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Modi blames Congress for Jharkhand misery
Targets Rahul Gandhi again
Modi, Kejriwal no match for Rahul, says Lalu
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special status
CAF man killed in Maoist ambush
AP train fire: Forensic experts begin probe
Big parties are donors’ favourite
Deal remarks: AAP, Cong hit out at Gadkari
M’rashtra minister given ‘milk bath’, apologises
Mumbai nightclubs not to stay open late
Land scam
Revellers do drugs at music fests: Goa minister
Higher prices costing ordnance factories dear
Govt to revise rates of empanelled hospitals
Centre mulls $3b fund for Muslims’ education
Bitcoin ‘exchanges’ shut after ED raids
Suchitra Sen serious
Army Chief interacts with ex-servicemen
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Modi blames Congress for Jharkhand misery
Ranchi, December 29 Addressing a rally here, Modi said if a survey report was submitted to the leading economists of the world, they would certainly say that the state would have been among the most prosperous regions in the world, if the resources were properly utilised. "Why is Jharkhand still poor and poverty growing even if it has rich resources?" Modi wondered and then gave the answer himself: "I would say the party in whose hands the reins were in since Independence should reply." He said that the people of the region had been demanding a separate state for a long time to determine their own destiny, but the "sultanate" in Delhi did not hear and rejected the demand. "It was former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee who understood the aspirations and dreams of the people of the region and created the state along with Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh," Modi said. "The new state was created accepting that it will be 'progressive', but why has it not happened in 13 years?" Modi wondered, comparing the state with Chhattisgarh which, he said, had "sped away on the path of development". He attributed Chhattisgarh's "success" to the people's desire for development and for the BJP. He said the next five years would be crucial for the state. Referring to a sick PSUs here, he stated how he had revived Gujarat Fertiliser Corporation which was on the verge of closure by ensuring professionalism and technological upgrades and above all, putting a cap on unnecessary expenditure. Blaming the unbridled price rise on Central government policies, Modi alleged that "some leaders are saying it is not their responsibility and asked the Chief Ministers of states to control it". Recalling the Chief Ministers' meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh three years ago, Modi said that he had been appointed the chairman of a committee in which there were three other CMs. "I gave a draft report suggesting 20 initiatives and other measures to the PM who had appreciated the work. But it has been two-and-a-half years since the draft report was submitted and still nothing has been done," he said. — PTI
Modi’s pain over riots 11 years too late: Sibal
New Delhi: Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Sunday claimed that the "pain and agony" reflected in Narendra Modi's feelings over 2002 Gujarat riots was a "belated reaction" aimed at electoral gains during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and asserted that the "riots baggage" will remain with him. “Pain can never be a belated reaction after 11 years of silence,” he said. —
PTI
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Targets Rahul Gandhi again
Ranchi, December 29 Modi made these remarks at a rally here apparently referring to the Congress vice-president's meeting with CM of Congress-ruled states in Delhi on Friday during which he asked them to check prices and implement the Lokayukta Act on the lines of Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill. Rahul Gandhi had disapproved of the Maharashtra government's decision to reject the Adarsh Commission's report on the society building scam. "In ancient times, people heard akashwani (celestial voices) that came as if they (voices) were not concerned about the happenings around. Today, there is ‘akashwani’ that CMs will do this, CMs will do that. People who are involved in corruption...if there is honesty in the words of people who do ‘akashwani’, then they should respond as to how corruption developed under the Congress in Jharkhand," Modi said without naming Rahul Gandhi. He said Congress leaders were doing the same today. — PTI
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Modi, Kejriwal no match for Rahul, says Lalu
Muzaffarnagar, December 29 "Kejriwal and Modi are nothing in front of Rahul. Rahul Gandhi is Rahul Gandhi. You guys have put them (Kejriwal, Modi) on the moon. It is you who give them publicity. What have they done so far," the RJD chief said, adding his party would tie up with the Congress for the Lok Sabha poll. Lalu, whose visit to the area comes a week after the Congress vice-president's unannounced visit to the camps in Shamli last Sunday, echoed Rahul's views that those living in camps should go back to their villages. "We have come here to wipe away the tears of the victims. They should go back to their homes. Government should facilitate that," Lalu told reporters. Slamming Aam Aadmi Party, he said the party was doing a "drama" by renouncing facilities such as vehicles with red-beacon cars, security etc. "AAP is