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If Asaram fails to answer our questions, we will arrest him: Jodhpur Police

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 30 Agustus 2013 | 22.44

NEW DELHI: There are strong grounds for arrest of Asaram Bapu and he will be arrested if he cannot provide proper defence, Jodhpur Police said on Friday.

Briefing reporters on the case, Jodhpur Police said a team will leave for Bhopal on Friday night to continue with the probe and question Asaram Bapu in the sexual assault case.

Police said Asaram had requested for extra time, which has been refused.

We received a fax from Asaram's ashram on Friday stating that he is unable to come to Jodhpur from Bhopal due to the death of a relative and his ill-health, the police said.
Since the deadline for him to surrender ends today, we are sending a team to Bhopal to find out the status of his health, the police said.

If he fails to answer our questions, he will be arrested, the police said.

Earlier, Asaram's son Narayan Sai claimed that his father had booked tickets for a flight to New Delhi on Friday morning but his health suddenly deteriorated because of which the trip was cancelled.
In Ahmedabad, an application was moved on behalf of Asaram before the Gujarat high court for transit anticipatory bail.

Asaram's counsel Sudhir Nanavati withdrew the bail plea after Justice A J Desai indicated that he was inclined to reject it.


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Government seeks consensus only in distress: Jaitley

NEW DELHI: BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Friday said there was need for a larger consensus on economic issues but accused the UPA government of seeking consensus only in distress.

"There is a need for a larger consensus on economic issues. It emerges out of political environment, which is broken and fractured by the government," said Jaitley, leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

"If the government expects consensus only on economy, then it is daunting and challenging. The government seeks consensus only in distress," he said while responding to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on the economic situation.

Jaitley claimed that the economic situation is gloomy and the government has lost the trust of both domestic and international investors.

"This country has survived many economic crises in the past. The situation (this time) is far gloomy as the government has lost confidence of investing community," he said.

Jaitley said the whole world was warning that there was a state of policy paralysis in India.

"If you continue to follow the course, then the legacy that you leave behind will not be the legacy that you left behind as the finance minister," he told Manmohan Singh.


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Bhatkal says blasts carried out to send message; SP leader Farooqi stirs row over arrest

MOTIHARI/NEW DELHI: Arrested Indian Mujahideen operative Yasin Bhatkal and his associate have "without any remorse" acknowledged that they carried out many bomb blasts so as to "send a message", a top district police official who interrogated the terror mastermind, said on Friday.

"Bomb blast karta hu message dene ke liye (I carry out bomb blasts to send a message)," Bhatkal was quoted as saying by Motihari superintendent of police Vinay Kumar, who played a key role in arrest of the two top IM operatives from Raxual on India-Nepal border and who initially questioned the two.

The Motihari SP had interrogated Bhatkal and Asadulla Akhtar alias Haddi at his office along with some NIA officials for more than three hours before producing them in the court of chief judicial magistrate for transit remand on Thursday.

The SP told PTI the top IM terrorists talked about atrocities being committed on Rohingya muslims in Myanmar but denied any role in the Bodh Gaya serial blasts on July 7.

"Though he is denying, we feel his involvement in the Bodh Gaya explosions is on the higher side of probability," Kumar said that further investigations can throw light on the matter.

Atrocities on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar is stated to be a potent reason behind Bodh Gaya blasts that had left two monks wounded, including one hailing from Myanmar, on July 7.

Kumar said Bhatkal and Haddi expressed no remorse for triggering the many blasts that killed a large number of people in different cities.

The Motihari SP had launched a search for Bhatkal on the Indo-Nepal border for the past four days before finally arresting him with his associate from Nahar chowk in Raxaul, about 225km from here on Thursday.

Kamaal Farooqi creates controversy

Samjawadi Party leader Kamaal Farooqi on Friday kicked up a controversy over the arrest of Yasin Bhatkal by asking whether it was based on the grounds of crime or religion.

Congress and BJP slammed Farooqi for his comment calling it "ridiculous" and "regrettable".

"Is this arrest based on crime or religion," Farooqi asked.

"If he is a terrorist then he should not be spared but if he has been arrested just because he is a Muslim, then caution should be exercised as we don't want to send a wrong message to an entire community that we are trying to malign the community's image without a thorough investigation," he said on the arrest of 30-year-old Bhatkal who is wanted in several blast cases.

Farooqi claimed it would be harmful for the country if the arrest was made because of Bhatkal's religious denomination.

"I feel there should be an objective inquiry into the issue," he said, adding investigators should get to the bottom of the truth.

"Past record often shows that police claims to have arrested people saying they were terrorists that later it turned out to be wrong, and the accused had to be released later," he said.

BJP said Farooqi's statement was regrettable. "It is deeply regrettable. It is deeply unfortunate that he is using religion to compromise the security of the country. He (Farooqui) should have avoided it," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said. Prasad said the whole of India should be seen as speaking in one voice when there is evidence against an arrested terrorist.

Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury trashed Farooqi's comment as ridiculous while party colleague and Union minister V Narayanasamy said terror has no religion.


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Tourism ministry to create 2.5 crore additional employment in 12th plan

MUMBAI: Ministry of tourism has targeted to create additional employment of about 2.5 crore in the tourism sector during the 12th five-year plan. The additional employment that would be created would be both direct as well as indirect employment.

India 's share in the international tourist arrivals is also targeted to increase to 1% from the existing 0.64%, according to information provided by the ministry.

During the 12th five year plan, the ministry is poised to address the various issues related with development and promotion of tourism in the country including Punjab, in consultation with the concerned state governments and union territory administrations and tourism industry stakeholders.

The ministry of tourism provides central financial assistance (CFA) to various state governments/union territory administrations for various tourism projects prioritized every year in consultation with them subject to availability of funds, inter-se priority and adherence to the scheme guidelines.

Further to resolve inter-ministerial issues involved in the development of tourism in the country an inter-ministerial coordination committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of the principal secretary to the prime minister.


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Strong grounds for Asaram Bapu's arrest, Jodhpur Police say

NEW DELHI: There are strong grounds for arrest of Asaram Bapu and he will be arrested if he cannot provide proper defence, Jodhpur Police said on Friday.

Briefing reporters on the case, Jodhpur Police said a team will leave for Bhopal on Friday night to continue with the probe and question Asaram Bapu in the sexual assault case.

Police said Asaram had requested for extra time, which has been refused.

We received a fax from Asaram's ashram on Friday stating that he is unable to come to Jodhpur from Bhopal due to the death of a relative and his ill-health, the police said.
Since the deadline for him to surrender ends today, we are sending a team to Bhopal to find out the status of his health, the police said.

If he fails to answer our questions, he will be arrested, the police said.

Earlier, Asaram's son Narayan Sai claimed that his father had booked tickets for a flight to New Delhi on Friday morning but his health suddenly deteriorated because of which the trip was cancelled.
In Ahmedabad, an application was moved on behalf of Asaram before the Gujarat high court for transit anticipatory bail.

Asaram's counsel Sudhir Nanavati withdrew the bail plea after Justice A J Desai indicated that he was inclined to reject it.


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Bajwa demands emergency Punjab assembly session on economic condition

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 29 Agustus 2013 | 22.44

PHILLAUR, JALANDHAR: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president and MP Partap Singh Bajwa has demanded holding of an emergency session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha to discuss financial position of state. Holding that fiscal condition of the state was precarious Bajwa held that the SAD BJP government was not in position to pay the salaries to employees who could be forced to observe a 'Black Diwali'.

"It was ironical that finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa has asked the employees to either get DA installment or arrear of their pay commission dues," Bajwa said while addressing a party rally at Phillaur organized by former minister Chaudhary Santokh Singh.

PPCC President said that the present economic situation of Punjab was own creation of SAD-BJP government. "The mismanagement of resources, rampant corruption in government, over spending and non-productive expenditure, heavy top brass of police and bureaucracy, ineffective revenue collection and tax evasion are some of the basic reasons for poor economic performance of this government. He said that chief minister Parkash Singh Badal was rather very casual and irresponsible in maintaining financial discipline and he is wasting public funds in Sangat Darshan programmers," he said.

Bajwa said that finance minister had accepted that Punjab's economy was in shambles and state government had no funds to meet the day to day expenses. He said that revenue collection of Punjab government was declining and expenses wewre on the rise. "The state government was in debt trap and still not serious about taking remedial measures. The state government was supposed to pay Rs 2800 crores to the employees before November which is not possible. I doubt government would be able to pay salaries in the next months," he added.

Bajwa asked the chief minister to shut down loss making boards and corporations and remove all chief parliamentary secretaries to over the financial crisis.

He said that deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was delivering fake dreams to people. These days he was on visit to Instabul and issuing statements to implement Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) in all cities. He asked Badal junior to first explain the fate of his Metro dream. He advised the deputy CM to begin with travelling by road and see the plight of people. He said that states like Bihar were performing better than Punjab as far as development is concerned.


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Earthquake of mild intensity rocks parts of Himachal Pradesh

SHIMLA: An earthquake of mild intensity on Thursday rocked several parts of Himachal Pradesh.

The tremors, which were felt at 3.43pm, lasted few seconds, the India Meteorological Department officials said.

The epicentre of the quake, which measured 4.7 on the Richter scale, was on the border of Hoshiarpur district of Punjab and Una district of Himachal Pradesh.

There was no report of any damage to property or injuries to any person, they added.


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My son should be punished if found guilty: Yasin Bhatkal's father

BANGALORE: The father of Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal on Thursday said his son should be punished if found guilty after the due process of law.

Zarar Siddibapa said his family has complete faith in the judicial process and his son should be punished if found guilty after a due process of law. "The cardinal principle that every person is innocent until proven guilty should be followed," he added.

In a statement, he expressed relief over the arrest of his son, saying their fears about his "elimination" in a fake encounter had been put to rest.

"We are extremely relieved that Ahmed Siddibapa (Yasin Bhatkal) has been arrested, according to media reports. We are relieved because the truth will come out and our fears that he would be eliminated in a fake encounter have been set to rest," Zarar Siddibapa said in a statement to the media here.

