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Amnesty: Take SC verdict forward, scrap death penalty
Black flags greet Rahul Gandhi in Amethi
BJP sees bright future as AAP, Cong slug it out
Sibal attacks Modi over Yeddy’s re-entry into BJP |
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Cong to formally seek Bharti’s ouster today
Shinde calls Kejriwal a ‘mad’ Chief Minister
Fodder scam: JD(U) ex-MP among 19 convicted
Telugu thespian Nageswara Rao dead
RBI to withdraw pre-2005 notes
No question of Tharoor quitting: Cong
French ship rescues 11 Indians
Trade, terror incompatible, India tells Pak
Cong’s Punjab, Haryana poll panels to meet on Jan 24, 25 AAP’s Vishwas apologises for nurse remark Khurshid meets US Secy of State
Naval warship develops snag
VK Singh fails to appear before J-K panel again
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Amnesty: Take SC verdict forward, scrap death penalty
New Delhi, January 22 “The government must carry forward the impetus that the ruling has provided and place a moratorium on all executions and abolish the death penalty altogether,” Amnesty’s India chapter said in a statement. Describing the Supreme Court verdict as a “positive step for human rights in the country”, it said, “Death penalty hasn’t
had any particular deterrent effect. This verdict provides an opportunity for India to revisit
the provision.” Pointing out that execution was the “ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights”, it said the “historic” verdict by the Supreme Court had, however, stopped short of doing away with this “cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.” Nevertheless, it “places a strong emphasis on the human rights of all persons and should steer the country towards completely doing away with the death penalty,” Amnesty’s Chief Executive in India G Ananthapadmanabhan said. Further, research had shown that imposition of death sentences in India “is highly arbitrary and disproportionately affects those with little wealth or influence,” it noted. Amnesty also welcomed the guidelines laid down in the Supreme Court verdict for proper treatment of death-row convicts. “The court’s ruling is likely to affect the cases of at least six other prisoners on death row — Murugan, Santhan, Arivu (aka Perarivalan), Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, Saibanna Natikar and BA Umesh, who are also seeking commutation on the grounds of delay in the disposal of their mercy petitions,” it said.
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Black flags greet Rahul Gandhi in Amethi
Soon after the arrival of Rahul along with sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra on a two-day visit to Amethi he visited Akelwa village where AAP workers and members of the Bharat Kisan Union raised slogans against pot-holed roads and power scarcity in the area. In Gauriganj also, some workers were seen waving black flags when Rahul Gandhi’s cavalcade passed from there. Kumar Vishwas who has declared his candidature for the Lok Sabha poll against the Congress vice-president had been camping in the constituency since his rally in Amethi on January 12. Despite protests, Rahul went about meeting party workers and taking a review of the working of the Centrally-sponsored schemes as well as inaugurating the district Congress office later in the day.
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BJP sees bright future as AAP, Cong slug it out
New Delhi, January 22 Meanwhile, the BJP gleefully watched the Congress build pressure on ally AAP for action against the duo. The lead Opposition, which yesterday went to town alleging a Congress-AAP pact behind the standoff, watched -- without adding to it -- as senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh alleged a backroom deal on yesterday’s stand-off and his colleague Sushilkumar Shinde engaged in a slanging match with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. With women groups and ally Congress demanding immediate action against Vishwas and Bharti, the BJP is sensing a great political opportunity in letting AAP and the Congress battle it out among themselves without being part of the centrestage. Party sources say Shinde has managed to open another front with his bete noire -- the Delhi CM -- with his ‘veda’ remark (which apparently means mad or eccentric in Marathi) and there was no need for the BJP to add anything to it and take away the attention from the key protagonists --Kejriwal and Shinde. In the Congress-AAP tussle, the BJP is sensing better times ahead for the party throughout the country. Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley’s statement today said it all. “The past few days have presented an insight about the emerging political scenario in the country. For us in the BJP, the prospects appear to be encouraging,” he said. “Traditional critics of the BJP earlier rallied behind the Congress. Now, they seem to have lost hope in it as an instrument that could stop the BJP or Modi. For a brief while, they assumed that the BJP surge would be obstructed by AAP. The Aam Aadmi Party has lent credence to the old saying that a week is too long in politics. It has exhibited unacceptable and irresponsible behaviour,” Jaitley added. Soon after Kejriwal called off his protest, the BJP had slammed both AAP and the Congress for failing to protect India’s republic. Jaitley’s tweet late last night said that “only an anarchist unaware of the sacrifices made by freedom fighters can undermine Dr Ambedkar’s Constitution and the Republic Day”. On the Home Minister, Jaitley suggested a compromise between the Congress and AAP. His tweet said: “Sushilkumar Shinde may have saved the Republic Day, but he has weakened the Republic”.
