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Centre to ask states to speed up cases against tainted lawmakers
All 24 House panels rejigged
In veiled attack on China, PM slams ‘expansionist’ ideology
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Japanese seaplane to add muscle to Indian Navy
After 800 years, classes begin at Nalanda University
After ice, its rice bucket challenge
Experts against former judges becoming Guvs
BJP ‘prefers’ fresh elections in Delhi
Sexual assault at Viswa Bharati: UGC forms fact-finding panel
Mithi Virdi nuclear project
tatra deal
To project govt’s work, BJP leaders to interact more with media
ED interrogates former Doordarshan director
2G info leak: CBI begins probe to uncover ‘mole’
Mumbai film fest organisers take social media route to raise cash
With 13 new battalions, ITBP completes expansion plan
Bandra-Worli sea link turning into suicide spot
Bail for two policemen in Badaun case
ebola scare
Court to probe Pawar’s ‘vote twice’ remark
Chavan: Centre has cut down power supply to Maharashtra
RSS activist killed in Kerala; BJP calls for state-wide strike
Saradha chit fund scam
Right-wing group wants ban on reality TV show
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Centre to ask states to speed up cases against tainted lawmakers
“It is a priority commitment of the Narendra Modi government that polity needs to be cleansed. Those against whom criminal cases are pending, that trial needs to be expedited. If they are clean, they will be acquitted. If they are not, law will take its own course,” Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Prasad and top Home and Law Ministry officials besides Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi. Prasad said cases against MPs and MLAs, which attract disqualification under Section 8(1), 8(2) and 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, needed to be completed within one year of framing charges, according to a March 10 direction of the Supreme Court. Any sentence which attracts punishment of two years and above can lead to disqualification from Parliament or state legislature. “The government is going to follow up the direction of the Supreme Court in a substantial way whereby the Home Minister shall be writing to all chief ministers of the states and I will be writing to all law ministers of the states to ensure mandatory compliance of this provision,” Prasad said. He said this would be a big step in cleansing the politics of the country. Sources said the Attorney General was likely to inform the apex court about the government decision to write to the states to expedite the cases involving law makers. In its March 10 directive, the Supreme Court had set a deadline for lower courts to complete trial in cases involving lawmakers within a year of framing of charges. The apex court had also said that trial courts will have to give explanation to the chief justice of the respective high court if the trial is not completed within a year. It said all such proceedings involving lawmakers must be conducted on a day-to-day basis in order to expedite the trial. As the trial is kept pending for years, lawmakers continue to enjoy membership of the legislative body despite being charged in a heinous offence, the court noted. The court passed the order on a PIL filed by NGO Public Interest Foundation seeking its direction for expeditious trial in cases involving lawmakers. The NGO contended that MPs and MLAs continue to be members of Parliament and assemblies for a long time due to delay in proceedings. The Prime Minister had on July 24 asked the Home Minister and Law Minister to work out a mechanism to settle criminal and other court cases against politicians within a year. The directive is in line with Modi’s commitment during his election campaign that he will endeavour to see that court cases against politicians are decided within one year. If they are guilty, they should be punished, if not they should be discharged, he had said. During the poll campaign, he had vowed to pursue a zero-tolerance policy on graft if he came to power. Prasad said the government would send a fresh directive to all states asking them to release on personal bond all undertrials who have completed 50 per cent of the term under charges they have been accused of. — PTI Supreme Court’s March 10 directive
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All 24 House panels rejigged
