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Jayalalithaa says she is against communal politics

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 30 Oktober 2013 | 22.44

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday conveyed a strong message to all people in the country saying she is against communal politics.

AIADMK parliamentary party leader M Thambidurai read out his party leader's speech at a Left parties-sponsored convention - 'Mass convention in defence of secularism and against the offensive of communal forces' -- held in Delhi.

In her speech, Jayalalithaa said communalism has been spreading its 'dangerous tentacles' and has acquired 'alarming proportions' in recent decades, 'with the sharp increase in communal tensions and religion-based politics and growth of communal forces in our body politic.'

"The key to India's success as a federal democracy is in the recognition of its diversities," she said.

"The idea of secularism is not recent. It has been a part of our culture since time immemorial. Acceptance of all religions and different ways of life is the cornerstone of our Indian culture, heritage and polity," she said.

She said the secular credentials of Indians are evidenced by the 1857 rebellion, when Muslims and Hindus joined hands against a foreign power. "The policy of tolerance, which constituted a historical basis of secularism, 'Sarva Dharma Samabhava' has its roots in the Vedas. In the Arthashastra, the line between politics and theology has been clearly defined. Its author, Kautilya, has classified polity as a separate branch of science."

The AIADMK supremo said it is our primary duty to uphold the tenets of the Constitution and seek to unite the people of India rather than work as divisive forces, for secularism alone could be the cornerstone of an egalitarian, forward looking society with religious pluralism, civil liberties and equal opportunities. Secularism seeks to negate discrimination and tension based on religion.

As far as the functioning of the Indian state is concerned, the state is often seen to be acceding to the pressure of both minority demands at one time and to majority demands at another, which has fuelled the activities of various groups and encouraged them to engage in 'one gunmanship' in their search for demonstration of loyalty to the issues being embraced by the majority and the minority groups, which has contributed to the heightening of fear and is a threat to human lives and livelihood, according to Jayalalithaa.

"The danger lies in divisiveness, discrimination and confrontation. This has to be done away with, for secularism does not mean appeasing one section of society while suppressing the other. It means engaging in a meaningful process of uplifting the economically and socially weaker sections so that an equal platform for opportunities of development is made feasible."

Jayalalithaa said her government is committed to the uplift of socially and economically disadvantaged sections. "By ensuring the protection of the economically vulnerable, we are able to usher in a renaissance that has become evident - a change that is here to stay."

In Tamil Nadu, she said, communal tensions are nipped in the bud with sustained police vigil and through proper anticipation, planning and intelligence.

"We are able to devise appropriate counter strategies to defuse any potentially explosive situations, with an eye on ensuring the greater good of the common people."

The Tamil Nadu chief minister detailed her government's pro-people policies and schemes. "In an unprecedented move - on the lines of the Haj pilgrimage, my government has made provision for pilgrimage to Jerusalem and also to Muktinath and Mansarovar. The deep spiritual and religious aspirations of our people are endeavoured to be catered to," she claimed.


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No deadline for signing Rafale deal, Antony says

NEW DELHI: Defence minister AK Antony on Wednesday refused to set a deadline for conclusion of a multi-billion dollar deal to procure 126 Rafale combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force.

"This is not the issue. Issue is that contract negotiation committee (CNC) is going on and I or the Government cannot interfere with it ... How can I set a deadline," he told reporters here.

The minister was asked to comment on whether issues between HAL and Dassault Aviation were delaying the contract signing.

The minister's statement came soon after IAF deputy chief Air Marshal S Sukumar stated that the contract was expected to be signed between the two sides by the end of this fiscal.

Antony said there would be at least four to five stages after the CNC was over and the proposal was brought before the government for clearance.

He said the government was proceeding as per the defence procurement procedure and a number of bodies would be involved in scrutinising the contract.

India had selected Dassault Aviation's Rafale combat aircraft to arrest the fall in its number of squadrons and is engaged in negotiations with the company on the issue.

The deal, expected to be over Rs 60,000 crore, would be the biggest ever for the Indian defence forces and the defence ministry is taking all precautions to see it through.


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Crimes against women increasing: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: Expressing concern over the rising number of crimes against women, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said they are not safe and even subjected to molestation while travelling in buses.

A bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi wondered why people in recent years have lost confidence in governments and come out on streets in protest.

"Why is it happening in the last few years? Why people are losing confidence? It did not happen ten years ago. Crime against women has come to the forefront only in the last five years. They used to suffer silently and they still continue to do so except in a few cases when there have been protests and it has come out in the open," the bench said.

The bench said that the December 16 gang rape is not an isolated incident and such type of offence was committed in the past also.

"Everyday girls travelling in buses are subjected to molestation. Women continue to suffer," the bench said, adding "We remember Nirbhaya but the memories of the earlier incidents are not good and such cases happened earlier also."

It said people are coming out on streets as they are not satisfied and their rights are not protected by the government bodies.

