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Advani breaks silence; alludes to Hitler, Mussolini in blog
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BJP: Don’t need certificate to prove secular credentials
Modi praises Rajnath’s ‘large-heartedness’
News Analysis
Having sex with woman on false
promise of marriage is rape: HC
Soon robots to man frontiers
No move to amend RTI Act for immunity to parties: Govt
PM’s air travel bill stands at Rs 642 crore
IAF to outsource bird hazard control services
Ministry hikes insurance cover for Army personnel
A file photo of an ambulance. Dress code for Tirumala devotees A file photo of Tirumala shrine in Andhra Pradesh. Gogoi admits to dissent in Assam Cong
Police for ED probe into hawala transactions
Manna Dey hospitalised
Man forces Dalit boy to carry footwear on head; arrested
All-party meeting on Naxal issue today
Akhilesh defends power tariff hike
Accountancy museums to be set up in 25 cities
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Advani breaks silence; alludes to Hitler, Mussolini in blog
Panaji, June 9 Modi has often been charged by his detractors with possessing Hitler-like qualities - an authoritarian and autocratic attitude, which is where the relevance of Advani’s writing comes in. The veteran leader is understood to have warned the top leadership against elevating Modi, as it may end up hijacking the party and polarising minority votes in favour of the Congress. While Advani, who now stands sidelined after today’s turn of events, does not make any direct connection between the different thoughts that he has expressed, the message to the party is clear from the allegories presented in the blog. He begins by praising a sandalwood carving of Lord Krishna’s Vishwaroop avatar, which he says also has a carving of “Bhishma Pitamah on his bed of arrows, sermonising to the Pandavas”, a situation quite similar to the one he was sharing with an aggressive pro-Modi faction not paying heed to his caution regarding Modi. He then refers to Kamal Haasan’s movie “Vishwaroopam” saying he had wanted to see the movie ever since it became controversial. He further alludes to an anecdote about the former dictators of Germany and Italy that he told Hassan. “The story is about a meeting that Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini had during the World War II in which Hitler tells the Italian leader that the sins committed by the two would prove very costly for them after death,” he writes. While Mussolini, according to the BJP leader, tells Hitler that he would seek Pope’s help to obtain a passage to heaven, Hitler suggests that he might as well recommend his name to the Pope. Advani’s narration ends with both fascist leaders landing in hell and only the Pope reaching heaven. Advani is an avid blogger. His comments may have gone unnoticed any other day but these coming on a day when the BJP made the grand transition from the old to the new guard, the blog appears be the true reflection of his inner feelings.
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BJP: Don’t need certificate to prove secular credentials
Panaji, June 9 “We do not need a certificate to prove our secular credentials. Each one of us in the BJP was, is and will remain secular,” he said, a message perhaps also to allies such as the JD-U, which has often raised questions regarding Modi’s secular credentials. The BJP will begin a nationwide campaign from June 23, which will continue till October. Modi and other senior leaders will visit states and parliamentary constituencies as part of their strategy for the coming Assembly and general elections. Political rallies and public meetings will be held in election-bound states. The party will also hold a “jail bharo” campaign between June 17 and 22 to highlight “rampant corruption, dwindling economy and price rise in the UPA regime”. Party president Rajnath Singh said: “The nation has been driven back to the edge of an abyss. In such a crisis, the defeat of the UPA is not merely a partisan wish but also a national responsibility.” “The people have already decided to kick out the UPA and welcome the NDA. The BJP is the vehicle for bringing this resolve into reality. We must remember that since a BJP-led NDA is the only credible alternative to a defunct UPA, we have an onerous responsibility. Dethroning this government that dithers is now our historic duty and we must discharge the same with all our strength,” he said. Criticising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said: “True power vests with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who has the last word on policy issues. For its future, Congress looks towards the heir-apparent, her son. The woeful weakness of the office of Prime Minister in a nation like India is evident in the fact that senior ministers and party leaders routinely signal their obedience to dynasty by demanding that Rahul Gandhi be declared leader and Prime Ministerial candidate for the next election, while Singh is compelled to seek, periodically, a certificate for his continuance from Sonia Gandhi.”