New Delhi, September 1 Out of the 16 LS committees, the chairmanship of nine has gone to the BJP with its allies Shiv Sena and TDP getting one each and AIADMK and TMC also getting one each. The Congress gets to head External Affairs and Finance Committees in the LS and has named former MoS Shashi Tharoor and former minister Veerappa Moily as respective heads of these panels. The opposition Congress is better placed in the RS where out of eight panels it has got the chairmanship of three – Environment, Forests, Science and Technology Committee; Law and Justice Committee and the Home Affairs Committee. Sending a major political signal, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has handpicked former Law Minister and MoS Science and Technology Ashwani Kumar to chair one of the most important committees on Environment and Forests and Science and Technology. Kumar was today named chairman from among a list of powerful wannabes Digvijay Singh, Ambika Soni, Jairam Ramesh and Oscar Fernandes. The committee is critical with the BJP government reportedly interested in tweaking environmental laws to accommodate industry. It will also handle the vital Law of Liability for Civil Nuclear Energy. For the other two department-related standing committees of the RS —Home and Law — the Congress has picked Pradeep Bhattacharya from West Bengal and EMS Natchiappan as respective chairpersons. Though the Congress was keen on the HRD Committee in the RS, the BJP has retained it with JP Nadda set to chair the same. The RS Commerce Committee will be chaired by Chandan Mitra of the BJP; Health by BSP’s SC Mishra; Industry by NCP’s KC Tyagi; and Transport and Tourism by KD Singh of the TMC. In the LS, former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi of the TMC has been named the chairman of the Railways Committee, which Left Parties have often got to head in the past. The Left, reduced in numbers, heads no panel in the current reconstitution. The chairpersons of the nine committees which the BJP got in the LS are – Anurag Thakur (IT); HD Narayan Singh (Agriculture); Hansraj Ahir (Coal); Hukum Singh (Water Resources); Rajeev Pratap Rudy (Energy); BC Khanduri (Defence); Virendra Kumar (Labour); Prahlad Joshi (Petroleum); and Ramesh Bais (Social Justice). The Shiv Sena will head Chemicals and Fertilisers Panel with Anandrao Adsul named chairperson; TDP’s JC Divakar Reddy will head Food and Public Distribution Panel; BJD’s Pinaki Mishra is the chairman of the Urban Development Committee and AIADMK’s P Venugopal has been named the head of the department-related Standing Committee for Rural Development in the LS. Cong to head 2 panels
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In veiled attack on China, PM slams ‘expansionist’ ideology
Tokyo, September 1 “The whole world accepts that the 21st century will belong to Asia. But I have a question. How should the 21st century be? We have to give an answer to this. It will depend on how deep and progressive our relationship (between India and Japan) is,” he said addressing business leaders of India and Japan here. “We have to decide if we want to have ‘vikas vaad’ (development) or ‘vistar vaad’ (expansionism) which leads to disintegration. Those who follow the path of Buddha and have faith on ‘vikas vaad’, they develop. But we see, those having ideas of the 18th century, engage in encroachments and enter seas (of others),” he said. He did not name any country but the comments may be seen as targeting China which is engaged in territorial disputes with a number of its neighbours, including India, Japan and some others, including Vietnam. India and China share over 4,000-km of Line of Actual Control. China claims approximately 90,000 sq km of territory in Arunachal Pradesh besides 38,000 sq km in J&K. Also, relations between Japan and China have been tense over island disputes in the East China Sea and exploitation of undersea gas deposits in the area. China claims 90 per cent of the South China Sea, believed to contain oil and gas deposits. Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan also lay claim to parts of the sea. Modi underlined the need for closer and deeper cooperation between India and Japan to champion the cause of global “vikas vaad instead of vistar vaad”. He underlined that India and Japan should work for promotion of peace and progress to address the needs of the humanity. “India and Japan have a big responsibility. It is the responsibility of not only the governments and leaders but also of the businesses to see which way the world goes.”
