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Kiran Reddy to float new party, moves SC against AP division
UP doctors call off stir
BJP largest party in Delhi, can form govt: Centre
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RSS people killed Gandhi: Rahul
Notice to Jaypee Co. over sale of Kinnaur hydel projects
HC lifts stay, 'Gulaab Gang' to hit theatres today
Sub mishap: MoD must spend wisely, says PC
China on mind, India discusses maritime ties with Lanka, Maldives
Hospitals overcharge ECHS Rs 20 crore in three years
Spying case: SC upholds dismissal of Army officers
US pushes for better India-Pak trade ties
‘Delhi most unsafe for women travellers’ Noted lawyer KTS Tulsi sworn in as Rajya Sabha member
Limca book awards 25 women
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Kiran Reddy to float new party, moves SC against AP division
Hyderabad, March 6 The details of the new party, including its name, policies and programmes, would be unveiled at a public meeting to be held in the coastal city of Rajahmundry on March 12. "I am pained at the manner in which Andhra Pradesh people have been insulted with the bifurcation. I was distressed by the way the Congress leadership took the decision despite my repeated explanations to them about how both regions would suffer," Kiran told reporters here. Pointing out how he had steadfastly opposed division of the state, he said he quit the Congress with a "heavy heart" after the AP Reorganisation Bill was hurried through Parliament. "At every stage, there were violations of every rule and procedure and convention. Nothing was followed. And even you (media) were sent out," he said, referring to the blackout of the telecast of the Lok Sabha proceedings when the Bill was passed. Asked whether he still hoped that the two states-Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh-would merge, he shot back, "Two countries had merged. People broke the Berlin wall and unified Germany. Here, there are no walls". The former Chief Minister's decision came a day after the Election Commission announced the poll schedule. His detractors within and outside the Congress say his decision to launch a party has come too late. Kiran, a former cricketer who batted in vain to keep the state united, resigned from the Chief Minister's post, the Assembly and the Congress party on February 19. Given the divisions within the Seemandhra Congress camp, there are doubts over Kiran's ability to muster enough support for the new party. Moreover, the call for integrated state finds no resonance in the changed political reality. Reddy also approached the Supreme Court against the Centre's decision to create Telangana by bifurcating the State. A Bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam agreed to list his plea along with other petitions against the bifurcation of the state that will be taken up tomorrow for hearing. The apex court had earlier on February 7 and 17 respectively refused to entertain petitions challenging the division of Andhra Pradesh on the ground that they were "premature" as the Bill was not cleared by Parliament at that time. Parliament gave its approval on February 20 for the creation of Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh. The court had on February 7 refused to stay the tabling of Telangana Bill and on February 17, it had dismissed two petitions challenging the division of Andhra Pradesh. (with PTI inputs)
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UP doctors call off stir
Lucknow, March 6 “We honour the high court’s directions and withdraw our strike. We trust the court and hope its order will be followed in letter and spirit. We want fake cases of junior doctors in Kanpur should be withdrawn. We hope we won’t have to resort to agitation”, Kings George Medical University Junior Doctors Assocation president Aditya Patel told PTI. Doctors in Kanpur withdrew their strike against the attack on their colleagues there, a day after the UP government clamped ESMA against the striking medicos and the Allahabad High Court stepped in to resolve the deadlock.
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BJP largest party in Delhi, can form govt: Centre
New Delhi, March 6 The Centre has taken this stand in response to SC’s February 24 notice on AAP’s petition seeking dissolution of the Assembly and holding of fresh election. Defending its decision to keep the Delhi Assembly in suspended animation instead of dissolving the House on the recommendation of the then AAP government headed by Arvind Kejriwal, the Union Home Ministry said AAP had cited the BJP’s decision against staking its claim as it was four MLAs short of majority. “It is respectfully submitted that this situation could very well change in the near future,” the Centre said. Further, AAP was “seeking to foreclose the right of another party (BJP) which clearly has more seats than it (32 against AAP’s initial 28) to examine the possibility of forming a government,” the affidavit said.