When right & left
agree
Drawing an unusual parallel between the Right and Left in India, Hussain said only the BJP and the Communist parties had internal democracy. "One is Netaji's party, another is Behenji's party and yet another is Soniaji's party. Only the BJP and the
Left parties take decisions based on consensus. We are the only democratic parties," he said.
* * *
My heartiest congratulations to Modi.... My heart goes out to Advaniji. He brought the BJP from 2 to 182 in the Lok Sabha. But then the ungrateful BJP is a party with differences.
— Digvijay Singh, Congress leader
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Modi praises Rajnath’s ‘large-heartedness’
In his address, Modi did not once use Advani’s name, who is said have had reservations over his elevation in the party. “We are all party workers; we will do whatever duty has been assigned to us,” said Modi at a meeting of BJP workers here. He praised Rajnath who said the Gujarat Chief Minister should deliver his address after him as “a popular leader must speak at the end”. “I am grateful to party president Rajnath Singh for not only giving me the responsibility of a new task but also showing me huge respect in front of workers and people of the country,” Modi said in his first comments after being anointed as the party campaign committee chairman. “Rajnathji stood up to speak and asked me to sit. It is difficult for those outside to understand the importance of this. A person does not do so only by having a post but by having a heart. This is called ‘daria dili’ (large-heartedness), which he has shown,” he said. He also thanked senior leaders who had helped “mould” his political career by spending more time with him than their own families. He went on to attack the UPA government saying it had lost the trust of people of the country. “It’s our responsibility to save the country from such an insensitive government,” he said. He said Goa had been lucky for him as he had got the “licence” to run Gujarat from there in 2002. “I am confident that I will complete the task that has been entrusted to me by Rajnathji,” he added. Accusing the Congress of taking people for granted and adopting a “non-serious” approach towards governance, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said the people needed a government and a leader who could take decisions. Sushma Swaraj was supposed to address the gathering but was conspicuous by her absence. Earlier, Rajnath said his decision to make Modi as the campaign committee chief was “not for the party but for the country”, adding that he had no hesitation in taking this significant decision as it was “well deserved”.
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Gujarat BJP workers elated
Ahmedabad, June 9 The party workers burst crackers in Ahmedabad and in different other parts of the state to express their happiness over Modi’s elevation to the national political scenario.
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India on the rise in Asia-Pacific region
Ajay Banerjee/TNS
New Delhi, June 9 New Delhi is also set to deepen existing ties with Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, all locked in over-lapping claims with China in the hydrocarbon-rich South China Sea. Some 50 per cent of Indian trade transits through this route. At present, a flotilla of four Indian warships is sailing in the South China Sea making port call in these countries. Thailand has been offered collaboration in defence production while Singapore has been allowed to use the training facilities in India for another five years. So is India testing China’s resolve or is it building its ‘own team’ under its ‘Look East Policy’? Matters will take some time to settle down and the haze on the new alignments will clear in the months to come. India’s stated position is to seek a resolution on the South China Sea dispute under the established UN framework. The India-Japan ties, which were founded by Suzuki’s successful tie -up with Maruti in early 1980s, have progressed beyond the nuts and bolts. Last year, the navies of the two countries conducted the first-ever joint exercise. Today, soft loans and aid which New Delhi gets from Tokyo has changed the way India develops its infrastructure. The Delhi Metro being one such example. Japan is keen to invest in specific locations in the southern states in an area referred to the Chennai Bangalore Industrial Corridor (CBIC) and has hinted that it wants to move its manufacturing units out of China. Some 14,000 Japanese companies have a base in China with an estimated investment of more than $70 billion. Is India titling to join the ‘Asian Security Diamond’ proposed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in December 2012? He had talked about a strategy involving Australia, India, Japan and the US to form a ‘diamond’ to safeguard the maritime commons stretching from the Indian Ocean region to the Pacific. Japan and China have a century old dispute. It may be too early to judge if India is going to be part of the ‘security