— PTI China reacts guardedly
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Japanese seaplane to add muscle to Indian Navy
Before 1945, Japan had been formidable maritime force and even operated small aircraft carriers in 1930s. A joint statement issued today in Tokyo after a summit meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe laid out the roadmap for the induction of specialised Japan-produced four-engine seaplanes into the Indian Navy. It will change the way Indian forces respond to threats along the country’s 7,516-km-long coastline or to challenges in the remote island territories. New Delhi and Tokyo have directed a joint working group to accelerate progress and make preparations for a roadmap for the development of the Indian aircraft industry. For this, the joint statement mentions the US-2 amphibian aircraft, including “the transfer of the aircraft and its technology to India”. ShinMaywa’s plane has numerous roles and missions that it can accomplish, making it a force multiplier and game changer in the Indian Ocean. For one, it will allow dropping of troops at places where there is no landing strip on shore. At present, ground troops of the Indian Army uses a specialised warship termed as the landing ship tank for the purpose. The plane will make the troop insertion faster and provide a more direct approach to troops during short operation. Uniquely, the US-2, is the only aircraft in the world that operates at wind speed of 30 to 38 km per hour on the high seas as well as on rivers and lakes. It can carry around 70 personnel and 18 tonnes of load and has the longest endurance in the air with the shortest take-off and landing distance in its class (only 300m). The aircraft is only amphibious aircraft to operate at very low speeds and consequently reduces the take-off/landing run of the aircraft. The Indian Navy sees this as an ideal platform to carry out long-range logistics support role, island support operations, casualty evacuation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, long-range surveillance and reconnaissance carried out by the Indian coast Guard and the Navy. At the summit today, the Indian side expressed its intention to strengthen defence equipment and technology cooperation and conveyed its interests in this regard. Both sides decided to discuss further to identify future areas of cooperation. Game-changer in Indian Ocean
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After 800 years, classes begin at Nalanda University
“We have formally started the academic session of Nalanda University on Monday at the International Convention Centre in the Buddhist pilgrim town of Rajgir,” Vice Chancellor Gopa Sabhrawal told IANS. Rajgir is about 100 km from Patna. Sabhrawal said the ancient Nalanda University functioned from 413 AD to 1193 AD. Classes for the School of Historical Sciences and the School of Environment and Ecology have started for the first session 2014-15. She said there was an introduction session for students as well as faculty members as it was the first day of the classes, revived after over eight centuries. “We have completed the first step towards a big mission for revival of the ancient Nalanda University. Now more hard work has to be done for it,” she said. Sabhrawal said the launch of the academic session of the university was a low-key affair because the formal inauguration of the university would be held in mid-September by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the university would also invite ambassadors of the East Asian countries. She said till now 15 students had been enrolled in the university and more would be enrolled in coming days as the process of their application scrutiny and interview was still on. “We strongly hope that more foreign students will join the university because our thrust is research along with study,” Sabhrawal said. She said the university had attracted over 1,000 applications from around the world. University Dean Anjana Sharma said eight faculty members had joined the university so far and many more would join this month and in October. Sharma said Upinder Kaur, daughter of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, would be a visiting faculty at the university.
— IANS 15 applicants selected
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After ice, its rice bucket challenge
Hyderabad, September 1 The “Rice Bucket Challenge”, launched by Manjulatha Kalanidhi, has been creating waves on social networking sites as it highlights an issue that is more meaningful to Indian conditions, sensibilities and requirements. “We have our own problems like hunger, poverty and corruption. Therefore, I decided to adapt the concept to Indian conditions and began in a small way by donating 22 kg of rice costing approximately Rs 800 to a person who really required it,” Manjulatha, 38, said. Being an active user of Facebook, she uploaded the picture and content on her FB account. And the rest is history! It soon went viral and is now attracting the attention of not only Indians, but also NRIs who have begun to take up the “challenge” in the form of donations. She believes that the “Ice Bucket Challenge,” primarily aimed at bringing about awareness on ALS, a condition of the nervous system also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, doesn’t have much of relevance in India whereas poverty and corruption are far more important issues. “The ice bucket campaign works fine in a country like the US or other western countries, but in a country like India where we are faced with a myriad other problems, it hardly makes sense,” Manjulatha added. Born, brought up and educated in nearby Warangal district, Manjulatha had joined Oryza.com, a rice research and analysis firm, just three months ago. Earlier, she had pursued journalism for nearly 17 years, working in several leading publications. She is married to D Vijay, a HR consultant, who she says deserves equal credit for the “rice” initiative. “As