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Sibal attacks Modi over Yeddy’s re-entry into BJP New Delhi, January 22 Posting on his website, Sibal gave both Modi and AAP convener and Delhi CM the tags of “salesman” and “showman”, respectively, and said the country had a choice between the two who did not do what they preached. Sibal asked Modi why he didn’t feel pangs of conscience when former Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa recently “received a warm embrace from the BJP” when Justice Santosh Hegde, state Lokayukta, had sought his prosecution apart from severely indicting him. “The BJP government’s tenure in Karnataka was rampant with corruption. It involved the then CM Yeddyurappa and other ministers. With a spike in China’s demand for iron ore in 2007-08, the Reddy brothers Karunakara Reddy, Somashekar Reddy and Janardhan Reddy, along with close-associate B. Sriramulu created a mafia that subverted the system to facilitate large-scale exports of illicit iron ore, even as they bent every rule in the book to plunder the iron-rich mines in Northern Karnataka. The Lokayukta Report on illegal mining indicted Yeddyurappa for accepting bribes from mining companies and exposed the racket,” Sibal said asking why Modi was silent all along and why he didn’t oppose Yeddyurappa’s re-entry into the BJP? “Now, when the BJP realises that without Yeddyurappa’s support, they have no hope in Karnataka, they are sacrificing their so called moral fiber for petty political gains. How does the Narendra Modi wash his hands off this muck? The BJP has legitimised the mining-political nexus over the years and Modi is a silent spectator,” Sibal said in his post. He cited other instances of corruption in BJP-ruled states saying in Madhya Pradesh, Govindacharya, BJP’s own ideologue, himself had accused the state Government of corruption. Sibal asked how Babu Bukharia, Water Resources Minister of Narender Modi, convicted in June, 2013, and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment by a Probandar Court, continued to serve in his cabinet. Slamming AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and his recent siege of the Capital, Sibal said without naming Kejriwal, “As far as the showman is concerned, he believes other than him, everybody is corrupt,” Sibal said.
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Cong to formally seek Bharti’s ouster today
Top sources in the Congress informed The Tribune that the party had firmed up a strategy to mount moral pressure on AAP after giving it a chance to escape from the Rail Bhawan protest over the suspension of five policemen who had refused to raid some African women whom Bharti alleged ran a sex-and-drug racket. Members of the Congress Legislature Party in Delhi will meet Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung tomorrow to seek Bharti’s dismissal from the Cabinet. “The MLAs led by Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely will submit a memorandum to the Lt Governor to urge him to exercise his powers and dismiss the minister concerned against whom there is a court case and a serious charge of trespass. An African woman, heckled at the behest of the minister, has even identified him as the leader of the instigating group that set out to deliver vigilante justice in Khirki Extension the other day, thus preventing the police from acting in accordance with the law,” a senior Congress leader told The Tribune today. The strategy of building pressure formally for Bharti’s ouster is part of the Congress game plan to expose Arvind Kejriwal whose government it supports from the outside. Officially, the party continued to maintain that it would not withdraw its support to AAP and would back its government till the time Kejriwal fulfilled his promises to the voters of Delhi. The Congress today sought to corner AAP saying there was no place for cinematic grandeur, derogatory remarks and insulting behaviour in Indian democracy and the governments were run with balanced approach and not theatrics.
