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Modi talks Telangana to revive BJP's southern dreams
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M’rashtra Govt officer attacked by mining mafia
LOc Attack
LoC remarks: JD(U) puts ministers on notice
Five Maoists held in Chhattisgarh
Mi-17 copters to power BSF fight against Reds
Govt to hire 2,000 ex-Armymen
Goa minister slams cop for raiding rave parties
Ishrat case: Gujarat DGP seeks report on Pande
GJM to continue stir, says it’ll talk only with Centre
Stop bandhs or face action, says Gogoi before heading to meet PM
Will oppose Food Bill in present form: Karuna
K’taka Oppn parties join hands for bypoll
Rains lash UP, many rivers in spate
Odisha coal dump crash toll rises to 14
Meteoroids come calling tonight
Woman cadet is first on Pilatus
CBI rebuts govt’s proposals on its autonomy in SC
Defence diplomacy with China may get a boost
Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture
Posting pictures on Facebook, Twitter unIslamic: Clerics
Suspected ISI agent arrested in Bihar
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Modi talks Telangana to revive BJP's southern dreams
Hyderabad, August 11 After losing power in Karnataka, which was touted as its gateway to the South, the BJP is now pinning its hopes on Telangana to revive its political fortunes. It was the first mainstream political party in the state to include the promise of Telangana statehood in its poll manifesto way back in 1999. Seeking to claim credit for bringing the statehood issue to the centre-stage of national politics, Modi, however, sought to do a balancing act, saying his party would like to see both the Telangana and Seemandhra states to develop and prosper at an equal pace. For the saffron party, desperate to gain a foothold in the South, Telangana, comprising 10 districts including Hyderabad, offers the best bet as the party has considerable following in the region. In the event of Telangana becoming a separate state before the next Assembly elections, scheduled in May, 2014, the party hopes to put up a reasonably good performance at the hustings by highlighting the fact that it was the first party to pledge its commitment for the statehood cause. The Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), an influential Muslim party in Hyderabad which has one MP and seven legislators, fears that the BJP's strength would grow considerably if separate Telangana state was formed. By choosing Hyderabad as the launch pad for its 2014 poll campaign, the BJP wants to position itself as a key player in the region in the coming elections. However, the party is also aware of the political unrest sweeping Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions for the last 10 days against the UPA's decision to carve out separate Telangana state. Holding the Congress responsible for the present state of turmoil, Modi said the ruling party had completely mishandled the Telangana issue and accused it of resorting to "divide-and-rule" politics, causing injustice to the Seemandhra region. When Indian states were last divided under the BJP rule, he pointed out, it was done amicably, keeping everyone happy. "There should be no animosity between the two brothers. I wholeheartedly hope you come out of these troubled times," he told the rally at Lal Bahadur Stadium which was packed to capacity. Given the demographic composition of Hyderabad, which is home to a large number of people Seemandhra, the BJP does not want to antagonize them. Meanwhile, in a calculated move, Modi sought to woo the Telugu Desam Party, headed by N Chandrababu Naidu, as part of a strategy to consolidate in the Telangana region with the help of a well-entrenched regional party. In his speech, Modi made a special mention about the TDP founder and former AP Chief Minister late NT Rama Rao and recalled that he was instrumental in forming the first ever non-Congress coalition government at the Centre. "The best tribute that we can pay to NTR is by making the country Congress-free," he said in an indirect invitation to the present TDP leadership to join the efforts to oust the Congress. "The TDP is carrying the political legacy of NTR and it has the responsibility to defeat the Congress," said Modi in his first rally in South India after taking over as the BJP's national poll campaign chief. His observations are seen in political circles here as the first indication by the saffron party of its willingness to work with the TDP in the 2014 elections. The TDP had ended its seven year long alliance with BJP in 2004 after losing power in AP. Naidu was a key player in the BJP-led NDA government, providing it the crucial outside support. A section of TDP leaders, particularly in the Telangana region, are said to be in favour of reviving the ties with the BJP to bolster the party's prospects in the 2014 elections.
Modispeak
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Swamy’s Janata Party merges with BJP
New Delhi, August 11 The announcement was made by Swamy in the presence of BJP president Rajnath Singh, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and former BJP chief Nitin Gadkari. Ahead of the merger, Swamy held discussions with senior BJP leaders at Rajnath Singh’s residence, who accepted the merger of his party in the BJP and hoped it would make BJP stronger. ”Dr Subramanian Swamy is the national president of the Janata Party and he has decided that the Janata Party and the BJP should merge. Today, I accept the merger of the Janata Party with the BJP. I am confident that with Swamy’s joining the BJP and the merger of his party will benefit the BJP...I welcome Dr Swamy in the BJP,” Rajnath Singh said. He said Swamy had been a leader of the Jana Sangh earlier and had accepted that it was the need of the hour in national interest to work together and unite. After the merger, Swamy said, “I am very pleased that the president and leaders of the BJP have welcomed me into the party fold as part of the merger process.” Swamy is an ardent proponent of Hindutva philosophy outside the Sangh Parivar and has been active in exposing the 2G Spectrum scam. He recently questioned the Jet-Etihad deal.