a journalist, I enjoyed doing human interest stories which had some impact on society. However, I never thought that my action of donating rice to a needy person will escalate into not just a national initiative, but also go viral globally. It just goes to prove the dominance of social media as a powerful tool to initiate societal change. Within hours of my posting the picture and message of my donating rice, it turned into a virtual social media tsunami,” she said, adding that NRIs from across the globe, including the US and the Gulf, were evincing keen interest in the “desi” version of the “Ice Bucket Campaign.” “A couple of people from the Telugu film industry have also commented on my FB page,” she said, adding that the ripple effect of her initiative was really coming to play in just a few days. “Students and staff of a degree college numbering about 2,000 in Karimnagar have decided to celebrate their annual day by donating 2,000 kg of rice to needy people,” she said, adding that her next move will be to identify about a dozen “genuine” charitable organisations and NGOs who can be roped in to promote the cause. A twist in the tale
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Experts against former judges becoming Guvs
New Delhi, September 1 The senior advocate made the remark when asked about the government’s move to appoint former CJI P Sathasivam as Kerala Governor. “Judges seeking jobs or a seat in Parliament from the Executive gravely affects the concept of independence of the judiciary – proudly and repeatedly proclaimed – alas only by sitting Judges of the Supreme Court – as a basic feature of the Constitution,” Nariman said. Another jurist and senior advocate Anil Divan agreed with this view, stating that such posts were nothing but a “favour” offered by the executive to judges, particularly those approaching retirement. Constitutional expert CS Vaidyanathan said there was no legal or constitutional bar on such appointments. However, the issue involved propriety and morality, be it the move of the government or the question of former judges accepting gubernatorial posts. Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran said since the Governor held office at the pleasure of the President which meant the pleasure of the government of the day, it was inappropriate for former CJIs to hold this position. However, there was nothing wrong in accepting the post of the President, Vice-President or the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission as these were protected
offices, requiring impeachment proceedings in Parliament for removal.
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BJP ‘prefers’ fresh elections in Delhi
New Delhi, September 1 “We would rather prefer to wait till the President’s Rule gets over early next year and then go in for the fresh elections. By then, the water and power crisis in Delhi would be over and the prices of vegetables such as onion and tomato would have cooled down. The BJP would be in a cracking position to take on Opposition parties and increase its footprints in Delhi,” they said. They said the BJP would prefer to take the risk of fresh elections than let AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal become the Leader of Opposition and “stall the functioning of the BJP-led government”. “If as a Chief Minister he can sit on a dharna and stall the working of his own government, he is unlikely to allow the BJP to function peacefully in the current circumstances. We need a clear and unambiguous majority,” they said. Delhi has been under the President’s Rule since February this year after AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal stepped down as the CM. With the Supreme Court sword hanging over the Centre to resolve the impasse in Delhi, Jung is understood to be inclined towards invoking the provision of the secret ballot clause to pave the way for the government formation in Delhi. If the President accepts the advice, the single largest party — the BJP— will be asked to name its leader, who will then be invited to take over as the CM. No short-cut to Assembly
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Sexual assault at Viswa Bharati: UGC forms fact-finding panel
New Delhi, September 1 The two member committee has been told to submit a report as soon as possible. One of the two academics on the committee is Mihir Chaturvedi, Vice- Chancellor of Tejpur University in Assam. HRD Ministry sources said the government wants to send clear signals that crimes against women on central university campuses would not be tolerated. The UGC panel has been formed after evidence that Viswa Bharati had attempted to hush up the case first and only acted under pressure from Sikkim CM and later the Central Government. The victim is from Sikkim. Viswa Bharati is a Central university funded directly by the government. Varsity authorities had suspended the three students only on Saturday, four days after the victim brought the matter to their notice. One alleged perpetrator is still at large. Ministry sources said they were not taking chances in the matter and want to probe if the varsity authorities responded in time. "The girl's father had some concerns which we will address. The university is supposed to have a functional committee to prevent sexual harassment of women at workplace. The UGC's panel will see how fast the panel acted and whether Viswa Bharati acted in the manner it was supposed to," said Ministry sources. A Bolpur court in West Bengal yesterday denied bail to the three accused and sent them in three day police custody for sexually tormenting a 1st year female student by making her MMS. Students were suspended and later arrested on Saturday after Visva-Bharati's proctor Harish Chandra registered the FIR on the basis of the sexual harassment committee findings. The varsity is learnt to have fast tracked the case after Sikkim CM Pawan Chamling exerted pressure and the central government also prodded it.
