|
|
|
|
|
Shinde warns of more violence ahead of polls
Upset Azam Khan skips SP’s Agra meet
|
|
|
SC to take up plea for CBI inquiry today
Curfew relaxed for four hours
Gujarat Govt orders probe into
‘land grab’ by Asaram trust
Advani yet to give assurance on Modi for PM’s post
Cong wary after Sharad Pawar’s salvo at Chavan
Mumbai gang rape judgment likely in two months
Photography a sin, rules Darul Uloom
Black buck deaths: UP Govt orders probe
3 suspected dengue deaths in M’rashtra
Don't use notes for making garlands: RBI
Deprived ECHS members can now visit govt hospitals
ULFA issues veiled threat to Hindi movies
|
|
Shinde warns of more violence ahead of polls
“I cannot say about political conspiracies till I get a complete report about the violence (in Muzaffarnagar). But political parties could indulge in,” he told reporters here on the sidelines of a function. The Home Minister’s comment came when asked whether there was any political conspiracy behind the Muzaffarnagar riots. Clashes in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining towns have claimed 40 lives. Shinde said the Central government has already warned 11 states about possible communal violence ahead of 2014 General Election and asked them to remain alert about such designs. “As we approach towards the election, we may witness more such communal violence. We have alerted 11 states,” he said. The Home Minister, however, refused to blame the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government for the riots in western Uttar Pradesh, saying situation there has improved considerably now. “Eighty companies (8,000 personnel) of paramilitary forces were deployed (in UP). Army was also deployed. Curfew has been relaxed now. Situation is improving,” he said. Curfew has been relaxed in some parts of Muzaffarnagar district. Strict vigil was being maintained during the relaxation period and the police and paramilitary forces were on high alert. — PTI
|
|
Upset Azam Khan skips SP’s Agra meet
Lucknow, September 11 Party functionaries dismissed Khan’s absence from the national working committee meeting at Agra saying it was “probably due to illness”. Sources claimed that Khan was sulking over the Samajwadi Party government’s delay in imposing curfew and general mismanagement of the control of riots. Another blow to the party is the resignation of Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan from the post of Adviser to the state government on Handloom and Textiles - a post which accorded him the status of minister of state. In a letter announcing his decision to relinquish the post, Tauqeer Raza Khan, head of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council and prominent leader of the Barlevi sect of Sunni Muslims, has asserted that the decision was taken to lodge his protest against the loss of life and property of Muslims in Muzaffarnagar. Jamait-e Ulema Hind’s Mehmood A Madani has also sought an appointment with the Prime Minister to apprise him of the misgivings of the Muslim community following the Muzaffarnagar’s violence. The All-India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, an umbrella body of Indian Muslim organisations, has demanded the dismissal of the Akhilesh Yadav government and imposition of President’s rule for having “utterly failed on the law-and-order front”.
|
|||
|
SC to take up plea for CBI inquiry today
New Delhi, September 11 The petition filed by Mohd. Haroon and eight others belonging to the minority community also sought a CBI probe into the mass killings. A Bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi assured the petitioners’ senior counsel Gopal Subramanium that
the PIL would be listed for tomorrow. The issue was raised through mentioning, pleading for an early hearing.
|
|||
|
Curfew relaxed for four hours
Lucknow, September 11 With two more bodies recovered in the sugarcane fields in Muzaffarnagar today, the total death toll has arisen in the recent communal clashes to 37 of which 34 deaths have occurred in Muzaffarnagar and one each in Saharanpur, Baghpat and Meerut. The biggest challenge before the administration was to counter rumours which were spreading like wild fire with the help of social media applications and YouTube. Speaking to reporters, Home Secretary Kamal Saxena and IG Crime Ashish Gupta said while no fresh incident was reported from Muzaffarnagar, there was one incident at Thirthal village in Baghpat. Here members of both communities pelted stones at each other following rumours of an armed attack on the village. As force was present in the village, the situation was quickly brought under control. Twenty five persons have been arrested for these disturbances. In a press statement, Principal Secretary Home RM Srivastava has urged people not to take a YouTube video purportedly about the August 27 Kavaal incident in Muzaffarpur seriously. “It is a two-year-old video about an incident in Sialkot in Pakistan,” the statement claimed. Home Secretary Saxena said the NSA has been slapped on two more persons today taking the total number of such people to seven. Around 1,500 people have been arrested as a precautionary measure and 2,000 weapon licenses suspended.
