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EC’s flip-flop on poll officer who took on Vadra
First phase of polling today |
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Cabinet reshuffle triggers fresh unrest in Andhra
Troubles galore for CM Reddy
Gowda govt’s Lokayukta nominee slams Governor
Dropped out after Class X? Here’s your chance to get a degree, job
SC: Govt can’t fill more than advertised posts
From Feb 18, yatra to boost literacy
West Bengal told to spell out steps to tackle crib deaths
Parties fine-tune campaigns to woo ‘outsiders’
Pak interested in India’s cholera vaccine
Five die, 12 fall ill in Odisha hooch tragedy
Norway minister takes up Uninor case with Sibal
AP woman seeks mercy killing for crippled son
13/7 accused met Osama, Lakhvi in Pak: ATS
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EC’s flip-flop on poll officer who took on Vadra
Lucknow, February 7 Finding her husband hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons, Priyanka Gandhi cut short her five-day visit to the twin constituencies of Amethi and Rae Bareli and left for New Delhi yesterday. She was scheduled to address a rally at Solan today. Poll officer Pawan Kumar Sen had showed the courage to take Sonia’s son-in-law to task for leading a motorcycle rally of around 100 bikers without wearing a helmet. The number of vehicles allowed in a rally under the model code of conduct is only 10. The Solan rally far exceeded the allowed limit. Sen was transferred to Goa soon afterwards but his transfer has been put on hold till the election process is over. The Election Commission has lodged a case of violation of model code of conduct against Congress candidate from Solan Shiv Balak Pasi for taking out a motorcycle rally far exceeding the allowed number of vehicles. However, the commission clarified that the transfer of Sen was a “routine affair”. “This decision has been baselessly linked to certain enforcement action taken by the particular officer in his capacity as an election observer in an incident involving Robert Vadra. The officer acted in accordance with the law and fully in conformity with the instructions of the EC,” an EC release claimed. “The decision to post Sen as the district election officer in South Goa had been in the process for a week, based on the need to replace the present DEO in that district...Sen was found most suitable for the post and his appointment was accordingly ordered by the commission well before the incident in CSM Nagar district took place,” the EC press note stated. However, the Opposition parties are accusing the Gandhi family of attempting to influence a constitutional body like the Election Commission. Samajwadi Party general secretary Mohammad Azam Khan said the transfer of an IAS officer would set a wrong precedent. There was no justification whatsoever in transferring Sen in the middle of the election process, he added. According to BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, the transfer was a matter of investigation. “People would want to know why the poll official was transferred and then the order was put on hold. The Election Commission should give an explanation to the people,” he said. Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer Umesh Sinha confirmed that Sen, after stopping the Vadra-led cavalcade of the Congress candidate Pasi, had recommended the filing of an FIR against him. Earlier yesterday, Vadra had admitted to the media that he was not completely averse to the idea of joining politics, forcing Priyanka to clarify later in the day that he perhaps had been misunderstood and that he was a successful businessman with no plans to change his profession.
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1.7 crore voters to seal fate of 862 candidates
Tribune News Service
Lucknow, February 7 Amid tight security, polling would be held in 10 districts, including Sitapur, Barabanki, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharth Nagar and Basti.
According to Assistant Chief Election Officer M Narain, 6,855 polling stations have been identified as critical. To ensure free and fair elections, more than 2 lakh security personnel have been deployed. Webcasting arrangements have been made for 351 polling booths. Narain said the command of the poll process would be in the hands of central forces which would be assisted by the state police. This phase will seal the fate of senior cabinet minister Lalji Verma, 31 sitting MLAs, 15 former ministers and relatives of several MPs, including Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma.