diamond’ in an attempt to counter China’s ‘string of pearls’ policy aimed at encircling India. But India’s tie-ups with Japan and Australia clearly show the emergence of a ‘new grouping’ which has China terming the ‘security diamond’ as an ‘anti-China body. Since Abe proposal, things have changed. India and Japan have announced to intensify their partnership involving cooperation in defence, high-end technology, space, energy security and rare earth minerals. China, in a rather undiplomatic response, reacted sharply. Communist Party-run newspapers warned India that its ties with Japan are at its own peril and went on to term the Japanese as ‘petty burglers’. One week after the Indian PM and Shizo Abe had discussed matters in Tokyo, Indian Defence Minister AK Antony was in Australia, the first ever visit by an Indian Defence Minister. He along with his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith announced a new bilateral grouping in the Asia-Pacific region. The Indo-Australian ties changed after Australian PM Julia Gillard, on visit to India in October 2012, allowed the sale of uranium to India. In May this year, the Australian Government’s white paper on defence reflected the change saying “Australia seeks to develop its strategic partnership with India”. On a high
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Having sex with woman on false
promise of marriage is rape: HC
New Delhi, June 9 The court made the observation while rejecting anticipatory bail plea of Abhishek Jain in a case lodged by his wife alleging that he had sex with her prior to their marriage on the promise that he would marry her. In her complaint, the woman also said that he married her only after she lodged the case with police against him. "It would prima facie appear that the marriage was gone through only to persuade the complainant to withdraw her complaint of February 25, 2013. Immediately after the marriage, the applicant started physically abusing the complainant, apparently, in the hope that she would leave him, but when she filed a complaint, the accused was forced to apply for bail," the court said. The woman had filed a complaint in February, 2013 with the Rani Bagh Police Station alleging that on several occasions before the marriage, the applicant (Jain) had raped her after falsely promising to marry her. However, on March 4, 2013, the applicant and the complainant got married at the Arya Samaj Vivah Mandir, Ghaziabad and the marriage registration was done by the Registrar, Hindu Marriages, Ghaziabad, the complaint said. Referring to the contents of the FIR lodged by the woman against her husband, the court said, "The FIR narrates the physical abuse which the complainant had suffered at the hands of the applicant after the marriage...The FIR further narrates that the accused even used to tell the complainant that 'he had married me (her) only to make me withdraw the complaint.' "Several instances are narrated in the FIR about threats and physical abuse suffered by the complainant not only from the applicant but also by his family members who had conspired together to cheat her and get her married to him only to make her withdraw the complaint of rape against him."
— PTI
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Soon robots to man frontiers
New Delhi, June 9 These can then be deployed in difficult warfare zones, like the Line of Control (LoC), a step that would help avert the loss of human lives. “We are going to work for robotic soldiers. We are going to look for very high level of intelligence in it than what we are talking today... It is a new programme and a number of labs are already working in a big way on robotics,” DRDO chief Avinash Chander said. The newly-appointed DRDO chief listed the project for development of robotic soldiers as one of his “priority thrust areas” saying that “unmanned warfare in land and air is the future of warfare. Initially the robotic soldier may be assisting the man.” He said in the initial phase of the project, the robotic soldier would be required to be told by the human soldier to identify an enemy or a combatant but “slowly in due course of time, the robotic soldier would be at the front end and the human soldier would be assisting him.” Chander said the need for a robotic soldier is felt to save precious human lives and already robots are used in areas where humans do not want to venture such as defusing bombs or getting inside a high-radiation territory. “Robotic soldier is one step further. It will have multiple technologies in terms of communication with team members, ability to recognise an enemy,” Chander said. “Today, you have neural networks, whenever the soldier tells him (robotic soldier) that this is a human solider, he will derive his own logic as to what is the difference between him and others (civilians). That learning process will keep building up,” he said. Asked if it would be capable of being deployed in areas such as the Line of Control, Chander said, “In due course of time but not before a decade in any way.”