— PTI
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M’rashtra Govt officer attacked by mining mafia
Mumbai, August 11 In his complaint filed with the police, Vidyacharan
Kadvalkar, a tehsildar from the revenue department, said he had caught several men with tractors illegally lifting sand from the banks of Pengada river in Patonda village. On seeing the officer, two drivers abandoned their tractors and escaped. A third tried to drive his tractor away and when Kadvalkar tried to stop him, the driver tried to run over the official, the complaint said. The tehsildar said he jumped into a ditch to save his life. The owner and the driver of the tractor have been booked for attempt to murder and obstructing a government servant from performing his duty. No arrests have been made so far. Local government officials say the police, often in league with influential politicians, does not provide adequate support to those cracking down on the sand mafia.
Kadvalkar, who was accompanied by sub-divisional officer Vaijnath Bhalerao and some village panchayat officials, told reporters today that he received a complaint from some people about large-scale sand mining being carried out in the area. According to information available from the district, Kadvalkar has been cracking down on illegal sand mining in the area and has invited the wrath of local politicians known to be actively involved in the racket.
Narrow escape
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BJP wants diplomatic ties with Pakistan scaled down
Vibha Sharma/TNS
New Delhi, August 11 Therefore, on the day when another ceasefire violation incident was reported from the border area, at a rally in Delhi BJP president Rajnath Singh lashed out at the Central Government, asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to scale down diplomatic relations with Pakistan. His senior colleague LK Advani accused the UPA of messing up the first week of Parliament’s monsoon session over Telangana and said the killing of five Indian soldiers along the LoC and Defence Minister AK Antony’s “goof-up” had “inflicted irreparable damage on the reputation” of the government.
The party is now expected to raise these issues, along with the ones related to the Kishtwar communal violence, including “targeting of members of a minority community” and detaining of senior leader Arun Jaitley at the Jammu airport by the state authorities, in Parliament. Party leaders, who claim credit for successfully forcing Antony to backtrack on his earlier statement on the LoC killings, are clear that New Delhi should scale down diplomatic relations with Islamabad till Pakistan does not take a tough stand against terror outfits operating from its territory. While similar sentiments were expressed by senior BJP leaders at a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, speaking at the rally in the Ramlila grounds today, Rajnath Singh again urged the government to take appropriate steps and suspend all talks with Pakistan. “Pakistan has crossed all limits. The attacks along the LoC can be prevented if the government takes right steps. The Prime Minister should announce no talks will take place with Pakistan,” he said. Advani, in his blog titled “Pakistan ambushes Indian Jawans; Parliament ambushes UPA government”, said: “In these 41 years of my parliamentary life, I have never before seen any government messing up a Parliament session so horribly as the UPA government has done this time. “Because of the mishandling of the Telangana issue, Parliament session has till now proved utterly barren. But a serious tragedy occurred last week on the LoC, which has inflicted irreparable damage to the reputation of this government - particularly because of the goof-up on the day of the tragedy itself by Defence Minister AK Antony. “I would say if the Pakistan army ambushed our jawans on the LoC and killed five of them, Indian Parliament, upset with Antony’s statement, ambushed the Defence Minister and forced him to take back his wishy-washy version of the first day, and replace it with another statement, fully reflecting the national mood of anger against Pakistan,” the veteran leader wrote.