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Shinde calls Kejriwal a ‘mad’ Chief Minister
Mumbai, January 22 "When I was in Kherwadi police station in Mumbai's Bandra area, I did not get leave because there were Sena (led) riots. Similarly, yesterday (in Delhi), because of a 'veda mukhyamantri' (mad Chief Minister) sitting there (on dharna), I had to cancel the leave of policemen," Shinde, who was at the receiving end of Kejriwal's repeated diatribe, said. Shinde's remarks came while addressing a meeting at Hingoli in Marathwada region where he spoke about an instance in the 1970s, when as a policeman, he could not get leave after his marriage due to work pressure. Kejriwal had called Shinde corrupt and inefficient and dared the Home Minister to evict him from the dharna venue near Rail Bhavan during his protest against the Delhi police. The Aam Aadmi Party leader's 30-hour protest for suspension of five Delhi Police officials for dereliction of duty, which virtually transformed into a fight for control of the Delhi Police, was called off last night after a compromise formula was worked out by the Centre under which two police officers were sent on leave. The unprecedented agitation by the Delhi Chief Minister had threatened to disrupt the Republic Day parade in the national capital. — PTI
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Fodder scam: JD(U) ex-MP among 19 convicted
Ranchi, January 22 CBI Judge Sitaram Prasad convicted Sharma and fixed January 24 for pronouncing the quantum of sentence against him and 11 others. The court sentenced up to three years against seven convicts today. The former MP, who was taken into custody soon after the conviction, was found guilty under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document which is known to be forged) of the Indian Penal Code and under Prevention of Corruption Act. Among the convicts
are former animal husbandry department officials Raj Deo Sharma, Dr Shashi Kumar Sinha, Dr Ajit Kumar Sinha and Bhanukar Dubey. The
rest convicts are fodder suppliers. This was the 46th out of 53 fodder cases ended in convictions. Many of the convicts were among more than one fodder case. On October 3, Sharma was sentenced to four years in another case along with RJD chief Lalu Prasad, former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra and others for fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from the Chaibasa treasury. He lost his membership of the Assembly after he was convicted and sentenced, but got a bail on January 13 this year.
— PTI Fraudulent fund withdrawal
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12 held guilty of Kerala CPM ex-leader’s murder
Kozhikode, January 22 Chandrasekharan, a former CPM leader from the red bastion of Onjiyam near Vatakara in north Kerala, was hacked to death by a gang on May 4, 2012. Special Judge R Narayana Pisharadi acquitted 24 of the 36 accused, including P Mohanan, CPM district secretariat member and husband of party MLA KK Lathika. While the seven who carried out the murder were hired killers, five others found guilty included three local functionaries of the CPM. The quantum of punishment is expected to be pronounced tomorrow after hearing the defence and prosecution. Chandrasekharan had left the CPM a few years ago over differences with the leadership and floated a parallel outfit called Revolutionary Marxist Party. He was 51 at the time of murder and suffered 51 hack injuries on the body. The murder had cast a shadow on the CPM in the state, firmly controlled by state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan with not only rival parties but senior leaders such as VS Achuthanandan using it as a weapon to attack internal foes. On the verdict, Vijayan said it vindicated the party's stand that it had no role in the murder and exposed the bid by the UDF government and termed the case as a ploy to destroy the party by misleading the investigation.
— PTI
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Telugu thespian Nageswara Rao dead
ANR, as he was popularly known among his millions of fans, was a quintessential romantic hero who left an indelible mark on the film industry. He is survived by three daughters and two sons. His son Nagarjuna and grandsons Sumanth and Naga Chaitanya are noted Telugu actors. A school dropout from a humble family of agriculturists, ANR went on to become a legendary figure in the movie industry, acted in 256 films in a career spread over seven decades and won several awards, including the Dada Saheb Phalke Award. The veteran actor complained of breathlessness shortly after midnight. His family members took him to a private hospital in Banjara Hills where he died at 2.12 am. His body has been shifted to Annapurna Studios, owned by his family. A steady stream of people from all walks of life thronged the studios to pay their last respects to the departed hero. ANR, who was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2011 for his contribution to the Indian cinema, had publicly announced in October last year that he was diagnosed with intestine cancer.
