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Nightmare on Pune street: Bus mows down 9, injures 27
Padma awards announced; Hazarika, Ronen Sen, Dharmendra in coveted list
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Ashok Chakra for Army braveheart
SC hands over Gujarat ‘encounter’ cases to monitoring authority
SC agrees to hear Amit Shah’s plea
SC: Speaker disqualified 16 MLAs to save Yeddy govt
India Art Fair preview
Anti-Sikh riots
Gadkari calling the shots in BJP
Jagan aide Reddy held in Emaar scam
Rushdie a substandard writer: Katju
War room leak: Navy ex-commanders seek bail
India-Thailand sign defence pact
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Nightmare on Pune street: Bus mows down 9, injures 27
Pune, January 25 It was a nightmare in the Swargate area in the heart of the city, as the bus driven by a Maharashtra State Corporation bus driver came from wrong side of the busy Pune-Solapur Road and went past smashing all types of vehicles in the way and injuring pedestrians, who ran for their lives. The driver, Santosh Mane (30) was arrested after an hour-long chase near Neelayam theatre in the city. Though initial reports said the bus driver was mentally disturbed, police said it was too early to comment. Satpal Singh, ADG (Law and Order), said, "Nine persons are dead and 27 have been injured in the accident". "He was hitting everything that was coming in his way," he said. The Swargate bus terminus officials said they were investigating the incident involving the bus, which was scheduled to leave for Satara. Pune mayor Mohansingh Rajpal, who visited the spot, asked angry citizens to maintain peace. Pune Police Commissioner Meeran Borwankar said Mane was a licensed bus driver on duty and took charge of the Satara-bound transport bus as scheduled "After he embarked on the bus, he just went berserk. He went on ramming vehicles, hitting pedestrians. He was in such a dangerous mood," she said. Meeran said the driver started operating the vehicle belonging to the Satara depot at 8.15 am, around the time when there is a peak movement of school buses in the morning. Borwankar said the driver was not under suspension and finished his regular duties yesterday at 7.30 pm. Eyewitnesses said several people escaped being hit by the bus driven by Mane. Borwankar ruled out a terror angle in the incident and said the driver was being interrogated to understand his mental state that led to the bizarre act. After visiting the spot, Pune Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal also went to various hospitals. He said the driver concerned appeared to be "a mentally-disturbed" person. Meanwhile, Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has appealed to the people to maintain calm in the face of the event that sent shock waves in the city. He also said that the incident was being investigated. Eyewitnesses said that after the driver was caught by the police, which fired ten rounds to stop the speeding bus, he appeared to be "out of his mind". State Transport Corporation sources said that Mane had made a regular trip as per his schedule yesterday. A police official at Swargate bus terminus said Mane went to the driver's cabin and took the bus out, when the regular driver, who was assigned the trip was away from the vehicle.
— PTI Death on wheels
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Padma awards announced; Hazarika, Ronen Sen, Dharmendra in coveted list
New Delhi, January 25 An eclectic mix of doctors, singers, sportspersons, actors, educationists, former civil servants, artists, painters and sculptors forms the list of awardees this year. Pune-based doctor Kantilal H Sancheti, in whose hospital Anna Hazare had undergone treatment recently, has been named for the Padma Vibushan award, the second highest civilian honour. In the same list are late singer-composer Bhupen Hazarika, UP Governor TV Rajeshwar and noted cartoonist late Mario Miranda and Dr Sancheti, an orthopedic, who was examining Hazare when the winter session of Parliament was on in Delhi. Former Indian Ambassador to US Ronen Sen, who played an important role in the 2008 Indo-US nuclear deal, will be get the Padma Bhushan. The honour will also be bestowed upon actors Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi, movie director Mira Nair, sculpture Anish Kapoor, painter Jatin Das, noted cancer specialist Suresh H Advani from Mumbai, cardiologist Devi Prasad Shetty from Karnataka and former Central Vigilance Commissioner N Vittal. Germany-based judge of Indian origin Dr Patibandla Chandrasekhar Rao will also get the Padma Bhushan. B Muthuraman, Managing Director of Tata Steel, is in the same list. The list of Padam Shri awards has bhajan singer Anup Jalota, Malyalam movie director Priyadarshan, Delhi-based social worker Uma Tuli, Supreme Court Bar Council chief Pravin H Parekh, technologist Dr Lokesh Kumar Singhal from Punjab. It also includes two women entrepreneurs, 44- year-old hotelier Priya Paul of Park hotels and Pharma giant director Swati A Piramal. She also heads the Industry chamber ASSOCHAM. Padam Shri has also been conferred upon Punjabi littérateur Surjit Singh Patar. Former Indian hockey captain Zafar Iqbal, archer Limba Ram, Badminton player Syed Mohd Arif, woman cricketer Jhulan Goswami and Skier Ajeet Bajaj are in the same list. Nobody has been named for the highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, this year too. Late Bhimsen Joshi was the last awardee in this category in 2008.