The court was hearing a PIL seeking its direction for setting up of a special team to probe an alleged incident of policemen beating up Aam Aadmi Party members protesting non-registration of an FIR in a rape case in June this year.

It reserved its order and asked senior advocate Shanti Bhushan, appearing for petitioner and Delhi government counsel Siddharth Luthra to suggest names of two persons each who could be part of team to conduct the probe.

The bench along with lawyers had watched in chamber the video footage of the incident recorded on behalf of Delhi Police to understand the situation on the ground. It said the recording was selective and footage of lathicharge is not there.


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Jayalaithaa says she is against communal politics

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday conveyed a strong message to all people in the country saying she is against communal politics.

AIADMK parliamentary party leader M Thambidurai read out his party leader's speech at a Left parties-sponsored convention - 'Mass convention in defence of secularism and against the offensive of communal forces' -- held in Delhi.

In her speech, Jayalalithaa said communalism has been spreading its 'dangerous tentacles' and has acquired 'alarming proportions' in recent decades, 'with the sharp increase in communal tensions and religion-based politics and growth of communal forces in our body politic.'

"The key to India's success as a federal democracy is in the recognition of its diversities," she said.

"The idea of secularism is not recent. It has been a part of our culture since time immemorial. Acceptance of all religions and different ways of life is the cornerstone of our Indian culture, heritage and polity," she said.

She said the secular credentials of Indians are evidenced by the 1857 rebellion, when Muslims and Hindus joined hands against a foreign power. "The policy of tolerance, which constituted a historical basis of secularism, 'Sarva Dharma Samabhava' has its roots in the Vedas. In the Arthashastra, the line between politics and theology has been clearly defined. Its author, Kautilya, has classified polity as a separate branch of science."

The AIADMK supremo said it is our primary duty to uphold the tenets of the Constitution and seek to unite the people of India rather than work as divisive forces, for secularism alone could be the cornerstone of an egalitarian, forward looking society with religious pluralism, civil liberties and equal opportunities. Secularism seeks to negate discrimination and tension based on religion.

As far as the functioning of the Indian state is concerned, the state is often seen to be acceding to the pressure of both minority demands at one time and to majority demands at another, which has fuelled the activities of various groups and encouraged them to engage in 'one gunmanship' in their search for demonstration of loyalty to the issues being embraced by the majority and the minority groups, which has contributed to the heightening of fear and is a threat to human lives and livelihood, according to Jayalalithaa.

"The danger lies in divisiveness, discrimination and confrontation. This has to be done away with, for secularism does not mean appeasing one section of society while suppressing the other. It means engaging in a meaningful process of uplifting the economically and socially weaker sections so that an equal platform for opportunities of development is made feasible."

Jayalalithaa said her government is committed to the uplift of socially and economically disadvantaged sections. "By ensuring the protection of the economically vulnerable, we are able to usher in a renaissance that has become evident - a change that is here to stay."

In Tamil Nadu, she said, communal tensions are nipped in the bud with sustained police vigil and through proper anticipation, planning and intelligence.

"We are able to devise appropriate counter strategies to defuse any potentially explosive situations, with an eye on ensuring the greater good of the common people."

The Tamil Nadu chief minister detailed her government's pro-people policies and schemes. "In an unprecedented move - on the lines of the Haj pilgrimage, my government has made provision for pilgrimage to Jerusalem and also to Muktinath and Mansarovar. The deep spiritual and religious aspirations of our people are endeavoured to be catered to," she claimed.


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Isro awaiting govt nod for more funds for second Moon mission Chandrayaan-2

SRIHARIKOTA: Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) on Wednesday said it was awaiting the government's approval for more funds to develop a lander and a rover for its second Moon mission 'Chandrayaan-2'.

Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan said "we are awaiting for the approval for the lander for Chandrayaan-2". A rover was also being developed, he said here.

In view of changes in the Russian space programme on Moon, its agreement with Isro was further being delayed. "It means virtually we won't get a lander from Russia till 2017. So, we are planning to a develop a lander ourselves," Radhakrishnan, here in connection with the preparations for November 5 Mars Orbiter Mission, told reporters.

There had been a marginal enhancement in the budget. "That's why we are seeking funds from the government," he said adding developing a lander was complex than developing a rover for the Moon.

Elaborating on the delay of the mission, Radhakrishnan, who is also the space commission chairman, said "the limiting factor is developing a lander ... May be by 2016 a lander might get developed and qualified."

India had undertaken its maiden Moon mission Chandrayaan-1 in October, 2008.

To a query on the launch vehicle for Chandrayaan-2, he said it would be a Geo Stationary Launch Vehicle. "May be after two successful GSLV launches, we would be confident of launching Chandrayaan 2."

He also said there could probably be another launch of GSLV Mark III in March-April 2014.


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Coalgate: CBI to quiz two ex-PMO officials; Supreme Court seeks assistance to analyse probe

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 29 Oktober 2013 | 22.44

NEW DELHI: CBI will question at least two former officials of the Prime Minister's Office who were involved in the processing of the file related to coal block allocation to Hindalco.