talking about corruption. They themselves are corrupt,” he alleged. Training his guns on Modi and his close aide Amit Shah, whom the RJD chief described as the Gujarat Chief Minister’s "general manager for communalising society", Lalu said, "He (Shah) is spoiling the whole atmosphere. He is...currently their warhorse here". "RSS, Modi and Amit Shah, who is working here (in Uttar Pradesh) are well-known for this and see the riots happened. People used to live here together but the riots happened... "Communal violence erupted in UP after Amit Shah was sent to handle the party's poll campaign here. He is spoiling the atmosphere of the state," he alleged. He said, "The BJP is the country's enemy. We are BJP's enemy. "The powers, which were once propagating the rumour that Lord Ganesha is consuming milk, are trying to communalise the whole society and promote both external and internal divisions. Youths are the main victims of this," he said. Lalu is considered a popular leader among the minority community and his party RJD had been in power in Bihar for 15 years largely on the basis of the Muslim-Yadav combination. — PTI
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Bihar CM misleading people: Cong
Patna, December 29 "Nitish Kumar is deliberately misleading the people and instigating them against the Congress-led UPA government by making baseless charge that the latter has shelved the special status demand by Bihar under the influence of its natural ally," Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Ashok Chaudhary said in a statement. The Chief Minister has been consistently making baseless remarks that the Centre has shelved Bihar's special status demand on the basis of the Raghuram Rajan panel report in spite of the fact that the report was under consideration of the Centre and the Planning Commission, he said. The Raghuram Rajan panel report has neither been rejected nor withdrawn by the UPA government, Chaudhary said. He rubbished Nitish Kumar's charge as 'politically motivated' that the Centre has shelved the special status demand under influence of its 'ally,' he said. — PTI
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CAF man killed in Maoist ambush
Raigarh, December 29 "The incident took place when both personnel, attached to Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF), were returning after security duty at a weekly market at Mirtur village under Bhairamgarh police station limits this evening," said Bijapur ASP Abhishek Meena. The two left the Mirtur market place around 4 pm and were returning when a small group of Maoists from a forest area ambushed them and opened indiscriminate firing, killing Mukesh Sharma and injuring his colleague Sumeet Kumar. Mukesh hailed from Rajasthan and Sumeet from Uttar Pradesh, Meena said, adding that Maoists fled into the forest after the attack. On getting information of the attack, additional security forces were rushed to the spot, he said. Mukesh's body was retrieved from the spot and Sumeet was admitted to Jagdalpur hospital, the ASP said. — PTI
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AP train fire: Forensic experts begin probe
Hyderabad, December 29 As part of the investigation to determine the cause of the fire, a 13-member team from the AP Forensic Science Laboratory (APFSL) started sample collection, said Anantpur Deputy Superintendent of Police S Senthil Kumar. A devastating fire ripped through an AC coach of the Bangalore-Nanded Express, near the Kothacheruvu Railway Station, charring 26 people to death, including two children and leaving 13 others injured yesterday. The 26 bodies were shifted to a hospital in Bangalore after conducting primary autopsy. As the bodies were charred beyond recognition, DNA tests were conducted for identification. It was learnt that forensic experts will also conduct DNA profiling to identify the deceased. Based on preliminary reports, AP police had earlier said that the cause of the fire may be a short-circuit near the AC unit. — PTI
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Big parties are donors’ favourite
Ropar, December 29 A list of those who donated more than Rs 20,000 to these parties has been obtained under the RTI Act by activist Dinesh Chadha of Ropar. The
list shows that some companies, including Sesa Goa, Avon Cycles and Ralson Limited, funded both parties. The Congress got money from 342 such contributors in 2011-12, including 25 companies. While Sesa Goa contributed Rs 2 crore to the party fund, Satya Electoral Trusts, New Delhi, and VM Salgaonkar and Brothers Private Limited, Vasco da Gama, Goa, gave Rs 1 crore each. Among major individual contributors were HDR Lingdoh of Shilong (around Rs 10 lakh) and CK Danuka of Kolkata (Rs 7.5 lakh). The BJP got funds from 1,104 contributors, including 300 companies. The companies that contributed big amounts to it included Sesa Goa (Rs 1.75 crore); Shree Sainath Enterprises, Mumbai, (Rs 5.5 crore); Lodha Constructions, Dombivali, Mumbai, (Rs 1 crore); Public & Political Awareness Trust (Rs 5 crore); KSK Energy Ventures, Hyderabad, (Rs 2.6 crore) etc. The BJP did not submit its list of contributors to the Election Commission for 2012-13. The Congress got Rs 12 crore from 684 contributors, who shelled out more than Rs 20,000 each during this period. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) got Rs 73.95 lakh from 59 contributors, including Rs 40 lakh from Shanti
Bhushan.