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To undo political damage, Antony didn’t limit himself to his ministry
New Delhi, August 11 He not only blamed the Pakistan Army for the Tuesday morning attack on Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) but also talked about the consequences of the attack on ‘the relationship with Pakistan’. He also brought in the pending issue of seeking punishment for 26/11 Mumbai attackers. This was in sharp contrast to his first statement in the House on August 6 that the Opposition led by the BJP had termed weak and one aimed at ‘giving a clean chit to the Pakistan army’. On Thursday, Antony, who does not qualify among the better orators, changed tack and widened the verbal attack and covered the most important aspect of the relations, or the lack of them, with Pakistan. The LoC attack pertained to the Defence Ministry headed by Antony. The matter of bringing the 26/11 attackers to face trial comes under the Home Ministry, nowadays headed by P Chidambaram in the absence of an ill Sushilkumar Shinde. The not-so-veiled warning that such an attack on the LoC could have consequences on ‘the relationship with Pakistan’ was clearly within the ambit of the External Affairs Ministry headed by Salman Khurshid. “It was as if Antony was speaking for the government and not for his ministry alone,” noted an official while pointing out that Antony normally does not speak on issues which do not concern his ministry. A strong line emerged on Pakistan after Antony arrived at his South Block office at 8 am yesterday to draft his reply. The minister held no consultations with anybody outside the inner circle of officers who brief him daily on security matters. Unlike the August 6 statement which conveyed a ‘diplomatic tone’ and was clearly not the message Antony would have liked to convey, his statement on Thursday matched his public stance on cross-border terrorism and the conduct of the Army in dealing with it along the Line of Control. At public forums, Antony often talks of terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and never shies from stating that we are living in a troubled neighbourhood. In his revised statement on Thursday, he apportioned blame on the Pakistan army for Tuesday’s attack on Indian soldiers.
Strong reply
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LoC remarks: JD(U) puts ministers on notice
New Delhi, August 11 In separate notices to Rural Development Minister Bhim Singh and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh, party president Sharad Yadav said that their statements were "against the policy, ethics and norms of
JD(U)" and asked them to explain within seven days "why disciplinary action should not be taken against you on the above
misconduct". Yadav also told the ministers that their remarks had not only "caused embarrassment" to the party but also damaged its reputation. In the letter to Bhim Singh, Yadav said, "Your statement regarding army personnel who were killed on the
LoC, was uncalled for you being a member of JD(U) and also being a member of the state cabinet. Your above act is against disciplinary norms of the party.” In his letter to Narendra Singh, Yadav said that his statement that Pakistan government had no hand in the killings was against the party policy, norms and ethics. He also reminded the minister that "in this regard I had personally requested you to issue the rebuttal and contradiction to your statement, but it was apparently not done." The
JD(U) president has asked both the minister "as to why disciplinary action should not be taken against you on the above misconduct." On Thursday, Bhim Singh had said that policemen and soldiers are recruited to make sacrifices for the nation, for which he later
apologised. — PTI
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Five Maoists held in Chhattisgarh
Raipur, August 11 The cadres were nabbed on Saturday evening from the forests of Gorla village under Madded police station, located over 400 kms from
Raipur, a senior official told PTI. The joint group of Chhattisgarh Armed Force
(CAF) and a team of local police were on a combing operation in the region when they rounded up the ultras on suspicion. Later, they admitted their involvement in the movement as Sangham members, the official said. The arrested have been identified as Gote Ramesh (25), Kursam Shyam Sundar (27), Tinge Manoj (20), Dubba Pawan (26) and Tinge Santi (30), the official said, adding that Pawan and Manoj were carrying reward of Rs 3,000 each on their heads. All the accused were involved in cases of dacoity and attempt to murder in Madded region, said the official. — PTI
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Mi-17 copters to power BSF fight against Reds
New Delhi, August 11 India has signed a contract with Rosoboronexport, Russia’s sole state agency, which is responsible for the import and export of its defence-related products. The contract states that eight Mi-17 V5 helicopters will be delivered to the Border Security Force (BSF) by October 2015. Some of the helicopters will be delivered by September 2014, according to BSF sources. “The new helicopters will be force multipliers in anti-Naxal operations. They will also enhance the sustainability of our 28 air-maintained border outposts in Mizoram. “The aim of acquiring the new aircraft is to cater to the growing demands of air support, induction and de-induction of troops, operational reconnaissance, special heli-borne operations and communication sorties for the troops serving in inhospitable areas,” said a senior BSF officer, adding that those would not be used as helicopter gunships. The BSF’s Mi-17 V5 helicopters will be operating from Ranchi in Jharkhand and Raipur and Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh. Presently, six Mi-17 1V (the predecessor of Mi-17 V5) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and six Dhruvs of the BSF are being used in anti-Naxal operations. The BSF also has Mi-17 1V in its Air Wing that are being used in the same operations. The Mi-17 V5 has day and night flying capabilities. Each helicopter can airdrop up to 20 troops in a short period of time. It can hover over an area for a considerable period, thereby allowing troops to slither down. The IAF is already using the helicopters. An IAF Mi-17 V5 helicopter pilot told The Tribune, “The most modern development in the aviation industry is the glass cockpit of the V5. The aircraft can carry a maximum load of four tons. It has a flight management system that provides the auto-pilot function. “The older Mi-17 1V does not have this option. The V5 when compared to its predecessor has stronger armour plating, better avionics and navigation controls.” Former IAF pilots, who have been absorbed in the BSF, will be flying these machines. Presently, BSF personnel are being trained on advanced light helicopters and will subsequently be trained on the Mi-17 V5s. Last year, the Ministry of Home Affairs had asked the Ministry of Defence (MoD) that its demand of Mi-17 V5 choppers be clubbed with the MoD’s purchase of 80 such helicopters at a cost of Rs 7,500 crore. The first lot of about 20 helicopters arrived in February last year and has been pressed into IAF operations in Punjab.
