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CBSE’s new mantra: Parents are friends, let's use them
Girish Karnad slams K’taka Govt’s move to introduce Gita in schools smacks of politics:
Rajesh Talwar to remain on bail: SC
SC grants interim bail to Sukh Ram
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No homeless persons in Himachal, SC told
Andhra hooch tragedy:12 held
Counting of votes now on March 6
Differences with allies our internal matter: Cong
Leone’s past should not be held against her: Katju
TMC again dares Congress to quit
Kushwaha's induction into BJP ‘under
a deal’
5 arrested for PG medical entrance leak
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CBSE’s new mantra: Parents are friends, let's use them
New Delhi, January 9 In a special message to principals of over 12,000 CBSE schools, the board has sent out an unambiguous message: "Stop viewing parents' involvement in school affairs as an infringement on school's rights. Parents are precious resources, use them." Principals have been asked to send notices to students and invite interested parents in becoming participants in the development of children and schools. CBSE Chairman Vineet Joshi told the Tribune today: "Parents are welcome to contribute to anything happening in the schools. They can be part of the process of continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) and can help teachers in developing assessment models. A doctor parent can give his input on how to make the assessment of biology interesting. A weaver parent can volunteer to take classes of his craft in one of our extracurricular clubs. A dancer parent can offer instruction for an hour a week or more. That is what we mean." Asked if such a system would not lead to a bias in the minds of school administrators in favour of students whose parents are more proactive in volunteering for school activities, Joshi said the CBSE had evolved mechanisms that would enable the involvement of all kinds of parents, never mind their economic and social status. The CBSE schools, he said, would not even mind suggestions from a social scientist parent in how to strengthen the CCE model. "Earlier, when we conducted the board exams, there was no chance of an interface with parents. Teachers and parents had an adversarial role. The new CCE era seeks to change all of that. We want parents as friends," the CBSE chief said. In this move, the board was inspired by suggestions of parents who felt they could contribute a great deal in making the evaluation systems better. "We held various workshops and parents were keen to come on board. We have now asked principals to offer them a platform." In their New Year message to school principals, where the board has highlighted its priorities for the current year, the Chairman has further asked teachers to stop viewing themselves as instructors and heads of classes. "Teachers must see themselves as facilitators. That way they will not feel overburdened about having to do everything about the CCE. They can involve parents as well as students," Joshi said.
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Girish Karnad slams K’taka Govt’s move to introduce Gita in schools smacks of politics:
Bangalore, January 9 “Only Brahmin teachers will be hired to teach the Gita in schools. The Education Minister of Karnataka is a Brahmin and he is trying to find a way to give jobs to Brahmins,” Karnad told TNS today at his Bangalore home, adding that the proposed step was “ridiculous”. “How will they teach the Gita - in Sanskrit or in Kannada? If it is taught in Kannada, how will the government get an authoritative translation of the Gita? What is the point in teaching such a complicated text in schools?” the thespian, a Rhodes scholar and a stalwart of the art house variety of Indian cinema, said. “Previously too, attempts were made to introduce the Gita in schools. But there was a lot of opposition. Let’s see how long the present initiative lasts. Indeed, it is not even clear how long the BJP government in the state is going to last,” Karnad, a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, said. Karnataka Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda yesterday announced that the government was considering introducing the Bhagavad Gita in primary and secondary schools after seeking public opinion. Gowda told reporters on the sidelines of Bhagavad Gita Abhiyan organised by various religious maths here that before introducing the Gita in schools, the government will have a thorough discussion with a cross-section of the society to avoid any controversy in this regard. The Chief Minister said the Bhagavad Gita did not belong to a particular religion or a sect as its teachings were universal. In July last year, primary and secondary education minister Visveshwara Hegde Kageri announced that the Gita would be taught in schools. The minister’s remarks drew sharp criticism. Kageri remained unfazed by the opposition and remarked that those opposing the government initiative should leave the country and maintained that nobody could find anything wrong with the teachings of the Gita. The opposition Congress and Janata Dal (S) had objected to his remarks and dubbed the move as an attempt by the RSS lobby in BJP to saffronise education. In August, a petition challenging the state government's circular on propagating teachings of the Gita in schools was filed in the Karnataka High Court. But the court disposed of the petition after the government said the Bhagavad Gita programme was neither sponsored nor funded by it. UR Ananthamurthy, Jnanpith Award-winning Kannada author and recipient of the Padma Bhushan, also felt introduction of the Gita in schools was a political decision and not meant for benefiting students. “The Gita is a philosophical text which should not be made compulsory reading for school students,” Ananthamurthy told TNS today. “It is not a religious or devotional text like the Koran or Bible. Gita neither advocates nor discourages war. It is very difficult to teach such a text in school. By treating the Gita as a devotional text, the Sangh Parivar is doing dishonour to Hinduism,” Ananthamurthy added.