Claiming that "lots of falsehoods" were being spread in the media about his son, Zarar Siddibapa, who lives at Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district, said he wished to put the basic facts in the public domain.

Yasin Bhaktal, also known as Mohd Zarar Ahmed Siddibapa, was arrested from India-Nepal border in north Bihar, along with another IM leader Asadulla Akhtar after being on the run for over five years.

He is wanted in a string of terror attacks in Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi and Hyderabad.


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MP BJP might field a Muslim candidate after 15 years

BHOPAL: After a long gap of 15 years, the ruling-BJP in Madhya Pradesh is considering fielding a Muslim candidate from the minority dominated Bhopal-North constituency for the upcoming November assembly polls. State BJP records show that since 1990 only two Muslim candidates were given tickets to contest elections so far. Both the candidates, Abdul Rab in 1993 and Moin Ansari in 1998 were fielded from the Burhanpur assembly seat. However, the candidates lost and the Burhanpur assembly seat today is represented by Archana Chitnis, the state's minister for school education.

The matter was taken-up during a closed-door election meeting headed by BJP national vice-president Prabhat Jha on Sunday. Jha was discussing tickets distribution for the seven assembly seats in the state capital. Party leader and workers unanimously agreed that three sitting MLAs, two of who are ministers are totally safe in their respective constituencies including minister for urban development Babulal Gaur from Govindpura seat, home minister Uma Shankar Gupta from Bhopal South-west and MLA Vishwas Sarang from Narela.

Two other seats would retain their sitting BJP MLAs for various other reasons. Jitendra Daga from Huzur because he has been active and hardworking and RTI activist Shehla Masood controversy hit Dhruv Narayan Singh from Bhopal- central because he is supported by the powerful Thakur-feudal lobby of the party. Berasia seat represented by Brahmanand Ratnakar, a liquor baron might see a change of face.

But the main problem was surrounding Bhopal North, the only Muslim dominated seat in Bhopal which is represented by a Congress MLA and former minister of the Digvijay Singh Congress government Arif Aqueel. Ever since the BJP came to power in 2003, Arif Aqueel has been the only Muslim MLA sitting in the Madhya Pradesh assembly.

This is a seat that nobody stakes claim to in the ruling-party since the BJP has won it once only in the early 90s when it fielded Ramesh Sharma aka Gattu Bhaiyya. That was also the one time when the seat was represented by a member of the Hindu community. ``There are a number of leaders who want tickets to contest the elections. And they agree to contesting from any other of the 229 remaining constituencies in the state but from Bhopal-North,'' a state BJP leader said.

In 2008, the BJP fielded a close-aide of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his childhood friend Alok Sharma from the seat. Sharma lost by 5,000 votes. ``It is a lost seat again, unless we think of changing our strategy and that will be to field a Muslim candidate from the seat,'' the BJP leader added. The BJP has two likely candidates for the Bhopal North seat - former Union minister Arif Baig who was close to BJP veteran Atal Behari Vajpayee and the chairman of the state minority commission Anwar Mohammad Khan, a follower of the former chief minister Sundarlal Patwa faction. After the meeting, the names of these candidates were sealed in an envelope and sent to the state BJP chief Narendra Singh Tomar who will forward the same to the campaign committee for approval.


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Digvijaya wants to end political sanyas, contest Lok Sabha polls

BHOPAL: AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh on Thursday claimed that the ruling Shivraj Singh Chouhan BJP government in Madhya Pradesh had done little for the development of the state. But despite the poor developmental health of the state, the former chief minister does not want to return to state politics.

Speaking to reporters in Jhabua Digvijaya Singh categorically ruled-out contesting the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh scheduled for November this year. Instead, he wants to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. "If the party wants me to, I will contest the Lok sabha elections scheduled for next year," Digvijay Singh said.

Digvijaya Singh served as chief minister from December 1993 to December 2003. After the Congress got routed with 38 out of the total 230 seats in 2003, the former chief minister took responsibility for the defeat and announced that he would take "sanyas" from politics for the next ten years. Though he secured a place for himself in 24, Akbar Road and made political statements faster than any other Congress leader, he now claims his "sanyas" is over and he is willing to return in the active electoral fray - but only if he is given a Lok Sabha ticket.

Just one week ago, Digvijaya Singh expressed his desire to contest from the Vidisha Lok Sabha seat represented by BJP leader of opposition, Sushma Swaraj, who won by a whopping margin of more than four lakh votes in 2009 while the Congress candidate Rajkumar Patel gave her an easy win as his nomination papers were rejected. Patel, known to be in the inner circle of the Digvijaya Singh faction had not submitted his nomination papers on time, hence, the rejection.

Vidisha is a BJP bastion and was Atal Behari Vajpayee's seat in 1991. Thereafter, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan retained the constituency for five terms till be became chief minister of the state. In 2008, Chouhan welcomed Sushma Swaraj to contest from here. It is a puzzle why Digvijaya Singh wants to contest from a constituency which has not elected a Congress candidate over the past 25 years.

On Thursday, Digvijaya Singh claimed that the BJP state government had not fulfilled its manifesto promise to waive the agricultural loans of 50,000 farmers. He also argued that the Chouhan government's recently launched programme of 24-hour quality power supply under the Atal Jyoti Yojana throughout the state for domestic consumers and industry was a hoax. Farmers who have been promised eight hours of power for agricultural usage are still not getting electricity, he quipped.

The AICC general secretary's followers are presently leading the state Congress including tribal leader and former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria as PCC chief and Digvijaya Singh's relative and deceased leader Arjun Singh's son Ajay as the leader of opposition. Digvijaya Singh's brother Lakshman is the state Congress vice-president. But Digvijaya himself refuses to be part of this team.

If given a ticket, this won't be the first time Digvijay Singh would enter Parliament. He was elected Lok sabha MP from Rajgarh twice in 1984 and 1991. He lost the seat in 1989 to BJP's Pyarelal Khandelwal. His brother Lakshman Singh represented Rajgarh for four terms from 1996 to 2004 - three terms for the Congress and once for the BJP. Lakshman Singh was fielded by the BJP again in 2009 but lost as Digvijaya Singh proved his loyalties to the Congress by campaigning for party candidate Narayan Singh Amlabe. Question now remains: Will Digvijay Singh contest from Vidisha as he claims? If so, who is he planning to field from Rajgarh, a seat formerly represented by him and his brother?


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189 coal documents not available, Centre tells apex court

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 27 Agustus 2013 | 22.44

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday admitted before the Supreme Court that 189 out of 236 documents sought by the CBI, which is probing coal block allocation scam, is "not-available".

In an affidavit filed before the apex court, the coal ministry submitted that an inter-ministerial committee has been constituted to "examine and review non-availability of any file or document" and to suggest appropriate action for locating them within a month.

Giving details of the missing documents, the Ministry said that 7 files, 173 applications of coal block allocatees/applicants and nine other documents are being searched by it.

"Of the 43 files, 21 have already been handed over to the CBI, 15 are available for handing over and CBI has been requested to collect the same. Efforts are being made to locate the rest 7 files.

"Out of 19 applications, 3 applications have already been made available to CBI. The remaining 16 applications along with 157 applications are being searched. Out of the 17 other documents, six have been supplied, 2 are available for handing over and nine are being searched," the affidavit said.

The affidavit said that so far 769 files/documents/other papers in original have been handed over to the CBI for investigation comprising of as many as 497 files, 163 applications, 40 agenda papers, 10 feedback-form booklets and 33 miscellaneous documents. It said that 26 CDs have also been handed over.

Responding to the apex court's query for justifying the controversial coal blocks allocation, the Ministry submitted "allocation through screening committee has significantly contributed to the economy".

It referred to a committee report which had said that allocation of coal blocks had as effects on employment generation in downstream sectors such as power, sponge iron and cement.

Giving details of the allocations, the Centre said 178 coal blocks were allocated to government and private companies.

"Of these, 12 coal blocks have been earmarked for allocation to Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) through competitive tariff-based bidding route and 4 out of these 12 blocks, involving 2 projects, have already been awarded. Two blocks have been allocated to private companies for Coal-to- Liquid (CTL) projects based on recommendations made by an Inter-Ministerial Group," the affidavit said.

It said 108 blocks have been allotted to private and government companies through a screening committee route and 56 blocks to government undertakings through government dispensation route.

"With regard to 108 blocks that stand allocated through screening committee route, 84 blocks have been allocated to private companies and 24 blocks have been allocated to government companies/undertakings," the affidavit said.

It said that so far 35 blocks have come into production as on March 31, 2013.

"Thirty-five blocks have come into production, which includes 5 blocks allocated through government dispensation route and 2 blocks allocated to UMPPs. Among the 108 blocks allotted through screening committee route, 11 blocks allotted to government companies and 17 blocks allotted to private companies have come into production," the affidavit said.

The government submitted the decision-making process for allotments through the screening committee route has to be understood and judged with reference to the applicable guidelines at the relevant time.


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Karnataka: Leader in IT, laggard in competitive tests for govt jobs

BANGALORE: Karnataka may be contributing one-third of India's annual software exports, but it is still far behind some of the north-eastern states when it comes to competing in job tests by central government-owned entities.

According to 2011 IBPS ( Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) ranking list, Karnataka was number 28, above Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh but below Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam and Nagaland, in terms of the percentage of people who applied in comparison with the state population.

Karnataka's percentage was a dismal at 0.00842 (5149 applied from Karnataka, which has a population of more than 6.11 crore), shade better than Mizoram (0.00788) and Arunachal Pradesh (0.00702).

Kannada Development Authority chairman " Mukhyamantri" Chandru, who released the details at a press conference here today, expressed concern over significant drop in job opportunities for Kannadigas in central government-owned companies and organisations such as banks and post offices.

He blamed lack of awareness, poor computer literacy andknowledge of English language for the slide, noting that most firms allow only online application, and condemned the practice of having only English and Hindi options for writing competitive exams, and not in recognised regional languages.

Now, the KDA in coordination with the Labour and Employment and Education Departments and workers federations are putting together a campaign to train eligible Kannadigas on filing applications and facing examinations for the coming tests, called by IBPS to fill 10,000 vacancies in nationalised banks.


