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Will fight for Muslims even if EC hangs me: Khurshid
BJP knocks at EC’s door
Polling peaceful in UP; voter turnout 59%
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Army Chief keeps everyone guessing
Govt steps in to meet docs’ shortage
Pilot inaugurates health fair in Ajmer
Soon, a temple to immortalise YSR!
Bihar blacklists 22 cos building roads in state
Amitabh undergoes surgery, doing fine
Anti-dam protest costs NHPC
Rs 6 cr a day
Bhatt says Modi govt, SIT destroyed evidence
Indians among happiest on this planet: Survey
Odisha hooch tragedy toll mounts to 34
Poll Snippets
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Will fight for Muslims even if EC hangs me: Khurshid
Farukkhabad (UP), Feb 11 Addressing an election rally in Khatakpur locality last night, the Law Minister said that EC had censured him, but even if the "Commission hangs him or does anything else", he would ensure that people of Pasmanda community get their rights. "Can't I even say that Pasmanda Muslims would get their due?" he said, adding that the Congress was set to hoist the tricolour in the state Assembly after 22 years. The commission had censured Khurshid for his remarks on sub-quota for minorities, finding them to be a violation of the model code of conduct for elections. Khurshid, while campaigning for his wife Louise, a Congress candidate from Farrukhabad Assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh, had promised the electorate last month that the party would increase the sub-quota for minorities to nine per cent, out of the 27 per cent Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation. The EC order had come on BJP's complaint about Khurshid's remarks, asking the Commission to take action against him for violation of model code of conduct. — PTI Minister undeterred
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Even if the "Commission hangs him or does anything else", he would ensure that people of Pasmanda community get their rights
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The EC had earlier censured Khurshid for his remarks on sub-quota for minorities, finding them to be a violation of the model code of conduct
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BJP knocks at EC’s door New Delhi: The BJP has moved the Election Commission seeking a ban on Law Minister Salman Khurshid's campaigning in Uttar Pradesh in view of his alleged defiance of the poll body's censure for remarks sub-quota for minorities' remarks. "If left unchecked, these postures will undermine the legitimacy of the Election Commission of India and its constitutional obligation for providing free and fair elections. "Lest the model code of conduct becomes a toothless wonder, there is dire need for the ECI to impose sanctions more stringent than mere censure. It is now more than apparent that the Law minister will continue undaunted to seek votes on the basis of religion - a practice abhorred by the Commission It is, therefore, necessary in the fitness of things to keep him away from the scene of elections," said the BJP complaint against Khurshid to the Election Commission. Citing its earlier orders in banning Cabinet ministers from campaigning in Lalu Prasad Yadav's constituency in Bihar elections, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who sent the fresh complaint to the EC, said "this is a fit case where the ECI could consider imposing a ban on Shri Khurshid entering the state of Uttar Pradesh during the poll process. District Magistrates do pass such orders in the interest of maintenance of law and order." Naqvi, in his complaint, added, "The ECI may also like to report the whole matter to the Prime Minister for suitable disciplinary action against the Law Minister.” — PTI
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Polling peaceful in UP; voter turnout 59%
Lucknow, February 11 59% vote in UP’s phase II Except for a few minor incidents, the polls were largely peaceful in these relatively volatile districts. Polling was held in 59 Assembly constituencies spread across nine districts of Purvanchal deciding the fate of 1099 candidates, including two state party chiefs, 31 MLAs and 24 former ministers was sealed in the Electronic Voting Machines in today's exercise.
Briefing the media, Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha said the highest percentage of 63 was registered at Kushinagar while Deoria and Ballia at 54 per cent each were where the voters appeared most unenthusiastic about polling. Still compared to the 2007 Assembly election in these very districts today’s polls recorded a jump of 36 per cent (43.42 per cent). If compared to the 2009 Lok Sabha polls the increase in polling percentage today is even more significant at 46 per cent. Explaining the comparatively lower percentage today, Sinha said these areas chronically register low polling as it is the region which has a large migratory population registered as voters in these districts but actually residing elsewhere.
“When these people do not turn up to vote it reflects as low polling in terms of percentages. In the latest round of updating of voters list names were only added and not deleted. This could have also been one of the causes for low polling percentages in this phase”, he said. Ghanshyam Misra, a presiding officer in Gorakhpur, suffered a brain hemorrhage today and later succumbed to the stroke. The complaint regarding lathi charge at Mau and fake voting at other places turned out to be false, said Sinha. To maintain a strict vigil in the crime prone, communally sensitive and economically backward districts of Purvanchal, over 1,20,000 policemen, including 55,000 central para-military personnel and 10,000 personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), were deployed on duty. In 2007 elections, of the 59 seats, a massive chunk of 30 had gone in favour of the BSP, Samajwadi Party had won 21 seats, the BJP got six seats while the Congress managed just two seats.