The issue
* AAP has moved the SC seeking dissolution of the Delhi Assembly and holding of fresh elections *
The Centre said it did not want to deny a chance to the BJP to have a shot at government formation *
It said the BJP could manage majority in near future and form the govt
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Notice to Jaypee Co. over sale of Kinnaur hydel projects
Shimla, March 6 The notice by the Department of Power was served to the Jaypee company today. It has been asked to immediately file its reply. "As the agreement on the two power projects had been signed between the Jaypee group and the government, permission should have been sought before the sell-off of the projects was proposed," said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh here today. He said the fact that the two power projects -- Karcham Wangtoo (1,000 MW) and Baspa-II (300 MW) -- were located very close to the India-China border, the issue was very sensitive. "As the two projects have a strategic location, the government will explore various options on how to deal with the issue," said Virbhadra. SKBS Negi, Principal Secretary, Power, confirmed that a notice was issued to the company today. "Since a lot of issues like compensation to the affected people, local area development funds and power share that the state gets from these projects are to be dealt with, the Jaypee group should have sought permission from the government," said Negi. He said that the Jaypee group could not sell its projects till all the issues with the state government were not settled.
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HC lifts stay, 'Gulaab Gang' to hit theatres today
New Delhi, March 6
A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice BD Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul vacated the suspension granted by a single-judge Bench of the High Court on Wednesday on the movie's release. Directed by debutant Soumik Sen, the film has been produced by Anubhav Sinha. The filmmakers of ‘Gulaab Gang’, set to release Friday, assured the Bench they will run a disclaimer that the movie is not based on the life of Sampat Pal and her work. The court had on Wednesday blocked the release of the film, which stars Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla, saying that if the release was allowed, it would cause irreparable damage to Sampat Pal’s reputation. Sampat Pal had moved the Delhi HC seeking a restraining order on the release of ‘Gulaab Gang’, saying the filmmakers did not take her permission before making the movie, which shows her in bad light. She alleged that the actress playing her character was shown in bad light in the promos of the film, which will thus affect her reputation. She also contended that the film's promos depict her as an anti-social element, contrary to her real life image. — IANS
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Sub mishap: MoD must spend wisely, says PC
New Delhi, March 6 He insisted that the Finance Ministry provides "a lot of money" to the Defence Ministry and "I sincerely hope that the defence forces will learn a lesson and make sure that the money allotted to them is spent more wisely and more efficiently on essential matters." Chidambaram was responding when questioned by an NSUI member claiming to be sister of one of victims over the provision of sufficient funds to the Defence Ministry. At a function organised by Congress' student wing NSUI here, the woman said Lt Commander Kapish Muwal, who died in the mishap on INS Sindhuratna, was her brother and asked Chidambaram "why the government is not sanctioning money for security and safety" as casualties are taking place. She also referred to the sinking of another submarine INS Sindhurakshak a few months back. — PTI
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Kejriwal violated poll code: Dist collector
Ahmedabad, March 6 Karwal held closed door meetings with the Patan district collector and the district superintendent of police to inquire about Kejriwal's detention during his "road show" in Radhanpur town on Thursday. Sources said the Patan district collector told Karwal that Kejriwal was detained briefly for violation of the model code of conduct as he took out a car rally without taking prior permission. Karwal would submit her report to the Election Commission of India and if the district collector's report is accepted, a police compliant could be filed against Kejriwal for violating the model code of conduct. The police had claimed that Kejriwal was detained briefly for causing hindrance to the smooth flow of traffic. Kejriwal refuted the charge and said none of the two dozen cars following his vehicle caused any hindrance in the flow of traffic. Kejriwal's Day 2 in the state was marked by black flag demonstrations by BJP and Congress workers.
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China on mind, India discusses maritime ties with Lanka, Maldives
New Delhi, March 6 The forum aims to counter piracy, terrorism, drug trafficking and human trafficking and strengthen security cooperation between the navies of the three nations. India’s NSA Shivshankar Menon, Maldives Defence Minister Col (Retd) Mohamed Nazim and Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa attended the meeting. Representatives of Mauritius and Seychelles also participated in the meeting as observers. The first meeting of the forum was held in Maldives in October 2011 while the second took place in Lanka in July 2013. Briefing reporters on the day-long meeting, Menon said the participants reviewed and expressed satisfaction over the progress in the implementation of various activities in the identified areas. They also discussed new areas of cooperation, including hydrography, training in search and seizure operations, training on board Indian sail training ships, exchanges between think tanks and joint participation in adventure activities. The meeting of the forum assumes significance against the backdrop of China’s growing influence over Lanka and Maldives. China opened a full-fledged embassy in Maldives some two years back and also got the contract for developing the Hambantota Port in Lanka, much to New Delhi’s discomfiture.
