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‘Modi wave’ turned out to be froth: Shiv Sena
RSS to tap rural areas, develop 250 villages
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CWC meeting soon to assess Cong poll loss
PM immune from human rights lawsuit in US
EC wants bar on candidates facing serious charges
Ambulance scam: Raje recommends CBI probe
Delhi’s
Dhaula Kuan gangrape
11 die in Andhra cracker unit blast
vvip
copter deal
tatra
deal
Diwali bonanza for Gujarat Govt staff
Five more ITBP battalions for anti-Maoist ops
Hudhud toll rises to 46
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‘Modi wave’ turned out to be froth: Shiv Sena
Mumbai, October 20 “All newly elected MLAs today met Uddhav Thackeray and they unanimously decided to give him the right of choosing the legislative party leader,” Sena MP Sanjay Raut said. The Shiv Sena has in an editorial in its party mouthpiece ‘Samna’ said there was no wave for any party in the state. “There is no clear mandate for any one party but we congratulate those who are blowing their trumpets in celebration. In some cases where we thought there was a wave for a party, it turned out to be nothing more than froth that receded before it reached the shores,” the Shiv Sena said in its editorial with strong messages for its former ally. On being asked if any decision on extending support to the BJP was taken at the meeting, Raut said, “Today’s meet was not about the BJP. Therefore, we haven’t discussed it at all. A final decision will be taken by Uddhav and conveyed to the media in due course.” Thackeray had yesterday said his party would not lend unsolicited support to the BJP in forming the government in Maharashtra, saying “let them make the first move”. Raut said, “We want to thank the people for the support they gave us in spite of us fighting all alone in the polls. It will be our endeavour to continue working for Maharashtra’s development in the future as well.” Though the Sena improved upon its 2009 poll performance by winning 63 seats in this year’s state elections, it fell short of its best performance in the 1995 elections when it had won 73 seats going to the hustings together with the BJP and forming a coalition government. However, the BJP’s gamble of walking out of the alliance with the Sena paid off as it has secured 122 seats in the 288-member Assembly. — Agencies
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RSS to tap rural areas, develop 250 villages
Lucknow, October 20 “All those who believe that they were Hindus are welcome,” said senior RSS leader Bhaiyaji Joshi while talking to mediapersons at the conclusion of the three-day RSS national conclave today. The RSS ‘sarkaryavah’ said the priority was to make inroads into the villages. “The RSS plans to develop 250 villages. In each village, the sangh would promote education (not literacy), health, cottage industries, agriculture and self reliance. It is the RSS agenda that the people should chart out and implement their own development plans so that it endures,” he said. “Our priority is to unite Hindus and create awareness among them. Since last October, 4,500 shakhas have been added. The youth is connecting through social media. Each month more than 3,000 youth make queries about joining the RSS,” he said.
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CWC meeting soon to assess Cong poll loss
New Delhi, October 20 Top party leaders today said the CWC “could meet soon” in the wake of party’s continuing rout which began in 2013 with losses in four states and later in Lok Sabha. They said some organisational reshuffle was being mulled to send a message of action to the cadres on the eve of three pending elections in Delhi, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir. “We are examining where and why natural Congress supporters are moving away from it, the reasons why this is happening and the plan whereby we can include these sections in the mainstream of party’s ideology,” Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said today. He also referred to the long overdue reshuffle of the party saying the CWC had, following the party’s Lok Sabha rout, authorised Congress president Sonia Gandhi to effect wide ranging changes across party organisation. Sonia is however yet to act with angst against her inertia seemingly reaching tipping point. The Congress was today quick to defend Rahul Gandhi and rule out Priyanka’s entry into party fold. “Everyone in the Congress has faith in Rahul and his ideas. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has restricted her political role to her family’s parliamentary constituencies. We must respect her decision,” Surjewala said.
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India lagging behind in medical research, says Modi
New Delhi, October 20 He said Indian doctors have made a name for themselves world over but the country was far behind in the field of research. “It is necessary for research that we stay more conscious to case history (of patients). We should write every minute detail about patients and you may contribute in a big way to the mankind as the outcome of your hard work. Some of you may become a research scientist,” he said addressing the medical fraternity at the AIIMS convocation. Modi said in some countries, work was going on in aura science and a big revolution was possible in the field of medical science. While India is open to innovation, the worry is that doctors of the country may still be reading the same old books their professors had recommended because they in turn had also studied them. “I am not here to frighten you. But things are changing so quickly. I don’t know how many of you are aware of it,” he said. “You may become professors one day and pass on the same books to others saying this is what I have been teaching and you also do the same. Then change won’t come. If our mind is attuned to the rapidly changing system, then we will stay relevant,” he said. He urged doctors passing out from AIIMS to work among the poor in far-flung areas “at least for a week in a year” as he spoke at length about the need for them to “pay back” to the society. “You are so lucky to have studied in an institution like AIIMS. I leave you in hope that as children of mother India, you will give back to society which has given you so much love... To repay the debt is your duty,” he said. He also suggested a tradition be introduced of having special guests at convocation ceremonies. “Can we start a tradition of having special guests at convocation? By special guests I mean some selected Class VIII-IX students from a village school. They should be invited so that they can see what the world is all about,” Modi said.