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Deal remarks: AAP, Cong hit out at Gadkari
New Delhi, December 28 "This (claim) is all rubbish. It is sad to note that a senior leader like Gadkari is talking nonsense. If he is making claims, then he should also give evidence," Kejriwal said. "There is no deal with Congress or BJP. We are here to work for the people. If we pass the floor test in Delhi Assembly, we will run the government otherwise we will once again go to people,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said. Congress general secretary in-charge of Delhi, Shakeel Ahmed said the BJP was frustrated because its hopes of coming to power in the state were shattered. Describing Gadkari's statement "irresponsible" and a "complete lie", Ahmed said the BJP leader should first produce evidence before levelling such unfounded allegations. "Gadkari and his party are experts in carrying out such deals, not the Congress," Shakeel Ahmed said. AAP leader and Cabinet minister Manish Sisodia too demanded that Gadkari should produce evidence to substantiate his claims. "Even if it does not have any evidence, at least the name should be revealed. He (Gadkari) should tell us which hotel was the deal brokered in, the details of the people involved, the politicians involved. Even we'll ask which AAP party leader has brought in money through the deal," Sisodia said. The BJP, however, remained silent on the issue, apparently not supporting Gadkari's remarks in the absence of any substantial evidence backing the claims. — PTI
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M’rashtra minister given ‘milk bath’, apologises
Mumbai, December 29 The incident in Kolhapur on Friday occurred in a state that is the first in the country to pass a legislation against superstition. As the incident sparked an outrage, Mushrif apologised for the action of his supporters giving him a 'milk bath' to 'purify' him. On Thursday, an NCP worker walked to the stage at a public function in Buldhana where Mushrif was seated and poured black ink on him. NCP workers caught the man, identified as Namdeo Dongardive, and handed him over to the police. When Mushrif reached Kolhapur the next day to attend a meeting of the party workers, his followers asked him to sit on a chair and then poured milk on the minister to 'purify' him. The milk was brought in cans and steel tumblers with TV footage showing some of his supporters taking photographs of the minister while he was being drenched in milk. "I apologise for what my followers have done. I was not aware and did not realise what they are doing. Otherwise, I would have stopped them. I was baffled both the times, when they poured milk on me and when the party worker poured ink on me," Mushrif said. The supporters had also poured milk on Mushrif's photo and burnt an effigy of Dongardive. — PTI
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Mumbai nightclubs not to stay open late
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, December 29 As was the practice in the past, Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh granted permission to extend closing hours by three-and-a-half hours on December 31. But on Thursday, Singh withdrew the concession citing security reasons thereby throwing people's party plans out of gear. Police officials felt that the entire force would be out patrolling all night thereby stretching men. The decision has not gone down with hotel owners who have threatened to move court. “We are looking at legal options and file a writ in the Bombay High Court,” Arvind Shetty, President, Indian Hotel and Restaurants Association. Shetty said several hotels had organised all-night parties and hired DJs and equipment for the entire night. Passes for the event had also been sold in advance, Shetty said. He pointed out that the New Year's Eve parties were allowed even on 2008, weeks after the Mumbai terror attacks. But most people had voluntarily observed a toned down year-end that year, he added. The police have already clamped down on the once popular boat parties off the Gateway of India citing security reasons. Despite promises this has not been revived this year as well.