67 exercise right to reject
At least 67 voters in Gorakhpur district opted for the ‘Right to Rejection’ by filling up Form 17 (A) under the Rule 49-O in The Conduct of Election Rules in Gorakhpur on Saturday. — ANI
bier ride to poll office
A poll candidate in Lakhimpur caught eyeballs on Saturday as he reached the collectorate here on a bier to file his papers. Curious onlookers gathered round the bier as Pol Khol Party chief and nominee Naresh Singh Bhadauria reached the collectorate carried on the stand by four persons. Bhadauria has contested elections against Atal Behari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi. — PTI
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Army Chief keeps everyone guessing
New Delhi, February 11 The Army Chief was conspicuous by his absence this evening at a cultural function at F.M. Maneckshaw Centre in the Catonment near Dhaula Kuan. Sources confirmed that he was expected there but General Singh apparently excused himself at the last moment. Sources close to the Army Chief expect him to resign soon. Whether he does nor not will become clear in less than 48 hours as he is due to leave for UK on an official visit late Monday evening. While there is no confirmation yet, the visit is now unlikely, claimed sources in the Army Headquarters. Most of the General’s supporters and admirers concede that General Singh cannot afford to continue in office till May 31, when he officially retires. Had he won his case in the apex court, he could have carried on for ten more months. He has been reduced to a lame duck army chief and his continuation in office is no longer tenable, they felt. While General Singh’s lawyer Puneet Bali put up a brave face yesterday and claimed that the Army Chief’s honour had been upheld by the court, circles close to the General feel he has been let down.
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Govt steps in to meet docs’ shortage
New Delhi, February 11 Discriminated against by the Medical Council of India (MCI) rules which don’t treat NBE degrees on par with PG degrees offered by Council-approved medical colleges, NBE passouts will now get equivalence with their MD/MS counterparts in medical specialties and DM/MCh counterparts in medical super-specialities. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has instructed the MCI to grant such equivalence in the wake of medical faculty shortage in India. “NBE degree is not inferior to MD and MS. In fact, we conduct a nationally standardised entrance test annually to select students who undergo practical training at reputed hospitals like Gangaram where they get fine clinical exposure. Our assessments, unlike those for MD/MS students, are external and fairer,’’ Dr K Srinath Reddy, President, NBE, told TNS. The NBE got autonomous status under the Health Ministry in 1982 and was tasked with ensuring uniform standards in PG medical education. India has over 150 recognised medical colleges offering UG and PG courses but the quality of instruction is not uniform. NBE’s PG medical degree called Diplomate of National Board (DNB) is a standardised degree for postgraduates in medicine and surgery. This year, 4,000 students have passed out of the 650 NBE-accredited institutes which offer PG and postdoctoral courses in 61 specialties; 25,000 students are pursuing DNB. But the MCI, since 2004, has been blocking equivalence for DNB students, preventing them from getting jobs as specialists and teachers like MD/MS holders get. The council says that a DNB graduate from an institute that does not offer MD/MS courses must get a year’s research experience from any ICMR, CSIR or medical institution. Those who get DNB from non-medical institutions like Gangaram or Fortis hospitals are required to get two-year additional experience for their degree to be treated on a par with MD/MS offered by MCI-approved colleges. Simply put, DNB holders from reputed institutions running NBE courses including Gangaram, Delhi, Bombay Hospital, Mumbai, Ganga Hospital in Coimbatore (world famous for orthopaedic surgery) and Sancheti Hospital, Pune (whose Founder KH Sancheti just got a Padma Shri), are not good enough for the MCI. Importantly, the Health Ministry had, on February 20, 2009, resolved the issue and notified the equivalence for DNB holders. The MCI got the notification revoked. The notification said, “DNB qualifications will be equivalent to MD, MS (in case of speciality courses) and DM and MCh (in case of super-specialty courses) for all purposes including appointment to teaching posts in medical institutions. Experience gained while pursuing DNB courses will be treated as teaching experience for appointment to teaching posts.” NBE’s executive director Bipin Batra said the board wants the notification restored. “MCI policy is affecting close to 50,000 students. Since 2004 to 2010, about 2,000 students graduated annually with DNB. The number now is 4,000; 25,000 students are presently enrolled,” he said. The unequals *
Since 2010, 4,000 medical graduates pass out annually with NBE’s PG degree called Diplomate of National Board *
MCI doesn’t regard DNB equal to MD/MS * In 2009, the government notified that DNB qualifications in specialties would be equal to MD/MS and DNB degrees in super-specialties will be equal to DM/MCh. MCI resisted the move *
Azad has now told MCI to resolve the imbalance
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Pilot inaugurates health fair in Ajmer
Ajmer, February 11 It is estimated that around 25,000 people from across the district would visit the fair at Patel Maidan. Noted cardiologist Naresh Trehan was also present at the inaugural function. — PTI
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Soon, a temple to immortalise YSR!