— Agencies
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PM immune from human rights lawsuit in US
Washington, October 20 US Attorney Preet Bharara told a federal court in New York that the Executive Branch of the US "has determined that Narendra Modi, as the sitting head of a foreign government, enjoys head of state immunity from the jurisdiction of US courts" in light of his current status. — PTI
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EC wants bar on candidates facing serious charges
New Delhi, October 20 The Election Commission has made recommendations to the government in this regard which comes against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s intervention when those convicted of serious offences were instantly disqualified from being an MP or an MLA. “Those who are facing criminal charges, the Commission has made a proposal to the Law Ministry (that) at least in such of the criminal cases where the (minimum) punishment is imprisonment of five years, if a person is accused of that and if charges have been framed by the competent magistrate at least six months before the scheduled date of election, they should be disqualified from contesting elections,” Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath said. He said the proposal of the poll panel has been referred by the Law Ministry to the Law Commission which is working on making recommendations on electoral reforms. Sampath said a “safeguard” has also been proposed to prevent misuse of the provision. The provision of barring persons from contesting polls will apply only in cases where charges have been framed for the alleged crime six months before the announcement of elections. — PTI |
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India offers logistical help to Nepal for SAARC summit
New Delhi, October 20 Nepal’s request was conveyed by visiting Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey who met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today. “The External Affairs Minister assured him of positive response for logistical support. She reaffirmed to the visiting Minister that the SAARC process touches real life of the people of South Asia and India is committed to increasing trade and commerce as well as connectivity and people-to-people interaction,” a source in the External Affairs Ministry said. Pandey, who arrived here to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the November 26-27 SAARC Summit, also met him. The PM said he attached the highest level of priority to relations with SAARC countries and looked forward to participating in his first SAARC Summit. He considered the SAARC as a vital instrument to add to the strength of each SAARC nation and advance collective action for shared prosperity in the region. Committing India’s full support to the SAARC process, he said SAARC countries had much to learn from each other’s experiences and strengths. The PM said in addition to promoting regional connectivity and integration, SAARC countries should identify specific areas of common heritage, challenges and opportunities to foster region-wide cooperation. During her talks with Pandey, the External Affairs Minister noted that while the power development agreement for the upper Karnali project was signed, the agreement for power trade would be signed tomorrow in Kathmandu. She also hoped that in case of other hydro-electric projects negotiations would be expedited. The two Foreign Ministers also discussed the follow-up to the Joint Commission meeting which was held in Kathmandu in July after 23 years and reviewed follow-up measures that were required to be taken to implement the announcements made during the PM’s visit to Kathmandu in August. “She also briefed the visiting minister on the efforts underway in India to work out new modalities for certain priority projects,” a source said.
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Ambulance scam: Raje recommends CBI probe
Jaipur, October 20 A formal communication seeking the CBI probe in operating the '108' ambulance service will be sent to the Centre tomorrow, the official said. The move came days after the Rajasthan DGP recommended referring to the CBI the case against Gehlot, Pilot and several others for alleged financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 2.56 crore in operating the ambulance service during the previous Congress regime. — PTI
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Delhi’s Dhaula Kuan gangrape
New Delhi, October 20 Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Virender Bhat said the offence demonstrated that the five married men having children, “were on the prowl, looking for a prey to satiate their sexual lust.” Terming the crime committed by the convicts as intensely “grave,” “serious” and “odious” in nature, the judge said the “rape victim has to live with the scar of rape throughout her whole life and incident of rape shatters her life as well as her dreams in a violent manner. “Rape is a serious blow to the honour, dignity and womanhood of the victim and besides causing immense trauma to her, it has an everlasting impact upon her mind as well as soul,” the judge said while awarding the maximum sentence and imposing a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of them. The court handed down the sentence to Usman, alias Kale, Shamshad, alias Khutkan, Shahid, alias Chhota Billi, Iqbal, alias Bada Billi and Kamruddin, alias Mobile, all residents of Mewat region in Haryana. Making hard hitting remarks to justify the punishment, the court said, “It appears that the convicts were wandering upon the Delhi roads like beasts looking for their target of attack. It has come on record that all the convicts were married at that time, having children and still they were roaming on the roads in Delhi in search of a soft target to satisfy their sexual lust.” Terming the convicts as “psychopaths”, the court said they “have no regard for the honour and dignity of the women folk in the society and thus are threat to the whole society. “It is the demand of justice that they should be kept away from the society as long as possible,” the judge said in his seven-page order on sentence. “All five accused are sentenced to life imprisonment for the offence under Section 376 (2)(g) (gangrape) of the IPC alongwith a fine of Rs 25,000 each. For offence under Sections 365/34 (abduction with common intention) seven years rigorous imprisonment is awarded alongwith a fine of Rs 25,000 each and for offence under Sections 506 /34 (criminal intimidation with common intention) five years rigorous imprisonment has been awarded,” the judge said. — PTI