|
|||
|
India extends $144 mn line of credit to Liberia
New Delhi, September 11 “We have decided to enhance our cooperation (with Liberia) in a number of areas, including agricultural research, health, small and medium enterprises, science and technology, education and skill development,’’ Manmohan Singh said after wide ranging talks with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf here. The visiting leader, who is Africa’s first female President, is accompanied by as many as nine senior ministers to attract investments from India. President Pranab Mukherjee will honour her tomorrow with Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2012 at a function at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. She was conferred Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” Apart from the MoU to extend the credit line to Liberia, the two countries inked accords for establishing a joint commission; promoting academic exchanges of students, faculty and experts; and establishing a cooperative institutional framework to facilitate and to enhance bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. The credit line has been extended for the setting up of a power transmission and distribution project in Liberia. The Indian Prime Minister observed that there was a great potential to further strengthen bilateral trade and investment relations between the two countries. Indian investments in Liberia, especially in the mining sector, were growing. He asked President Sirleaf to facilitate Indian investment in agriculture, infrastructure, hydrocarbon, mining and manufacturing in line with Liberia’s national development goal policies. President Sirleaf noted that the Indian community in Liberia was the second largest expatriate community in the country. A number of Indian businesses have found a springboard in Liberia from which they have spread throughout the West Africa sub-region and elsewhere.
|
|||
|
ISRO unveils Mars orbiter
Bangalore, September 11 Earlier missions to Mars by other countries claimed to have detected methane in the Martian atmosphere, but the discovery is yet to be corroborated. Methane is known to be released by some microbes as part of their digestive process. Since Mars does not have an ozone layer like the Earth has, the UV rays of Sun are expected to destroy the methane molecules on Mars. If methane signature is found in Mars, it will mean that this gas is produced on the planet all the time. This is possible only if living beings are present on Mars. “The methane sensor is installed to search for life on Mars”, S Arunan, project director of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), told reporters at the ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) here today. If the methane sensor aboard the MOM can conclusively establish the presence of methane on Mars (indicating the presence of life on the planet), the entire credit for it will go to the Indian Space Research Organisation because the methane sensor, like the four other payloads aboard the orbiter, has been made entirely in an ISRO laboratory. Besides the 3.59 kg methane sensor, the other equipment aboard the 1,400-kg orbiter is thermal infrared spectrometer (weighing 4 kg, it will be used to map the surface composition of Mars), Mars colour camera (1.4 kg), Lyman-alpha photometer (weighing 1.5 kg, it will measure atomic hydrogen in the Martian atmosphere) and the Mars exospheric neutral composition analyser (4 kg, will study the Martian atmosphere). Reporters, who had assembled at the ISAC today at the invitation of ISRO, were also given to see the orbiter from across the glass wall of the “clean room” where members of ISRO’s integration team were working on the spacecraft. The launch of the satellite, which is slated to be India’s first inter-planetary mission, will take place anytime between October 21 and November 19 when Mars will be closest to Earth. Because of the relatively short distance, the PSLV-XL rocket carrying the spacecraft will require relatively less fuel to launch it into the orbit of Mars. Otherwise ISRO will have to wait for another two years for Mars to come that close to Earth again. The voyage to Mars (from the ISRO spaceport at Sriharikota near Chennai) will last for about nine months. Launching of the satellite in the orbit of Mars itself will be considered a big achievement. Only the USA had been relatively successful as far as its Mars missions were concerned while other spacefaring countries such as Russia, China and Europe were having a poor record on this score. ISAC director SK Shivakumar and ISRO official Annadurai pointed out that the MOM project was approved by the government last year only and said “the longest (in terms of distance to be covered) project in ISRO’s history has been readied in the shortest period of time”. MOM is going to cost the exchequer Rs 450 crore, including Rs 110 crore for the launcher and Rs 150 crore for the spacecraft. The life of the mission is six months, though ISRO scientists are hoping that the probe would last more than six months.
