|||||
|
Western Command marks 64th Raising Day
Chandigarh, September 15 General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen SR Ghosh and Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi, the Command’s former GOC-in-C, paid floral tributes to A ceremonial guard reversed arms as a mark of respect to the martyrs, while buglers sounded the Last Post. A two-minute silence was also observed. Senior officers were also present on the occasion. Inmates from the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Mohali, also attended the ceremony as the Army is observing 2011 as the ‘Year of Disabled Soldiers’. Raised in 1947 as the Delhi and East Punjab Command, with headquarters at Delhi, it was mandated to control formations with an operational role in the territorial areas of the present Western and Northern Commands. It was redesignated as the Western Command in January 1948. In 1954, the headquarters of the command moved to Shimla. After the Indo-Pak Conflict of 1971, the Northern Command, with its Headquarters at Udhampur, was carved out of the Western Command to assume operational responsibility of Jammu and Kashmir. Later headquarters of the Western Command moved to Chandimandir in 1985. The Western Command was instrumental in effectively blunting the Pakistani aggression in 1947, 1965 and 1971, and subsequently carrying the battle into enemy territory. Its troops, formations and units have always distinguished themselves, winning a large number of gallantry awards, including 11 Param Vir
Chakras.
|
|||||
|
Armed Forces Tribunal to be armed with contempt powers
Chandigarh, September 15 At present, the tribunal does not have the powers of civil contempt, under which it can initiate action like the High Court against erring parties if its directives are not implemented. This was perceived as a serious handicap in its functioning. Tribunal’s chairman Justice AK Mathur had, during a visit to Chandigarh some time ago, termed the tribunal as a “toothless” body as a large number of its orders were not being implemented by the defence establishments. Similar views were also expressed recently by Justice Ghanshyam Prashad, a senior judicial member of the Chandigarh Bench. Sources revealed that the proposal to empower the tribunal with contempt powers has already been approved by the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Ministry of Law has given its opinion and recommendations on it. The file is now reportedly back with the Ministry of Defence and would be sent to the Cabinet after being cleared by the Defence Minister. While the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 conferred powers of criminal contempt, where action can be initiated against anyone for misconduct, obstructing the functioning of the tribunal or showing disrespect to the bench, the provisions relating to civil contempt are ambiguous. Earlier this year, a judgment of the Kerala High Court, while interpreting the provisions of the Act, brought out that the tribunal has full powers to initiate contempt proceedings if its orders are not implemented. Sources said there is also a proposal to increase the upper age limit for the tribunal’s judicial members. The tribunal’s bench comprises a judicial member, who should have been a judge of the High Court, and an administrative member, who should have served in the rank of Major General and equivalent for at least three years.
|
|||||
|
Fake Documents Case
Nainital, September 15 A hearing in the case was held this morning in the court of Justice Tarun Aggarwala that put October 12 to be the date of final hearing. The stay on the arrest of Balkrishna continues till then. The counsel of the CBI had contended that the stay be vacated as the accused was not cooperating in the investigations, a charge that was denied by the counsel defending Balkrishna. The passport of Balkrishna was submitted in the high court on August 5 and another hearing in the matter had taken place on August 29. Observers have been raising eyebrows following reports of Balkrishna celebrating his birthday on August 4, whereas the papers show that his date of birth is July 25, 1972. The high court had granted Balkrishna immunity from arrest on July 29 and had asked him to present himself before the CBI and help in the investigations. A petition by Balkrishna, charged by the CBI of having furnished fake certificates to get a passport, was taken up by the court of Justice Tarun Aggarwala in the last week of July. The court while prohibiting the CBI from arresting him, had asked the CBI to file a counter-affidavit in the case within three weeks.
|
|||||
|
1.4 lakh bogus school students in Maharashtra
Mumbai, September 15 "We are in a process of weeding out the bogus students and strict action would be taken against the heads of institutions found guilty," Education Minister Rajendra Darda said today. The details of the survey conducted in Nanded district were put before the cabinet yesterday. It was found that 20 per cent of the 7 lakh students in the government schools in Nanded were bogus.