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Gujarat Govt under ‘pressure’ to speed up land acquisition
Manas Dasgupta
Ahmedabad, September 1 Government sources said the NPCI board had agreed to implement the newly amended Land Acquisition Act for the Mithi Virdi project. Under the new Act, not only the owner of the land acquired for any project in the rural areas would be covered under a resettlement and rehabilitation scheme, he/she would also get double the market value of the land fixed by a committee headed by the district collector concerned. For the Rs 60,000-crore project, the government would have to acquire 777 hectares, including 608 hectares owned by 350 farmers, in four villages — Mithi Virdi, Jasapara, Khairpar and Mandva. The NPCI is trying to expedite the issue to enable Modi to present a positive picture about the proposed project during his visit to the US, which has agreed to provide the technology and required uranium for the project. Last year, villagers submitted a memorandum to the district collector opposing setting up of a nuclear plant “anywhere” in the district. Now, the present Anandiben Patel government is hoping that the additional benefits to land owners under the amended Act might soften their resistance.
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Tejinder Singh sent to jail
“The law of land should be equal for all and if a person, who commits a theft of Rs 1,000 is sent to the jail under the provisions of law without any mercy, then a person who was holding the rank of Lt General in the Indian Army and who retired from this post and offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore to the then Army chief should not be shown any mercy by the court merely for the reason that the CBI did not arrest him during the investigation,” the judge said. As soon as the order was pronounced around 2.20 pm, the judge ordered that Tejinder be taken into custody after which the CBI officers present there arrested him and took him to the lockup on the court premises. He was remanded to judicial custody till October 20. The judge, in her two-page order, also referred to the recorded proceedings of Parliament where the then Defence Minister AK Antony had raised this issue. “Not only there is statement of then General VK Singh (retd), but also there are recorded proceedings of Parliament where this issue was raised. Hence, no ground for bail to applicant Lt Gen Tejinder Singh (retd). His application is dismissed,” the judge said and fixed the matter for arguments on framing of charges on October 20. The CBI had filed a chargesheet against Tejinder alleging that he had offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore to then chief of the Army staff VK Singh for clearing file pertaining to procurement of 1,676 heavy mobility Tatra vehicles. The court had taken cognisance of the CBI’s chargesheet on August 28 after relying upon the statements of AK Antony, VK Singh and other witnesses whose testimonies were recorded by the agency during the probe. During the day, Tejinder appeared before the court and moved a bail plea arguing that he was not arrested by the CBI and he had fully co-operated during the probe. His lawyer told the court that there was no apprehension of tampering of evidence in the case and Tejinder was falsely implicated due to political pressure. Countering the submissions of the defence counsel, CBI’s senior prosecutor VK Sharma said while granting bail, the court should look into the nature and seriousness of the offence and the alleged offer of Rs 14 crore bribe to the then chief of Army staff was not a small offence. Sharma said no leniency should be shown to the accused as he was holding one of the senior-most positions in the Army. — PTI
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Gas pipeline explodes in Assam, 3 killed
Guwahati, September 1 The woman was burnt to death on the spot while two other persons, Bhasan Sharma and Parash Sarma, died at Assam Medical College Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh. The injured were
admitted to the hospital. At least eight houses near the pipeline were razed to the ground while the inferno damaged standing crop and tea estates in the vicinity of the pipeline that was carrying natural gas from Oil India Limited’s gathering station at Moran to Duliajan. Many livestock were charred to death in the fire. Extensive damages were caused before fire engines of Oil India Limited and the Assam State Fire Service could control the situation. Sivasagar Superintendent of Police Bijoy Kuli said an initial report ruled out any sabotage behind the incident. He said the condition of most of the injured was stated to be serious and death toll might go up. “People were asleep when the fire broke out at 3.30 am and families residing near the accident site got hardly any time to escape,” he said adding investigation was on. AGCL official Kunal Majumder said there was a crater near the spot where the pipeline exploded and caught fire.