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The roll of honour: 109 to be feted; 19 women among awardees Padma Vibhushan
KG Subramanyan (art-painting and sculpture), West Bengal; Late Mario De Miranda (art-cartoonist), Goa*; Late (Dr) Bhupen Hazarika (art-vocal music), Assam*; Dr Kantilal Hastimal Sancheti (medicine-orthopaedics), Maharashtra, and TV Rajeswar (civil service), Delhi. Padma Bhushan
Shabana Azmi (art-cinema), Maharashtra; Khaled Choudhury (art-theatre), West Bengal; Jatin Das (art-painting), Delhi; Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta (art - instrumental music - sarod), West Bengal; Dharmendra (art-cinema), Maharashtra; Dr Trippunithwra Viswanathan Gopalkrishnan (art-classical vocal and instrumental music), Tamil Nadu; Mira Nair (art-cinema), Delhi; MS Gopalakrishnan (art-instrumental music-violin), Tamil Nadu; Anish Kapoor (art-sculpture) UK* ;Satya Narayan Goenka (social work), Maharashtra; Dr (Judge) Patibandla Chandrasekhar Rao (public affairs), Germany*; George Yong-Boon Yeo (public affairs), Singapore*; Prof Shashikumar Chitre (science and engineering), Maharashtra; Dr M S Raghunathan (science and engineering), Maharashtra; Subbiah Murugappa Vellayan (trade and industry), Tamil Nadu; Balasubramanian Muthuraman (trade and industry), Maharashtra; Dr Suresh H Advani (medicine -oncology), Maharashtra; Dr Noshir H Wadia (medicine-neurology), Maharashtra; Dr Devi Prasad Shetty (medicine-cardiology) Karnataka; Prof (Dr) Shantaram Balwant Mujumdar (literature and education), Maharashtra; Prof Vidya Dehejia (literature and education), USA*; Prof Arvind Panagariya (literature and education), USA*; Dr Jose Pereira (literature and education), USA*; Dr Homi K Bhabha (literature and education), UK*; N Vittal (civil service), Kerala ; Mata Prasad (civil service), Uttar Pradesh; Ronen Sen (civil service), West Bengal
Padma Shri
Vanraj Bhatia (art-music), Maharashtra; Zia Fariduddin Dagar (art-music-vocal), Maharashtra; Nameirakpam Ibemni Devi (art-music-khongjom parba), Manipur; R Nagarathnamma (art-theatre), Karnataka; Natesan Muthuswamy (art-theatre), Tamil Nadu; Minati Mishra (art-Indian classical dance-Odissi), Orissa; Joy Michael (art-theatre), Delhi; Sakar Khan Manganiar (art-Rajasthani folk music), Rajasthan; Mohan Lal Kumhar (art-terracotta), Rajasthan; Shahid Parvez Khan (art-instrumental music-sitar), Maharashtra; Moti Lal Kemmu (art-playwright), Jammu and Kashmir; Ramachandra Subraya Hegde Chittani (art-yakshagana dance drama), Karnataka; Kalamandalm Sivan Nambootiri (art-Indian classical dance-kutiyattam), Kerala; Yamunabai Waikar (art-Indian folk music-lavani), Maharashtra; Satish Alekar (art-playwright), Maharashtra; Pandit Gopal Prasad Dubey (art-chhau dance and choreography), Jharkhand; Ramakant Gundecha #, (art-Indian classical music-vocal) , Madhya Pradesh; Umakant Gundecha #, (art-Indian classical music-vocal), Madhya Pradesh; Anup Jalota(artIndian classical music-vocal), Maharashtra; Soman Nair Priyadarsan (art-cinema-direction), Kerala; Sunil Janah (art-photography), Assam; Laila