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Despite Karnataka bypoll defeat, BJP not averse to alignment with JD(S)

BANGALORE: After facing humiliating defeat at the hands of Congress in the just-concluded bypolls to LokSabha and the Upper House, the grand plans of alliance among opposition parties appears to be doubtful for the 2014 parliamentary elections.

All the three prime opposition parties — JD(S), BJP and KJP — aligned to defeat Congress in the Mandya and Bangalore Rural LokSabha seats and also for the Upper House bypolls from Mysore, Chitradurga and Hubli. But the temporary understanding achieved little success as the Congress drubbed these parties with huge majority.

While JD(S), for the time, has remained silent on the formal alliance post the bypoll defeat, BJP appears to be giving confusing signals on this front. A senior leader and former minister in the BJP said they don't mind a continuing alliance with JD(S) as the party is looking at joining hands with anti-Congress political parties to face 2014 general elections.

Even state BJP president Prahlad Joshi said the alliance between BJP and JD(S) suffered a setback in the bypolls because of lack of clarity on it. "The dissent voice emanating from JD(S) confused the voters. We strongly believe clear understanding on a joint campaign and involvement of BJP cadres would have made a difference to the result," he said, hinting that the party is not averse to the open alliance.

Former deputy chief minister R Ashoka said the Congress won just because of the honeymoon period they are currently enjoying. "Alliance should have been open rather than a confused one for better results," he said. Despite the disapproval of some BJP leaders, Ashoka forged an alliance with JD(S) and also campaigned with Anitha Kumaraswamy in Bangalore South and Rajarajeshwarinagar assembly segments.

As a reward for tacit understanding with them in Lok sabha bypolls, the JD(S) gave up all the three seats in the Upper House. Even BJP and KJP fail to win a seat through this alliance.

The JD(S) had won the triangular fight in the byelection from Kanakapura in 2002 where former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda trounced Congress candidate DK Shiva Kumar by over 50,000 votes in the polls. Here, KS Eshwarappa was the BJP candidate and he had secured more than 2 lakh votes in the fight.


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Karnataka high court stays proceedings against Vijay Mallya and Kingfisher Airlines

BANGALORE: The Karnataka high court has stayed for eight weeks further proceedings against Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) and its chairman Vijay Mallya before the special court for economic offences, Bangalore in relation to three complaints filed by the Income Tax department for not remitting the amount under tax deducted at source (TDS) for the financial years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12.

Justice KN Keshvananarayana passed this interim order following a petition filed by KFA and Mallya. The judge also ordered a notice to the Income Tax department in this regard.

The petitioners claimed that proceedings pertaining to the issue are pending before the high court as well as Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) and the authorities failed to consider the same before filing/registering complaint. They further claimed that the requirements under the Income Tax Act have not been complied with as notices have preceded the alleged authorization to the commissioner and the same is without jurisdiction.

According to them, it is only the chief commissioner of Income Tax or the director general Income Tax who have the said jurisdiction.

The BFAL contends that it is running under loss and salaries to employees have been paid from borrowed money and TDS was not deducted.

The Income tax (I-T) department had filed these complaints under section 276B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 against KFA and Mallya.

KFA is facing a total TDS demand for Rs 401 crore.


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#IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer boomerangs on Haryana CM Hooda

Twitterati spare none, least of all politicians, as Harayana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda learnt today. When asked by The Hindu about the questions raised by AshokKhemka on the controversial Robert Vadra-DLF land, Hooda said he had not received any complaints and that "he (Vadra) is as good as a small farmer who has collaborated with a developer ( DLF) and can sell his license along with the land and reap the benefit."

Hooda comparing Vadra to a small farmer didn't go down well with netizens. They decided to let Hooda know just how believable he sounded.

Here's a sample of what people had to say:

@ash_dubey: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer then I am sure Dawood is a small Pick-pocket..."

@AlokBharat: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer Then Congress is a democratic party.

@manu_bajaj: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer then Bill Gates is a poor carpenter who just makes Windows.

@DSGiri: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer then Katrina Kaif is my wife.

@fakingnews: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer Amitabh Bachchan is a struggling actor.

@nowme_datta: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer Grand Masti is our best chance at the Oscars.

@FaaduBhagat: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer Ratan Tata owns a small taxi in Sanand.

@chinmay2603: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer @BillGates runs a small software shop near Leamington Road.

@tweeted_now: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer Hafiz Saeed is UN ambassador of peace

@SujnanNayak: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer then KRK is the George Clooney of Bollywood.

@indiantweeter: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer barack obama is president of somalia

@ajith27: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer then he should be called Kisan- in- law

@rameshsrivats: According to Bhupinder Singh Hooda, 'Robert Vadra is a small farmer'. Okay, okay. What does he grow? Oh. Money Plant.

@pskdvic: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer then germany is an underdevoloped nation.

@SanghParivarOrg: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer then there indeed is water on Mars! Proof: pic.twitter.com/VjgElDHpSU

@shilpitewari: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer is he eligible for the FSB entitlement?

@JainAshwin95: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer SRK is still a TV actor

@iam_bourne: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer then I'm captain Jack Sparrow

@DilipJadhav10: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer then usain bolt is cricketer

?@amitpatel181: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer then sun rises in the west

@Connect_Hari: #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer then Ratan Tata is an automobile mechanic...

?@Harry_Graphics29m #IfRobertVadraIsASmallFarmer then EARTH IS SQUARE.


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Katju apologizes for '90% Indians fools' remark

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 24 Agustus 2013 | 22.45

NEW DELHI: Press Council of India chairman Justice (retd) Markandey Katju on Saturday apologized to people whose feelings he may have hurt by his "90 per cent of Indians are fools" remark or other statements.

"Some people have been aggrieved by my statement that 90 per cent Indians are fools and some other statements. In this connection I wish to state these statements were made in a specific context, and were never intended to hurt anyone's feeling," Katju said in a statement released on Saturday.

"However, if anyone's feelings have been hurt by these statements or any other statements of mine I apologize for the same," he said.

"From time to time people have been bringing to my notice that the language I use may have been harsh. So if it has hurt some feelings, I thought it fit to apologize," Katju said.

Katju had made the controversial comments in December last year. His remarks had evoked angry reactions following which Katju had issued a clarification, saying the remark had been made to generate awareness.


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Pakistan repatriates 362 Indian prisoners via Attari border

ATTARI: In a possible bid to improve relations with India, Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif government on Saturday repatriated 362 Indian prisoners including 8 children (all fishermen) from Attari land border after the completion of their jail sentences.

As earlier reported to Indian authorities, a total of 365 Indian prisoners were to be repatriated by Pakistan according to fishermen who arrived here.

The name of 17-year-old prisoner from UP Manjo Kumar was deleted at the last moment by Pakistan government and one prisoner Raju had died in jail due to illness. There was confusion about the arrival of one more prisoner.

Executive magistrate PPS Goraya, who received the prisoners, informed that as against earlier information of the arrival of 365 Indian prisoners from Pakistan, a total of 362 have arrived. Elated to return to his country, Shabbir, a fisherman from Gurjrat told TOI that he had spent 9 months in jail for committing no crime. "We were arrested by a Pakistani speed boat while we were in our own territory. This is injustice. Both governments should find a solution to it," he said. About his experience in a Pakistani jail, he said the prisoners were not provided with proper medication in case of illness but were given two tablets thrice a day for any kind of illness. "Itching, skin diseases are common in jail but for their treatment, medicine is same as that of any other illness," he complained.

Another released prisoner who didn't want to give his name informed that Indian prisoner Raju had died in jail a couple of weeks ago. "He was sick but was given the same two tablets thrice a day; no special treatment was given to him," he alleged. Remembering the innocent face of Manoj Kumar, 17, resident of Uttar Pardesh, Hanif, a young boy of 16 from Gujrat said, "He was so happy to go back to home, but as he was told that his name has been deleted from the list he started crying and embraced me and asked me to somehow inform his family in India about his well-being." He said children like him went to sea to learn the tricks of the trade but were caught for no crime of theirs.

Another young boy, Parmi said, "He (Manoj) must be crying in jail but I can't help him."

Hazikar who was sentenced for 10 days only said he had been able to come back from Pakistan only after 4 months. "Verification process takes all this time. I have lost my business, two of my boats have been seized by Pakistan, I don't know what I will do now."

All the prisoners will stay overnight in Amritsar before heading for their homes on Sunday.


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Sushma challenges Sonia's claim, says NDA to regain power

NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj on Saturday countered UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's contention that UPA will retain power in the next elections and claimed NDA will form the government after the polls.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme here earlier in the day, Gandhi had expressed confidence that UPA will come back to power after the next polls and maintained that the rights given to the people by the ruling alliance were its USP.

In response to Gandhi's claim, Swaraj said, "NDA will 100 per cent come to power after the next elections".

Gandhi also ruled out early polls saying, "Our aim is to go till the very end."

BJP has been demanding that government should seek a fresh mandate in the wake of economic slowdown, sliding rupee and a host of scams allegedly involving union ministers.


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Courts should resist from usurping powers of executive, HC says

CHENNAI: The Madras high court has said courts should restrain and resist from usurping the powers of the executive, which are exclusively in its domain.

Dismissing a PIL which sought a direction to the Southern Railways to operate with additional coaches, the bench comprising acting Chief Justice RK Agrawal and Justice T Raja said courts should resist the temptation to usurp the powers of the executive.

The matter relates to a PIL filed by one Selvan seeking a direction to Southern Railways to operate a 12-coaches EMU car in morning from Thirumalpur to Chennai beach via Kancheepuram, Wallajabad, Palur, Chengleput, Tambaram, Guindy, Egmore and Chennai beach.

The court observed the decision regarding attachment of coaches and other such details should be under the ambit of the railways department. Such matters are dealt by the department on the technical inputs which it receives from the administration depending upon the financial, social and other considerations.

Counsel for railways, PT Ramkumar, pointed out an order of the Supreme Court in 2011 which had said courts are not justified in directing the railways to attach additional coaches and provide additional trains.