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To project govt’s work, BJP leaders to interact more with media
New Delhi, September 1 Sources say the aim of media interactions with ministers is to provide mediapersons with a better understanding of the government programmes and their intentions and avoid “miscommunications”— an apt example of which is the raging controversy over the September 5 Teacher’s Day celebrations. In a first such interaction at the BJP headquarters here today, HRD Minister Smriti Irani clarified that the participation of a school in the unique students-teachers interaction with the PM on September 5 was purely voluntary and that “Guru Utsav” was not an attempt at promotion of Hindi or renaming or saffronisation of the day observed in the memory of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. “It is an essay-writing competition in all Indian languages,” she said. Coming in step of the controversy over a central order on the use of Hindi on social media posts and official communication, several southern parties, including BJP’s own allies, PMK and MDMK, read the HRD Ministry’s efforts as an attempt to impose Hindi or Sanksrit. BJP sources agreed that the controversy could have been avoided with better communication over the issue. Notably, while the PM has been maintaining a guarded distance from the media, most of his ministers too have been studiously following his footsteps. Recently, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was quoted as saying that the PM’s experience of a hostile media in the past had made him adopt a strategy of speaking to people directly. According to Jaitley, after the Godhra train tragedy a leading newspaper published an interview with Modi, then the Gujarat CM, and quoted him as saying that every action had a reaction and therefore the violence was justified as reaction. Jaitley said the interview did not take place. “It was that interview which became the launching pad for the adverse campaign against him. His appeal for peace and other statements were not published. The hostile mood in the media made him speak directly to the people. That strategy is still unchanged,” Jaitley added.
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ED interrogates former Doordarshan director
Kolkata, September 1 He said Tara and four other channels were sold out to Sen at Rs 18 crore with the consent of the shareholders in 2011. But the broadcasting corporation did not get the entire money and he was also denied his dues. He
said the channel's ownership was not transferred to Sen. The CBI, separately probing the scam, today questioned TMC MP Kunal Gosh, other businessmen and politicians in Kolkata and Guwahati. It again sent notices to the actor Mithun Chakraborty, actor-director Aparna Sen, Apartia Ghosh, TMC MP and Sudipta Sen's wife and son. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today reiterated that her government would fully co-operate with the CBI and other inquiring agencies for arresting the culprits. But innocent people should not be harrassed or victimised. she alleged, so far, the CBI unnecessarily detained some innocent people. The Chief Minister denied the allegations that the TMC was running with the monetary help of the sarada group. She also contradicted the charges that the allegation of the invovelment of the TMC leaders, ministers or MPs in the chit fund scam.
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2G info leak: CBI begins probe to uncover ‘mole’
New Delhi, September 1 Ahead of the hearing tomorrow, a series of meetings was held with the counsel representing the CBI in the apex court where the agency will impress upon alleged twisting of facts by the counsel of the NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation, Prashant Bhushan, official sources said. The CBI has objected to the claims made by Bhushan in his petition that its Director had been reprimanded in coal scam by the Supreme Court saying that there was no order in connection with this, they said. The CBI will also inform the Supreme Court about leakage of documents from the agency and also that an internal probe had been ordered to fix those responsible for the act of passing on internal file notings and classified notes outside the agency. The agency will convey to the Supreme Court that since many provisions of the Right to Information Act were not applicable to the agency, how could the counsel for the NGO have access to the internal file notings, they said. The internal inquiry is to find the “mole” within the organisation, the sources said.