Tyebji (art-handicrafts), Delhi; Vijay Sharma (art-painting), Himachal Pradesh; Shamshad Begum (social work), Chattisgarh; Reeta Devi (social work), Delhi; PK Gopal (social work), Tamil Nadu; Phoolbasan Bai Yadav (social work), Chattisgarh; G Muniratnam (social work), Andhra Pradesh; Niranjan Pranshankar Pandya (social work), Maharashtra; Uma Tuli (social work), Delhi; Sat Paul Varma (social work), Jammu and Kashmir; Binny Yanga (social work), Arunachal Pradesh; Yezdi Hirji Malegam (public affairs), Maharashtra; Pravin H Parekh (pubic affairs), Delhi; V Adimurthy (science and engineering), Kerala; Krishna Lal Chadha (science and engineering-agriculture), Delhi; Virander Singh Chauhan (science and engineering), Delhi; Rameshwar Nath Koul Bamezai (science and engineering), Jammu and Kashmir; Vijaypal Singh (science and engineering-agricultural research), Uttar Pradesh; Lokesh Kumar Singhal (science and engineering), Punjab; Yagnaswami Sundara Rajan (science and engineering), Karnataka; Jagadish Shukla (science and engineering), USA*; Priya Paul (trade and industry), Delhi; Shoji Shiba (trade and industry), Japan*; Gopinath Pillai (trade and industry), Singapore*; Arun Hastimal Firodia (trade and industry), Maharashtra; Swati A Piramal (trade and industry), Maharashtra; Mahdi Hasan (medicine-anatomy), Uttar Pradesh; Viswanathan Mohan (medicine - diabetology), Tamil Nadu; J Hareendran Nair (medicine-ayurveda), Kerala; Vallalarpuram Sennimalai Natarajan (medicine-geriatrics), Tamil Nadu; Jitendra Kumar Singh (medicine-oncology), Bihar; Shrinivas S Vaishya (medicine-healthcare), Daman and Diu; Nitya Anand (medicine-drugs research), Uttar Pradesh; Late Jugal Kishore (medicine-homoeopathy), Delhi *; Mukesh Batra (medicine-homeopathy), Maharashtra; Eberhard Fischer (literature and education), Switzerland*; Kedar Gurung (literature and education), Sikkim; Surjit Singh Patar (literature and education-poetry), Punjab; Vijay Dutt Shridhar (literature and education-journalism), Madhya Pradesh; Irwin Allan Sealy (literature and education), Uttarakhand; Geeta Dharmarajan (literature and education), Delhi; Sachchidanand Sahai (literature and education), Haryana; Pepita Seth (literature and education), Kerala; Ralte L Thanmawia (literature and education), Mizoram; Ajeet Bajaj (sports-skiing), Delhi; Jhulan Goswami (sports-women’s cricket), West Bengal; Zafar Iqbal (sports-hockey), Uttar Pradesh; Devendra Jhajrija (sports-athletics-paralympics), Rajasthan; Limba Ram (sports-archery), Rajasthan; Syed Mohammed Arif (sports-badminton), Andhra Pradesh; Ravi Chaturvedi (sports-commentary),Delhi; Prabhakar Vaidya (sports-physical education), Maharashtra; T Venkatapathi Reddiar (others-horticulture), Puducherry; K (Kota) Ullas Karanth (others-wildlife conservation and environment protection), Karnataka; K Paddayya (others-archaeology), Maharashtra; Swapan Guha (others-ceramics), Rajasthan; Kartikeya V Sarabhai (others-environmental education), Gujarat. * Indicates awardees in the category of Foreigners / NRIs/ PIOs/ Posthumous. # Indicates duo case.