For anti-Naxal operations
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Govt to hire 2,000 ex-Armymen
New Delhi, August 11 This is the second time that the country’s largest paramilitary force is recruiting such a big number of ex-servicemen for operational roles after the first exercise was done in 2011. The total vacancies advertised by the Central Reserve Police Force, mainstay for anti-war operations in the country, are for 2,037 personnel who have retired as Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) The perks and salaries, for this task, are also attractive as JCOs can earn unto 55,000 per month while NCOs can draw upto Rs 35,000 per month. These servicemen, according to eligibility norms, will be drawn from Army regiments and Corps like infantry, armoured, artillery, bomb disposal and engineering Corps for the purpose. —
PTI
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Goa minister slams cop for raiding rave parties
Panaji, August 11 Dayanand Mandrekar, a cabinet minister in the Manohar Parrikar-led Goa government, also held Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Vijay Singh responsible for "destroying tourism" in Goa by his constant raids on beach parties, which are known for being hubs for drug trade. The comments were made at a public function in Chapora, one of the most infamous villages in north Goa, known for drug trade. Goa Director General of Police Kishen Kumar and Singh were at the function. "He was SP north. He should have stayed in his office in Porvorim. What was his motive to come to the beaches acting like a 'goonda' during raids?" Mandrekar said. — IANS
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Ishrat case: Gujarat DGP seeks report on Pande
Ahmedabad, August 11 “We have asked CID-Crime to send us a detailed report on Pandey and on receiving it we will talk to state Home department which will decide further course of action,” DGP Amitabh Pathak said. However, the state Home Department was non-committal on whether state government was going to take any action against
Pandey-who is the Additional Director General of Police-for his absence from duty for the last four months. “We have to wait till state DGP sends his report,” Principal Secretary (Home) SK Nanda told
PTI. Pandey, a 1982-batch IPS officer, was the Joint Commissioner of Police,
Ahmedabad, when Ishrat Jahan, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were gunned down by Crime Branch sleuths on June 15, 2004. Terming the encounter as “fake”, CBI has charged seven Gujarat policemen, including Pandey with murder and criminal conspiracy. The special CBI court has declared him ‘proclaimed absconder’. He appeared before the trial court on July 29 after Supreme Court directed him to remain present while rejecting his petition seeking quashing of FIR against him. Last week, upon CBI’s request, DGP instructed all district and city police chiefs to keep a tight vigil to trace him. On July 29, he appeared before the court on a stretcher from a private hospital here where he had been admitted for chest pain. For a few days, he attended court in wheel-chair; but again went missing when his applications for exemption from the appearance in the court and for anticipatory bail were rejected by the special CBI court here on Wednesday. Next day, the CBI court issued
non-bailable arrest warrant, and the High Court too rejected his appeal challenging denial of anticipatory bail. The top cop then approached the Supreme Court, which would hear his appeal tomorrow, but has not offered him protection from arrest in the meantime.
— PTI
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Khemka claim: Dept says no wrong committed
Chandigarh, August 11 A spokesperson claimed that allegations that Vadra used questionable documents and "sham" transactions, as reportedly alleged by Khemka in his reply to the report, were aimed at "sensationalising a non-existent issue". The spokesperson said the allegations have already been looked into by a committee comprising three financial commissioners of the state. They did not find anything wrong in grant of licence or renewal thereof. About the ownership documents being called as "sham", the spokesperson said that for the purpose of grant of license, the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975 requires the Director to enquire into the land ownership before granting any licence. In order to confirm the ownership of land, the Department relies not only on the sale deed entered into by the present owner for purchasing the land from its erstwhile owner but also on the entries in the Revenue Records. Once the mutation in favour of an applicant is presented, the department is bound to accept the ownership of land in favour of such applicant. This is the standard procedure followed for grant of licence. The same procedure was applicable in the licence case of Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd. The sale deed and Mutation by which Skylight Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. became the owner of the land in question is valid even today and nobody has challenged the same till date. As far as the exchange of sale consideration is concerned, it is a matter between private parties which cannot be gone into by the Director. No fake papers were submitted to the Department as alleged. It has also been incorrectly mentioned that DLF had applied for the same licence twice before. "Further there was no revenue loss to the Government as stamp duty and registration charges were paid as per law on execution of this sale deed. Thus the allegations regarding favouring the applicant by the Department by accepting its ownership documents is far from truth and facts". "It may also be noted that wild and imaginary market premiums have been calculated for the entire licensed land throughout the state, which is far from truth. By painting the entire state with one brush and ignoring the ground realities, a dangerous and mindless attempt is being made to stifle a sector of the economy, which has been doing well not just for the State but for the country as a whole".
