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1992 Babri demolition was
planned sabotage: Sting op
Instructions issued on how Armymen will vote
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Kejriwal slapped; blames BJP
18 years on, justice for Kerala rape victim
Perfect lift-off puts IRNSS 1B into orbit
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1992 Babri demolition was planned sabotage: Sting op
New Delhi, April 4 At a press conference here, Cobrapost editor Anirudh Behl screened the recorded interviews in which some low-rung leaders of the BJP, VHP and Shiv Sena have claimed that the operation was carried out with precision by their volunteers after going through intensive training and mock drills. Among those who were interviewed were BJP leaders Uma Bharti, Kalyan Singh and Vinay Katiyar, who talked about the the events in the run-up to the demolition. Behl rejected BJP's charge that the sting operation was being made public at the behest of the Congress for polarising the elections. Asked about the BJP's demand that the Election Commission should stop the telecast of the sting operation, he said, "We have not got any information from the Election Commission in this regard. "Our stand is that it is the responsibility of the media. We are not contesting the elections. Our aim is to bring out the truth and that is what we have shown. Truth is bitter to some people. Whichever authority demands the tapes from us, we will provide it to them." Codenamed 'Operation Janmabhoomi', the sting was based on the interviews of 23 leaders who were allegedly in the forefront of the demolition for which a conspiracy was hatched at the level of two Hindu outfits, the VHP and Shiv Sena, but not jointly. The "confessions" named BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and others for "secretly planning" the demolition in an elaborate way, the news portal said. The tapes claimed that even the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh and former Prime Minister PV Narsimha Rao were in the know of the imminent demolition. — PTI
The operation
* Codenamed 'Operation Janmabhoomi', the sting was based on the interviews of 23 leaders of the BJP, VHP and Shiv Sena who were allegedly in the forefront of the demolition *
The tapes claimed that even the then CM of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh and former PM PV Narsimha Rao were in the know of the imminent demolition.
Stop telecast, BJP tells EC
New Delhi: Questioning the timing of the ‘sting’ operation, the BJP on Friday alleged that it was "sponsored", accusing the Congress of using "pawns" to vitiate the atmosphere before the elections and asked the Election Commission to stop its publication and telecast. — PTI
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Instructions issued on how Armymen will vote
New Delhi, April 4 Despite the order, not many among the forces or their families will benefit as a large chunk is already registered for postal ballots. The apex court allowed IAF, Army and Navy personnel to cast their votes at the place of posting in case they happened to be posted at ‘peace stations’. Around 40 per cent of the 13 lakh strong Indian Army is based at ‘peace stations’ - largely used to recoup after tough postings or training. The instructions lay down the procedure for getting registered. The local area commanders have been instructed to depute an officer to coordinate with the Election Commission - appointed Returning Officer in the district. Application for enrolment will have to be made on specified application forms and the verification by EC staff will be done through the local command and physical verification. All the personnel, who have been posted at ‘peace stations’ since January 1, 2014, can get registered as voters. However, the court had said these personnel should not have opted to vote through postal ballot or proxy voting. As per figures given by the EC in court almost 13 lakh personnel are registered for postal ballots, which invariably get delayed and often reach the counting centres after result is declared. Enrolment can be done till 10 days before the withdrawal. Since the court order came on March 25, the electoral process in 225 of the total 543 Lok Sabha constituencies had begun. Hence, in effect, the SC order will be effective only in 318 constituencies which will go to polls on April 17 or after. Voters in Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi and parts of western Uttar Pradesh would have already cast their franchise by then.
Democracy in action
*n The instructions lay down the procedure for getting registered * The local area commanders have been instructed to depute an officer to coordinate with the Election Commission-appointed Returning Officer in the district *
All the personnel, who have been posted at ‘peace stations’ since January 1, 2014, can get registered as voters
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Kejriwal slapped; blames BJP
New Delhi, April 4 While the former Delhi Chief Minister blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the assault, the police said the man claimed to be a disgruntled AAP worker. “The accused said he was with AAP and had been trying to approach Arvind Kejriwal for quite some time for some work, but to no avail. He has been held but no case has been registered,” said DCP South Delhi P Karunakaran. The incident happened when Kejriwal was campaigning for his party’s South Delhi candidate Col Devender Sehrawat (retd) in an open vehicle followed by convoy of workers and surrounded by supporters. When the cavalcade reached the Dakshinpuri area, the accused, who was seen following the group from the beginning at Govindpuri metro station, lunged at Kejriwal on the pretext of garlanding him. When the AAP chief lowered his head, the man in a black T-shirt slapped him, before being taken down by Kejriwal’s supporters.
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18 years on, justice for Kerala rape victim
Kochi, April 4 The order was passed by a special bench, comprising justices K T Sankaran and ML Joseph Francis while delivering the judgement on appeals filed by the accused. The victim, who was a minor at the time, was taken to various places in Kerala and Tamil Nadu by the accused, travelling about 3,000 km during a 40-day ordeal when she was raped by over 40 persons, before being released on February 26, 1996. There were 36 accused in the case, of which five had died during trial. Seven accused were acquitted by the Bench, constituted to hear the pleas afresh, today. The court awarded sentences varying from five to 13 years and fine to the 23 accused. The first accused, Raju, a bus conductor in Idukki and second accused Usha, were awarded 13 years RI for procuring the minor girl and giving her to the other accused. The Bench rejected the views put forth by the accused touching on the character of the victim.— PTI
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Perfect lift-off puts IRNSS 1B into orbit
Sriharikota (AP), April 4 “The PSLV, in its 25th successive successful flight, injected the IRNSS-1B very precisely. I thank the entire ISRO team that made this major milestone for the country, thus proving again that India’s PSLV has a place of pride," a beaming ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan announced. The 1,432 kg satellite will form part of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), an equivalent to GPS of the USA. The IRNSS 1B is the second of the seven navigational satellite planned by India under the IRNSS programme. — PTI
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New Delhi, April 4s
New Delhi, April 4
Indian Space Research Organisation’s workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C24 placed the IRNSS IB in precise orbit about 19 minutes after a perfect lift-off at 5.14 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here.