— PTI
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No move to amend RTI Act for immunity to parties: Govt
New Delhi, June 9 Officials in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which acts as nodal department for the implementation of RTI Act, said they have gone through the Central Information Commission's order and there was nothing that warranted their
intervention. "If a party is aggrieved by the CIC's order, they can always take remedy measure and may appeal against it before designated courts," a senior DoPT official said. The official said the ministry is willing to clarify in case of any ambiguity in the order. "If a political party writes to us, we will certainly provide clarification on matters related to the Act," the official said. In a landmark ruling, the CIC had on June 3 held that political parties are public authorities and answerable to citizens under RTI Act. The commission had said six national parties — the Congress, the BJP, the NCP, the CPM, the CPI and the BSP — have been substantially funded indirectly by the Central Government and they have the character of public authority under the RTI Act as they perform public functions. The Centre's flagship Right to Information Act empowers a citizen to seek time-bound information on all matters of governance by paying a fee of Rs 10.
— PTI
No intervention: DoPT
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PM’s air travel bill stands at Rs 642 crore
New Delhi, June 9 The information reveals that Manmohan Singh undertook 67 travels since 2004 when he took over as PM, of which bills of five have not been received. The bills received from the rest 62 visits show that Rs 642.45 crore was spent on air travel. The Central Information Commission, in a recent order, had directed the Cabinet Secretariat to make public expenses incurred on the travel of ministers and VVIPs because of "large public interest" in the matter. "We have been noticing a lot of public interest in the visit of such high dignitaries as the President, the Vice President and the Prime Minister of India. Quite often, one comes across RTI applications seeking similar information about these visits," Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) Satyananda Mishra had said. Last year, the information accessed by PTI had revealed that former President Pratibha Patil had spent Rs 223 crore on her visits abroad during her five years which triggered a debate on expenditure over VIP visits. The list of the Manmohan’s Singh's visits shows maximum expenditure of Rs 26.94 crore was incurred on his seven-day long visit to Mexico and Brazil in 2012 to attend G20 Summit and Rio+20 Summit respectively. This was followed by Rs 22.70 crore spent on air travel to Washington DC, USA and Brazil in 2010 where he had gone to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, BRIC Summit and IBSA Summit.
— PTI
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IAF to outsource bird hazard control services
Chandigarh, June 9 Some of the airbases prone to heavy bird activity have already been identified and the IAF would now engage civilian professionals, preferably supervised by ex-servicemen, to monitor and control bird activity in the vicinity of flying zones. Bird hits are among the major reasons behind aircraft accidents. About 10 per cent of IAF crashes have been attributed to bird hits. Technical defects and human errors are the other two major causes of accidents. Planes are vulnerable
to bird hits during landing and take-off, though there have also been instances of bird hits at higher altitudes. The IAF’s Institute of Aerospace Safety has a special cell to study bird activity and compile data. It has come up with several measures to deal with bird activity at airbases. Under the IAF’s plan to outsource bird-control services, the contractor would be responsible for providing and deploying the requisite manpower and equipment in designated zones around airfields to survey and ward off birds. The contractor would be held responsible for any bird hit on the runway and liable to penalty for any such mishap, sources said. Each take-off and landing would be video recorded. All bird activity in the vicinity of the airfield would be communicated to the air traffic control for appropriate action by the ground crew. All bird activity in the vicinity of the airfield would be communicated to the air traffic control for appropriate action by the ground crew. The contractor would be required to scare of the birds using flying aero-models, air guns, multi-shot launchers, bursting crackers, beating drums or using other biological and acoustic techniques recommended by air force authorities. Contractors and their teams would also be responsible for preventing bird nesting in hangars and buildings.