— PTI Counter arguments ready
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Mumbai film fest organisers take social media route to raise cash
Mumbai, September 1 Just two days after an online appeal went viral, the organisers raised Rs 1.5 crore. “I am hopeful that the film festival will happen this year as well,” noted film director Shyam Benegal, who heads MAMI said over the weekend. According to organisers, prominent film makers like Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra have chipped in with funds. The Cinestaan Film Company promoted by industrialist Anand Mahindra and Rohit Khattar have pledged Rs 60 lakh for the event, a statement released here said. “I’m extremely happy and humbled with the response that we have been getting from the film industry and film lovers in the city at large. Today, for the first time ever it truly feels that MFF belongs to the patrons and lovers of the festival,” MFF director Srinivasan Narayan said in a statement. The organisers had to scrounge around for cash after a five year sponsorship deal with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Entertainment ended last year. Fighting fund crunch
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Lt Gen Menon is Chief of Staff Western Command
Chandigarh, September 1 On demitting office, Lt Gen Gill, along with Lt Gen Memon, laid a wreath at the Veer Smriti war memorial to pay homage to the martyrs. He was later given a warm send-off from Command Headquarters by officers and troops. Lt Gen Gill, who will be joining the Punjab Government as Chairman, Punjab Public Service Commission, saw action during Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka in 1988-89 where he was decorated with Sena Medal for gallantry while commanding a rifle company from 5 Para. He later commanded the battalion during Operation Orchid in Nagaland, He has also served as the Commander, 2 Sector Rashtriya Rifles in South Kashmir and General Officer Commanding, Golden Arrow Division. He is also a national skydiving champion.
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With 13 new battalions, ITBP completes expansion plan
As part of its first major expansion and restructuring exercise since 1978,
the ITBF was accorded sanction to raise 13 new battalions to meet operational requirements of guarding the 3,488 km of international border with China. As many as 35 new border outposts were also sanctioned. The ITBP’s total strength is now close to 90,000 troops, sources said. An ITBP battalion comprises 22 officers and 1,355 men. Four battalions
were raised last year and five were raised a year before that. The restructuring also involved converting 20 existing battalions from four- company format to six-company format and increasing the establishment strength of Headquarters at the Directorate General, Frontier and
Sector level, augmenting the ITBP’s intelligence and logistic arms and providing medical and pioneer specialists at
border outposts. Consequently, to cater to the command and control mechanism of additional strength, one Frontier Headquarters, three Sector Headquarters seven specialised training centers and three recruit training centres were formed. This resulted in the creation of four new posts at the level of inspector general (IG), nine more posts of deputy inspector general (DIG) and 17 additional vacancies at the level of commandant. A 90,000 strong force
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Bandra-Worli sea link turning into suicide spot
Mumbai, September 1 Police said Vasudev drove up on the sea link in his car, halted it on the bridge
and simply jumped off the railing. Efforts were still on to recover his body, police said. According to Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), Vasudev was the eighth person to commit suicide this year. Police and fire brigade officials say the number of suicides from the sea link have gone up over the years as more people simply drive up even in chauffeur driven cars, halt on the pretext of looking around and dive off the structure. “We have rescued several people while they were trying to jump into the sea,” says a police official from Worli police station. Two years ago, Lalit Seth owner of a bankrupt travel agency, jumped off the structure leading to increased security measures. Police say they are patrolling the structure on motorbikes and personnel monitoring CCTVs installed on the structure hit alarm button whenever a vehicle is halted on
the bridge. The MSRDC officials say halting vehicles on the bridge is not allowed. However, tourists often halt for a few moments to look at the picturesque view of the city and click pictures. They say they are now taking into custody anyone who halts on the sea link.
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Bail for two policemen in Badaun case
Badaun, September 1 Additional sessions judge Anil Kumar granted conditional bail to the two constables, Sarvesh Yadav and Chatrapal Gangwar, arrested along with three others in the case, the counsel of the two, Brahma Singh said. Both Yadav and Gangwar were granted bail on the condition after giving a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh each besides sureties of the same amount, Singh said. Singh said documents relating to the bail would be produced in the court on Tuesday and both would be released after their verification although they would have to give an affidavit that in case of any evidence against them in future they would present themselves in the court and would not try to contact any witness or investigative agency or influence them. According to prosecution, filing of chargesheet within 90 days in such cases is mandatory. As the CBI, investigating the case, has not filed the chargesheet during this period nor sought additional time for investigation, the two constables have been able to secure bail. The two cousin sisters were found hanging from a tree in Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh in the last week of May, an incident which sparked national outrage. — PTI The case The two police constables were among the five accused arrested in the alleged rape and murder of two cousin sisters in Katra Saadatganj village.