|
|||||
|
Manipur govt to take possession of licensed guns
Imphal, September 15 The state Cabinet has taken serious note of the SHDDC’s call to take to arms and decided to take stern action to rein in the SHDDC leaders. Government spokesman and Cabinet minister N Biren Singh said the administration in the Kangpokpi area in the Sadar Hills had been instructed to notify people to deposit all licensed guns at the Kangpokpi police station. The state police has been asked to file FIRs in local police stations against the leaders of the SHDDC who have been blocking highways for over 40 days now. The SHDDC has already rejected the state government’s proposal to constitute a committee on re-organisation of the administrative and police district boundary in view of the Sadar Hills agitation. However, the government maintains that it is purely for administrative convenience. The government has instructed the committee to include in its reports places or settlements, which are oddly placed with respect to their district headquarters. “The committee on boundary is not meant only for the Sadar Hills,” the spokesman said. With the agitators resorting to blockade of national highways, there have been disruptions in supply of essentials and fuels to the landlocked state. This has triggered steeping of prices. The state government has decided to augment security along the national highways connecting the state to facilitate passage of essentials and medicines under heavy security escorts. At the moment, fuel is being rationed in the state due to short supply.
|
|||||
|
More voices join anti-AFSPA protests
Guwahati, September 15 MASS secretary Aditya Lahkar said AFSPA had caused immense misery to the innocent civilian population in Assam and other parts of the North-east, and demanded repeal of the same. The AFSPA empowers security forces operating in the insurgency-hit North-east to detain people without trial and provides immunity from prosecution after killing of people on suspicion of them being militants. The MASS also demanded withdrawal of Assam Disturbed Area Act, which is said to be as ‘draconian’ as the AFSPA 1958.
|
|||||
|
Ban on actress Nikita lifted
Bangalore, September 15 The producers had acted against the 31-year-old actress for her alleged affair with popular action hero Darshan who was recently booked by the police for assaulting his wife Vijayalakshmi. Speaking to mediapersons, president of the association Muniratna Naidu said, “We admit that it was a hasty decision. Actress Nikita has a blemish-less record and has a good character. She is free to go anywhere in Karnataka and act in Kannada films. We have decided against resorting to imposing bans on actors hereafter.” The association’s retraction came after several prominent personalities in the Kannada film industry, including Parvathamma, widow of legendary Kannada actor Rajkumar, and her actor-son Shivarajkumar, opposed the ban. Nikita had denied any responsibility for the marital discord in Darshan’s family after his wife allegedly linked her husband with Nikita. Darshan was arrested on September 9 for allegedly assaulting and threatening his wife who had lodged a complaint against him with the police.
|
|||||
|
Yeddyurappa gets anticipatory bail
Bangalore, September 15 Allowing the bail plea of Yeddyurappa, Justice BS Billappa ordered him to furnish a personal bond for Rs 1 lakh, appear before the jurisdictional court within 10 days and cooperate with the investigation. The court also ordered him not to leave the country without its prior permission and not to tamper with the prosecution evidence. The lokayukta court last month had issued summons to Yeddyurappa on a private complaint filed by JD(S) leader YSV Datta alleging irregularities and kickbacks in awarding the contract to RNS Jyothi Infrastructure for an irrigation project in Upper Bhadra during his tenure as Chief Minister. Dutta had alleged that the project was awarded to the highest bidder at Rs 1,033 crore, contrary to the norm of awarding it to the lowest bidder.
|
|||||
Cong alleges scams in Chhattisgarh
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Stating that two terror attacks in the space of two months were a blot on the government, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today warned against home-grown terror modules that have the capacity to ‘attract radicalised youth’ to their fold and also make bombs.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who had undergone a surgery in the US last month, was her usual self today, chairing a party meeting that discussed names of 98 candidates and finalised 70 for Assembly elections in Uttar
Pradesh.
India may boast of being the largest functional democracy in the world but it has a long way to go so far as women’s representation in the Parliament goes. Even Nepal and Pakistan and war-torn Iraq are far better placed than India on the indicator, as revealed by the latest data compiled by Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a group of 154 national parliaments across the world.
After remaining in judicial custody for nine days, Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh was today granted interim bail till September 19 by a city court on medical grounds. His petition for regular bail would be taken up on that day.
A solemn wreath-laying ceremony marked the Western Command’s 64th Raising Day at its headquarters in Chandimandir today.