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RBI to withdraw pre-2005 notes
She said no central bank allowed circulation of so many designs of notes in the market and the withdrawal of notes printed before 2005 is being done with that purpose. Although the spokesperson denied that the exercise has anything to do with unearthing black money in the system, it is a distinct possibility that cannot be ruled out. This angle is strengthened by the fact that after July, for exchanging higher denomination notes, identity and residence proof is required. Another reason could be curbing forged or fake currency in the system. Without elaborating, the RBI spokesperson did say that notes printed after 2005 have enhanced security features. In a late evening communication, the RBI said after March 31, 2014, it will completely withdraw from circulation all bank notes issued prior to 2005. “From April 1, 2014, the public will be required to approach banks for exchanging these notes. Banks will provide exchange facility for these notes until further communication”. Giving the identification marks, the RBI said the public can easily identify the notes to be withdrawn as the notes issued before 2005 do not have on them the year of printing on the reverse side. The central bank has also clarified that the notes issued before 2005 will continue to be legal tender. This would mean that banks are required to exchange the notes for their customers as well as for non-customers. “From July 01, 2014, however, to exchange more than 10 pieces of 500 and 1000 notes, non-customers will have to furnish proof of identity and residence to the bank branch in which she/he wants to exchange the notes”, the RBI said. No need to panic
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No question of Tharoor quitting: Cong
New Delhi, January 22 Party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala made the Congress position on Tharoor clear at the official press briefing today saying Tharoor was very much a part of the Congress and the government and the party stood firmly behind him. The clarification followed a remark by Congress' ally in the UPA government, the NCP, whose leader DP Tripathi today said it was in the interest of justice that Tharoor dissociated himself from the ministry pending the probe into the sudden, unnatural death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar. Autopsy reports are pointing towards poisoning and the SDM concerned has asked the police to probe both the angles of unnatural death - homicide and suicide. Only yesterday, Shiv Menon, Sunanda's son from the previous marriage, had clarified in a signed statement that his mother was too strong to commit suicide. He had, however, defended Tharoor saying: "I also do not believe that Shashi was capable of physically harming her, let alone the speculation that he could have taken her life. They were very much in love, despite occasional differences, which they always overcame."
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French ship rescues 11 Indians
New Delhi, January 22 Pirate boat ‘Shan-e-Hind’ that attacked the oil tanker was a small Indian vessel hijacked by the pirates and being used to attack other ships. The pirates had taken hostage all 11 Indian crew members. The French warship, located less than 400 km from the pirate boat, was sent to intercept it. “The 11 Indian crew members held hostage have been freed as five suspected pirates surrendered to the French forces,” a French Embassy spokesperson said in New Delhi. The investigation by the French Navy determined that the pirates were probably involved in the attack on the oil tanker. The Indian vessel had been hijacked several days ago and was being used by pirates.
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Trade, terror incompatible, India tells Pak
New Delhi, January 22 “Trade and terrorism are incompatible. The challenge is to create an environment where we can focus on the trade and the economic agenda, and work towards growing connectivity and linkages between our two economies,” Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh said. Her comments at a function came a day after India summoned Pakistan Acting High Commissioner Mansoor Ahmad to the foreign office and expressed surprise over the suspension of cross-LoC trade and bus services by Islamabad in retaliation following the seizure of drugs by the Indian authorities from the trucks entering India. New Delhi also rejected Pakistan’s contention that ‘strong’ non-trading barriers operating in the Indian economy were preventing Islamabad from moving ahead on normalising commercial links between the two countries. “We should also not discount the positive impact that the recent decision to keep Wagah-Attari Land Customs Station open on all seven days of the week and to permit containerisation of trade across will have.”