Concurring with the arguments, the bench dismissed the PIL.


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Karnataka bypoll: Loss of face for BJP; setback for former deputy CM Ashoka

BANGALORE: The huge defeat of JD(S) in its bastions of Mandya and Bangalore Rural is also a loss of face for BJP-KJP and a setback for former deputy chief minister R Ashoka.

Despite the disapproval of some BJP leaders, Ashoka forged an alliance with JD(S) and also campaigned with Anitha Kumaraswamy in Bangalore South and Rajarajeshwarinagar assembly segments.

The BJP had filed the nomination, but withdrew later in favour of JD(S). In reciprocation, the JD(S) did not field anyone for the upper house bypolls from Mysore.

As the alliance was not formalized, none of the BJP leaders barring Ashoka canvassed for JD(S). State BJP president Prahalad Joshi said the JD(S) never extended any formal invitation to the party for canvassing.

BJP's decision to not field any candidates is expected to have bearing on the party. The party, which won Bangalore South assembly segment, is expected to lose some base. It also faces the possibility of an erosion of votes in Rajarajeshwarinagar. While Bangalore South gave the Congress a lead of over 24,313 votes, Rajarajeshwarinagar gave a lead of over 5,000 votes.

It will be difficult for the JD(S) to recoup from the debacle as these two constituencies were its strongholds. The Vokkaligas here have backed former PM HD Deve Gowda's family in all situations and the defeat now portends signs that their hold over the community is slipping away.

Commenting on the results, Prahlad Joshi said the alliance between BJP and JD(S) was a non-starter as the JD(S) leadership did not have clarity on it. "The voice of dissent emanating from JD(S) confused the voters too. We strongly believe clear understanding on joint campaign and involvement of BJP cadres would have made a difference to the result."

"This victory will not have any bearing on the 2014 Lok Sabha polls which will be faced on various failures of UPA government," he maintained.


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Minority Commission assures SGPC to look into the issues faced by Sikh community

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 23 Agustus 2013 | 22.44

AMRITASR: Chairman of National Minorities Commission of India Wajahat Habibullah has assured the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar to look into the issues faced by Sikh community in India and abroad. Wajahat Habibullah was here to pay obeisance at Golden Temple on Friday.

SGPC president Makkar gave him a memorandum detailing about the issues including forcible removal of Sikh's turbans on the name of security at airports in various countries, step motherly treatment with Punjabi language , displacement of Sikhs of Gujrat besides he also took up the issue of terrorist Davinderpal Singh Bhullar who is waiting death sentence.

Habibullah said that Commission already knew about the issues faced by Sikhs. He said the commission had received complaint of harassment to Sikhs in France with respect to their turban . He said since the jurisdiction of Commission was not international yet the Commission had contacted foreign ministry to take up the issue with French government . The issue had been taken up at several levels with French government but its result was yet to be seen. About displacement of Gujrat Sikhs he said the Commission had written to Gujrat government and was awaiting for their reply.

He said the Commission had not received any application about Bhullar. "We will see how much we can do within purview of law". he said .

He said the Commission knew about the worries of Sikh community and was doing everything possible to redress them. "Country should be indebted to Sikhs for their sacrifices and it should be seen also" said he.


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India, China to hold military exercises from November 4 after five years

NEW DELHI: Indian and Chinese armies will resume their bilateral "Hand-in-Hand" (HiH) counter-terrorism exercise this November after a five-year hiatus, in a bid to cast aside the recent troop incursions and face-offs along the line of actual control (LAC).

The third HiH exercise will be held in China's Chengdu Military Area Command, which controls Tibet and almost the entire disputed LAC, from November 4 to 14. "It will be a company-level counter-terror exercise, with the Sikh Light Infantry participating from our side," said an official.

The HiH exercises, the first two editions of which were held at Kunming (China) in 2007 and Belgaum in 2008, were frozen after diplomatic spats over visa and other issues in 2009-2010. Though largely symbolic with just around 100 to 150 soldiers from each side undertaking the counter-terror drills, the exercise is seen as a major confidence-building measure between the world's largest and second-largest armies ranged against each other along the 4,057km LAC.

The decision to hold the third round of the HiH exercise was firmed up during the visit of Antony, accompanied by a high-level delegation, to China in early-July. India is keen to progressively enhance military ties with China, keep "communication channels open" and "eliminate potential" for Depsang-like incidents to reoccur.

The 21-day standoff between the two armies, which saw the rival soldiers pitching tents and indulging in "banner drills", in the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector of eastern Ladakh after PLA troops had intruded 19km into Depsang valley in April.

Then, just last week, People's Liberation Army toops had intruded over 20km into the Chaglagam sector of eastern Arunachal Pradesh, pitched tents there and finally withdrew after spending three to four days in the area last week. India has recorded well over 600 "transgressions" by PLA troops across the LAC in the last three years.

India and China are now close to inking the new border defence cooperation agreement (BDCA) that outlines several confidence-building measures to defuse face-offs and tensions between rival troops along the LAC, as was earlier reported by TOI.

This includes additional BPM (border personnel meeting) set-ups to add to the existing ones at Chushul, Nathu La and Bum La as well as a DGMO-level hotline between the two armies like the one India has with Pakistan. Kibuthu, which is near the Chaglagam sector in Arunachal, is one such proposed BPM point that can kick in whenever there is a face-off between rival troops.


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Pro and anti-GM crop groups slug out the controversial issue in power corridors

NEW DELHI: Days after testing their strength on Delhi's streets, both anti and pro-GM crop groups sought to slug out the issue in the Capital's power corridors on Friday.

Though politicians gave both the groups a patient hearing, the fate of genetically engineered crops lies with the Supreme Court which is set to resume hearing on a public interest litigation on this controversial matter. The pro-GM crop group comprising representatives of the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association ( CIFA) and other organizations from nine states met the agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and pitched for allowing use of biotechnology in farm sectors to increase food-grains productivity in the country.

They also resolved to meet the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next month and mobilize support of as many parliamentarians as possible in favour of their demand so that farmers can reap the benefit of modern science in agriculture. The anti-GM crop groups including Coalition for GM Free India and Greenpeace, on the other hand, submitted signed petitions of over four lakh activists to T Subbarami Reddy - chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on science & technology and environment & forests - asking him to recommend the government to withdraw the controversial Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill.

Both groups presented their views on pros and cons of use and non-use of genetically modified crops in India. The anti-GM crop groups believe that the BRAI Bill is meant to facilitate entry of genetically engineered food-grains in India through a single window clearance. They said the Bill was, in fact, an attempt to circumvent public opposition to GM crops in the country.

The supporters of GM crop, however, want this legislation to see light of the day at the earliest as they think it would provide them right to choose and freedom to farm, specifically when there is no scientific evidence of any adverse affect of such food on human health and environment.

After meeting the agriculture minister, the CIFA's secretary general P Chengal Reddy said the group having support of lakhs of farmers from across the country would like the government to put the biotechnology regulatory authority under the ministry of agriculture so that it can work for the farmers' interest in promoting sustainable farm practices.

Reddy said, "Farmers confronts with several farm productivity challenges like labour costs, insects, weeds, diseases and unpredictable weather. Biotechnology or GM crop can offer them several solutions. We need biotechnology and the right to choose. We have full faith that the Supreme Court will do what is right for farmers who need technologies to increase productivity".

The pro-GM groups were also very critical to the recommendations of a five-member Technical Expert Committee (TEC) which has called for a halt on genetically modified crop filed trials in the country till the regulatory issues are addressed. In fact, the environment ministry is also in favour of the Committee whose views saw a sharp division within the scientific community.

Terming the TEC's recommendations as prejudiced, Reddy said the committee had, in fact, considered information from only those sources that supported its point of view. "We will expose them before the Supreme Court", he said. A group of scientists, meanwhile, appealed to the apex court to reject the recommendations of the committee. They argued that the committee's suggestion was against the established mainstream science on GM crops' safety and utility.

"India needs science, which can be converted into technology that benefits the farmers and consumers. The recommendations of the TEC demoralize thousands of public sector scientists and students of agricultural biotechnology. If the TEC report is implemented, all research will be put into cold storage denying farmers and the nation the benefits of modern science and technology. Let science innovate. Let Indian scientists research freely. And let farmers choose," said Desh Pal Verma of the department of molecular genetics, Ohio State University.


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Nationwide outrage over journalist's gang rape in Mumbai, Centre seeks report

NEW DELHI: The gang rape of a young photojournalist in Mumbai triggered an avalanche of outrage across the country on Friday and condemned as despicable and shameful stirring memories of a similar attack last December in New Delhi that led to nationwide protests.

As people from all walks of life voiced their anguish, political parties, media associations and Bollywood were one in demanding harshest punishment to the perpetrators of the crime in a city which is seen as far safer for women than the national capital,

The attack also had its echo in Rajya Sabha which erupted in anger with agitated members expressing serious concern over increasing atrocities on women and the government assuring "harshest" action against the culprits.

Union law minister Kapil Sibal said sex assaults must be dealt with "in the severest manner".

"We cannot afford to let our women and children live in insecurity and must make sure that such attacks against women are dealt in the severest manner," he said.

Hundreds of people including members of several journalists' associations gathered in south Mumbai to stage a silent protest. Some wore black armbands, while others carried placards reading "stop rape" and "city of shame."

Media associations in Chennai said the "horrifying incident" has shocked the entire country once again raising the issue of safety of women.

Some even sniped at the Union ministry of home affairs and its equivalent in Maharashtra for failing to enhance the safety of women in the country since the Delhi gang-rape incident last December and after enactment of new laws.

BJP's Smriti Irani while raising the issue during zero hour in Rajya Sabha asked what steps had been initiated to prevent recurrence of such incidents even after repeated assurances of improving law and order condition in the aftermath of Delhi gang rape and targeted the Centre and the Maharashtra government.

Twitter was also abuzz with rage over the gang rape.

"Despicable! We are shamed! How long & God forbid, how many more before the criminals are punished? Wake up, India!" tweeted BJP spokeswoman Nirmala Sitharaman.