Agency sources said the two senior officers would be examined for understanding the reasons which resulted in changing the decision on Hindalco, whose application for Talabira coal block was rejected by the 25th screening committee.

Refusing to give names, the sources said the agency would soon serve them notices for questioning.

CBI sources said they have received the file related to Hindalco from Prime Minister's Office which is crucial to understand the public good cited as the reason for reversing the decision.

The agency has identified these officers on the basis of notings made on the file. They said these officers were involved in the processing of coal ministry related files and their examination in no way suggests any kind of criminality on their part.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been under opposition attack over the allocation to Hindalco promoted by Kumar Mangalam Birla, has defended the decision as "entirely appropriate" and based on merits of the case presented to him.

CBI had registered an FIR against Birla and former coal secretary PC Parakh in connection with allocation of Talabira II and III coal block to Hindalco in joint venture with PSUs.

CBI sources said the only material change that took place between rejection of Hindalco's application during 25th screening committee and allotment were two letters routed to Parakh through the PMO and his personal meeting with Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla Group.

"To imply that our chairman, Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla, managed to overturn the decision of the screening committee, is preposterous," a statement from Hindalco had said refuting the allegations levelled in the CBI FIR.

'We need someone to assist us with coalgate probe report'

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that it needed assistance to analyse CBI's voluminous coalgate probe reports and suggested appointment of amicus curiae to lend a helping hand to it.

A formal order for the appointment of amicus curiae (to assist the court) was not passed as consent of the senior advocate TR Andhyarujina, whose name was suggested, could not be taken as he was not present in the courtroom.

The order might be passed regarding this on the next date of hearing on November 26.

The proposition of appointing amicus was stiffly opposed by CBI's counsel and senior advocate Amrendra Sharan raising question on how can a lawyer be allowed to go through the status report when he is not allowed to see the contents of the report.

"My apprehension is that nobody in the capacity of amicus curiae act as ombudsman," Sharan said.

The CBI, however, relented when the bench headed by Justice RM Lodha said that Sharan will also be allowed to go through the reports to defend the agency in the case.

"We are facing a problem. Nobody is there to assist us in going through the status report. We want to have assistance. We need legal assistance of somebody to assist us in looking at status report," the bench said at the outset of hearing.

"We want assistance from you as well and one independent lawyer who will be amicus curiae," the bench said when Sharan opposed the appointement of amicus.

Sharan asked how a CBI counsel could be given a go bye and amicus curiae made privy to the status reports into the investigation of the matter which is going at good pace.

"You must keep pace but investigation hurried is investigation burried," the bench observed.


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Shall we call Rahul Gandhi 'badshah' if not 'shahzada', BJP asks

MUMBAI: Stepping up its attack on Congress for pillorying Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi over his " shahzada" (prince) taunt aimed at Rahul Gandhi, BJP on Tuesday hit back with scorn, saying if it would be alright to call the Congress vice-president "badshah".

"Rahul Gandhi's statement (that Pakistani spies are trying to indoctrinate Muslims in Muzaffarnagar) was against the patriotic Muslims in the country.

"If he (Rahul) shouldn't be called as 'shahzada', then should he be called a 'badshah'?" party spokeswoman Meenakshi Lekhi told reporters here.

Stung by Modi's barbs, the Congress had warned that calling Rahul as "shahzada" will not be tolerated, only to be slammed by Modi who retorted that he would stop doing so if Congress ends dynastic politics.

Attacking Congress-led UPA government at Centre and the Bihar government over Sunday's serial blasts in Patna at Modi's rally, Lekhi alleged that Congress leaders were engaged in making "irresponsible" political statements after the incident.

"Irresponsible political statements are being made from the government side and leaders from the Congress over the serial blasts in Patna during Modi's rally," she said.

The BJP leader alleged that "basic security protocol" was not followed at the rally venue.

The government has been inefficient in dismantling the terror network, she said. "Centre's negligence has led to the roots of IM getting stronger in the country. IM is not working for any particular religion, but is indulging in dividing the country," Lekhi said.

Backing Modi for attending the rally even after the blasts took place, she said, "He went there, otherwise a wrong message would have been sent."

Criticizing Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde for attending a music function in Mumbai on the day the blasts took place, she asked if such ministers should continue.

"The government played with the security arrangements. We have demanded for Special Protection Group (SPG) for Modi's security. Why should the SPG security be limited to a particular family?" she said.


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Tharoor's video address cut off for criticizing Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Union minister Shashi Tharoor's video address to an Indo-Pakistan entrepreneurs' event here on Tuesday was abruptly cut off after he lambasted the Pakistani government for ceasefire violations on the LoC and suggested the civilian administration did not control the military.

Though the event was billed as a peace initiative on the economic front, minister for state for HRD Tharoor surprised many, including the Indian delegation, as he took on the Pakistani administration.

India is committed to resolve all issues with Pakistan, including the Kashmir dispute, through dialogue on the basis of the Simla Agreement but an environment free from terror and violence is needed for this, he said.