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Cabinet reshuffle triggers fresh unrest in Andhra
Hyderabad, February 7 Soon after inducting three members into his Cabinet, the Chief Minister reshuffled the portfolios of two senior ministers last night, triggering dissidence. Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr DL Ravindra Reddy, who was stripped of the key subjects like medical education and health insurance scheme, raised a banner of revolt and dared the Chief Minister to remove him from the Cabinet if his performance was not up to the mark. “I do not need any ministerial post if I am unable to discharge my duties properly,” he fumed. Reddy, a staunch critic of the Chief Minister, has been opposing certain policy decisions concerning his department. He has also been making public comments, questioning the Chief Minister’s unilateral style of functioning. The reshuffle exercise has also left Deputy Chief Minister Damodara Raja Narasimha sulking. He has been stripped of the Agriculture portfolio which has now been allotted to another senior Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana. The Deputy CM, a Dalit leader hailing from Telangana region, retains Higher Education department. Raja Narasimha had recently set off ripples in the ruling party circles when he made scathing remarks against the Chief Minister, dubbing him as “dictatorial and autocratic.” The choice of the new ministers, who took oath last evening, clearly bears the stamp of the Chief Minister. Nearly 15 months after taking over the reins of the state, Reddy has succeeded in getting the party high command’s approval for his choice of candidates in a first indication that he has started calling the shots in determining the contours of the government. Within a couple of hours of the swearing-in of the new ministers, two from Telangana region and another from coastal Andhra region, the Chief Minister clipped the wings of the Deputy Chief Minister and the Health Minister. Dr Ravindra Reddy, who hails from Kadapa district known for its aggressive brand of politics, lost no time in hitting out at the Chief Minister and accused him of adopting vindictive attitude towards his critics. “I know he has clipped my wings because I openly questioned some of his policies,” the rebel minister said. However, the Chief Minister’s Office issued a brief statement, refuting the reports attributing political motives to the Cabinet expansion. “The Chief Minister has undertaken a minor reshuffle of portfolios purely on administrative grounds, keeping in view the public interest. The reports attributing political overtones to the exercise are absolutely baseless,” the statement said. Meanwhile, a sulking ministerial aspirant from Srikakulam district B Satyavati indicated that she might quit the Assembly to protest against denial of Cabinet berth to her.
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Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy inducted three members into his Cabinet on Monday. He also reshuffled the portfolios of two senior ministers, triggering dissidence
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Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr DL Ravindra Reddy, who was stripped of the key folios like medical education and health insurance scheme, raised a banner of revolt and dared the Chief Minister to remove him from the Cabinet if his performance was not up to the mark l
The reshuffle exercise has also left Deputy
Chief Minister Damodara Raja Narasimha sulking. He has been stripped of the Agriculture portfolio which has now been allotted to another senior
Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana
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Gowda govt’s Lokayukta nominee slams Governor
Bangalore, February 7 Launching a tirade against Bhardwaj a day after he 'formally' rejected his appointment, Bannurmath questioned the motive behind the action of Governor. He said Bhardwaj citing reasons other than alleged land scam linking him can be seen as "a ploy to give way for other political consideration". Maintaining that the continued attack in the press on his integrity and character were totally based on "false, baseless, legally untenable and hurtful allegations", he told reporters here that he had requested Chief Minister DV Sadananada Gowda not to consider him for the post. "I have lost mental peace and my health is affected on account of false and baseless allegations affecting my image and reputation in the eyes of the public. I am not in a position to bear this torture and humiliation any more," he said reading out from his letter to Gowda. Bhardwaj, who had insisted on 'spotless' candidate for the Lokayukta post, had expressed reservations over Bannurmath's choice citing a land allotment controversy involving him. The post of Lokayukta has remained vacant since September 19 after former Supreme Court Judge Shivaraj Patil, who succeeded Santosh Hegde, quit in the wake of allegations of getting land allotment in violation of rules. —
PTI
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Dropped out after Class X? Here’s your chance to get a degree, job
New Delhi, February 7 Training you would be players like Microsoft, Nokia and Aptech, the first among industry associates who have agreed to become skill knowledge providers for the Central scheme of vocational education which HRD Minister Kapil Sibal today announced for launch from academic session 2012. Called the National Vocational Educational Qualification Framework, the programme will be implemented through 3,700 polytechnics and 9,000 technical institutes approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). It will offer diplomas/ degrees with specialisations in IT, media, entertainment, telecommunications, mobile communications, automobile, construction, retail, food processing, tourism, hotels, jewellery design and fashion design. The AICTE has prepared the curriculum for these courses in association with the industry, which will offer vocational training component of the said course. Uniqueness of the scheme is - vocational training will not be given in institutes but in industry setting. “Vocational training will be offered by skill knowledge providers, which are industry associates. They will assess students and certify their skills for the level in question. In the institute, only general education component of the course will be taught. Once a student completes the required credits, he gets a diploma or a degree in vocation. For IT course, Microsoft and Aptech have agreed to become our skill providers; for automobiles, we are talking to Maruti Service Centres and for Entertainment we are talking to acting schools,” said SS Mantha, chairman, AICTE. Institutes can apply for the programme from February 15 on the AICTE online system. Each institute will be allowed to enroll 500 students a year in five sectors (100 per sector). They will sign a MoU with the skill provider. Together the two will determine a reasonable fee which is not prohibitive. The programme envisages 7-level certificate training - each with 1,000 hours of vocational and general teaching (vocational component increases as Levels rise). Level 1 would be offered in Class IX; Level 2 in Class X. Level 3 and 4 will be offered in Classes XI and XII at schools. Alternatively, students who have dropped out after Class X can enroll for Level 3, 4 and 5 in polytechnics. After Level 5, students get a diploma in vocation with their certificate mentioning the specialisation. A student, after Class XII with vocational subjects in school can enroll for Levels 5, 6 and 7 in a college and get Bachelors in Vocation after fulfilling the credit requirement for Level 7 training. From 2012, the course will be offered From Level 3 (polytechnics/colleges).