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6 ‘high risk’ passengers quarantined
New Delhi, September 1 The ministry said as many as 816 passengers were being tracked by authorities under Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme. These passengers are those who carried risk because of suspicion that they might have come in touch with Ebola victims and are being monitored to ensure that they are attended to in case they develop symptoms of the dangerous disease. "Report has been received from state IDSP units of 18 of the 20 states about 80 passengers being monitored. One passenger, who is being tracked and monitored in West Bengal has confirmed to be having Malaria...," it said. The control room in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has received 706 calls since its inception on August 9 and only five calls were received in the past 24 hours, it said. — PTI
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Court to probe Pawar’s ‘vote twice’ remark
Mumbai, September 1 “As per my view, the investigation by the police is not just and thereby in the facts and circumstances of the case inquiry be conducted by this court under section 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” the magistrate of APMC court said in the order. The order was passed on August 27 but its certified copy was made available today. Addressing a gathering of mathadi workers (head loaders) at Vashi APMC (Navi Mumbai), Pawar had asked them to take advantage of multi-phase polling in the state by voting first at their home towns and again at the places where they worked. As the remark had triggered a controversy, Pawar later clarified that he was only joking. Chandulal Mulani has filed a complaint against Pawar in the court. He has also made Election Commission a respondent. “We have full faith in court-conducted inquiry; other investigating agencies could be prejudicial,” said Mulani’s lawyer, advocate Ashish Giri.
— PTI
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Chavan: Centre has cut down power supply to Maharashtra
Mumbai, September 1 “The Central government is attempting to create difficulties for the people of Maharashtra by not allocating electricity, but we will not allow the interests of the people to be affected,” Chavan said. The Chief Minister added that power supply from the Centre’s power grid to Maharashtra had been curtailed. However, with the state power generation company, MahaGenco, equipped with its own power plants the state government hoped to compensate as much as possible for the shortfall, he said.
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RSS activist killed in Kerala; BJP calls for state-wide strike Kannur (Kerala), September 1 E Manoj, a local office-bearer of RSS, was waylaid on a road by the gang which threw a country-made bomb at him and then hacked him to death before fleeing the area near Thalassery, police said. RSS-BJP leaders alleged the CPI(M) was behind the killing and gave a call for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the state tomorrow. BJP president Amit Shah, who was in the state capital, condemned the killing. The area, which was witness to violence involving RSS and CPI(M) workers in the past, has been remaining largely calm in the last few years. But tension resurfaced with the BJP and CPI(M) poaching workers from each side in recent times. Last year, a large number of BJP workers led by a prominent local leader had joined the CPI(M). In retaliation, the saffron party lured scores of CPI(M) workers to its camp last month. — PTI
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ED quizzes former DD director
Subhrangshu Gupta Tribune News Service
Kolkata, September 1 After the interrogation, Bose told mediapersons that he was asked about the sale of Tara Channel to Sudipta Sen. He said Tara and four other channels were sold out to Sen at Rs 18 crore with the consent of the shareholders in 2011. But the broadcasting corporation did not get the entire money and he was also denied his dues. He said the channel's ownership was not transferred to Sen. The CBI, separately probing the scam, today questioned TMC MP Kunal Gosh, other businessmen and politicians in Kolkata and Guwahati. It again sent notices to the actor Mithun Chakraborty, actor-director Aparna Sen, Apartia Ghosh, TMC MP and Sudipta Sen's wife and son. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said her government would co-operate with all agencies probing the scam, but innocent people should not be harassed or victimised.
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Right-wing group wants ban on reality TV show
Panaji, September 1 "The impact of such reality shows is so much that it erodes culture and
morality in the youth which are the future responsible citizens of this country," HJS spokesman Ramesh Shinde said in a press release. The show, hosted by Sunny Leone and VJ Nikhil Chinnapa, is in its seventh season.
— PTI
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New Delhi, September 1
New Delhi, September 1
Patna, September 1
All that one has to do is pick up a bowl of rice and hand it over to a needy person. Pictures of the act can be posted on Facebook with the #ricebucketchallenge
tag
New Delhi, September 1
Chandigarh, September 1