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GJM to continue stir, says it’ll talk only with Centre
Kolkata/Darjeeling, August 11 Gurung brushed off Mamata Banerjee's 72-hour ultimatum to call off the
bandh. Instead, he declared today that the GJM would strengthen and widen the movement and not yield to her “Talibani threat”. As part of the movement, the hill people - on August 13 and 14 - will impose “janata curfew” and confine themselves to their houses as a mark of protest against the Chief Minister’s threat and the misuse of official power and the police. Tomorrow, Gurung will hold an all-party meeting at Darjeeling in which representatives of all other parties, including the Congress,
CPM, CPI, TMC, BJP, GNLF, Gorkha League, have been invited. At the meeting, the bandh situation will be reviewed and the strategy for the future will be
decided. Gurung said the morcha was firm in continuing its agitation. The agitation will be called off on August 15 for Independence Day celebrations and relaunched from August 16. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reiterated today the government’s decision of firmly dealing with the agitators if the bandh was not withdrawn before the expiry of her 72-hour ultimatum on Tuesday. She said the government would strictly implement the Calcutta High Court’s order for restoring peace and normalcy in Darjeeling. No untoward incident was reported from
Kurseong, Kalimpong and Darjeeling. (With PTI inputs)
Collision course
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Stop bandhs or face action, says Gogoi before heading to meet PM
Guwahati, August 11 Gogoi left for New Delhi during the day and is expected to meet Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, besides Dr Singh to discuss the separate statehood issue. The state has been witnessing violent protests and bandhs affecting normal life in at least six districts since the Centre's announcement on
Telangana. "I have appealed to everyone many times to stop bandhs, but it is still continuing. If bandhs and blockades continue like this, then we will have to take strict steps. We are talking to them (agitators) and we are for a peaceful solution. For any progress in the positive direction, violence has to be stopped," Gogoi told reporters after launching a new website for Assam Public Service Commission here. About his proposed meeting with Singh, who is also the Rajya Sabha MP from Assam, Gogoi said "I am going to Delhi today and will meet the Prime Minister. I will definitely let him know about the demands. I will also try to meet Sonia Gandhi to discuss the issues related to demands of separate states." Asked to comment on the demands by various groups to organise tripartite meetings between the agitators, state and Central governments, the chief minister said: "I am hopeful of arranging a tripartite meeting." The agitators have threatened to hold more bandhs and economic blockades of up to 1,500 hours if their demands of organising tripartite meetings for creation of separate states are not met before Independence Day.
— PTI
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Will oppose Food Bill in present form: Karuna
Chennai, August 11 "If the bill comes with all the important amendments as sought by various political parties, DMK will support it. If the Centre is firm on bringing it in the present form, without making any amendments, then DMK will oppose it..," party president M Karunanidhi said in a statement here. Responding to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's set of questions to the DMK on the issue yesterday, he said his party's parliamentary leader TR Baalu had already submitted the necessary amendments in Parliament on August 7. On her comments that nowhere in his earlier statement did he say that DMK would oppose the bill, he asked, "Does that statement say anywhere that the DMK would support the bill?" He also pointed out that the Chief Minister's letter to Prime Minister had only said that necessary amendments needed to be made and had nothing to the effect that AIADMK would oppose the bill. Maintaining that his stand on the issue was always clear, he said, "We have always said we would not accept if the bill is brought in its present form." On Jayalalithaa questioning DMK’s ‘double standard’ by supporting the Centre’s FDI in retail move, he said, “I had initially opposed the
FDI. Only after Chief Minister’s statement that it would not affect the small traders and farmers in the state, since the situation in the state was different, I had said the DMK would support the UPA to keep a stable government at the Centre.” He said since DMK was part of the ruling UPA then, it did not want to commit betrayal of alliance ‘dharma’ during the voting. "This is not betrayal (of people) or double standards. Not supporting the alliance would be considered as political betrayal." — PTI
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K’taka Oppn parties join hands for bypoll