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Ashok Chakra for Army braveheart
New Delhi/Srinagar, January 25 The father of Lt Navdeep Singh, a third generation soldier, Honorary Captain (retd) Joginder Singh will receive the award from President Pratibha Patil before the start of the main Republic Day parade at Delhi tomorrow. Navdeep, who gunned down the terrorists single-handedly after he led from the front, was with "Veer Marathas" on the Line of Control (LoC) in Gurez Sector. Kirti Chaktra, the second highest peacetime gallantry award, has been conferred on three Army officers including for Lt Sushil Khajuria from Grenadiers regiment posthumously. The other two awardees were Lt Col Kamaldeep Singh of 18 Rashtriya Rifles battalion and Capt Ashutosh Kumar from Rajputana Rifles. All the three officers were involved in anti-militancy operations in J and K. Nine other armymen have been given the Shaurya Chakra. The Kirti Chakras and Shaurya Chakras will also be given away by President Patil. Lt Navdeep, an alumnus of the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai, was deployed with his crack team to foil infiltration attempts by hardcore terrorists from across the LoC. — PTI
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SC hands over Gujarat ‘encounter’ cases to monitoring authority
New Delhi, January 25 A Bench comprising Justices Aftab Alam and CK Prasad gave a free hand to Justice Shah to have the cases probed by special teams comprising officials either from the Special Task Force (STF) of the state government or outside Gujarat in view of the “sensitivity” and the involvement of serving police personnel in such incidents. The Bench passed the order on two PILs, one by noted journalist BG Verghese and another by lyricist Javed Akhtar, demanding investigations by the CBI or any other independent agency into 22 such incidents. The apex court, however, clarified that the monitoring authority would not have to investigate the cases such as the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh or Israt Jehan in which the SC or the Gujarat High Court had already passed orders for fresh investigation. Also, the authority would decide the cases that would require a probe. The Bench ruled that copies of the two PILs listing the encounter incidents should be forward to Justice Shah. The monitoring authority, set up by the state government, was free to hear the views of the petitioners and the victims’ kin or other aggrieved persons, it clarified. The SC asked the authority to send its report in three months. According to details provided in the PILs, most of those killed in these alleged fake encounters had been booked for various crimes, including murder, burglary, dacoity, kidnap and smuggling. One of them was a Pakistani national. During the arguments, the Gujarat government questioned the rights of the petitioners for raising such issues through PILs. However, the Bench was not convinced.
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SC agrees to hear Amit Shah’s plea
New Delhi, January 25 Shah has approached the SC pleading for removal of the restriction as the largest Assembly constituency which elected him for the fourth time in a row could not be “deprived of its representative” for such a long time. A Bench comprising Justices Aftab Alam and CK Prasad said it would hear Shah’s plea along with CBI’s petition seeking cancellation of his bail.
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SC: Speaker disqualified 16 MLAs to save Yeddy govt New Delhi, January 25 A Bench comprising Justices Altamas Kabir and Cyriac Joseph pointed out that the Speaker had spared two other rebel BJP legislators from disqualification as they agreed to vote for the confidence vote sought by Chief Minister Yeddyurappa that day. The Speaker had heard the views of the MLAs till 5 pm on October 10 and passed the disqualification order within hours, citing various judgments of Indian and foreign courts, the court noted. As a result, the disqualified members could not participate in the trust vote and Yeddyurappa was able to prove his majority in the House. “Unless, it was to ensure that the trust vote did not go against the CM, there was hardly any reason for the Speaker to have taken up the disqualification applications in such a great haste,” the court noted.