"helpless to say the least...words like "devastated".."disgusted" mean nothing at a timelike this!!!! #gangerape in my city...I feel ashamed," lamented producer-director Karan Johar on Twitter.

Kiran Bedi, former IPS officer tweeted, "Another shame!A photo journ gang-raped by 5 men in Mumbai.No wonder India is considered most unsafe place for women amongst G-30 countries."

"... thousands of women aren't safe in a country that demands of them patriotism, sacrifices and taxes," said one tweet. Some said legislations are merely not enough.

"If punishment is strict, rape incidents can be avoided," said a Jadavpur University student, while a Bhopal housewife said women and even shcool girls are not safe anymore.

Centre seeks report from Mumbai police

Terming as "extremely tragic and unfortunate" the gang rape of a 23-year-old photojournalist, the Centre on Friday said it has sought a detailed report from Mumbai police on the incident.

"First of all, what happened in Mumbai is a matter concerning that state. In spite of that, I have spoken to the Mumbai Police Commissioner. The investigation is progressing," home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told reporters outside Parliament House.

Minister of state for home RPN Singh said the Home Ministry has sought a detailed report from the Mumbai police.

"It is an extremely tragic and unfortunate incident that has happened in Mumbai. We have asked for a detailed report from the Mumbai police. We have also asked the Mumbai police to take immediate action ... to arrest the accused. Harshest punishment should be meted out to these people," he said.

The 23-year-old woman was allegedly gangraped by five men in Parel area in central Mumbai last night.

The incident took place at around 8 pm near Shakti Mills in Lower Parel area when the victim, working with an English magazine, was on an assignment, doing a story on "chawl", police said.

In a chilling reminder of the December gang rape in Delhi, the men tied up the victim's friend and raped the woman.

In a statement given to police, the girl said the five goons were present in the Shakti Mills compound. They started making lewd remarks and harassed her. When her friend intervened, two of them assaulted him. Three others took the woman inside the dilapidated structure and raped her.


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BSF court will help in improving ties with Bangladesh

KOLKATA: The setting up of a General Security Force Court (GSFC) set up by the Border Security Force (BSF) to try the jawan accused of shooting dead a 15-year-old girl at the Indo-Bangla border at Anantapur in Cooch Behar on January 7, 2011, will help in improving relations with Bangladesh, senior officials believe. The GSFC is the highest court that a central paramilitary force can set up to try a jawan or officer. This is the first time in recent times that it has been set up to try a personnel accused of killing someone attempting to cross the border.

On that day, 15-year-old Felani Khatun was attempting to cross the border fence into Bangladesh with her father Noor Islam when her clothes got caught in the barbed wire. Her screams alerted the BSF jawans on patrol and one of them opened fire. Villagers claimed that she remained hanging by her feet from the barbed wire fence for nearly five hours. She was apparently alive even after being shot and cried out for water. The BSF jawan didn't even try to bring her down, leave alone give her a drink of water, it was alleged. Finally, she died due to loss of blood. The incident sparked off international furore with images of the girl hanging from the barbed wire fence doing the rounds.

"This is probably the first time that a GSFC is being held at Cooch Behar which is close to the border. The victim's father and uncle have even been allowed to come from Bangladesh and depose before the court. This court has the power to sentence someone to life imprisonment even. The accused BSF jawan Amiya Ghosh has pleaded not-guilty but it can't be denied that everything was not in order on that day. Prima facie, it doesn't seem that there was sufficient provocation on the part of the girl to open fire. Over the last few years, there has been a lot of stress on confidence-building measures between India and Bangladesh. The setting up of this court will help in building-up of better relations between the two countries," a BSF officer said.

With Bangladesh raising a hue and cry on incidents of firing by the BSF on its citizens along the international border, the ministry of home Affairs (MHA) has now armed jawans with non-lethal weapons. The strict instructions are not to resort to firing unless there is threat to the life of a BSF personnel or officer.


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Will Owaisi bring Congress and YSR Congress closer?

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 22 Agustus 2013 | 22.44

HYDERABAD: As new political alliances are on the anvil ahead of the general elections, MIM president AssaduddinOwaisi's meeting with the AICC president Sonia Gandhi has stoked speculations that the Hyderabad MP was brokering peace between the Congress and YSR Congress.

The meeting assumed political significance also because it was the first time that Assaduddin was calling on Sonia Gandhi after his party pulled out of UPA in November last year over a local issue, following which the squabbling between MIM and Congress turned murky and culminated in Akbaruddin Owaisi, Assaduddin's brother and Chandrayanagutta MLA, landing in jail for his hate speech.

At the outset, the purpose of the meeting was to advocate Rayala-Telangana, if division of the state was unavoidable, and dissent to accord union territory status to Hyderabad. But, sources of his party said Assududdin discussed AP politics with the Congress president which was indicative of the possible changes in the equations between the parties in the state.

"Before brokering peace for anyone else, Owaisi has to make peace with the Congress. And I think Wednesday's meeting was a part of it. We cannot rule out new partnerships, as many foes are waiting on wings to turn friends," said an MIM leader.

In a similar situation, in June last year, Assaduddin Owaisi had met YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy at Chanchalguda jail where the latter is serving term as an under trail in a slew illegal asset cases, and convinced him to support the Congress Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee.

"While politics in AP is in a state of flux amid the turbulence over the state division issue, the Congress is devising two-prong strategy for Seemandhra and Telangana. It is eying an alliance with the YSR Congress in Seemandhra, and a partnership with the TRS in Telangana. In both the areas, the national part wants the MIM to be the common friend," said a senior Congress leader.

According to him, a grand alliance of the Congress, TRS, MIM, and CPI was on cards for Telangana, and a partnership is yet to be stitched for Seemandhra.

The idea of the grand alliance for Telangana took wings after Assududdin called the TRS president K Chandrashekar Rao earlier this month after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolved in favour of the separate state. The TRS sources even said Assuddin had met KCR at his farm house in Medak and discussed various aspects of politics in the backdrop of the proposed bifurcation of the state.

However, no party is willing to confirm the news at this nascent stage. While Assaduddin decline to respond, YSR Congress MP Mekapati Rajmohan Reddy said it was too early to talk about the electoral alliances.

"I would not be surprised if Owaisi and Sonia talked politics. What else two politicians can talk about when they meet?" said Rajmohan Reddy. "I am not even ruling out the possibility of alliance which could be post-poll or even pre-poll, but it is not the time to talk about it. Let this division tide run out and the situation come to normalcy."

Admitting to the talks that his party was engaging with the other political parties, a TRS politburo member of TRS B Vinod Kumar said the deliberations were on the division issue as it was the top priority in the given situation.

"Formation of Telangana state is the priority for now, the TRS is just focusing on it. Once the statehood is achieved, the elections are the next destination and we will think of the strategy. If the alliance is in the interest of the party and Telangana people, then we would consider it," said Vinod Kumar.


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Pakistan says Indian firing kills a solider

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army on Thursday claimed one of its soldiers was killed in firing by Indian troops on the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.

A senior military official said the latest casualty occurred in Rakhcahri sector of the LoC near Rawalakot.

"Sepoy Habib (was killed) due to unprovoked firing," the official said on condition of anonymity.

On Wednesday, an army captain was killed in shelling by Indian troops. Pakistan protested the incident by summoning the Indian deputy high commissioner to the Foreign Office.

The latest death was reported shortly after the lower house of Pakistan's parliament passed a resolution that deplored the death of the captain as an "act of aggression" and called for a "constructive" engagement with India.


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India denies reports of US plans to station military aircraft in Thiruvananthapuram

NEW DELHI: A top US air force official's remarks that his country is planning to station a military aircraft in Thiruvananthapuram as part of its policy of encircling China with defence bases has created flutters here and the government has dismissed any such possibility.

General Herbert 'Hawk' Carlisle, the commander of the US air force assets in the Pacific, had told reporters at a breakfast meeting recently that the American air force was planning to expand its presence in Asia as part of the "pivot to Asia" policy. The idea behind it is to ring China with US and allied forces.

"This is just the start of the air force's plan to expand its presence in Asia. In addition to the Australian deployments, the air force will be sending jets to Changi East airbase in Singapore, Korat airbase in Thailand, Trivandrum in India, and possibly bases at Kubi Point and Puerto Princesa in the Philippines and airfields in Indonesia and Malaysia," he was quoted as saying by Foreign Policy magazine and other media outlets.

General Carlisle said "we are not gonna build any more bases in the Pacific to support the US air force's increased presence there." The US air force has nine major bases in different countries.


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GJM calls for fresh shut down in Darjeeling

DARJEELING: Ruling out dialogue with the West Bengal government, the GJM spearheading a stir for a separate Gorkhaland on Thursday announced a fresh 48-hour shut down over the weekend in Darjeeling after the arrest of two prominent party leaders and demanded central intervention.

"The Hills will be closed on Saturday and Sunday to condemn the unwanted arrests of GJM leaders," GJM chief Bimal Gurung said in a Facebook post.

The GJM president in a separate post also said that the two-day 'ghar bahira janata' (people on the streets) agitation from today would continue indefinitely till those arrested were released and the cases against them withdrawn.

"There will be no relaxation even on Saturday and Sunday and ghar bahira janata agitation will continue indefinitely till GJM members are released and their cases are withdrawn," he said.

At a public meeting Gurung said, "The strike will continue until the leaders are released. There will be no relaxation even on Saturday and Sunday. Today they were arrested, tomorrow I may have to go to jail, but our movement will continue."

He also announced that 721 GJM leaders and members of GJM who were in judicial custody would go on an indefinite hunger-strike.

Demanding central intervention, he said, "We will not talk to Mamata Banerjee. The Centre has to intervene. We can talk to the Governor."

Tamang, assistant secretary of GJM and an executive member in-charge of Information and Culture Department of the hill council, GTA, was arrested from Rambi near the Sikkim-West Bengal border in Kalimpong subdivision, police sources said.

Another GTA member and GJM leader Satish Pokhrel, was arrested along with Tamang, besides two others, the sources said.