Troubleshooting
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Ministry hikes insurance cover for Army personnel Chandigarh, June 9 A circular issued by the Controller General of Defence Accounts states that the insurance cover provided under the Army Group Insurance Fund (AGIF) for all commissioned Army officers, including reemployed officers and those from the Military Nursing Services, would be Rs 50 lakh with effect from September 2013. The insurance cover for junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and other ranks (ORs) would be Rs 25 lakh. The earlier insurance cover was Rs 40 lakh for officers and Rs 20 lakh for JCOs and ORs. The AGIF insurance cover was last enhanced in April 2011. The monthly subscription rates payable by officers have been increased from Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 and for JCOs and ORs from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500. The rates are slightly higher for officers and men deputed with the Army Postal Services. Launched in 1976, AGIF provides life insurance cover to Army personnel against all risk, including war and war-like situations, pays lump sum maturity benefits at the time of retirement and provides other benefits as decided by its board of governors from time to time. Payment of disability benefits to Army personnel, ex gratia disability allowance to severely handicapped and disabled personnel, sustenance allowance to differently abled children of service personnel dying in harness, post-retirement extended insurance scheme, social security deposit scheme for widows and minors and advances towards house building and vehicle purchase are among other schemes being offered by the AGIF.
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Ambulance code gets govt nod New Delhi, June 9 The code puts in place minimum standards and guidelines regarding the constructional and functional requirements of road ambulances in India. Drafted in line with the global best practices in the field of ambulance design, the code has been suitably adapted to factor in the special requirements of the Indian subcontinent, including traffic conditions, need for economy and industry maturity. The code classifies road ambulances into four types (A, B, C & D)-First Responder, Patient Transport, Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support, respectively. The First Responder category, which also includes two-wheeled ambulances, has been specially introduced for the first time in India to cater to the need for providing prompt medical care in congested by-lanes and high-traffic areas. Special care has been given to care ergonomics, patient safety, oxygen system design, infection control, crash rescue, etc. in the code. Once implemented, the code will ensure uniformity and standardisation in ambulance design and a minimum level of patient care. So far, no guidelines were available for hospitals and other procuring agencies for floating tenders and for industry outlining required specifications. The government would now consider bringing this code within the mandatory framework of Central Motor Vehicles Rules. The time frame for mandatory adoption of the ambulance code will be decided by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways in consultation with manufacturers and other stakeholders.
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Dress code for Tirumala devotees Hyderabad, June 9 “Simple shirt and trousers are also allowed, but it will be ideal if men wear dhoti and uttareeyam,” said an official of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), an autonomous body managing the affairs of the hill shrine in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. The dress code will be implemented in phases, starting with devotees falling under “VIP darsan” category (those who get recommendation letters from VIPs and VVIPs). It would then be extended to all categories of pilgrims. Casual outfits like Bermudas, shorts, T-shirts, jeans, sleeveless tops and other western dresses would not be permitted. And if any devotee forgot to follow the dress code, they would be advised to change the dress before entering the temple queue, the official said. The dress code, which had been under consideration of the TTD for the past two years, was approved by the trust board recently. “We have decided not to allow western outfits only to maintain spiritual ambiance on the temple premises,” TTD executive director LV Subrahmanyam said. The TTD had received several suggestions from devotees in the past about following a specific dress code for the shrine. There were complaints that several pilgrims wore “revealing” outfits that distracted the attention of other pilgrims on the temple premises. “Once the pilgrims enter the temple premises, they have to be spiritually attracted to God and not get diverted by indecent attractions. That is why we have decided to enforce the dress code,” the TTD official said. Nestled among a string of seven picturesque hills, Tirumala shrine attracts around 50,000 pilgrims every day and the number swells to over one lakh on special occasions. The code For women:
“Saree” or “salwar kameez” with “chunni” For men:
“Dhoti” or “lungi” with “uttareeyam” (draping cloth) or “kurta-pyjama”
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Gogoi admits to dissent in Assam Cong Guwahati, June 9 “There will be differences within a political party, but these should be resolved through dialogue. Confrontation will not lead to any solution.” Over 10 dissident Congress MLAs were conspicuous by their absence. They mostly comprised younger legislators who were unhappy with the way some senior ministers were functioning under Gogoi’s leadership. Their main grievance was that most ministers in the Gogoi Cabinet hardly consulted them in implementing government welfare schemes, with some ministers focussing entirely on developing their Assembly constituencies. Union Tribal Affairs Minister and MP from Assam Rani Narah said differences within the party should be resolved through dialogue. Tarun Gogoi said his government was adopting the policy of dialogue to solve the problem of insurgency in the state unlike the opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) whose erstwhile government wanted to finish insurgency through secret (extrajudicial) killing of insurgent leaders’ kin.