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11 die in Andhra cracker unit blast
Hyderabad, October 20 “There was a big explosion in the cracker manufacturing factory. Our
people (police) have counted 11 people dead,” a senior police official said
on phone. The workers of the private cracker unit, located at Vakatippa village in Uppada Kothapalli mandal near the district headquarters town of Kakinada, 500 km from here, were working when the blast took place this afternoon. The police said there were 18 workers working in the factory unit at that time. Preliminary reports suggest the explosion was a result of a chemical reaction during the cracker manufacturing process. — PTI
CM announces Rs 2 lakh relief |
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Kudankulam unit shut down after snag
Chennai, October 20 An official of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP), an Indo-Russian joint venture, said the problem was minor and the unit is expected to be back in operation in six to eight weeks. KNPP Unit 1 turbine generator has operated for 4,701 hours so far and generated 282.5 crore units of power, which was supplied to the Southern grid since October 2013, KNPP Site Director R S Sundar said in a statement. “The unit has been shut down to inspect the turbine and its associated components before putting it for commercial operation”, he said. Sundar said a “minor” deficiency was found on the turbine during inspections. Some of the components needed replacement and officials are working on it, he later said. “Maintenance activities are in progress and we wanted some more time to put it back in service. That is why we have taken time”, he said. Sundar said Unit 1 was expected to be back in service in six to eight weeks. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India(NPCIL) had undertaken construction of two 1,000 MW units at KNPP jointly with Russia at Kudankulam in Tiruneveli district in Tamil Nadu. Unit-1 attained criticality on July 13 last year after much delay following protests against KNPP by anti-nuclear activists in areas around the complex, citing safety reasons. It was synchronized with the southern power grid on October 22, 2013. — PTI
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vvip
copter deal
New Delhi, October 20 Special judge VK Gupta denied bail to Khaitan, who is at present in jail under judicial custody. Khaitan’s counsel had sought bail contending that he was a “soft target” and influential persons, who are also accused in the case, were not yet arrested by the Enforcement Directorate. The bail plea, however, was opposed by ED’s prosecutors Vikas Garg and Naveen Kumar Matta who contended that there was a likelihood of Khaitan fleeing from justice, tampering with the evidence and hampering the ongoing probe. — PTI
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tatra
deal
New Delhi, October 20 Special CBI Judge Madhu Jain posted the matter for hearing on December 6 after the counsel appearing for Tejinder Singh moved a plea seeking documents related to the case which were filed by the agency along with its charge sheet. The court on September 1 had dismissed the Tejinder’s bail plea after he had appeared before it in pursuance to the summons issued against him. He was send to jail under judicial custody. He, however, was granted bail by the Delhi High Court on September 5. The CBI had filed a charge-sheet against Tejinder alleging that he had offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore to then Chief of Army Staff (COAS) VK Singh for clearing the file pertaining to procurement of 1,676 heavy mobility Tatra vehicles. The court had taken cognisance of the CBI’s charge-sheet on August 28 after relying upon statements of former Defence Minister AK Antony, VK Singh and other prosecution witnesses whose testimonies were recorded by the agency during probe.
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Diwali bonanza for Gujarat Govt staff
Ahmedabad, October 20 State Cabinet spokesman and Health Minister Nitin Patel said the class three and four employees who so far were getting Rs 4,500 per month had been granted a 58 per cent hike and the revised salary would be Rs 7,100 per month. The employees at the level of Rs 5,300 would get 7,800, a 47 per cent increase, those at 9,400 would get 13,500, a 44 per cent increase and those at 10,000 would get Rs 13,700, a 37 per cent hike. The increase would benefit about one lakh employees in different government departments working on fixed scale and would cause the state exchequer an additional burden of Rs 380 crores per annum. Patel said the state government had also decided to recruit another about 2.5 lakh youths on a fixed salary basis.
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Five more ITBP battalions for anti-Maoist ops
Chandigarh, October 20 Sources in the ITBP said deliberations are under way in the Ministry of Home Affairs to chalk out the operational and administrative modalities for additional deployment of the border guarding force on internal security duties in Maoist-infested areas. The ITBP is expected to replace the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the Dantewara region adjoining the border with Maharashtra in southern Chhattisgarh. The CRPF has about 40 companies deployed for anti-Maoist operations in that area. Consequent to five more battalions being moved to Chhattisgarh, virtually the entire ITBP force would end up being deployed in an operational environment, including its primary task of manning the Indo-China border. Close to 60 per cent of the force is deployed along the 3,844 km-long Himalayan frontier from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Diphu La in Arunachal Pradesh, barring stretches of borders with Nepal and Bhutan. With another 15 per cent of the force being earmarked for anti-Maoist operations and remaining battalions being utilised for administrative duties, manning depots and training centers, there is little likelihood of a battalion being sent to a peace station for rest and recuperation. Following a review of the security environment, the Ministry of Home Affairs had evolved a restructuring and upgrade plan for all central armed police forces a few years ago, under which the ITBP raised 15 new battalions and increased its manpower from about 45,000 to over 80,000.
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Jaipur, October 20