|
|||
|
DA case: Jagan files bail plea
Hyderabad, September 11 The move came after the completion of the four-month time-frame set by the Supreme Court in May this year for the CBI to complete the investigations into the alleged illegal assets case against the 40-year-old industrialist -turned-politician. While admitting the bail plea, the special CBI court directed the CBI to file a counter and posted the matter for hearing tomorrow. The development came a day after the CBI, which is probing the case, filed three separate chargesheets in the case, taking the total number of charge sheets filed by the premier investigating agency so far to eight. The CBI had said that it would file the last set of chargesheets in a couple of days. Jagan's counsel said that the decision to file the bail petition was taken as the four month deadline set by the apex court ended on September 8. While rejecting Jagan’s bail plea on May 9 this year, the Supreme Court had said that granting him bail could hamper the investigation but set a four-month deadline for the CBI to complete its probe. The court had then said that the MP could apply for bail before a trial court after the completion of the investigation. His bail plea was earlier rejected by the High Court in January this year. Experts say Jagan, the son of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister late YS Rajasekhar Reddy, could get bail this time around if the CBI did not oppose his bail. The crux of the charges against Jagan is that he had misused the official position of his father during 2004-09 to attract investments into his business ventures in return for doling out favours such as land allotments, irrigation contracts and mining leases.
|
|||
|
Gujarat Govt orders probe into
‘land grab’ by Asaram trust Ahmedabad, September 11 While the state government has ordered inquiry into the alleged land grabbing by the trustees of Asaram ashrams, the state-owned road transport corporation is mounting pressure on the Asaram ashram at Motera on the outskirts of Ahmedabad to immediately clear Rs 18 lakh bill pending for nearly five years. In the wake of allegations of land grabbing by the Asaram ashram, the Sabarkantha district collector today ordered re-acquiring 447 sq m land at Navagam on the outskirts of of Himmatnagar for alleged "misuse" of the land. The plot was reportedly given to the Asaram trust in 1998 for agricultural purposes but instead it set up an ashram with residential and other facilities without seeking permission of the government for converting the plot into "non-agricultural zone." After due inquiry, the district collector today ordered re-acquiring the land and demolition of the ashram. Similar inquiries had also been ordered for ashrams in Junagadh, Surat, Bayad and in various other parts of the state. The state transport corporation bill dates back to 2008. In the wake of mysterious deaths of two boys in the ashram school, the Motera Ashram was under siege of an angry mob. As the situation threatened to go out of control, the police with the consent of ashram authorities summoned over 60 ST buses from its Gandhinagar depot to ferry the Ashramites to safer places. After the situation returned to normal, the ST corporation sent a bill for Rs 18 laks to the ashram, but the Ashram trust refused to pay the amount claiming that the buses were requisitioned by the police.
|
|||
|
Advani yet to give assurance on Modi for PM’s post
New Delhi, September 11 Sources, in fact, say the BJP may go ahead with the announcement in spite of opposition by Advani and some other senior leaders, Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi for instance. Those close to the veteran leader say that in his meeting with Rajnath Singh, Advani reiterated his stand that announcement of Modi’s name at this stage will be detrimental to the party’s prospects in the coming Assembly elections. “His stand has been constant. He told Rajnath Singh what he also said to Bhayyaji Joshi and Mohan Bhagwat in his (Rajnath Singh) presence that the UPA government has failed miserably on key issues and presented to the BJP ready-made poll issue like corruption, lack of governance and price rise. If the BJP projects Modi at this stage, the focus will shift to the issue of communalism versus secularism. The party will then have to keep defending Modi against attacks launched by rival parties instead of concentrating on its election strategy,” they explained, while also insisting that the issue of holding a meeting of Parliamentary Board was not even discussed at the meeting. With BJP chief’s meeting with Advani apparently yielding no concrete results, it seems that the party is readying to launch its standby plan. Considering that the key decision had to be taken by the Parliamentary Board, of which Advani is the chief, sources say the BJP president may make the announcement without going through the formality of the convening a meeting of the party’s highest decision making body. The pro-Modi camp insists that continued opposition from senior leaders like Advani and Sushma is unlikely to change the date of the Modi announcement, which can be expected soon. The RSS has already told Rajnath Singh that he must decide on how to make the announcement and also that the BJP must present a united house when it makes that announcement. The sources say that the BJP may give their senior-most leader a couple of days to reconsider his decision. Apparently, there is also a compromise formula in the offering. If that does not work out, then the party will move ahead to announce what the its cadres are “clamouring for”.