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Aarushi Murder
A Bench comprising Justice AK Ganguly and JS Khehar, however, directed Talwar to appear in the trial court on February 4 and not to leave the city without informing the local police station. The Bench also granted liberty to the CBI as well as Talwar to move the trial court in Ghaziabad for any reason. On January 6, the Bench had directed Talwar and his wife, Nupur, to stand trial in the case after dismissing their plea against the summons issued to them by the Ghaziabad court. The trial court has decided to conduct the trial against them, rejecting the closure report filed by the CBI for want of evidence against the dentist couple. Aarushi was found dead with her throat slit at the family’s Noida residence. The body of domestic help, Hemraj, was found lying on the terrace the following day.
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Telecom Scam
A Bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and J Chelameswar passed the bail order after senior counsel Gopal Subramanium contended that the fact that Sukh Ram was 86 years’ old should be taken into account while considering his bail plea. Subramanium, assisted by Anil Nag, also argued that the veteran politician from Himachal Pradesh had only over-ruled the recommendations of his officials on the quality disparity in the two sets of multi-access rural radio (MARR) systems in 1993-94 which were meant for providing telephone connection to every Panchayat in the country. Mere rejection of the official proposal by pointing out that his predecessor had allowed price parity in respect of the two sets of MARR systems could not be construed as a corrupt act, they contended. The Bench clarified that the trial court was free to lay down the bail conditions for releasing Sukh Ram who was admitted to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hopspital by the jail authorities on Saturday night itself as he had undergone angiography only two days earlier. On January 6, the SC had refused to entertain his bail plea unless he surrendered in the trial court as Directed by the Delhi High Court which had upheld his conviction and sentence. The Bench also granted interim bail to former bureaucrat Runu Ghosh and a telecom company chief, Rama Rao, who were also convicted in the case. The Bench issued notice to the CBI on regular the bail pleas of the three and slated the next hearing for January 16. All the three have challenged their conviction. Senior counsel Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi, who argued for the other two accused, pointed out the Delhi High Court had acquitted Sukh Ram of the charge of conspiring with their clients.
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NIGHT SHELTERS
New Delhi, January 9 The state, which has been receiving heavy snowfall in all tourist places this season, made the assurance even as the Bench, comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Misra, pulled up various state governments in northern parts of the country for their failure to ensure adequate night shelters in compliance with a two-year-old SC order. HP is the second state to claim the absence of people requiring government protection. At the last hearing, Jammu and Kashmir had made a similar statement, contending that there was no need for setting up any night shelter in the state.