The four were produced in a court in Kalimpong and remanded to 14 days judicial custody.

With the arrest of Tamang and Pokhrel, 13 GTA members have been arrested since the indefinite bandh began on August three.

The high court had on August 14 expressed displeasure over the GJM's violation of its order of August 7 which had held the indefinite bandh in Darjeeling as illegal.


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Engaging Modi does not mean his endorsement: UK high commission

NEW DELHI: Nearly 10 months after it ended its decade-long boycott of Narendra Modi, UK on Thursday said any engagement with the Gujarat chief minister was not an endorsement of him and expressed concern over human rights violations in the state.

UK high commissioner James Bevan also asserted that three British nationals were killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots and his country wants "justice" for them.

"We do have human rights concerns. Three UK citizens were also killed in the riots and we want trial and justice for that. Engaging in conversation would be better to support our cause," said the envoy.

Referring to his meeting with Modi last October, Bevan said it was a diplomatic meet and engaging with him does not mean his endorsement.

"I had a conversation with the Gujarat chief minister in last October and it is good to know important people in a country. I am not in awe of the man or his past, I am here to do my job and any engagement does not necessarily mean endorsement," he said while interacting with the gathering at Jamia Millia Islamia after delivering a talk.

Replying to a question on recent invitation by Opposition party's Labour Friends of India to Modi to speak on 'The Future of Modern India', Bevan said, "It is a private invitation issued to the Gujarat chief minister by the members of British parliament. The members of British parliament are free to invite whoever they wish to invite."

Asked whether Modi will be granted visa if he applies for it, he refused a direct reply and said, "It's a hypothetical situation, so I would not like to comment on that."

UK ended a 10-year boycott of the BJP leader in the aftermath of 2002 communal riots.

Earlier this year, European Union also ended its decade-old boycott of Modi over the riots issue when envoys and representatives of several EU member countries hosted a luncheon meeting for Modi here.


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Import will take minimum two weeks to ease onion price in domestic market

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 21 Agustus 2013 | 22.44

NEW DELHI: With the retail price of onion jumping back to Rs 70-80 per kg after cooling down a bit in the past couple of days, cooperative major Nafed on Wednesday issued a tender asking the private international trader to import onions from Pakistan, Iran, China and Egypt. The import will require at least two weeks to ease the price of this popular staple item.

Although private traders will explore the capabilities of suppliers in all the four countries to procure onion of a specified standard at the best rate, officials expect initial consignments from Pakistan though Wagah border by early next month.

"Supply from Pakistan will not only be cost-effective but it will also take less time to deliver the consignment at this juncture, when the price of onion has gone through the roof in the past three weeks," said an official, adding that the land route through Wagah border may be preferred as it will take lesser time as compared to the Karachi-Mumbai sea route.

Nafed, which took one week to issue the tender after the government had decided to import onions from these countries on August 14, asked private traders to submit their proposal along with the final rate per metric tonne in Indian rupees by August 27. The shortlisted importers will have another seven days time to deliver onions to the federation which will distribute it through its network in the domestic market.

Since the cooperative major wants importers to deliver the consignment at its warehouse at Lawrence road here in New Delhi, it is expected that the onions will most likely to be initially imported from Pakistan. The import from other countries — Iran, China and Egypt — will, however, maintain the flow of supply in coming months.

The federation came out with the tender a day after the public sector trading company, PEC Limited, floated an expression of interest for empanelment of international suppliers for the import of 3 lakh tonnes of onion.

These supplies, coupled with relatively easy flow of produce from the domestic wholesale markets (mainly Maharashtra and Karnataka) are expected to bring down the retail price of onion substantially towards the end of next month and early October — nearly a month before Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh go to assembly polls. Onion prices will, however, remain under pressure till the end of October when the new crop is expected to hit the market.

Although the retail price dipped through the weekend and also on Monday and Tuesday when it showed a decline of nearly Rs 10 per kg, it again shot up to Rs 70-80 per kg on Wednesday. The minimum export price — $650 per tonne — fixed by the government on August 14, had its impact in domestic market, but it lost its shine on Wednesday as supply lines got disrupted due to rain.

The wholesale price at Lasalgoan in Maharashtra — Asia's largest onion market — rose slightly to Rs 41.25 per kg, pushing the retail price up on Wednesday.

Nafed, in its tender notice, specified that the imported onions should be of good quality and completely free from fungus infestation and attack by insects and moulds. It has sought phytosanitary and fumigation certificates issued by a competent authority of the exporting country certifying that the onions have been fumigated with methyl bromide and are free from smut, dry rot and maggots.


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Bengal politicians' myopic vision affected infrastructure development

KOLKATA: Analysts and economists believe Bengal's failure to view the big picture and put state before politics came in the way of its development as a gateway to THE far east and southeast Asia.

Proposed in the 1990s when Manmohan Singh was finance minister, the 'Look East' policy fizzled out as Jyoti Basu-led Bengal failed to embrace the idea and engage with the Centre to develop its infrastructure.

"We lacked vision and failed to grab the opportunity when it came. The Centre was willing to invest in development of roads, port, rail and other infrastructure but we did not respond because politically our relations were estranged. Kolkata could have become the gateway and developed into a leading city. Instead, we became a laggard. Putting politics before development was a bad idea but we have learnt no lesson," said Bengal Chamber president Kallol Datta.

Economist Dipankar Dasgupta believes Bengal would have benefited immensely with an improved road network and better port facility. "If India as a whole were to look east, then the window would have to be through Bengal. Of course, it has to include the other eastern states and the northeast. But Bengal failed to understand and grasp the situation," he said.

National Highway 34 connecting south and north Bengal that then links the rest of northeast and will in future connect to the proposed tri-lateral highway -- is in a pathetic state. It takes nearly 12 hours to do the 450 km stretch, a distance that should be covered in 5 hours.

The situation at Kolkata Port and Haldia dock complex is worse. Lack of proper dredging has reduced draft to alarming levels. The deep sea port proposed at Sagar is yet to take off.

The only bright spot is the airport. The city now has an international passenger terminal that is world class and a modern cargo complex. But with not much economic activity in the region, it gets barely 250 tonne of cargo a day against 700 tonne at Delhi, 750 tonne at Mumbai and 600 tonne at Bangalore airport.

"Infrastructure wise we have nothing. There are no roads, no ports. In China, even small towns have six lane highways. They are doing so for future. We do not have the vision to look beyond the present," said economist Abhirup Sarkar.

However, the state alone is not to blame; the Centre also failed to drive the 'Look East' agenda. India stayed away from groupings that evolved at the time and failed to enter free trade agreements with eastern neighbours.

"We should have taken note that Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia had shown great ability to progress along the path of economic development. The miraculous growth performance of the East became a talking point. But we continued to look westward, believing that if we imitated the West, we would make progress," he said.

Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry director general Rajiv Singh agreed. "India as a country was so much fascinated by west, giving too much importance to Pakistan, during 1990s and up to 2005, we either completely ignored or did not give due importance to the Look East policy," he said.

It is only in the past seven-eight years that India is taking some initiative to look eastward, funding the Sittwe port in Myanmar and committing to develop a section of the tri-lateral highway that runs through Myanmar. A bus service is proposed between Imphal and Mandalay. It has opened three 'haats' or barter markets with Bangladesh and two with Myanmar. Three more are in the offing.

"Bengal and the northeast have to be the centre of action in the Look East policy. And for it to be a reality, infrastructure needs a major overhaul. Once the Sittwe port is ready, it will connect with the Kaladan river that flows through Mizoram. But what happens after the goods are unloaded unless road connectivity improves? They should have been," Singh questioned. Of course, insurgency in the northeast was a problem that needs to be sorted out as well.

Confederation of Indian Industry director general Saugata Mukherjee said a dialogue was underway on how to open up trade and commerce routes. "We organized the Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar car rally to push for the revival of the old southern silk route," he pointed out. While infrastructure is a necessity, Abhirup Sarkar says 'Look East' is a nice phrase but makes no sense unless we can improve our fundamentals. "We have been unable to compete in manufacturing sector because of our low level of technology, infrastructure problem, low productivity and lack of efficiency. China has not had to look at one direction but made the entire world its market by strengthening its fundamentals," he said.


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In karnataka, Congress and KJP to test strength in legislative council bypoll

MYSORE: The bypoll to legislative council on Thursday could decide the realignment of political forces with opposition fighting collectively to take on Congress at CM Siddaramaiah's turf.

The straight fight between Congress and KJP, which is backed by JD(S) and BJP, could decide the nature of alliance at the Mysore city corporation, which has emerged a fractured house after February polls to the civic body. With KJP fighting the bypoll seriously with its leader and former CM BS Yeddyurappa canvassing hard even as Siddaramaiah left it to the local leaders, the bylection from the Mysore local authorities' constituency has assumed significance. The segment is spread over Mysore and Chamarajnagar districts. Congress has fielded R Dharmasena while KJP has fielded US Shekhar. An independent, Ayub Khan, is also in the fray.

The seat fell vacant following the resignation of BJP's KR Mallikarjunappa, who won the polls in December 2010. He resigned to contest from the Chamarajnagar assembly segment on KJP ticket. The term of office for the new member will be on till December 2016.

On Wednesday, the district administration deputed 736 polling staffs to the 368 polling stations set up in Mysore and Chamarajnagar districts even as it has reserved 144 staff. 7,010 elected members from the local authorities including the gram panchayats have got the voting right. Polling booth set up at the mysore city corporation is the biggest among the 368 polling stations. Along with the staff to conduct the poll smoothly, the returning officer and DC C Shikha has drafted one staff each from the local bodies where the elected representatives will vote. This is to identify the voter. Of the 368 polling booths, 150 are marked as 'hypersensitive'. Mysore with 96 hypersensitive polling stations tops the list.

The polling staff picked up the polling materials and left to the polling stations assigned on Wednesday. The voting will be held between 8am and 4pm, Shikha stated. The DC has banned use of cellphones or cameras inside the polling stations and asked the presiding officer to impound them. She has appointed 25 micro observers to monitor the polling activities -- 15 in Mysore and 10 in Chamarajnagar.