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SC: Govt can’t fill more than advertised posts
New Delhi, February 7 “An authority cannot make any selection/appointment beyond the number of posts advertised, even if there were a larger number of posts available than those advertised,” a Bench comprising Justices Altamas Kabir and Surinder Singh Nijjar ruled. Filling up of vacancies over and above the number of vacancies advertised would be entirely arbitrary and violative of the fundamental rights as guaranteed under Articles 14 (equality before law) and 16 (equal opportunity in matters of public employment) of the Constitution, the apex court held. Even if some appointments were made by mistake in excess of the vacancies advertised, this would not confer any right of appointment on another person as Article 14 of the Constitution “does not envisage negative equality and if the state had committed a mistake, it cannot be forced to perpetuate the said mistake,” the Bench pointed out. The candidates who had chosen not to apply for the vacant posts which were being sought to be filled through an advertisement, might have applied if they had known that the other vacancies would also be under consideration for being filled up, the court explained. The SC made the ruling while dismissing a petition from a batch of job aspirants from Assam who sought to be recruited in government service. The aspirants had challenged the government’s refusal to consider their plea that they had come into the zone of appointment as the vacancies had gone up from 160 at the time of advertisement in 2006 to 560 at the time of recruitment in 2007.
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From Feb 18, yatra to boost literacy
New Delhi, February 7
This massive entourage of social workers, performing artistes and central ministers, will pass through 22 states, covering the remotest areas where adult literacy remains a key challenge.
The Tribune has learnt that President Pratibha Patil will flag off the journey from the Capital and top ministers like P Chidambaram have expressed willingness to receive the participants as they reach their respective constituencies in various states.
Chidambaram, for instance, is likely to make himself available for the yatra in Erode in Tamil Nadu and National Conference patron and Central minister Farooq Abdullah will join the journey in Jammu and Kashmir while Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily has agreed to be present in Bidar, Karnataka, the day the yatra reaches the state.
Meanwhile, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal has written letters to Chief Ministers requesting them to join the project and help spread the message of literacy.
The 38-day yatra will pass through 180 districts, 16,000 gram sabhas and 1,000 blocks and is likely to have a glamour quotient with the ministry talking to some sports icons for their endorsement of the move. In the season of political yatras, this one will be a different kind of journey.
Its objectives include drawing the attention of the country towards Sakshar Bharat Programme in operation since September 2009 in 372 districts and carry out a nationwide campaign for mobilisation of public opinion and enthusiasm towards the importance and need of literacy.
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West Bengal told to spell out steps to tackle crib deaths
New Delhi, February 7
"We have sought details from the state on the measures initiated to tackle the situation," said Vinod Kumar Tikoo, NCPCR member. He said the commission would intervene in the matter only after the receipt of information from West Bengal.
The Central body asked for details of the mechanism put in place by the administration to deal with identification of high-risk pregnancies, their timely referral and promotion of institutional deliveries, arrangements to strengthen infrastructure and required number of trained personnel at primary health centres and anganwaris.
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Parties fine-tune campaigns to woo ‘outsiders’
Mumbai, February 7 With the native Marathi population in the city and its suburbs declining steadily, political parties have to contend with the demands and aspirations of migrants who are moving into the city in ever larger numbers. According to the census figures for Mumbai, Marathi-speaking people dominate in only around 95 of the 227 wards. "The central suburbs which is the heartland of Marathi-speaking people is fast being controlled by outsiders," says Pravin Darekar, MLA from Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Darekar says the old chawls where Marathi-speaking people live are making way for high-rises. "People are selling their homes to builders and moving out of the city," says Darekar. He adds that similar trends are being noticed across the city because of which Marathi-speaking people are fast declining in Mumbai. Political parties are taking cognisance of the changes. Most of the candidates fielded by the Congress are ‘outsiders’. In the 169 seats it is contesting, the Congress has fielded just 81 Maharashtrians. The party has fielded 24 Gujaratis and 22 north Indian candidates. The other candidates fielded by the party include those from among South Indians, Christians and Muslims. The Congress does not feel it is discriminating against the Marathi-speaking voters. "The Marathi-speaking people are the single largest group in the Congress. We are not discriminating against them. We have fielded a number of Marathi-speaking candidates in areas where other communities dominate," Mumbai Congress chief Kripashankar Singh told reporters. Its ally, the Nationalist Congress Party has fielded mainly Marathi-speaking people in areas where the native population dominates. The NCP is expected to give a tough fight to the Shiv Sena and the
MNS.