|
|||
|
Cong wary after Sharad Pawar’s salvo at Chavan
Mumbai, September 11 Congress leaders feel that Pawar could be raising the pitch against his party's ally ahead of the forthcoming General Election by his remarks against the Chief Minister. On Tuesday, Pawar hit out at Chavan for sitting on files pertaining to various ministries under the NCP which is part of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra. "There were many Chief Ministers in the past like YB Chavan, Vasantrao Patil and Vilasrao Deshmukh who took quick decisions but now those in power are suffering from some kind of paralysis. Their hands shake when they have to sign files," Pawar said at a function in Pune. The Maratha strongman went to chide Chavan for not being in tune with the political needs of the ruling coalition. "The Chief Minister has to support his ministers and clarify matters in public. This is not happening," Pawar said. He went on to say that since his party was part of the coalition he does not want to add anything further. Stung by the Pawar's remarks, Chavan told reporters after the cabinet meeting today that he would "respond at an appropriate time and place". "I won't advise him on what words to use," Chavan went on to say. The Chief Minister denied that he was delaying important projects. "The works which are within norms are completed immediately. The priority is for work concerning common people," Chavan said. The CM's party colleagues however feel that Pawar has other interests in mind. "Pawar is preparing to drive a hard bargain perhaps during the seat-sharing talks before the general elections," a Congress leader here said. However, a section of the party feels that Chavan is sitting on files pertaining to the Urban Development Department.
|
|||
|
Mumbai gang rape judgment likely in two months
Mumbai, September 11 Legal experts contacted by the Maharashtra government are of the opinion that a recent amendment to the Indian Penal Code could be used to complete the trial in two months, sources said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithiviraj Chavan has said that a fast-track court will be set up to hear the gang rape case. All the accused have been arrested and the police is waiting for reports from forensic experts to be delivered in the next few days before preparation of the charge sheet. “We will file the charge sheet in the next seven to 10 days,” Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil said. The police will be filing their charge sheet in a week’s time and the chief minister had said the case would sent to a fast-track court. The state government has already appointed senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as the special public prosecutor in the Shakti Mills case.
|
|||
|
Photography a sin, rules Darul Uloom
New Delhi, September 11 Mufti Abdul Qasim Nomani, Mohtamim (Vice-Chancellor) of Darul Uloom Deoband, told PTI on phone, "Photography is un-Islamic. Muslims are not allowed to get their photos clicked unless it is for an identity card or for making a passport." He said Islam does not permit video-taping of marriages or clicking of pictures to save as mementos for future generations. When pointed out that Saudi Arabia, which follows the Wahabi school that aspires to return to the earliest fundamental sources of Islam, allows photography in the holiest of Islamic cities Mecca and beams live coverage through the year, Nomani said, "Let them do it. We do not allow it. Not everything they do is correct." Nomani agreed with the fatwa -- a religious edict issued by Darul Ifta in Deoband -- regarding a query from an engineering graduate saying he was passionate about photography and wanted to pursue it as a career. "Photography is unlawful and sin. Hadith (recorded Islamic tradition) warns sternly against it. Do not do this course. You should search any suitable job based on your engineering course," reads the fatwa posted on the school's website. All India Muslim Law Personal Board member Mufti Abul Irfan Qadri Razzaqi also agreed with Nomani's fatwa. "Islam forbids photographing of humans and animals. Whoever does that will be answerable to God," Razzaqi told PTI. When reminded that Saudis allow it, he said, "Just because they are richer than us doesn't mean they are also correct. If they are allowing photography they will be answerable on the Day of Judgement in the court of God." A similar fatwa was issued when a television reporter asked if his "facing the video camera" is against Islam. "You are right, it is prohibited in Islam to photograph and to let others photograph you. Therefore, you should seek forgiveness from Allah for the same and choose for you a work which is free from such prohibited acts. "A work which involves unlawful and haram things is obviously unlawful. If the work includes oral or written reporting as well then the entire income will not be labelled as haram," reads another fatwa. However, Mufti Saif Abbas, president of the Shia Chand Committee, said his sect allows photography and television viewing. — PTI
|
|||
|
Black buck deaths: UP Govt orders probe
Lucknow, September 11 The two members of the probe team include principal secretary animal husbandry Dr J K Pandey and state’s chief wildlife conservator (training and research) Ashwani Kumar. The committee will look into the reasons of the sudden deaths of the black bucks in Lucknow zoo and submit its report in two days. A protected animal under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, the death of the black bucks reportedly occurred due to acute broncho pneumonia as per the post mortem report. The state government has also summoned two specialist Wild Life SOS from Agra Dr Illiraj and Indian Forest Institute Dehradun’s Dr Parag Nigam for the examination and treatment of the remaining 34 black bucks in the Lucknow zoo.