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India Art Fair preview
New Delhi, January 25 The one that catches the eyes among his works on display is ‘White lies” made out of machine diamonds priced at a staggering 5,25,000 Pound Sterling. The signature works of the power couple of Indian Art, Subodh Gupta and Bharti Kher, do not come cheap either. Priced upwards of 125,000 Euros and going up to 375,000 Euros, their works occupy a pride of place at the prestigious gallery Hauser and Wirth, UK/ Switzerland. Increased international participation is evident this time. The summit has been attracting record footfalls even in the past and this time, the footfalls are expected to be higher. 20 countries are represented in the fair, including first timers like a gallery from Spain and the Lisson Gallery, UK. Hoping to evoke better response among Indian viewers and buyers for international artists, Sundaram and Tagore Gallery has works by all foreign artists. Not that any known Indian names are missing. The faces of contemporary art Sudarshan Shetty and Paresh Maity’s works are represented by more than one gallery. The alumnus of the Government College of Art, Chandigarh, Vibha Galhotra’s ‘Beehive’, made out of ghungroos expressing environmental concern, also attracts attention. So does Reema Saini Kalkat’s creation with a long winding title that talks of the artificial divide between India and Pakistan. Pakistan’s well known artist Rashid Rana’s works depict multiple realities and paradoxes. Rana has exhibited his works in India earlier. While unconventional mediums rule, there is a work by 30-year-old Shine Sivan, who has used deer feces to dwell on male masculinity ! The masters are not missing either, Picasso and Chaggal among others. In the Indian galaxy, from Raza to Hussain to Gulam Mohammad Sheikh to Bikas Bhattacharjee to Laxmi Gaud, all figure prominently in Delhi Art Gallery’s exhibits. Would Hussain’s works incite trouble like last time ? Kishore Singh, Head, Exhibitions, Delhi Art Gallery doubts it. But yes, post-Hussain, he did expect a larger representation of his works at other galleries if for nothing else but certainly as a homage. But then an art fair is not just about art. As a sceptic pointed out “It’s a busy show, not a patch on the one I saw in Singapore. It’s less about art and more about commerce.” But call it a visual treat or overload, the energy is infectious. Not surprisingly, even at the ‘VIP Preview’, open to only a select few, a traffic snarl formed outside the gate. The change in the venue-last year the location was at the more central Pragati Maidan---hardly seemed to have dampened the spirit of art enthusiasts. In fact, many like the internationally acclaimed artist Sudarshan Shetty think the 12,000 square metre, custom-built space designed by Indian set designer Sumant Jayakrishnan is “great and on par with international venues”.
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Anti-Sikh riots
New Delhi, January 25 “In October-November 1984, I lived in Delhi and drove a taxi for a living. On November 1, I was on my way home when while passing by Gurdwara Phulbangsh, I saw smoke coming out of the building and outside a mob led by Congress leader Jagdish Tytler was chanting slogans, “Khoon ka Badla Khoon”. When I got closer, I saw and heard Tytler instigating and screaming at the mob and pointing towards the gurdwara, ordering them to go and get the Sikhs from hiding,” eyewitness Resham Singh from California said in his sworn statement today before the court of Karkardooma Additional Sessions Judge K.S. Pal. Singh sought the court to direct the CBI to record his statement in the matter even as the CBI opposed the application and said they would not file a reply to the same and would go in for arguments straightaway. The Court has fixed February 16 for final arguments on whether the statement of Resham Singh should be recorded by the CBI. The affidavit challenges the CBI’s stand in the sensitive matter wherein the agency had earlier filed closure report against Tytler saying no eyewitnesses were available against him. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate hearing the matter had accepted the CBI’s closure report, prompting petitioner in the case Lakhwinder Kaur to file revision petition before the Additional Sessions Judge. Resham Singh’s affidavit states that in December 2008 when the CBI team came to the US to record statements of witnesses in the case against Tytler, he repeatedly approached the agency, requesting them for his statement to be recorded but to no avail. At that time the CBI recorded only one eyewitness statement - that of one Surinder Singh - who has since died during pendency of the case. “With my written statement and affirmation, my US based attorney Gurpatwant Pannun contacted the CBI team visiting the US for recording my testimony. The CBI team assured my attorney that they will record by statement on December 25 and 26 and even though I made myself available, the agency failed to record my testimony,” Resham Singh said in his affidavit.
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Gadkari calling the shots in BJP
New Delhi, January 25 This in effect dashed the hopes of the party’s obvious prime ministerial candidate octogenarian L.K. Advani and all other aspirants, who considered themselves in the run. A few days earlier, he sprang a similar surprise on the UP leaders by announcing former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti as one of the probable candidates for UP chief ministership, provoking a loud protest from none other than Kalraj Mishra, who felt that he alone was the likely chief minister in the event of the party winning the UP Assembly poll. His statement about Modi, too, was not taken kindly. BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad qualified it next day saying, “Having led Gujarat efficiently, Modi is competent to head any post in the party or the government. But as the president has said no one has any proprietary rights in the party and a decision is to be taken by the party.” Gadkari is not on the best of terms with Modi. The only plausible explanation is to create a fear psychosis among other and prime ministerial aspirant in the BJP. Similarly, by backing Uma he has created a sense of insecurity among veteran UP BJP leaders, Mishra, Rajnath Singh, Vinay Katiyar and Surya Pratap Shahi. Uma is a bit of a loner. It was evident in Madhya Pradesh where she was popular among the masses but had several enemies in her own party. The UP leaders were wondering, therefore, if MP will be repeated now in UP as well. Gadkari’s pre-eminence is reflected in the BJP’s campaign plans for the five states set to go to the polls. While Gadkari will be campaigning for 20 days in the poll-bound states, Advani is campaigning only for seven. Of this, he completed his two-day campaign in Uttarakhand today. He will spend another two days in Punjab and the rest three in UP. Arun Jaitley is one of the few national leaders who has been given some importance. He has 17 campaign days at his disposal. He is slated to spend the maximum time in Punjab, where he is campaigning currently. In Uttarakhand, BJP’s star campaigner is party general secretary Vijay Goel. Manipur election was left to party spokesman Prakash Javadekar. The star campaigner for the BJP was Najma Heptullah. Apart from her, the others who campaigned in Manipur were Kiran Maheshwari, Smriti Irani and Hema Malini.