Meanwhile, independent candidate Ayub Khan has complained to the DC that efforts are on to mislead the voters to cast single vote arguing that casting more than one vote make it invalid. It is preferential voting and the voters can cast three votes. But some are misleading the voters, he has said in a complaint.

However, DC has said the voter can cast three votes marking their preference. The voter has to mark numerically their choice and not write it, she stated. The voter has to use the pen supplied at the polling booth to mark their preference.


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Aadhaar card valid proof for opening bank account

NEW DELHI: Aadhaar card is a valid proof for opening a bank account under the know your customer (KYC) norms, government said on Wednesday.

"Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has notified that the Aadhaar card is a valid proof for opening of a bank account under the know your customer (KYC) scheme," finance ministry said in a statement.

It said that RBI has advised banks to accept Aadhaar letter issued by Unique Identification Authority of India ( UIDAI) as an officially valid document for opening bank accounts without any limitations applicable to small accounts.

RBI has also advised the banks that if the address provided by the account holder is the same as that on Aadhaar letter, it may be accepted as a proof of both identity and address.

This was stated by minister of state for finance Namo Narain Meena in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, it added further.


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CBI starts inquiry against big loan defaulters

NEW DELHI: CBI has initiated an inquiry into cases of defaulters of big loans from public sector banks, its chief Ranjit Sinha said on Wednesday while emphasizing that bulk of non-performing assets were connected to 30 defaulter accounts.

"A bulk of NPA is from top 30 accounts which is learnt to be running into thousands of crores. CBI has already initiated inquiry into some of the big defaulter accounts," Sinha said.

He did not reveal the specifics of the probe as it may derail the ongoing inquiry by the agency.

Speaking at the fifth annual conference of chief vigilance officers of public sector banks and financial institutions and officers of CBI, Sinha cited number of issues which adversely affect agency's efforts to track and recover these assets.

Highlighting issues which hamper CBI investigation into bank frauds, he said banks are often reluctant to declare bad accounts as fraud despite there being clear manifestations. The CBI chief said the banks need to realize that delay in reporting of frauds adversely affect tracking and recovery of proceeds of crimes as the initiative is lost.

Sinha said the banks are often reluctant to fix accountability of their staff, resulting in difference of opinion between them and the agency regarding the role of public servants.

"In my view there should be no reason for denial of sanction for prosecution wherever malafide acts by delinquent officials caused huge losses to the banks," he said.

Sinha said bank frauds involving amount above Rs 50 crore has grown almost 10 times in two years.

"Large value frauds involving amount of Rs 50 crore and above have also increased more than 10 folds from three cases in 2009-10 involving an amount of Rs 404.13 crore to 45 cases involving Rs 5334.75 crore in 2013," he said.

The CBI director said with the growth of economy and banking sector, amount involved in frauds in the sector have grown substantially over the years.

"According to an analysis by RBI, while the number of fraud cases has shown a decreasing trend from 24,791 in 2009-10 to 13,293 in 2012-13 that is a decline of 46.37 per cent, the amount involved has quadrupled from 2037.81 crore to 8646 crore that is an enormous increase of 354.27 per cent," Sinha said.

The CBI chief said according to government analysis non-performing assets of the banks have risen substantially in last two years from Rs 59,924 crore in 2010 to Rs 1,17,262 crore in 2012.

Quoting famous author and humorist Mark Twain, Sinha said a banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.

"If we see the figures of the NPAs and high number of high level fraud it seems to be raining heavily. The question is whether the bankers will be able to get their umbrellas back or not and further even if they get it whether it would be in original shape or not," he said.


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Disruptions spoiling image of Parliament: Tharoor

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 20 Agustus 2013 | 22.44

NEW DELHI: Minister of state for human resource development Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday expressed regret at the way political parties are not allowing Parliament to conduct business.

The minister said all the parties are responsible for this and such acts were "spoiling the image of Parliament".

"I feel sad at the uproar in Parliament. Rules need to be followed. All the political parties are responsible for this and such issues are spoiling the image of Parliament," Tharoor, who is a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Kerala, told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

There are pertinent issues that need to be discussed, like the food bill and others, he said adding the it is important for parties to come together and work towards the development of the country.

On food bill, he said: "We have introduced the Food Bill, but the minister concerned (food minister K V Thomas) is not allowed to speak. This is an important legislation, which will ensure nutritional support for the poor."

On social media, Tharoor, who has been in news for his comments on the networking site Twitter, said it has great potential.

"But, one must realise that social media being popular also has a responsibility. I support it, but one has to keep in mind that such tools are also misused," he added.


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CBI claims to have got new evidence in Ishrat case

NEW DELHI: CBI has claimed to have laid their hands on new evidence in connection with its probe into Ishrat Jahan fake encounter killing case which would help in buttressing its investigation into the larger conspiracy behind the incident.

The sources said the agency is analysing the "circumstantial evidence" which might help in giving location of some accused persons at the time of the crime.

They said the agency might also question former special director of Intelligence Bureau Rajinder Kumar, now retired, in the light of the new evidence.

The sources said they would try to file the supplementary charge sheet in the case giving details of the conspiracy behind the incident in which 19-year-old Ishrat and three others Javed Sheikh, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed by Gujarat police in June, 2004.

CBI's chargesheet accuses seven police officers of Gujarat Police of murder, kidnapping and other related crimes under the Indian Penal Code.

CBI is also ascertaining the authenticity of tapes of purported conversations of Gujarat government officials discussing ways to help the accused police personnel in the case, the sources said.

The agency had submitted the tapes to the trial court in Ahmedabad in a sealed cover and would refer to these conversations in its supplementary charge sheet, they said.

CBI, probing the case, has been able to get detailed information about Ishrat and Javed as it included the statements of their relatives and people known to them in the charge sheet filed on July three.

It has so far not been able to reach any conclusive point on the identity of Johar and Rana. CBI has in its charge sheet neither given any details about the antecendents of the duo nor the motive behind their presence in Gujarat.


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New Himachal power policy to tap solar energy

SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh government has decided to come out with new power policy to harness solar energy. Chief minister Virbhadra Singh on Tuesday said that state government was endeavouring to preserve the depleting conventional resources to meet the increasing demand of power.

He said state government soon would come out with a new Power Policy with a view to harness the solar energy. Besides, possibilities of more hydro power and other non-conventional power resources were also being explored in the state, he added.

He said that HIMURJA with the support of ministry of new and renewable energy government of India, is organizes various functions to create awareness about use of eco-friendly renewal energy which had no recurring fuel cost. He said the development and more use of renewal energy sources could lead to sustainable and environment friendly energy security in the state.

Having exploited the hydro potential of state in a big way, now government is also going to tap the solar energy. Virbhadra Singh said that state government had reserved the small hydro power projects up to 2MW capacity exclusively for the Himachalis whereas preference was also being given to them in the projects up to 5MW capacity.

Recently chief minister had informed the 14th finance commission members in Shimla that over 95 per cent of the total 23000 MW exploitable hydro power capacity available in the state had been allocated and the upfront premium received in this respect.

He said that per unit sale rate of power has come down from Rs 7 to about Rs 2-3 per unit. This has dampened the interest of the independent power producers who have been allotted power projects; besides they are unable to attain financial closure, he added. He requested the commission to recommend to the Government of India to permit Himachal Pradesh to levy generation tax on hydro power produced within the state.

He further mentioned that bill for taxation on generation of power within state has been passed by the State Legislative Assembly and was waiting Presidential assent. He clarified that article 288(2) of the Constitution enables the state to impose this tax.


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BJP blocks Sonia's food bill, 3 states roll it out

NEW DELHI: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's pet welfare measure, the food security programme was Monday on launched in three party ruled northern states - Delhi, Haryana and Uttarakhand - even as the bill could not be taken up in Parliament with the BJP disrupting the proceedings on its demands regarding alleged irregularity in coal block allocations.

The government's hopes to pass the bill in the lower house on August 20, the birth anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, were belied as the Congress managers failed to gauge the opposition strategy.

However, Sonia Gandhi, while launching the rights-based ambitious food scheme in Delhi, described it as "unparalleled in the world". Delhi is among the first states to roll out the programme after the government got the President to approve an ordinance in June.

"We decided to formulate Food Security Bill so that the poor do not remain hungry, their children do not sleep hungry and they do not suffer malnutrition," Sonia Gandhi said at Talkatora Stadium here.

"The guarantee of food provided by food security scheme on such a large scale is unparalleled in the world," she said in her speech beamed live by TV channels.

She gave away food security ration cards to women beneficiaries along with a 5kg packet of rice.

Speaking at the function, food minister KV Thomas accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of delaying the passage of Food Security Bill in Parliament.

The BJP did not let the Lok Sabha function over its demand for the Prime Minister's statement on missing files related to controversial coal block allocations.

The party was dissatisfied over the statement of coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal made in the Rajya Sabha over the missing files on an issue that was being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for alleged irregularities.

Though the BJP did not say it was opposed to the bill, party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said they will not give up the demand for the Prime Minister's statement on the "missing files".

The "missing files" pertain to decisions taken at various levels in the coal allocations where the opposition alleges large-scale corruption at ministerial levels.

Congress managers hope the bill will be passed in the current Parliament session, saying there still were three working days left in the week and four in the next.

"We will be trying our level best to get the food bill passed. We are talking to everybody (all political parties)," minister of state for parliamentary affairs Rajeev Shukla told reporters.

Congress managers said if the opposition deliberately blocks the food bill, they will go directly to the people and explain things to them as to who had opposed this legislation.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has said it will support the bill and the Samajwadi Party has given conditional support, saying that its amendments should be accepted.

BSP supremo Mayawati said: "We support the bill as it is for the poor, but we want certain changes for which we will move amendments."

The Food Security Bill - seen as both a major welfare as well as populist move designed to swing votes for a beleaguered Congress in upcoming elections - aims to provide subsidised foodgrain at prices much below the market rate to around 67 percent of India's 1.2 billion people. The bill is expected to benefit about 800 million people.