"However, the Mumbai attacks five years ago and the recent LoC incidents have shown a gap between Pakistan's official statement and military's action...(This) suggests the civilian government, even if sincere, is not entirely in control of the security apparatus," he said in the pre-recorded speech.

Tharoor began his address by emphasizing the need to strengthen bilateral trade but later took a harder line and suggested what the Pakistani government should do.

"It will help the Pakistan government, facing home-grown terrorists even as they export terror to neighbours", if there is more willingness to join the quest for peace, he said.

"The moment the Pakistani establishment genuinely discards terrorism as an instrument of state policy, the prospect of peace will dawn on the subcontinent."

Tharoor said Pakistan was "unfortunately" pursuing the flawed policy of selectively targeting some terrorists and extremists and "ignoring or actively supporting others".

Unlike in Pakistan, the Indian Army does not "make foreign policy", which is the prerogative of the elected civilian government that is determined to engage in dialogue, he told the audience of about 300 at Jinnah Auditorium.

The atmosphere in the auditorium became a bit tense during Tharoor's speech and the video was cut off after about nine minutes.

The audience included 22 Indian delegates and officials of the Indian high commission, including envoy T C A Raghavan.


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In India's interest, PM must attend CHOGM in Colombo

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be meeting his top political advisers to decide on whether he will travel to Sri Lanka for the CHOGM on November 15. Quite apart from the noise being made by Tamil political parties, almost everybody else will advise the PM to go.

A strong message has come from C V Wigneswaran, the new chief minister of Sri Lanka's northern provincial council. In a recent message to the Indian government, he has asked that Singh should attend CHOGM, and the PM could use the opportunity to send the message he needs to. This was the first time a Tamil party has been allowed to form a provincial government by Colombo. On his return from Lanka, foreign minister Salman Khurshid has also advised that Indian participation at CHOGM would be in New Delhi's interest.

What is at stake here? First, Sri Lanka is one of India's most important neighbours since it is politically and strategically on the same page. For example, Lanka is a lynchpin of New Delhi's Indian Ocean Region (IOR) strategy. If India downgrades its participation in CHOGM, it runs the risk of "losing" Lanka to the likes of China, who is quick to exploit the opportunity to expand its strategic footprint into IOR. China built Hambantota port, but India dominates strategic ground there. Even Pakistan, despite its limited resources, has been engaging Colombo with alacrity, primarily to take up the space that India is ceding in the island nation.

Second, India as the big regional power has never missed a multilateral summit in its own region. In 2004, India signalled displeasure with Bangladesh, which then rescheduled the SAARC summit. All members of the Commonwealth will be attending CHOGM, including all India's neighbours at the head-of-state level, except Canada, which continues to have the highest numbers of LTTE enthusiasts. If the PM does not go, India could be seen to be on the side of these radical elements. LTTE may have died in Sri Lanka, but the idea remains alive in many Western countries. LTTE had assassinated former PM Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

Third, India's leverage with Sri Lanka would vanish. This would make it impossible to influence Lankan behaviour particularly with regard to the fishermen issue, close to hearts of all Tamil politicians in India. Despite Mahinda Rajapaksa being seen as a version of an autocrat, at least in the past few years India has been able to significantly influence big decisions in Lanka, primarily because there remains an "inner track" of communication at the top level. Humiliating Rajapaksa by boycotting the summit could close that track.

Lanka's recent northern council elections came about as a result of Indian persuasion, as did their decision to let the UN High Commissioner for human rights have full access to the region. A recent government assessment said Rajapaksa would have gone ahead with diluting the 13th amendment but has put it on hold in deference to New Delhi's wishes. In India's absence, this dilution would probably go through. Colombo has indicated it will downgrade economic and defence ties with India. Most important, Indian fishermen would be at the mercy of Lankan forces at sea.

The political forces who want the PM to boycott CHOGM include almost all the Tamil political parties. The AIADMK has traditionally been opposed to LTTE, but in recent years has taken a more assertive approach to pan-Tamil politics, including preventing fishermen from both sides meeting each other to sort out the problem. In the Northern Province too, some of the disgruntled members of the TNA like some members of the Suresh Premchandran faction as well as the Tamil diaspora - prime supporters of the LTTE - have been drumming up opinion against an Indian participation. DMK has traditionally been supportive of Lankan Tamils, though even they were quiet during the last weeks of the military campaign against LTTE.


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Raghuram Rajan taken aback by query about citizenship

MUMBAI: RBI governor Raghuram Rajan was taken aback for a short while on Tuesday when asked whether issues regarding his nationality were settled.

Responding to a question by a journalist at the customary post-policy media interaction, a piqued Rajan said: "I will answer this question once and only once."

"I am an Indian citizen, I have always been an Indian citizen. I always held an Indian passport. I held an Indian diplomatic passport when my father was in the foreign service and when I travelled on behalf of the ministry of finance.

"I have never applied for the citizenship of another country, I have never been a citizen of another country and have never taken a pledge of allegiance to another country."