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Jagan aide Reddy held in Emaar scam
Hyderabad, January 25 Amid high drama, CBI sleuths produced Sunil, seen as the Man-Friday of the Kadapa MP, before a special CBI court here today, which remanded him to judicial custody till February 1. Soon after, the 32 year old businessman was shifted to the Chanchalguda Central Prison. Sunil was arrested in connection with a multi-crore scam involving illegal sale of plots and villas in a luxury township project on the city outskirts and causing huge financial loss to the government. The CBI had registered a case last August against Dubai-based real estate company Emaar Properties and its Indian associates for cheating Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) in the township project. The APPIC, which allotted 535 prime land for the project at Gachibowli in Hyderabad, had an equity of 26 percent equity in Emaar Hills Township Project (EHTP), floated to execute the joint venture. However, Emaar and its Indian associates allegedly diluted the equity of APIIC to 6%, causing huge losses to the state agency. The irregularities had occurred when Jagan’s father late YS Rajasekhar Reddy was the Chief Minister between 2004 and 2009. There are allegations that Jagan was one of the beneficiaries of the scam. The CBI told the court that Sunil had acted as a “conduit” and received the money collected from buyers of the villas of Emaar-APIIC township. Another businessman, Koneru Prasad of Stylish Homes, the marketing arm of EHTP, is already in judicial custody. The arrest was made based on a director of Stylish Homes, T Ranga Rao, who has since turned an approver in the case.
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Rushdie a substandard writer: Katju
New Delhi, January 25 Katju, who is now the Chairman of Press Council of India, criticised the admirers of India-born author based in Britain, saying they suffered from "colonial inferiority complex" that a writer living abroad has to be great. "Salman Rushdie dominated the Jaipur Literature Festival. I do not wish to get into the controversy whether banning him was correct or not. I am raising a much more fundamental issue," he said in a statement here. "I have read some of Rushdie's works and am of the opinion that he is a poor writer, and but for 'Satanic Verses' would have remained largely unknown. Even 'Midnight's Children' is hardly great literature," Katju contended.
— PTI
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War room leak: Navy ex-commanders seek bail
New Delhi, January 25 "Accused Vijender Rana (sacked Naval Commander) is in jail since his arrest on April 5, 2006. The charges against him and other five accused are yet to be framed by the lower court," counsel for Rana told Justice Suresh Kait. The bail applications of Rana and Kulbushan Parashar, former Navy Commanders, are pending before the high court for the last two years, their lawyers said while seeking urgent hearing of their pleas. Besides Rana and Parashar, other accused in the case are sacked Naval Commander V K Jha, former IAF Wing Commander S L Surve, businessman Abhishek Verma and former Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash's relative Ravi Shankaran who has been declared a proclaimed offender.
— PTI
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India-Thailand sign defence pact New Delhi, January 25 The other accords were: treaty on transfer of sentenced prisoners; second protocol to amend the framework agreement for establishing a free trade area between the two countries; programme of cooperation in science and technology; cultural exchange programme for 2012-2014 and an MoU between Chulalongkorn University and ICCR for setting up a chair at the India Studies Centre of the university. The accords were inked after wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who will be the chief guest at the Republic Day Parade tomorrow. Official sources said the two leaders discussed various bilateral issues as well as international developments. A joint statement later said the two leaders unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that there could be no justification for the menace. Both sides expressed desire to further enhance their valued partnership and cooperation in the context of India-ASEAN relations.
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