Bangalore, August 11 Not stopping at striking a deal with Janata Dal (Secular) for the Lok Sabha byelections in two seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), erstwhile ruling party of Karnataka, has also entered into an understanding with the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP), the party floated by former BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa, for the byelections in three council seats. The JD(S) has not fielded any candidate in any of the council seats as a quid pro quo for the BJP’s decision of staying away from the Lok Sabha byelections. The KJP is not contesting the LS bypolls either. As a result, the council seats from Chitradurga and Dhardwad will see a straight fight between the BJP and Congress. The BJP has withdrawn its candidate from Mysore, paving the way for a straight fight between KJP and Congress for the council seat from there. Byelections in the three council seats have been necessitated following the decision of the incumbent members from BJP to quit their respective seats and contest the Assembly elections held in the state in May this year as KJP nominees. BJP had earlier withdrawn its candidates from the fray for the byelections in Bangalore (rural) and Mandya Lok Sabha constituencies and announced support for the JD (S) candidates. The two seats have fallen vacant after the incumbent representatives HD Kumaraswamy and N Cheluvaraswamy — both from the JD (S) — quit the Lok Sabha following their victory in the Assembly elections. JD (S) supremo and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda has given up all pretensions of opposing the JD (S)’s electoral arrangement with the BJP and even visited a BJP leader’s house in Bangalore (rural) constituency yesterday to seek his support for his support for JD(S) candidate from Bangalore (rural) Anita Kumaraswamy, daughter-in-law of Gowda. HD Kumaraswamy, Anita’s husband and former Chief Minister, has said his main aim is to defeat the Congress. Following the withdrawal of the BJP nominees, the contest in the two Lok Sabha seats has become a straight fight between the ruling Congress and JD (S) nominees. Not to be outdone, the ruling Congress has struck a deal with the little-known Karnataka Sarvodaya Party and is also seeking the support of the Samajwadi Party, both of which have only one member each in the Assembly.
Alliance talks
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Rains lash UP, many rivers in spate
Lucknow, August 11 Many major rivers flowing through the state are in spate at a number of places, said a Central Water Commission report. Moderate to heavy rain or thundershowers occurred at a few places in the state, with reports of heavy downpour at isolated places in eastern UP, said the MeT department. Ghazipur received maximum 13 cm of rainfall, followed by Sultanpur 5, Najibabad 4, Basti, Ayodhya, Mahrajganj, Biswan, Varanasi and Mathura 3 each, and Baberu, Gonda, Tarabganj, Aurraiya, Budhana, Jalesar, Saradhana and Shahjahanpur, 2 cm each. According to a MeT forecast, rain or thundershowers may occur at many places, with possibility of heavy rainfall at isolated places during the next
48 hours. Meanwhile, major rivers in the state including Ganga, Sharda and Ghaghra continued to flow above the danger mark at some places. — PTI
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Odisha coal dump crash toll rises to 14
Bhubaneswar/Rourkela, August 11 An official of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) maintained that 14 bodies had so far been recovered from the site of the accident at Kulda in the Basundhara-Garjanbahal coal mine area. Sundargarh Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Arora confirmed death of 10 persons in the incident that took place when a heap of coal dump caved in, burying people from nearby villages who went there to collect coal. He said a search and rescue operation was still under way at the site as he and MCL officials did not rule out possibility of the toll increasing with some more people feared to have been trapped under the debris. Five persons who were rescued from the heap with injuries are undergoing treatment at a hospital. An MCL spokesman said some villagers who went to the crash site in search of coal were buried when a portion of the coal dump collapsed all of a sudden, probably due to heavy rains that lashed the area on Friday. He said a search and rescue operation had been launched immediately at the site. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered a probe into the incident by the local Revenue Divisional Commissioner. MCL and the Odisha government have separately announced ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively to the next of kin of the dead. Meanwhile, leaders of different political parties visited the spot. BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan said the company should have adopted proper safety measures while the Director General of Mining Safety ought to have ensured effective monitoring. Senior Congress leader Kishore Patel and Odisha Commerce and Transport Minister Subrat Tarai blamed the MCL for the accident. — PTI
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Meteoroids come calling tonight
Mumbai, August 11 The meteoroids, known as Perseid Fireballs, belong to the debris of a comet, 109P/Swift-Tuttle and will be visible Aug 12-13 night, said scientist Bharat Adur, the head of Akash Ganga Centre for Astronomy (AGCA). "Initially, the meteor rates may remain low next week as Earth penetrates the sparse outskirts of the debris stream. Later, this could skyrocket to around 100 meteors per hour by the second week of August," Adur said. The maximum Perseid activity will be witnessed on the night of Aug 12-13, appearing as fireballs as bright as planets Jupiter
or Venus. He said that every year, from early to mid-August, the Perseid meteor showers the Earth which passes through a cloud of dust sputtered off as the comet approaches the Sun. "Perseid are rich in fireballs because of the size