When Rajan's name was cleared by the government for the top job at RBI, senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi had given a notice of calling attention in Parliament asking how a foreigner could be appointed as the central banker. He had also said there were enough Indians to run the RBI.

The confusion arose as Rajan has spent many years in the US teaching at different varsities. It can be noted that after completing his BTech from IIT Delhi, followed by an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, he moved to MIT to do his PhD, after which he has spent several years as an academic in the US.

Admitting that he holds a US Green Card, Rajan said: "The Green Card does not require you to take pledge of allegiance anywhere...it simply is a work permit which you need to have to work in another country."

In a lighter vein, Rajan said his Green Card was expiring and he has to restart the whole process of applying for it just to keep it going.

"That is the sum total of my citizenship," he averred. Wondering why people are wasting time over such silly things, he asked, "Who is concerned about this (my citizenship). In some sense, it is, to me, shameful that we spent so much time in such issues."
"To those people who are pushing this, I want to ask why should you care. But if they do care, the answer is, I am an Indian citizen and I am proud of being an Indian citizen," he said.


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India raises concerns over US immigration reforms

Written By Unknown on Senin, 28 Oktober 2013 | 22.44

NEW DELHI: Raising concerns over some of the "elements" of a US legislation on immigration reforms, India on Monday said the bill will undermine the competitiveness of Indian IT businesses in America.

Indian companies support over 280,000 jobs in the US and have contributed over $15 billion to the US Treasury in the last five years, Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said at a meeting here with Steve Van Andel — chairman of the board of directors, US Chamber of Commerce.

Andel conveyed to the minister that the US Chamber is on the "same page" on the issue and there is need to be more vocal about the ill effects of the proposed legislation.

"Sharma expressed his concern over the discriminatory measures related to skilled non-immigrant visas in the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill passed by the US Senate ...elements of the Bill will undermine the competitiveness of Indian IT businesses in the US," said an official statement.

Quoting Sharma, it said that Indian IT companies have contributed enormously to the US economy through job creation and enhancing the competitiveness of their clients, who included some of the US's largest businesses.

"Investments of more than $5 billion have been made in the last five years alone, by way of acquisitions," it said.

Sharma sought American investment in the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project and National Manufacturing Investment Zones.

Andel evinced the US' interest in investment in these regions.


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Navy undertakes major exercise on western coast amidst heightened security threat

NEW DELHI: With both conventional and unconventional threats on the west coast figuring high on India's radar screen, the Navy is undertaking a major coastal defence exercise on the western seaboard.

Called the 'Defence of Gujarat Exercise', the wargames are being conducted under the aegis of the Mumbai-based Western Naval Command (WNC), with over 20 destroyers, frigates, corvettes, minesweepers and submarines, as also maritime fighters, aircraft and helicopters.

"The aim is to practice combat manoeuvres to defend coastal areas as well as vital offshore assets like oil refineries from any external threat. The week-long exercise is testing the operational readiness of the WNC in relation to littoral combat," said an official.

"Coast Guard patrol vessels, integrated into the operations are playing a key part in providing multiple layers of defensive surveillance. In addition to ships, the exercise also involves intense flying activity by TU-142M, IL-38SD and Dornier patrol aircraft as well as Searcher and Heron UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)," he added.

After the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai, several measures have been taken to boost 'coordination' in intelligence-sharing and operational matters among different maritime agencies like Navy and Coast Guard, with joint operation centres being set up at Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kochi and Port Blair.

Under this, Navy and Coast Guard have been holding drills to bolster coastal security all along the east and west coasts. "We have conducted exercises, state-by-state, with all agencies concerned like customs, state marine police forces, Intelligence Bureau, port authorities and the like," said an officer.


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Patna serial blasts point to IM link, hand of new Ranchi module: Police

PATNA/RANCHI: Investigations in the Patna serial blasts showed an Indian Mujahideen (IM) link with Jharkand police claiming that one of the two arrested terrorists who was believed to be the mastermind belonged to the nascent 'Ranchi Module" of the banned terror outfit.

As the probe showed that the explosions at Narendra Modi's rally in Patna on Sunday had a resemblance to the Bodh Gaya terror attack, BJP leader Arun Jaitley claimed the Bihar DGP had received an intelligence alert on October 23 about a possible attack in Patna and wanted the state government as well as the Centre to clarify on the issue.

Jaitley's contention was countered by Ravindra Kumar, ADG, Patna, who said there was no specific intelligence input and that only general alerts were given.

The death toll in the serial blasts, meanwhile, rose to six after an injured person died at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) late last night. Currently, 37 injured persons, many of them in critical condition, are being treated in the hospital.

Jharkhand ADG (law & order) S N Pradhan said the probe so far showed that Imtiaz Ansari, one of the two arrested terrorists, allegedly had contacts with Tahseen Akhtar, an alleged close aide of arrested top IM operative Yaseen Bhhatkal. The other terrorist was identified as Tausim.