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Pak interested in India’s cholera vaccine
New Delhi, February 7 In the capital to attend the fourth meeting of the South Asian Forum for Health Research, a group of eight nations with common health challenges, Huma Quraishi, the Pakistani representative, said she did not know a cholera vaccine was available in the region. “We did not know India was using the vaccine. Now that we know, we will see how to proceed to use it. I will inform my government of its availability and they can use it if they want. So long, we did not know the vaccine was available,” said Quraishi, Executive Director, Pakistan Medical Research Council, a research body in the neighbouring country on the lines of the Indian Council for Medical research. The Indian cholera vaccine was introduced in Orissa recently as Orissa has seen several cholera outbreaks in the past. “The first vaccine was tested in India in Kolkata and was introduced in 2009. We have developed a new vaccine with the help of Department of Biotechnology. This one is going for trials shortly,” VM Katoch, secretary, Health Research, said on the sidelines of the meeting which resolved to share knowledge and experiences in the fields of maternal and child health, cholera, dengue and arsenic poisoning on a priority basis. The grouping, which was founded in Nepal in 2003, will be chaired by India for the next two years over which the nations - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal - will develop joint research protocols on cancer, accident and trauma management, health systems, among other issues.
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Five die, 12 fall ill in Odisha hooch tragedy
Cuttack, February 7 Over 20 labourers, working in a nearby brick kiln, complained of chest and eye pain after consuming liquor last night. Many of them were admitted to SCB Medical College at Cuttack in critical condition. While three persons were brought dead to the hospital, two succumbed during treatment, hospital superintendent D N Moharana said. The five deceased were identified as Baidhar Bhoi, owner of the liquor joint, Ugrasen Bhoi, Niranjan Bhoi, Bhaskar Das and Sura Das. Baidhar's son Benudhar Bhoi and his wife Malati were arrested in connection with the incident. "We have seized a huge quantity of ayurvedic liquid mixture stored at Bhoi's liquor shop. Most of the deceased were suspected to have consumed ayurvedic mixture available in the brand name of 'Jinger' and 'Suravhi'," State Excise Commissioner Sudarsan Nayak said. —
PTI
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Norway minister takes up Uninor case with Sibal
New Delhi, February 7 The Norwegian government move came as the Supreme Court last week cancelled the 122 licences which would effect the working of the startup telecom firms, including Uninor in which Telenor has 67.25 per cent holding. The Norwegian government has 53 per cent holding in Telenor and as such would be worried at the turn of events in India which have a strong bearing on the financial outlook of the Norwegian telecom operator. "We had good, fruitful and constructive meeting with telecom minister. We took up Telenor's case along with other issues," Asrud said. Telenor claims to have invested over Rs 14,000 crore in the Indian operations to pick up stake in Uninor and roll out services across several circles. The meeting could have a strong bearing on the final decision of the Norwegian telecom firm to continue with is operations in India or not, specially keeping in mind the strong investments it has made on its operations here.
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AP woman seeks mercy killing for crippled son
Hyderabad, February 7 He suffered serious head and spinal injuries and has been rendered invalid with both his legs paralysed. For the past 15 years, Janardhan has been lying in a vegetative state at his home in Madanapally in Chittoor district. His father, Ramachandraiah, died of grief 10 years ago and since then, his mother Lakshmamma (64) has been taking care of him with her meagre earnings as a daily wage earner and financial help from philanthropists. Unable to bear the burden of poverty, the widow has approached a local court seeking permission for the mercy killing of her son. “I cannot see him suffer any longer. If my son gets mercy killing, I can die in peace," she said in the petition. Lakshmamma told the court that she was getting a monthly pension of Rs 500 and was no longer in a position to go to work due to her failing health. “I am unable to meet the medical expenses of my son and my failing health is making it increasingly difficult to take care of him,” she told the court. She pleaded with the court to direct the government to either provide medical and financial assistance or permit euthanasia to put an end to the suffering. Moved by her plight, Second Additional District Judge Sumalatha issued notices to the District Collector and Health Department asking them why the government could not extend medical help to 36-year-old Janardhan. While admitting the petition, the judge, however, made it clear that the present laws did not allow mercy killing. She said that nobody has a right to take another's life. The judge posted the case to March 3 for the next hearing. Janardhan was in coma for five years after the accident. Though out of coma now, he still cannot speak and his legs and hands are paralysed. His parents spent all their savings and even sold their one acre land and household items to meet the medical expenses.