Hyderabad, February 11 After installing YSR’s statues across the state and getting them unveiled by his son and the president of YSR Congress Party YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the followers of the former chief minister are now coming forward to construct temples to perpetuate his memory. One such temple is coming up at Rajagopalapuram village in the coastal district of Visakhapatnam. Named “Rajasekhara Reddy Aalayam (Rajasekhara Reddy temple), it is being constructed by local YSR Congress party leaders. An idol of YSR has been installed inside the “sanctum sanctorum”. A grand temple will be constructed in due course. “We have collected Rs 4 lakh from the villagers in the form of donations for temple construction,” said a local leader Govind Reddy. “We are all great fans of YSR and, hence, have decided to construct the temple of our beloved leader,” he said. Interestingly, YSR hailed from a Christian family and was a devout Christian. The temple being constructed in his memory will, however, follow Hindu rituals and customs. “It will be like any other Hindu temple. We will appoint a priest who will perform puja according to the Hindu customs. People will also be able to worship YSR's idol,” Govind Reddy said. YSR’s followers built another temple at Lingam Guntlapalem village in the coastal district of Guntur. From construction of temples in his memory to naming the new-borns after him, the admirers of YSR have been coming up with several ideas to perpetuate his memory. “YSR was like God for us. We will conduct pujas and other rituals at the temple regularly,” a villager of Kishtapuram in Guntur district said. On its part, the Congress government has re-christened several ongoing programmes in memory of its charismatic leader. His native place Kadapa has been renamed as “YSR District”. Pothireddypadu regulator project, one of the pet irrigation schemes of the departed leader, has been named as “YSR Sagar”. The project is aimed at providing irrigation facility to some parts of the backward Rayalaseema region to which he belonged. YSR had steered the Congress to power for the second successive term in 2009. He died in a helicopter crash on September 2, 2009.
Reverence or sycophancy?
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New-borns being named after the charismatic leader n
Several ongoing programmes re-christened in his memory n
His native Kadapa renamed as “YSR District” n
Pet irrigation schemes of the departed leader named as “YSR Sagar”
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Bihar blacklists 22 cos building roads in state
Patna, February 11 Rural Works Department Minister Bhim Singh said criminal cases would be lodged against the firms that defaulted and failed to complete the projects. While many of these firms had just disappeared leaving the work half done, others had barely completed 20% of the work so far.
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Amitabh undergoes surgery, doing fine
Mumbai, February 11 “My father underwent abdominal surgery at a hospital today. The operation was minor and it lasted approximately three hours. He is fine and in the recovery room," Abhishek told reporters. He added that the senior Bachchan would be released from hospital on Sunday. Earlier in the day, hospital spokesperson Dr Asthana told reporters that Bachchan had complained of pain in abdomen. The doctors suggested surgical intervention after tests were conducted on the actor. "Amitabh Bachchan got admitted today morning. He was wheeled into the operation theatre at 9.30 am and he is undergoing surgery right now. The surgery is going well," the doctor said. Later in the day, Abhishek in a message on Twitter thanked his father's fans. "The surgery went off well and dad is now in the room resting," he said. The senior Bachchan, a regular blogger, first revealed about his condition online and kept updating his fans on the issue. "I wish to thank all those that have most graciously sent in their concern and greetings for a speedy recovery. Your prayers shall go a long way in bringing me back to normal and for this I am always eternally grateful," Bachchan writes. In his latest post before the surgery, Bachchan speaks of his need to connect with his fans. "The early morning call for the surgery is early and the moment the doctors saw me operating my laptop, which is the first facility I ask for when I travel out, they have shown consternation and demanded that all this has to stop and that I should be in bed .. I will .. but not connecting with the EF (extended family) is daunting and brings within me a certain dishonesty," says Bachchan. The actor says he has had a number of problems as a result of his old injury which required regular surgical interventions.