Pradhan said after interrogations during raids at Dhruva in Ranchi last night it had emerged that Imtiaz, his nephew Tophek, Tariq Ansari and Noman Ansari had gone to Patna on Saturday and two others had joined them on the way.

The four had, however, told people of their locality that they were going to Kolkata but left for Patna on Saturday.

Tariq died while allegedly handling explosives yesterday and Noman and Tophek were absconding, while Imtiaz was arrested after the blasts in Patna, Police said. The home-grown IM has links with Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

"The Ranchi module(of IM) has been set up recently," Pradhan said, adding the police also suspect that the same IM module might have been behind the Bodh Gaya terror attack on July 7 as explosive materials and digital timer device found in Patna blasts were identical. "A fail-safe connection has been established between the two blasts," he added. Five people including two monks were injured in the Bodh Gaya strike.

The ADG said a National Investigation Agency team had arrived here today to investigate links of the newly set up Ranchi module of IM and further investigations are on.

Earlier in the day, three persons detained in Ranchi yesterday in connection with the Patna blasts were released after interrogation last night.

Raids were carried out in Jharkand soon after Bihar Police tipped off their counterparts in Ranchi that some suspects in Patna blasts hailed from the state, police said adding black powder, materials used to make IEDs, pressure cooker and extremist literature were seized.


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India to prepare army of reverse engineers to counter cyber attacks

NEW DELHI: National Security Database, an initiative of Information Sharing and Analysis Center ( ISAC) in association with Ground Zero Summit 2013 on Monday organized a seminar on Reverse Engineering in New Delhi. The seminar was organized to identify and create the need for the most credible and valuable information security professionals in India, especially in reverse engineering, to protect the National Critical Infrastructure and economy of the country.

The seminar deliberated the growing need of reverse engineers in the country to counter cyber attacks and piracy. As the $100 billion information technology industry seeks to chart a new course by fostering software product companies, reverse engineering to become a promising field for jobs in the IT and software development sector.

According to NSD, there are less than 5,000 reverse engineering experts currently in India. NSD in collaboration with various Academic Institutions across India aims to increase the number of reverse engineering professionals in the country to 1 lakh by 2015, through training and awareness. National Security Database has joined hands with Ground Zero Summit (G0S) 2013 and is promoting Asia's largest Information Security Summit (G0S) scheduled to take place from 7-10 November, 2013.

Speaking at the seminar Rajshekar Murthy, director, NSD, said: "Hacking has become a growing threat to Indian IT industry. Some recent data theft cases by hackers has made India's $100 billion IT industry a primary target. The acute shortage of reverse engineering professionals will further hit the IT industry and the economic loss will grow exponentially due to piracy and insecure coding."

"Today, reversing techniques are used for 'studying' viruses and malwares to help catch the criminals, create 'patches' to clean the viruses from computers and mobiles and also test closed systems and technologies for quality assurance and security vulnerabilities. Reverse engineering experts are immensely useful in the intelligence and defence sector for offensive research such as exploit development and embedded systems security. Companies can also hire reverse engineering experts to oversee security aspects during product design stage and protect their software from being copied or have security issues," added Murthy.

National Security Database has developed reverse engineering boot-camps offered by Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) approved partners. The program helps engineers to understand different aspects of application security, learn anti-cracking techniques and to create secure code for internal use that cannot be easily hacked. Through these programs the engineers also learn different approaches for reverse engineering and Apapplication to get a strong foundation in dealing with new malwares and gain expertise to analyze it.


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Defence minister A K Antony reviews border situation with Pakistan

NEW DELHI: Defence minister A K Antony on Monday asked the armed forces to maintain "a high-level of alert" along the border with Pakistan, even as yet another Indian soldier was killed in firing across the Line of Control (LoC) in the early hours of the day.

In the backdrop of tensions along the 778 -km LoC easing a little, with no major ceasefire violation being reported over the last few days, Antony reviewed the situation along with national security advisor Shiv Shankar Menon, Army chief General Bikram Singh, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne, Navy chief Admiral D K Joshi and defence secretary R K Mathur.

Though India has already recorded 236 ceasefire violations this year, the highest over the last decade, no serious firing incident has occurred across the LoC since the one at the Mendhar sector on October 23. While 184 of the violations occurred across the LoC, 51 were recorded along the 198-km stretch of the international boundary (IB) in J&K.

It is still not clear whether the junior commissioned officer killed in the Jhelum Valley region in the Uri sector in the early hours of Monday, Subedar Prakash Chandra of 8 Kumaon, died as a result of firing by Pakistani soldiers or some terrorists trying to sneak across the border.

"Subedar Chandra was leading an area domination patrol from our Bhim post when he was hit in firing of UBGLs (under-barrel grenade launchers) from across the border. The firing, however, did not originate from the Pakistani Army post in the area," said an officer.

India has already conveyed its strong concerns to Pakistan about the major spike in ceasefire violations in recent months during the weekly hotline talks between the two director-generals of military operations. While assessing the situation, the government has kept on hold till now the proposed meeting between the two DGMOs, which was agreed to during the Manmohan Singh-Nawaz Sharif meeting in New York last month.