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GameShame Syed Ali Ahmed/TNS
New Delhi, June 9 Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) SN Srivastava said hawala channel was used for money transactions in the spot-fixing. Details have been provided to the ED of 27 persons arrested in connection with the scandal as well as that of Dawood and Chhota Shakeel, he said. The police has taken this decision following interrogation of Ramesh Vyas, a bookie, who was arrested by the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police and was handed over to the Delhi Police on Friday. At present, he is in the custody of the Delhi Police on 10-day police remand. Vyas was in-charge of betting syndicate of Dawood Ibrahim in Dubai and Karachi in Pakistan. The police is also trying to find out his link with Chhota Shakeel. During questioning of Vyas, the police came to know that the bookies used code names, master, doctor etc, about their contacts while talking on phone to confuse the people and the investigating agencies.
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Manna Dey hospitalised
Bangalore, June 9 Born in Kolkata, the Dadasaheb Phalke awardee currently resides in Bangalore after spending more than 50 years in Mumbai. Having recorded more than 3,500 songs in a number of languages, including Hindi and Bengali, he regaled generations of listeners with his romantic ballads, intricate raga-based songs, qawwalis and fast-paced modern numbers, lending his voice to a number of Hindi and Bengali film stars.
— PTI
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Man forces Dalit boy to carry footwear on head; arrested
Madurai, June 9 The boy was returning home from school in Vadukapatti village after checking his annul exam results last Monday when the man caught him,
forced him to carry the footwear on his head and paraded him. The boy complained to his mother, a widow, who took up the matter with the man and his family, who refused to apologise, following which she filed a complaint with police. The man's father
and brother were arrested yesterday, the police said. — PTI
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All-party meeting on Naxal issue today
New Delhi, June 9 The meeting, also to be addressed by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, is expected to work towards evolving a consensus on the strategy to deal with the challenge posed by Left Wing Extremism. A decision in this regard was taken at the meeting of the UPA Coordination Committee last week at the Prime Minister's residence, which was attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP president Sharad Pawar, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and IUML chief E Ahamed. The PM had told the Chief Minister's Conference on Internal Security on Friday that the government's two-pronged anti-Maoist strategy of sustained operations and addressing development issues needed to be strengthened.
— PTI
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Akhilesh defends power tariff hike
Lucknow, June 9 Blaming the BSP government for the present power crisis, Yadav said his government was systematically working to increase power production. Yadav said his government would take care that the hike would cause minimum inconvenience to farmers and the poor and the burden was borne mostly by big consumers. The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission had approved a new power tariff structure on May 31, effecting a significant hike between 35 and 45 per cent for domestic and rural consumers.
— TNS
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The authorities at Tirumala, the richest temple in the country, have drawn up a dress code for the pilgrims.
According to the code, a woman devotee should wear “saree” or “salwar kameez” with “chunni” while male devotees should wear “dhoti” or “lungi” with “uttareeyam” (draping cloth) or “kurta-pyjama”.
Bangalore, June 9
A day after his stature stood undermined by the Modi fan club outside his house in Delhi and the pro-Modi faction within the party at Goa, Advani talked of sins committed by Hitler and Mussolini and how the two ended in hell.
Panaji, June 9