The party is hoping that the bill, which was a part of the Congress manifesto for the 2009 polls, will bring electoral benefits just as the rural job plan, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, is credited with swinging the party's victory in the 2009 polls.

The bill will cost the government around Rs 124,723 crore, the Congress has said.

The bill was first introduced in Parliament in December 2011. It remained with a standing committee for a year, before it was taken to the Lok Sabha for consideration and passing in the budget session that ended on May 8.

In the national capital, the bill will provide benefits to 3.2 million people in the first phase and later cover 4.1 million people. It will come into effect on September 1 in Delhi and the beneficiaries will be get a fixed amount of foodgrain at Rs 3 a kg for rice and Rs 2 a kg for wheat.

Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna launched the food security programme in their states. More Congress ruled states are slated to launch the programme in the coming days.


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ISI supplies fake Indian currency notes to operatives: Tunda

NEW DELHI: Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Abdul Karim Tunda has told his interrogators that Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI used to run the entire supply chain of fake Indian currency notes (FICN) being smuggled into India.

Interrogators said Tunda told them that Iqbal Kana, who is the biggest dealer of FICN, gets the notes through an ISI Brigadier and then it is pushed into India via Bangladesh and Nepal through Tunda's network.

"The terrorist says that these fake Indian currency notes are printed in Islamabad and Peshwar in Pakistan," police officials said.

Tunda told interrogators that his work was to collect, disburse and push FICN through his network into India and that each consignment contained FICN with face value running into crores of rupees.

"Tunda had a very good network of his known ones, sympathizers and trained people in Bangladesh which were used for the FICN business," said the officials.

Delhi polic sources said Iqbal Kana — the fake currency racket kingpin, is active in Pakistan and uses people like Tunda, who have an active network, to push FICN into India.

"In January 2012, FICN of the face value of Rs 2.25 crore was seized in Delhi in which names of Tunda, Kana and one Hasan had cropped up. In that instance too, the deal was between Kana and Hasan while Tunda acted as courier," said a senior police official.

Tunda, who was holding a Pakistani passport with the name Abdul Quddus, was arrested on Friday from an area on the Indo-Nepal border after being on the run in several countries for 19 years.

Investigators said the 70-year-old terrorist has told them that in 2012 Kana made extortion calls in the name of ISI to an Indo-Pak trade centre (a private association of merchants) in Lahore.


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SP govt detains Yogi Adityanath, bans VHP's Ram temple yatra

Written By Unknown on Senin, 19 Agustus 2013 | 22.44

LUCKNOW: Even as BJP MP from Gorakhpur Yogi Adityanath was detained in Kanpur while he was on his way to Jhansi to take part in 'Jalabhishek' of a disputed temple, the UP government has decided to ban Vishwa Hindu Parishad's (VHP) proposed 84-Kosi yatra following a feedback that it may whip up communal sentiments in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Yogi was on his way for the Maha Jalabhishek ceremony of a Mahakalashwar temple in Jhansi where section 144 has been imposed. The local Jhansi administration has apprehended chances of violence during the BJP MP's visit, because of which he was prevented from proceeding further as a precautionary measure. The Jalabhishek ceremony will continue till August 20. BJP leaders have condemned the arrest.

Yogi was travelling in Kushnagar Express from Gorakhpur to Jhansi when he was detained in Kanpur by the police. Police and administration officials were stationed at the Kanpur Central station since midnight and the moment Kushinagar express reached there around 2.20am, he was deboarded from the train. Later, he along with his supporters, were taken by the officials to a guest house of Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary in Unnao district from where he left for Delhi.

On the other hand, the UP government has decided to ban VHP's proposed yatra to be taken out with an aim to garner support for the construction of Ram temple at a disputed site in Ayodhya. SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has already clarified that no new 'practice' related to the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya will be allowed. He has also turned down VHP's offer to mediate between Hindu and Muslim leaders for construction of the temple.

Home department officials said that the decision to put a ban on the yatra has been taken after taking feedback from the five districts covered by the event. Intelligence inputs suggested that it may create law and order problem and whip up communal sentiments. The 84-kosi-yatra, proposed between August 25 and September 13, will pass through the five districts of Faizabad, Ambedkarnagar, Gonda, Basti and Bahraich and cover nearly 400 kilometres.

Principal secretary home RM Srivastava said that according to the Hindu ritual, the 84-kosi parikrama is held from Chaitra Purnima to Baisakh Navami and has already been performed by the sadhus.

VHP leaders, however, said they need no permission or clearance to perform this yatra. It said that thousands of people will take part in the yatra

Meanwhile, SP leader and senior minister Azam Khan has criticized his party president Mulayam Singh Yadav and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav for giving 'unnecessary importance' to VHP leaders. In a statement, he said that VHP leader Ashok Singhal is an accused in Babri mosque demolition case, hence government should not give him any importance.

Significantly, VHP's yatra is coinciding with the proposed visit of Gujarat chief minister and BJP's campaign committee chairperson Narendra Modi to Mathura to attend party's state level executive meet in September. Mathura is also a communally sensitive place.


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Government introduces electronic postal order to help NRIs seek information under RTI Act

CHENNAI: The government has introduced an electronic postal order to help non-resident Indians seek information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Diplomatic sources at the Indian embassy in Riyadh told TOI over telephone on Monday that the department of personnel and department of posts had recently launched a service called e-IPO (Electronic Indian Postal Order) to allow the NRIs to purchase an Indian postal order electronically by paying the fee online at http://www.epostoffice.gov.in.

"This facility has been provided for Indian citizens abroad to enable them to purchase a postal order electronically to seek information under the RTI Act, 2005," sources said.

The user needs to register at the website. He or she must select the ministry or department from where he or she desires to seek the information under the RTI Act. The e-IPO so generated can be used to seek information from that ministry or department only.

A printout of the e-IPO is required to be attached with the RTI application. If the RTI application is being filed electronically, the e-IPO should be attached.

There are more than 2.8 million Indians living in Saudi Arabia. It is the largest expatriate community in the Kingdom. Nearly two million of the estimated six million Indians holding skilled and unskilled jobs in the Gulf are from Kerala.


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I was in constant touch with ex-ISI chief Hamid Gul: Abdul Karim Tunda

NEW DELHI: Top Lashkar-e-Taiba bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda told interrogators that he had come in contact with Pakistan's spy agency ISI after meeting former ISI chief Hamid Gul in 1995 and was in constant touch with him thereafter.

Delhi police officials said Tunda, a close aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, had met Gul after reaching Pakistan via Saudi Arabia.

Investigators said the 70-year-old terrorist has told them that that ISI was the official arm which has got several other "tanzeems" (organizations) like LeT, Jamaat-ud-Dawa under its umbrella to carry out various tasks. The handlers call these tanzeems as social organizations.

Tunda, who was holding a Pakistani passport with the name Abdul Quddus, was arrested on Friday from an area on the Indo-Nepal border after being on the run in several countries for 19 years.

During his stay in Pakistan, Tunda told the police he had been in touch with organisations like ISI, LeT, Jaish-e- Mohammed, Indian Mujahiddin and Babbar Khalsa and had been meeting people like Hafiz Saeed, Maulana Masood Azhar, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Dawood Ibrahim and several others wanted by India.

"Tunda has told us that most of the current LeT operatives are Punjabis. They are paid a meager sum of Rs 3000-4000 per month," said a senior police official.

However, Gul who served as the director general of ISI from 1987 to 1989, rubbished these claims.

"I retired from ISI on June 1 1989. Tunda has claimed to know me in 1995, by that time I was retired from service. I don't know Dawood Ibrahim. I don't know Tunda. I don't like his name, if I would have met him I would have asked him to change his name," Gul said.

"Indian media is going completely head over heals... In intelligence terms, it is called paper milling, people make up funny stories. I am prepared to go before any investigation team," he said.

Tunda will be produced before a local court on Tuesday by the Delhi police which will seek his custody for further interrogation, the official said.

The official said that Tunda has got trained men, who were his disciples in the madarsas run by him. They may have infiltrated to India.

Delhi police officials, terming scope of his interrogation a 'vast canvas', said they are currently concentrating on collecting information from him on the networks and structure of various anti-India organisations in Pakistan.

Tunda, who once worked as a carpenter, scrap dealer and a cloth merchant, now has his terror outfits in both Karachi and Lahore. He used to stay in Lahore with his three wives, police sources said.

"Tunda doesn't say he is involved in the business of fake indian currency notes (FICN) but he knows everybody. He has admitted to have met Iqbal Kana — the fake currency kingpin handled by ISI," police said.

Meanwhile, the home ministry has complimented the Delhi police and central security agencies for arresting Tunda.

"It was an extremely good work done by the agencies and Delhi police. It demonstrates the excellent synergy among all organisations," Union home secretary Anil Goswami told reporters here.

The home secretary said the ministry was looking forward for more such successes in the future.

"We hope more successes will be achieved by all of them working in tandem in the future too," he said.


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Government to accept 'workable' amendments in Food bill: Kamal Nath

NEW DELHI: Amid speculation that the Food Security Bill will be pushed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, government on Monday said it would accept all "workable" amendments.

Amid a large number of amendments from the opposition, parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath merely said government is willing to accept those amendments which are "workable".

"We are looking at this situation that if it is an amendment which is workable, the government will move that amendment. It will come in as an official amendment," parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath told reporters outside Parliament House when asked about 200-odd amendments.

Emerging from a meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here of ministers related to the rollout and implementation of the food security law, Nath also said Speaker Meira Kumar will take a decision tomorrow morning on what should be done about the protests by TDP MPs on Telangana issue.

Opposition leaders have been insisting that no bill should be passed in the din and that it wanted to participate in the discussion on the Food Bill.

The meeting convened by the Prime Minister was attended by food minister KV Thomas, women and child development minister Krishna Tirath, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, HRD minister MM Pallam Raju and finance minister P Chidambaram. The meeting discussed the various amendments moved by the parties.

"We discussed the various amendments moved by the parties as to which all can be accepted so that the bill can be passed easily," Nath said adding no politics should be involved in the measure.


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