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CBI closes case against Army ex-vice chief
New Delhi, December 29 The Mumbai branch of the agency filed a closure report before a special CBI court saying it could not find evidence which indicates the criminality of Lt Gen (retd) Nobel Thamburaj. The CBI had based its probe on a complaint from the Defence Ministry, which had alleged that defence land in Pune Cantonment was given to a private builder in violation of norms. It was alleged that Thamburaj and Defence Estate Officer SR Nayyar had favoured the builder. CBI sources said action was recommended against the accused as due process was not followed in allotment of land to the builder but there was no criminality the case. Sources said the agency could not find evidence of any quid pro quo that could have benefited Thamburaj or Nayyar. According to the CBI, Thamburaj, who retired as vice chief in October 2009, and Nayyar had allegedly shown undue favour to the builder for 0.96 acres property in defence land at Pune Cantonment. "There was a dispute on regarding the property in question. Thamburaj and Nayyar settled the matter out of court inspite of several court orders given in favour of the Army. The duo indulged in gross misconduct," the CBI had alleged. The two officers ignored rules and policies, violated the terms of lease entered into by the Ministry of Defence and Kalpataru and caused the private company pecuniary gains. — PTI
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Revellers do drugs at music fests: Goa minister
Panaji, December 29 A youngster from Chhattisgarh was arrested yesterday for possessing drugs inside the Sunburn festival venue. “Music revellers feel musical parties such as Sunburn cannot be enjoyed without consuming alcohol and drugs,” Parulekar told mediapersons last evening on the sidelines of India travel mart-Goa in Panaji. The tourism minister further said: “Drugs are freely available all over the world and Goa is not an exception.” Despite the music festival being declared a 'no drugs zone', the banned substance was openly sold and consumed at the venue, he said. “You cannot blame the organisers, people come there to enjoy,” Parulekar said.
— PTI
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Higher prices costing ordnance factories dear
Chandigarh, December 29 Four ordnance factories producing low-technology items like clothes and general stores piled up losses of Rs 226 crore during the past four years alone, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed in its latest report. There was extra expenditure of over Rs 105 crore in 16 instances due to higher cost of production of common items at one factory as compared with the cost of production at another unit. There are 41 ordnance factories in the country. These are divided into five groups, dealing with ammunition, explosives, weapon vehicles, components, armoured vehicle, clothes, general stores etc. There are five factories in the general stores and clothing (GS&C) group. The CAG said the existing pricing mechanism of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and ineffective cost control by factories were of grave concern. It said the GS&C group could not tap potential market for its products due to exorbitant prices. The CAG has also brought out inadequacies in top-level monitoring. It has said the OFB neither addressed the deficiencies in the operations of these factories nor did it direct the factory managements to take corrective actions to ensure efficient operation at these factories. Viewed from the perspective of defence services and paramilitary forces’ requirements of GS&C items and competitive market scenario, Ministry of Defence, OFB and factory managements should review the present style of their functioning to overcome deficiencies, CAG says.
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Govt to revise rates of empanelled hospitals
New Delhi, December 29 The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has floated e-tenders for empanelment of hospitals and decided that the rates of various medical procedures would be fixed by an average of rates quoted in e-tenders instead of the old system where the lowest quotation became the rate. Rates of all medical procedure centres under CGHS would be revised by April next year. The government is also revising its policy by providing empanelled hospitals assured upfront payment of 70 per cent of the total bill within five days of its presentation and balance admissible amount within a maximum period of 30 days. The direction for a 10 per cent deduction in case of early/cash payment to hospitals under CGHS has also been done away with, highly-placed sources in the Ministry told PTI. “These measures will put an end to the problems of delayed payments which discourage hospitals from getting empanelled under the scheme,” a Health Ministry official said. Under the new policy finalised by the ministry, the category of super-specialty hospitals empanelled under the CGHS has also been done away with.