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Anti-dam protest costs NHPC
Rs 6 cr a day
Guwahati, February 11 A senior official of the hydro power project said the total loss had crossed the Rs 300-crore mark since the construction work came to a halt on December 16 and over 1,500 workmen had also left the site since. “The loss that we are talking about is only based on the value of power that would be generated per day once the project is commissioned. One also cannot rule out escalation in the project cost due to the delay,” project’s general manager Om Prakash said. The project has run into trouble after several groups, including the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), launched a tirade against construction of the dam apprehending that it would be unsafe because of its location in a highly seismic area, and that there would ‘catastrophic’ downstream impact of the project. “While the Assam Government has been holding talks with various groups, we have also invited the agitating groups to inspect our project site and discuss ways to break the impasse,” Om Prakash said. Assam Project * The 2,000-MW Lower Subansiri hydroproject
is located on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border * The total loss figure has crossed the Rs 300-crore mark since work came to a halt on December 16 *
Crusaders say the dam
is located in a highly seismic area
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post-godhara Riots
Ahmedabad, February 11 In a letter written to the Nanavati Commission, Bhatt alleged the crucial records related to 2002 post-Godhra riots have been "destroyed" by Gujarat government and SIT. "It is my apprehension that relevant records have been deviously destroyed by the government , as well as the SIT headed by R K Raghavan," Bhatt said. "This has been done with the diabolical motive of shielding powerful persons from legal punishment by ensuring that crucial and relevant incriminating evidence is not brought before the courts of law," he claimed. — PTI
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Indians among happiest on this planet: Survey
New Delhi, February 11 According to a poll conducted by global research company Ipsos, despite woes, conflicts, world a happier place than in 2007 as 22 per cent (up 2 points) of global citizens say they are "very happy" and the happiest people reside in Indonesia, India and Mexico. While eight in 10 (77 per cent) citizens in 24 countries surveyed said they are 'happy' in their lives, one quarter (22 per cent) said they are 'very happy', the report said. Indonesia has the highest proportion of happiest people with 51 per cent citizens reporting they are 'very happy' followed by India and Mexico (43 per cent) each. — PTI
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Odisha hooch tragedy toll mounts to 34
Bhubaneswar, February 11
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Poll Snippets
The increase in fortunes of sitting BSP MLAs is phenomenal, according to the reports of National Election Watch based on the information submitted by the MLAs in their affidavit. For instance, the MLAs in the fray in the second phase show a 187 per cent rise in their assets!
However, even this could be far from the true picture. First time sitting BSP MLA from Malihabad, in Lucknow, Sidharth Shankar who jointly owns three properties in the posh Gomti Nagar area has declared the properties at a fraction of its current DM Circle rate, not to speak of its market rate.
Egg-cellent strategy
A candidate from a major political party contesting from the VIP constituency of Kalyanpur in Kanpur is testing the maxim that the route to a person’s heart (read vote) passes through the stomach. Soon after his nomination was confirmed, he has made eggs available at half the rate at a particular place in his constituency. The only catch is that on each egg, there is a bindi-sized sticker announcing his candidature. Obviously, no person can consume the egg without noticing the sticker. The news from the streets is that he had struck a deal with a major poultry farm.
A new phenomenon
The fact that Assembly elections are happening in the middle of the wedding season and just around Holi have given valid reasons for thousands of families from Uttar Pradesh working for a living in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Surat, Ahmedabad, as well as Haryana and Punjab, to return home with family on an extended electoral holiday. Earlier, only the local panchayat elections brought in so many people as the future of some uncle, brother or cousin was at stake. The Assembly elections eliciting such a response is a new phenomenon. This time not only has the voting percentage shot up, but also have the violations of the model code of conduct. During the first phase of elections, 208 cases of violation were registered. The maximum (131) cases were reported from Sitapur alone. Of these, the maximum (42) cases were against BSP candidates. The Congress (40) were a close second, SP with 34 was third and 20 cases were registered against the BJP. (Compiled by Shahira
Naim)
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Sticking to his stand on minorities, Congress leader Salman Khurshid has said he would ensure the rights of Pasmanda Muslim community even if the Election Commission "hangs" him.
The Chief of the Army Staff, General V.K. Singh, returned to the capital on Saturday afternoon from Jaipur amidst a growing buzz that he is about to put in his papers. General Singh had left for Jaipur on a pre-scheduled visit yesterday soon after he was forced to withdraw his petition from the Supreme Court challenging the Government’s rejection of his contention on the row over his age.
Ahmedabad, February 11
Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan today underwent an abdominal surgery at the Seven Hills Hospital in suburban Mumbai. Briefing reporters on the procedure, his son Abhishek said the surgery was the result of an old injury. "The issue and the problem is a legacy of the past, in particular the accident of 1982 while filming Coolie," Abhishek said.