|
|||
|
3 suspected dengue deaths in M’rashtra
Gondia (Maharashtra), Sept 11 The deaths had been reported from Chiramantola village of this district in Eastern Maharashtra. One of the deceased was a 24-year-old pregnant woman, sources said, quoting reports reaching here. Though district health officials are giving other reasons for the deaths, they have started a medical camp and taking other preventive steps in the village to prevent spread of the mosquito-transmitting disease. Over 200 villagers are said to be suffering from the disease of which five have been referred to Government District Hospital here, they said. — PTI
|
|||
|
Don't use notes for making garlands: RBI
Mumbai, September 11 "The RBI has appealed to members of public not to use banknotes for making garlands, decorating pandals and places of worship or for showering on personalities in social events, etc," an RBI release said today. Such actions, it said, deface the banknotes and shorten their life. "...banknotes should be respected as they are a symbol of the Sovereign and public should not misuse them, and help in increasing the life of banknotes," the RBI added. — PTI
|
|||
|
Deprived ECHS members can now visit govt hospitals Chandigarh, September 11 Under the revised rules, veterans holding valid ECHS cards are entitled to in-patient treatment at Central, state or local self government hospitals without obtaining prior referral from the ECHS polyclinic located outside their home district. Post-operative follow-up treatment in government hospitals would be permitted in the cases of renal transplant surgery, knee and hip joint replacement, cancer treatment and neuro and cardiac surgery. For this, prior permission would be required from the nearest ECHS polyclinic. Medical re-imbursement claims in all cases would be submitted to the ECHS polyclinic concerned and the re-imbursement would be limited to the Central Government Health Service rates applicable to the nearest polyclinic and as per the ceiling rates and ward entitlements, or as per actuals, whichever may be lower. Recently, the defence ministry had provided some administrative relief to veterans and their dependants across the board by simplifying procedures for availing treatment for serious ailments that require frequent visits to the hospital.
|
|||
|
ULFA issues veiled threat to Hindi movies
Guwahati, September 11 In a statement issued to the media here, the outlawed insurgent outfit called upon the people of Assam to extend cooperation to the ‘steps it was going to take to rein in invading Hindi movies’ in the greater interests of protection of Assamese language and culture. “We don’t believe that construction of only mini cinema halls in rural areas will suffice to revive the golden days of Assamese films and there must be parallel efforts to put a check on promotion and proliferation of Hindi movies in the state,” the ULFA statement said. The militant group stated that it had taken a very serious note of an announcement made by one of the veteran and acclaimed filmmakers of the state, Pulak Gogoi, who said that from now onwards he would not make any film in Assamese language though he was game to make films in Bengali and Hindi. Gogoi said so after he had been discouraged by poor response from Assamese audience to his just released film “Mamtaz” which has been lauded by the film critics. In this regard the ULFA stated that Pulak Gogoi’s announcement reflected the sorry state of affairs in Assamese film industry which desperately needs revival measures. The ULFA expressed fear that barring a handful of artiste, it would become difficult for others artistes related Assamese film industry to survive unless promotion of ‘superficial, market oriented Hindi movies’ could not be checked in the state.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
New Delhi, September 11