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13/7 accused met Osama, Lakhvi in Pak: ATS Mumbai, February 7 The claim by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) establishes a possible link for the first time by a terrorist from India with the slain Al-Qaida leader.Besides being present at an "inspirational" lecture by the dreaded bin Laden, Rashid had also met LeT operations chief Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the sources said. Naik, who is alleged to have used hawala channels to fund the triple blasts here last year, was also known to Sheikh Omar, the killer of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, and Aftab Ansari, the mastermind of 2002 American Centre attack in Kolkata, the sources said. Thirty-five-year-old Naik, who is in ATS custody since February 1 in connection with the blast case, was nabbed from the Mumbai international airport on August 22 last year. — PTI
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Poll Snippets While this poll is clearly bereft of the mela-like atmosphere associated with Indian elections, Bollywood has brought some glamour in the last few days. Former film star Zeenat Aman campaigned for Congress MP Jagdambika Pal’s son Abhishek Pal from Basti Sadar. On public demand, she sang the hit song ‘dum maro dum’ from her film 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna'. Sanjay Dutt, who also campaigned for the Congress in Meja assembly segment in Allahabad, told people that he had returned home after he had left it a few years ago. "Please consider Congress as your home. I myself see it as my home which I had left a few years ago only to come back. After all, it is the party which my parents Nargis and Sunil Dutt were associated with. People of UP had abandoned their home (Congress) 22 years ago", said the actor adding "I beg you all to come back", he urged. While there are strong rumours that Jaya Bachchan was to campaign for the Samajwadi Party, till now she has not made an appearance. The other Jaya - Lok Manch’s Jayaprada is camping at Rampur- campaigning against her bete noir, Mohammad Azam Khan, forcing him to devote more time to his constituency than he had originally planned. Per diem for policemen on duty
This time police officers on poll duty would be paid a per diem. The Election Commission has agreed to a proposal of the Home Department of picking up the bill which will be approximately Rs 51 crores. The Home department has sent another proposal to the EC to pay for the police officials on other poll related duty besides the ones directly on duty on the polling and the counting day. These duties include being part of checking squads, escort duty, mobile squad or at check points. If the EC accepts this proposal as well this could cost them Rs 4 to 5 crores more. EC unimpressed with Mahakumbh plea
Election to the 16th Vidhan Sabha has affected the preparations of the Mahakumbh Mela at the Sangam in Allahabad towards the end of the year. The Election Commission has returned the proposal of the Principal Secretary Urban Development seeking permission to invite tenders for the construction work pertaining to the Mahakumbh mela which is scheduled for December 2012. The EC has sought to know when the Mahakumbh is scheduled and how much time is required for its preparation. This is the second time the proposal has been returned by the EC, citing the ongoing election. The state government had sent a proposal to the Planning Commission, which sanctioned Rs 667 crore for the mela project. But work has not begun due to the Model code of conduct being in force. Bless the pure at heart
Uma Bharti is truly a drama queen extraordinaire. Yesterday when she was asked if post election the BJP would ally with the BSP or SP to form a government she said that she would rather prefer to take her life by jumping into the Saryu River! Calling herself a devotee of 'Maryada Puroshottam Bhagwan Ram' she said that her struggle is to uphold the standards of high public life set by Ram and she could not possibly align with corrupt parties like the BSP and SP. (Compiled by Shahira
Naim) |
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The fate of 862 candidates contesting from 55 seats would be sealed when 1.7 crore electorates exercise their right to vote during the first phase of the seven-phase Assembly elections in the state tomorrow.
Amid tight security, polling would be held in 10 districts, including Sitapur,
Barabanki, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharth Nagar and
Basti.
Mumbai, February 7
New Delhi, February 7
The Opposition parties have targeted the Election Commission for reportedly acting under the pressure of the Congress and transferring poll observer Pawan Kumar Sen days before the Amethi election scheduled for February 19.