Strategic meet * The three-nation forum has been set up by New Delhi to counter China’s bid to spread its strategic footprint in the Indian Ocean region *
It aims at countering piracy, terrorism, drug trafficking and human trafficking and strengthen security cooperation between the navies of the three nations *
The meeting of the forum assumes significance against the backdrop of China’s growing influence over Lanka and Maldives
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Dehradun prof enters Guinness Book
Dehradun, March 6 Arvind Mishra, assistant professor at Graphic Era University here, entered the Guinness Book in the ‘longest non-stop lecture’ category by beating the previous record held by Errol Tapiwa Muzawazi. The Polish law student had lectured for 121 hours at a stretch at the Jagiellonian University of Poland in 2009. Celebrations broke out on the campus at 7 am after the 26-year-old broke the world record, but he continued to deliver the lecture till he achieved the 130-hour mark. Arvind was allowed a five-minute break every hour in the last six days. The Mechanical Engineering Department faculty member began his lecture on ‘Scientific Computation’ on March 1. It continued for six days and five nights and was webcast live for the Guinness World Records panel. A team of 80 students, supervised by faculty members, organised the event. Addressing university staff and students, Arvind said he could not have achieved his dream of breaking the world record without the constant support of his mother and the university management.
130-hour lecture!
The Mechanical Engineering Department professor began his lecture on ‘Scientific
Computation’ on March 1an It continued for 130 hours over 6 days and was webcast live for the Guinness panel
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Hospitals overcharge ECHS Rs 20 crore in three years
Chandigarh, March 6 These irregularities or overcharging by some hospitals is due to incorrect interpretation of policies or confusion over the correct procedures to be adopted. According to DAD officials, the irregularities account for just about 1-2 per cent of the entire transactions for ECHS from 2010-11 to 2012-13 in the Western Command. Given that about 25,000 vouchers are received every month and only a part of them have been audited, the quantum of excess payments could be much higher, officials added. The DAD has recovered about Rs 4 crore so far, though they admit there have been difficulties in making recoveries from some of the hospitals concerned. The department is also facing manpower deficiency, which is affecting its work. When ECHS was launched, no additional manpower was sanctioned to the DAD for handling ECHS transactions.
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Spying case: SC upholds dismissal of Army officers
New Delhi, March 6 "A detailed investigation was conducted and all evidence recorded were examined by the Intelligence Department and finally the Authority came to the finding that retention of these officers were not expedient in the interest and security of the state," a three-member Bench comprising Justices BS Chauhan, J Chelameswar and MY Eqbal noted in a 70-page verdict. The Centre had come to the SC in appeal challenging the December 21, 2000 judgment of the Delhi High Court.
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US pushes for better India-Pak trade ties
New Delhi, March 6 “While there has been tremendous progress and political courage and leadership over the past few years, bilateral trade (between India and Pakistan) is still just over $ 2.5 billion in 2013. With continued efforts on both sides, that could easily grow to $ 10 billion,” visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Biswal said in an address here. She also stated that Pakistan could play a critical role in advancing trade relations by granting Non-Discriminatory Market Access (NDMA) to India while New Delhi could reduce non-tariff barriers to enhance economic links between the two nations. Washington, the US official said, was interested in supporting India’s economic connection both West into Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia and East into Bangladesh, Myanmar and Southeast Asia because it believed that greater economic connectivity would help boost regional stability and prosperity. Biswal last night held meetings with Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and Vikram Doraiswamy, Joint Secretary (Americas) in the External Affairs Ministry to review bilateral relations against the backdrop of recent tension over the arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York in an alleged visa fraud case. The two sides decided to take steps to resolve to mutual satisfaction issues that have emerged between them in recent months. The two sides also reaffirmed the priority they attach to the energy dialogue next week between US Energy secretary Ernest J Moniz and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. On Indo-US trade ties, she said the two countries do have their differences but at the same time the willingness to talk about them like confident and mature partners. She said her country was concerned that domestic content requirements in India were discouraging investment, inhibiting innovation and holding this country back from developing the world-class manufacturing sector. There was need for transparency in India’s tax policies, timely regulatory approvals and contract enforcement, and a commitment to strengthening protection of intellectual property rights, she said.
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Over two weeks after resigning as the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister in protest against the division of the state, N Kiran Kumar Reddy today announced that he would launch a political party next week to fight for protecting the "prestige and honour of Telugu people".
Against the backdrop of the recent submarine mishap, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today suggested that the Defence Ministry was not spending funds "wisely" enough and contended the maintenance of the military assets was being neglected.
He insisted that the Finance Ministry provides "a lot of money" to the Defence Ministry and "I sincerely hope that the defence forces will learn a lesson and make sure that the money allotted to them is spent more wisely and more efficiently on essential matters."