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I was mentally tortured in BJP, Atal's niece Karuna Shukla says

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 27 Oktober 2013 | 22.44

BHOPAL: A day after resigning from the BJP, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece Karuna Shukla on Sunday alleged that she had been "mentally tortured" by the party in Chhattisgarh.

"I feel that the BJP in Chhattisgarh was mentally torturing me because of which I felt that my usefulness to the party had come to an end," Shukla, an ex-MP from Janjgir and former member of the undivided Madhya Pradesh Assembly, told PTI.

She had resigned on Saturday from the BJP, alleging that she was being "continuously neglected" by senior leaders.

She said her resignation from the party had nothing to do with seeking a ticket from Beltara (in Chhattisgarh) seat for next month's assembly elections.

"Every party worker has a right to ask for an election ticket but not much importance can be attached to whether he gets it or not," said Shukla, also a former national president of BJP mahila morcha.

She alleged that she was removed from all posts that she had in the party and was not consulted for anything.

Shukla said that she was very sad at quitting the BJP but because the manner in which the party "treated" her, she was forced to leave it.

The ticket could never be an issue for her as she had become an MLA in 1993 and a MP in 2004, Karuna said.

The former MP said she had spent five days seeking a meeting in New Delhi with BJP president Rajnath Singh, but he could not find the time to meet her.

"I can understand that he can be busy but at least he should have replied to my phone calls," Karuna said.

She said it was strange that the BJP did not treat her gracefully although she had served the party for more than 30 years.

Asked if there was any chance that she may now join the Congress, the former MP said that she would never do so.

She said that she had been getting offers from various political parties, but after quitting the BJP she does not want to join any other party.


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Ceasefire violations: Flag meet of India, Pak troops likely on Monday

JAMMU: Amid high tension triggered by heavy firing and shelling along Indo-Pak border in Jammu frontier during past fortnight, Indian and Pakistani troops are likely to hold a flag meeting on Monday to de-escalate tension.

"The flag meeting is likely to be held tomorrow (with Pakistan Rangers) to defuse the tension and end ceasefire violations along international border," a senior BSF officer said.

"We are making all efforts to hold the flag meeting to defuse the tension and response from other side has already been received," he said.

Nearly 200 km-long International Border (IB) in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts in Jammu frontier witnessed heavy shelling of mortars and rockets and firing from automatic weapons since October 14 on a daily basis not only on Border Out Posts (BoPs) but also in dozens of border villages.

Two jawans were killed and 32 persons injured, including 18 civilians mostly women and children.

BSF troops had earlier tried to hold flag meeting on October 18 and 20 with Pakistan Rangers on IB at two forward BoPs in Samba district, but Pakistan Rangers did not turn up for meeting after a long wait by BSF troops.

Tomorrow's meeting is likely to take place either at the commandant level or DIG level at BoP octroi in the RS Pura sector in Jammu district.

BSF sent communications via hotlines to the Rangers from Nikowal and Shidra and octroi BoPs and has received their response.

Perturbed by the shelling and firing along IB on civilian population, J&K government had pressured the Centre to either retaliate strongly or hold talks with Pakistan to end the ceasefire violations.

In this regard, chief minister Omar Abdullah accompanied by deputy chief minister Tara Chand and minister Sham Lal Sharma had visited the forward border hamlets on Friday to give morale support to the border population.


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​Rahul seeks votes for Sheila, says she has 'changed Delhi'

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi on Sunday hard sold the Delhi development model and the food security scheme as he spoke at his first election rally in the city, seeking people's support for chief minister Sheila Dikshit to be voted into office for a fourth term.

The Congress vice-president, who had launched virulent attacks on RSS and BJP at recent rallies in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, accusing them of spreading hatred, today made no mention of the main opposition as he focused on issues of development and the question of changing the political discourse.

Neither did he make any reference to recent comments by himself that some of the victims of the Muzaffarnagar riots had been approached by Pakistani intelligence agencies which wanted to lure them into terrorism.

Reaching out to migrants, who constitute approximately a third of the population of Delhi, Rahul said the Congress government had been keenly hand-holding those who moved to the city from outside.

Also, with regularization of unauthorized colonies being a major poll plank for Congress in the national capital, Rahul referred to the authorization of 45 colonies.

Lauding Dikshit for bringing about a turnaround in Delhi, he said that the Delhi Metro rail model was being adopted not only in different Indian states but also outside the country by Indonesia.

"Sheila Dikshit has changed Delhi. A shining metro rail today plies in Delhi. People from other states are inviting DMRC to start metro rail there. Indonesia has also invited Delhi Metro for a similar project in its capital, Jakarta.

"Earlier, there used to be a small airport. UPA government built a shining world class airport. Delhi government brought about revolutionary change in the transport system. Five new universities were set up and 50,000 seats were created (in them). Delhi was made an education hub," he said.