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Big bird C-17 to rumble over Rajpath on R-day
Two of the pilots had led separate teams for relief operations in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand in June last year. It will also have a pilot who has been part of the IAF’s aerobatics team, the Suryakiran. Another pilot is an avid marathoner. Gp Capt Tejbir Singh, leading the three-ship C-130 Super Hercules formation, had made the pioneering landing of the C-130 at Dharasu airfield in Uttaranchal, where weather conditions were adverse and the runway length was short, to ferry in much-needed aviation fuel for rescue helicopters. He had also carried out the first C-130 landing at Daulat Beg Oldie, the world’s highest airstrip. Col Suneet Sohal -- leading the Army Aviation’s Dhruv formation -- had led his team of aviators during the Uttarakhand relief operations. Leading the MiG-29 formation is Wg Cdr Ajit Kulkarni, a former pilot with the now disbanded Suryakiran team that for years had enthralled audiences at home and abroad with its breathtaking stunts in the air. Gp Capt Bhumpalli Srinivas Reddy, who will be at the controls of the C-17, is an avid marathoner. Reddy was in the team that had flown in the C-17 from the US. A total of 30 aircraft and helicopters, including three from the Army, will make up the fly-past this year. Help System for
ex-servicemen
In its endeavour to help ex-servicemen resolve their problems, Headquarters Western Command has established a “Help System” to act as an interface between the veterans and the various resolving government agencies and service providers. The system consists of an Ex-Servicemen Sahayta Regional Centre located at command headquarters in Chandimandir and nine Ex-Servicemen Sahayta Kendras in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Ex-servicemen can register their complaints with the kendras on toll-free telephone numbers, through email or by visiting the centres. These requests will be taken up by the kendras with the agencies concerned and the outcome will be intimated to the ex-servicemen. After retirement, ex-servicemen face a number of problems which need early resolution. Most of these problems pertain to pension, medical facilities, re-employment and post-retirement documentation. The solution for such problems lies with resolving agencies like banks, pension authorities and records offices, whom ex-servicemen have to approach directly in their individual capacity. 32 DRDO labs in Indian Science Congress
People belonging to the Jammu region will be able to get a first-hand glimpse of various weapon systems and other equipment developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) during the 101st annual session of the Indian Science Congress scheduled to be held in Jammu from February 4-6. As many as 32 DRDO laboratories are participating in the Congress and will be displaying scale models of missile equipment, aircraft and armoured vehicles developed by them besides showcasing other equipment and technologies, many of which have applications in the civilian sector. The DRDO’s participation in the event is being coordinated by the Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment which would also be holding a live demonstration of its unmanned aerial vehicle. A special technical session on science in the defence sector has also been slotted, where the Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and DRDO Chief, Avinash Chander, and other senior DRDO scientists will be delivering talks. The Congress, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will showcase the recent developments in the field of science and
technology. (Vijay Mohan and Ajay Banerjee)
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Cong’s Punjab, Haryana poll panels to meet on Jan 24, 25 New Delhi, January 22 The meeting will happen at the Pradesh Congress Committee office in Chandigarh. The following day on January 25, Haryana and Chandigarh Congress election committees will also meet in Chandigarh to recommend a short-listed panel of candidates to chairman of the recently appointed state screening committee which in the case of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh is headed by senior Kerala Congress leader PC Chacko. All three meetings will be attended by AICC general secretary in charge of the regions Shakeel Ahmed. Scheduled for January 21, the meetings had to be advanced due to non-approval of the Haryana Pradesh Election Committee list by Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Shakeel Ahmed told The Tribune today: “We wanted to hold the three meetings together. But the Haryana State Election Committee has not yet been approved. That is the reason for advancement of dates. But by January 25, we hope to clear the Haryana list which has been pending for Congress President’s approval.” The Congress is in a rush to finalise candidates for these three regions where it hopes to repeat its past performance of 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
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AAP’s Vishwas apologises for nurse remark Kochi, January 22 In a statement sent to the AAP's Kerala unit, he said he had never tried to “intentionally hurt the sentiments of anyone”. “I don’t appreciate any discrimination based on religion, region, gender, caste or creed. I never tried to intentionally hurt the sentiments of anyone,” he said. — PTI
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Khurshid meets US Secy of State New Delhi, January 22 External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid this evening held talks with Secretary of State John Kerry at Montreux in Switzerland on the margins of the Geneva II Meeting on Syria. The two leaders recognised the need to put in place institutional arrangements to look at all outstanding issues relating to privileges and immunities of diplomats of both countries so that such issues could be resolved in a timely manner. Khurshid also underlined India’s concern over trafficking visas issued to Indian nationals by the US Embassy in India, officials said. The ministers reviewed all recent developments in India-US relations. They agreed that the bilateral relationship was important for both countries.
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Naval warship develops snag
New Delhi, January 22 The sonar (sound navigation and ranging) system is located under the ships and protrudes into the sea. The outer casing of the sonar, called the “sonar dome”, was found cracked. The warship has been dry-docked. |
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VK Singh fails to appear before J-K panel again Jammu, January 22 The NC members of Legislative Council staged a walkout from the privilege committee meeting on Wednesday as their demand was not met whereas the Congress MLCs raised the fingers at the legality of this committee. TNS
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Lucknow, January 22
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New Delhi, January 22
While the cynosure of all eyes during the Republic Day fly-past will be the IAF’s newly acquired C-17 strategic freighter that would rumble low over Rajpath with a SU-30 fighter on either side, some of the pilots in formations participating this year have a string of achievements to their credit.