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Andhra hooch tragedy:12 held
Hyderabad, January 9 Investigations showed the deceased as well as those who underwent treatment in various hospitals had consumed liquor (arrack) laced with methanol mixture. They had purchased it from vendors in Poratanagar, Kanimerla, Naguluruland Annara Pet tandas (hamlet) of Mylavaram and Reddygudem mandals, Krishna district Superintendent of Police P V S Ramakrishna said in a release here today. One Azmeera Raghu had prepared 50 litres of mixture using methanol and water and sold it to local vendors on December 29, Ramakrishna said. — PTI
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Counting of votes now on March 6
New Delhi, January 9 A statement issued by the EC tonight said the commission has decided that the counting of votes in all the five states-Manipur, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh-shall now be done on March 6. Meanwhile, the EC also explained why the statues of elephants have been ordered to be covered in UP.
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Differences with allies our internal matter: Cong
New Delhi, January 9 The grand old party has however dismissed the growing differences with its key allies as an "internal matter", which would be "sorted out very soon". "Our relationship with all our allies is perfectly fine. Trinamool is our ally…What is happening between them and us is our internal matter. Very soon, we will be able to sort out differences with both NCP and Trinamool," Congress spokesman Rashid Alvi today said even as Pawar's ultimatum to finalise by Tuesday the seat-sharing for upcoming Mumbai civic polls loomed large and an open war of words played out between Congress and Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. As far as Mumbai civil polls are concerned, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is holding talks with central leaders AK Antony, Ahmed Patel and Mohan Prakash. He is also expected to seek the advice of Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the contentious issue. Party sources say despite Pawar's ultimatum over seat-sharing issue, the Congress leadership may not relent to his demand for 65 seats in the Mumbai civic polls. They believe that an alliance with NCP will be difficult if it continues to stick to high demands. "Talks are on. The high command is closely observing the situation. Seat adjustment is possible only if NCP settles for reasonable number of seats to fight with the Shiv Sena-BJP combine for the country's biggest civic body," they add. Congress leaders term Pawar's utterances as mere "political posturings" to get a good deal after its success in recent municipal council elections across the state, while the Trinamool chief, they say, is only playing for the benefit of "the gallery" in the state. They say Mamata's "tantrums" will subside after Assembly polls are over as it is her way of keeping the interest of her cadres alive. Launching a fresh offensive against Congress, Trinamool today held a political rally against Congress, telling it to choose the way it wanted to exit from the ruling alliance in West Bengal. A Congress minister in the state government in turn slammed the Trinamool, exhorted it to maintain restraint and perform 'rajdharma'. Alvi, meanwhile, termed speculations about Mamata going with JD(U) in the UP elections as her free will.
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Leone’s past should not be held against her: Katju
New Delhi, January 9 Leone, when she was in America had not broken any American laws and that Indians were broad minded and liberal people who should take the matter in that spirit, he said. "Sunny Leone was earning her livelihood in USA in a manner acceptable in that country, though it is not acceptable in India. Hence if she conducts herself in India in a manner which is socially acceptable in India and does not breach the social moral code in India, we should not treat her as a social outcast," Katju said in a statement. The Press Council chairperson also said that he had not been shown anything to suggest that she is indulging in pornography while in India. Citing historical and religious figures, he said, "Lord Buddha stayed with the courtesan Amrapali and ate food served by her, and she later became his disciple." "Similarly, Mary Magdalene was a fallen woman (according to the Gospel of Luke as interpreted by Pope Gregory) and Jesus allowed her to wash his feet and she later became his disciple," he noted. There is no saint without a past and no sinner without a future, Katju said. A complaint over the Broadcast Consumers Complaint Council's (BCCC) inaction over the appearance of Leone which had been sent to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni had been marked to Katju as well, sources said. Leone's appearance on the Colors Channels show Big Boss has been a subject of controversy for quite some time. BCCC had recently directed that Leone does not use the show to promote her pornography business. The BCCC, however, had not found anything in the content of the show Bigg Boss - 5 which by itself was violative of self-regulatory guidelines. As many as 38 complaints had been made to the BCCC regarding Leone's appearance. — PTI