— PTI
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Centre mulls $3b fund for Muslims’ education
Guwahati, December 29 "We need infrastructure. Indian Muslims need education and for that we need infrastructure. Currently we lack in infrastructure," Union Minister for Minority Affairs K Rahman Khan said here. "We are working on to create a fund of $2-3 billion, which will be around Rs 10,000-15,000 crore. Even if only 1 per cent of the Indian Muslims donate, we will be able to generate this amount," Khan said while delivering the keynote address during a function of American Federation of Muslims of India origin. He said the Muslims in India had the resources and needed the mechanism to generate and manage the fund. On when the fund would be finalised, Khan said: “We have been working on this for some time. Now we are going to announce it very soon.” He said the government is taking all necessary steps to improve the conditions of the Muslims. — PTI
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Bitcoin ‘exchanges’ shut after ED raids
Mumbai, December 29 The two traders based in Ahmedabad may have recorded trades in Bitcoins to the tune of several lakh rupees, according to sources. Bitcoin is a virtual currency not promoted by any country, but it has seen a huge appreciation in its value in the past few months. The ED officials have seized documents from both the “exchanges” and are scrutinising the identities of buyers and sellers. Since these outlets are not covered by the Reserve Bank of India, investigators are probing violations of several laws, including Foreign Exchange Management Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, sources said. Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) warned the general public against buying and using Bitcoin as currency. “There is no underlying or backing of any asset for virtual currencies. As such, their value seems to be a matter of speculation,” RBI said in the advisory issued earlier this month. The central bank also warned that Bitcoin was used in recent times for illegal activities. “The absence of information of counter parties in such peer-to-peer anonymous/ pseudonymous systems could subject the users to unintentional breaches of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws,” the RBI said. According to sources, fake Bitcoins have been downloaded 35,648 times in India since the virtual currency was launched on November 9, 2008. The value of Bitcoins has risen from $13 in January this year to $ 1,200 a few weeks ago. The huge rise in value has forced some countries like China to crack down on trade and use of the virtual currency.
What is Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment network and digital currency based on an open source protocol, which makes use of a public transaction log. Bitcoin was introduced in 2009 by pseudonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto. It is called a cryptocurrency as it uses public-key cryptography. When paying with bitcoin, there will be no exchange of digital notes or tokens between buyer and seller. Instead, the buyer requests an update to a public transaction log, the blockchain. This master list of all transactions shows who owns what bitcoins currently and in the past and is maintained by a decentralised network that verifies and timestamps payments.
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Suchitra Sen serious
Kolkata, December 29 The clinic has formed a five-member-committee to monitor the health of its star patient 24x7 led by cardiologist Dr Subrata Moitra. Sources in the Belle Vue Clinic said Sen is now on oxygen and has complained of chest pain following which her chest's CT scan was also done. — PTI
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Army Chief interacts with ex-servicemen
New Delhi, December 29 A “Gaurav Senani Rally” was held at Dehradun yesterday with the objective of reaching out to ex-servicemen and listen to the issues concerning them, a press release said. The rally was attended by 4,000 retired Armymen and war widows. Officials of the state government, Rajya Sainik Board members, pension disbursement authorities, defence placement cell personnel and soldiers records personnel not only attended to the veterans’ queries but also provided detailed inputs on new schemes for their betterment.
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On a visit to relief camps of riot victims here, RJD chief Lalu Prasad today blamed both the BJP and the SP for the communal violence here. He heaped praise on Rahul Gandhi, saying Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal were nothing in front of the Congress vice-president.
Ropar, December 29
In a public display of blind faith, NCP workers bathed Maharashtra labour minister and party leader Hasan Mushrif in milk to “purify” him from an ink attack by a fellow worker.
The incident in Kolhapur on Friday occurred in a state that is the first in the country to pass a legislation against superstition.
As the incident sparked an outrage, Mushrif apologised for the action of his supporters giving him a 'milk bath' to 'purify' him.