of the parent comet and its an annual celestial activity which delights astronomers, both professionals and amateurs," Adur said. The Swift-Tuttle Comet has a huge nuclear — around 26 km in diameter, as compared to most other comets which are much smaller with nuclei barely a few kms across. As a result, Adur said
that Swift-Tuttle Comet produces a large number of meteoroids, many of which are big enough to produce fireballs. Given clear skies, Adur said it would be an educational experience for people and students to crane the skies next Monday night, towards the northern hemisphere, around 60 degrees above the horizon. He said that people can also tune in their ordinary FM radio between 97-101 MHz frequencies and hear the loud high frequency whistling sounds emanating from the Perseid meteoroids as they lash the upper atmosphere, burn and trickle down as ash. — IANS
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Woman cadet is first on Pilatus
New Delhi, August 11 Flight Cadet Vaishnavi Chellappa became the first trainee among her course that had commenced on July 1, 2013 at
Dundigal, Hyderabad. The IAF does not allow women to join as fighter pilots. However, Chellappa will now have the option of flying
transport planes or helicopters. — TNS
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CBI rebuts govt’s proposals on its autonomy in SC
New Delhi, August 11 In its 19-page submission, the agency said the Centre's proposals were "contradictory to grant of functional autonomy" and "violative of very principles of natural justice". The government, in its proposal, has rejected "pre-condition" of taking views of the outgoing CBI Director in the appointment of its new chief. It has also not agreed to increase the tenure of the Director from two years
to three. The Centre, in its affidavit dated August 2, had also refused to agree to CBI's demand to give its Director status of ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India, saying issues of parity had to be kept in mind. "It is not desirable to create new precedence which would create heartburn and dissension among similarly placed organisations," the Centre had said. According to the agency, "Taking views of outgoing Director in appointing a new Director is a statutory provision in existence (CVC Act, 2003). GoI wishes to take it away while terming it as precondition that is not acceptable whereas GoI agrees to incorporate the same by an executive order." On the issue of tenure of the Director and process of removal, the agency is of the view that "GoI does not preclude a longer term but does not intend to increase it by legislation. This view is in contradiction to give functional autonomy to the CBI.” "Removal of Director, CBI, without the involvement of the collegium that appoints the DCBI (Director, CBI) is violative of the very principles of natural justice," it said. CBI said, "This is exhibited by the fact that at present, an IPS officer is inducted by a selection committee headed by the CVC and his repatriation or curtailment/extension of his tenure in the CBI is done by same selection committee and not by DoPT." The agency has said in its affidavit that a close scrutiny of government's proposal would show that it is silent on the suggestion of the agency on the issue of suspension of DCBI.
— PTI
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Defence diplomacy with China may get a boost
New Delhi, August 11 At present, a Colonel rank Army officer is posted as defence attache to China and is aided by a Lieut-Colonel. Now India desires to have a Brigadier-level officer to be tasked to China. An Army officer becomes a Brigadier after serving for almost 25-26 years and has the necessary experience to handle the sensitivity of the India-China relations. In addition to this, New Delhi wants, for the first time, to post a Group Captain-rank officer of the Indian Air Force as air attache and a Captain-rank officer of the Navy as naval attaché. Both ranks are one rank lower to Brigadier, means the Army man will be heading the defence wing at the Indian Embassy at China. A similar kind of arrangement is with Pakistan where a Brigadier heads the defence wing at the Indian High Commission while a Group Captain of the IAF and a Captain of the Navy also work with him. China is the only country in the five-member UN Security Council with which India has a Colonel-level defence attaché. In the US, France, the UK and Russia, the Indian DA’s are Brigadiers and their IAF and Naval equivalents are also in the same rank. The matter of expanding defence diplomacy with China is pending for almost a decade but the lack of trust between the two countries has held back issues. The change has come about after Minister of Defence AK Antony paid an official visit to China from July 4-7 at the invitation of the Chinese Defence Minister Gen Chang Wanquan. The two sides agreed that the navies will increase ship visits, consider conducting joint maritime search and rescue exercises and cooperate in counter-piracy operations. It was also agreed that the air forces will carry out high-level visits and expand their functional exchanges. Also as India and China are hunting for the same strategic space in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), New Delhi is looking to have a Cold War-style protocol at seas that existed between the US and the USSR to ensure that competition does not escalate into a conflict on the high seas.