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TMC again dares Congress to quit
Kolkata, January 9 The state Congress unit on its part said the party is not in the Mamata Banerjee ministry at "someone's mercy" and that it will leave the alliance when its leadership will ask it to do so. "Some of them (Congress leaders) are saying that the party does not exit from the back door, but the main entrance. “We are telling them all doors are open for them to go," Trinamool Congress Secretary-General Partha Chatterjee told the rally in an apparent dig at the statement by Mamata-baiter Congress MP Deepa Dasmushi. Claiming that the Congress was utilising the image of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for its political survival, Chatterjee, the industry and commerce minister said "If they have the guts let them face elections without Mamata's photo and prove that they can win on their own." The Chief Minister who had on Saturday dared the Congress to quit the alliance in the state did not attend the rally, though the Trinamool top brass including several MPs were present. Alleging that Congress and CPM had ganged up against the chief minister to stall development in agriculture and industry in the state initiated by her, Chatterjee said "Congress must declare clearly whether it will side with the CPI(M) or remain with the Trinamool. We will not tolerate duplicity." Amid the widening rift between the coalition partners, a Congress minister in the state government slammed the TC for launching an attack against his party and asked it to maintain restraint and perform 'rajdharma'. "We have fought as an alliance partner and came to power. We are not there on someone's mercy. The Congress is not a party of Tom, Dick, Harry. It is an all-India party. We will leave ministry as a rejected slipper when our party will ask us to do so," Manoj Chakraborty, minister of state for small industries, said. — PTI
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Kushwaha's induction into BJP ‘under
a deal’
Lucknow, January 9 Former MLC Ramashish Rai, in a letter to former BJP national president L K Advani, has hinted at money changing hands during Kushwaha’s induction into the party. He has not only asked for immediate action against the two leaders who were instrumental in bringing in the former BSP leader and once close aide of CM Mayawati along with some tainted BSP ex-ministers into the BJP. “They should publicly apologise for their action of inducting people indicted by the state Lokayukta” he said. Speaking to this reporter, Rai said that whether the money was taken for party fund or was pocketed by these leaders is a matter of investigation. The letter sent to Advani, who took out a well-publicised rath yatra against corruption, has remained unacknowledged a good five days after it was dispatched. Charging Shahi and Katiyar with hatching a conspiracy against the party in collusion of some national leaders, Rai said that when eminent OBC leaders like Uma Bharti and BJP legislative party chief in the Vidhan Sabha Om Prakash Singh were already in the party where was the justification to bring in a controversial person like Kushwaha embroiled not only in the Rs 8000 crore NHRM scam but also indirectly linked to the murder of three CMOs in the state.
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5 arrested for PG medical entrance leak
New Delhi , January 9 The bluetooth devices connected to earphones and attached to the shirts of the candidates were used to tell correct answers to the candidates. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Railways) Ashok Chand said each candidate had to pay Rs 25 to 30 lakh to the racketeers for it. Seven candidates were reportedly appearing for the All-India Post Graduate Medical Examination conducted by the All-India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) yesterday in conspiracy with the racketeers. The police had received intelligence inputs that a man in possession of the leaked question booklet would arrive at Pragati Maidan to meet an associate. He came in an Alto car, which was intercepted. The police seized the question booklet and arrested the man identified as Mohit Choudhary (23). During his interrogation, he revealed that the paper was leaked by his two associates. They were posing as doctors sitting for the exam at a centre in Sector 28, Noida. A police team was sent to the examination centre, where it nabbed two associates of Mohit posing as candidates. They were Kapil Kumar (27) and Krishan Pratap Singh (27). A candidate appearing for the exam with the help of the racketeers was also nabbed from the same centre. He was Dr Amit Punia (23), who had completed his MBBS from the PGI, Rohtak. The police, thereafter, raided the racketeers' "control room", an accommodation at Greater Noida. A computer programmer, Bhishma Singh (27) was apprehended from there.
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New Delhi, January 9
New Delhi, January 9