Fresh impetus
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Time to formulate cyber, space strategy for India, says Saran
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 11 Delivering the 18th Prem Bhatia memorial Lecture, Saran said India was an important player in these three domains and would continue to enjoy importance globally. However, it would need to have a long-term strategy in that regard. These domains were driving a rapid change globally, thus necessitating discovery of new instruments of governance. “The change is so fast that by the time you connect the dots, the dots have shifted. We have to make sense of this slippery flux. Our systems are based on sectoral segregation. This will not work as there are no signposts to watch”, Saran said. As regards maritime domain, he said around 90 per cent of the trade was being carried out via oceans. The transportation of crude oil, iron ore and minerals via ships added a new strategic dimension to trade. “The snowmelt at the North Pole has resulted in the opening of a new sea route connecting Asia and Europe through the Arctic Ocean. This route is 40 per cent shorter. Around 200 ships made use of this route last summer. It is now estimated that around 25 per cent of the trade would be done through this route by 2030, instead of the Suez Canal route. This would have an impact on the importance of the Asia-Pacific region. As far as the space domain was concerned, around 5,000 satellites were orbiting the earth at this time and all these were indispensable for the modern-day world. Similarly the cyber space was another domain that connected the world together. All three were interlinked, he added. India, he said, was doing well in all three. Its Navy was expanding, though not at the pace it should have been. Its space capability matched the best. In cyber space, India possessed both defensive and offensive capabilities, he added. “Since India will be a key player in these three domains, a long-term strategy has to be put in place. The temptation to follow the negative should be avoided,” he said. China’s unannounced anti-satellite test (A-SAT) in 2007 exposed the vulnerability of satellites. Would India acknowledge this and build a regime that protected space and did not allow space-based weapons. Or would it not expand its Navy beyond a level and opt to live in mutual assurance of peace? he asked. Collaboration, and not competitiveness, would be the future, he said. Earlier, MK Rasgotra, a former foreign Secretary and now the Chairman of the Prem Bhatia Trust, gave away the journalistic awards for 2013. Shalini Singh, a Deputy Editor with The Hindu, was awarded for political reporting. Jaideep Hardikar, a Special Correspondent with The Telegraph at Nagpur, was awarded for excellence in environmental reporting, particularly related to rural and agrarian issues. Prem Bhatia, a noted journalist, was a former Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune.
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Posting pictures on Facebook, Twitter unIslamic: Clerics
New Delhi, August 11 The heads of the two popular Lucknow-based helplines, run for Shia and Sunni Muslims, have been flooded with phone calls asking if virtual profiles are Islamic. "You can't see someone's face on Facebook and decide that you want to be friends. Look for 'pyar aur mohabbat' (love) in real life. Virtual relationships are not 'faydaymand' (profitable)," Sunni Mufti Abul Irfan Naimul Halim Firagni Mahli told PTI on phone from Lucknow. The Mufti wants youngsters to bond in the real and not the virtual world. Of the over 1,000 calls that the Mufti fields in a month on his popular helpline, more than 50 per cent questions are about Internet usage. — PTI
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Suspected ISI agent arrested in Bihar
Motihari, August 11 Acting on a tip-off, teams of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) from Patna and Muzaffarpur arrested Md Jameel, alias Bhura, two days ago, DRI Deputy Director Vidyut Vikas said. A native of Purana Bazar locality of UP’s Hapur district, Jameel, was wanted in connection with recovery of fake notes with a face value of about Rs 30 lakh brought to New Delhi by a courier from Shenzhen town of China on June 23 last, he said. The accused was working for a Pakistan-based ISI operative and circulating fake currency notes in UP and Delhi, Vikas said, adding that Jameel had gone underground and taken shelter in Nepal after recovery of fake currency notes. —
PTI
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The BJP today made a renewed bid to make inroads into South India using the Telangana statehood as a springboard. The saffron party's star campaigner and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi kicked off the poll campaign from Hyderabad, the heart of Telangana, and reminded a youth rally that it was BJP which had first promised statehood for the region.
Former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran elaborated on the importance of maritime, space and cyber domains here today. Their connect with the modern-day economy posed a huge challenge to the leaderships globally.
A Maharashtra Government official who has been cracking down on the sand mining mafia in the state's Hingoli district nearly lost his life on Saturday while trying to prevent criminals from fleeing.
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Making a debut south of Vindhyas at Hyderabad, BJP’s campaign committee chief Narendra Modi completed the attack, targeting the Centre over LoC killings and its “weak” foreign policy and the Kishtwar communal clashes.
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