Meanwhile, AICC general secretary in-charge for Delhi, Shakeel Ahmed, attacked BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for extending state guest-like welcome to MNS chief Raj Thackeray who, "had made an attempt to chase away from Maharashtra people coming from the Hindi belt".

He also noted that BJP was in an alliance with Shiv Sena, which has a history of attacking settlers from other states in Maharashtra, more particularly those belonging to the Hindi heartland states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Seeking to define the ideal Congress worker, Rahul said that when he had asked his mother, party President Sonia Gandhi, she had replied that he or she was one who helped the poor and the underprivileged and fought for them with love and without anger.

Interacting with the crowd, Rahul spoke at length about rights-based legislation brought in by UPA including, like the RTI and the Food Security Acts.

"Opposition (parties) asked us from where will the money come for food security. We say, it is the right of the poor. We will find the money from anywhere... We want to empower you all.

"I want people from the last row to join Parliament and the Assemblies... that the most backward have their voice in Parliament.

"We want to open up the locked political system. The opposition does not want that. They like to see that people are kept out of it and the system continues to be run by bureaucrats. We want the system to be run by the aam aadmi... Whatever we do, we will do for you. The country will be strengthened only when those are strengthened in whom the real power of the nation lies," he said.

He said that although the NDA government had talked about infrastructure and roads, the UPA, during the time it had been in power, had built three times more roads than the BJP-led government.

"But, at the same time, we do not want to forget you, the real strength of the country-- the aam aadmi, the youth," Rahul said.

Although Rahul chose not to react against BJP's attack on him for mentioning the sacrifices of his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi, Ahmed attacked the saffron unit saying "only those who have legacy and history can speak about it".

"BJP is very pained why we take the name of our ancestors. Without taking their names, the full picture of India does not emerge. I want to ask you whether you know about the ancestors of any BJP leader. How can they take any such names, when they have neither any legacy nor history," he said.


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Congress wants to contest 29 LS seats in Maharashtra

MUMBAI: Citing its improved performance in Maharashtra, the state Congress on Sunday said it wanted to contest 29 Lok Sabha seats while it was ready to cede 19 seats to its alliance partner NCP.

"Our performance had improved in 2009 compared to 2004 (Lok Sabha elections). (On the basis of that) we deserve at least three seats more from the total seats we had contested in 2009. We have conveyed the 29:19 formula to the Centre," MPCC president Manikrao Thakre told reporters here.

The assertion on part of Congress is likely to increase the bickering between the two partners as the Sharad Pawar-led NCP had on Saturday demanded that it wanted to contest 22 seats — three seats more from its tally in 2009 — and was ready to allocate 26 seats to the Congress.

Senior NCP leader Bhaskarrao Jadhav on Saturday claimed that the 26:22 formula, proposed by his party, was conveyed to the Congress high-command by NCP's Central leadership.

Reacting to this, Thakre said, "NCP is making public statements on seat sharing out of frustration".

In 2009 elections, NCP had contested 22 seats and won eight while Congress fought from 26 seats and won 16.

"The seat-sharing issue would be decided in New Delhi. But we have presented our case to the high-command. Why the NCP is in so hurry on seat-sharing formula?," Thakre questioned.


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Harassed by seniors, UP govt official commits suicide

BADAUN: A village development officer committed suicide here after being allegedly harassed by his seniors, police said on Sunday.

The VDO Pradeep Kumar, who was posted in Samrer block of the district, had consumed poisonous substance on Friday night and he died at a hospital in Bareilly yesterday, they said.

The family members said a suicide note was recovered in which Pradeep had blamed his seniors for his extreme step.

Badaun ASP Maan Singh said that on the complaint of Pradeep's brother, a case has been lodged against the accused officials.


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Rajasthan policeman gave Rahul story about ISI: Modi

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 26 Oktober 2013 | 22.44

JAIPUR: BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Saturday claimed a Rajasthan police officer, who wanted to contest elections, had given Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi "information" on Pakistani spy agency ISI contacting Muslim youth victims of Muzaffarnagar riots.

"I tried to gather information who gave him (Gandhi) this ISI story ... I came to know that a Rajasthan-based police officer who wants to fight elections on a Congress ticket passed this information to him and he in turn used in his speech," Modi said while addressing a rally in Udaipur.

This was the second time the Gujarat chief minister targeted Gandhi on the issue after asking the Congress leader to either apologize publicly or name those allegedly contacted by the Pakistani intelligence at his rally in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi on Friday.

Gandhi had made the remarks at a rally in Indore on Thursday.

Modi said the "shehzada" (prince) is busy talking about family serials in his speeches, thinking these kind of things will help the party.

"Shahzada came to Rajasthan. Even his party men did not understand what he spoke, why he spoke, for whom he spoke," he said.

Turning his guns on the Ashok Gehlot government, he asked why people should vote for a government not trusted by its own party.

Citing Gandhi's speeches on communalism, Modi said the Congress is trying to teach his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lessons, but questioned if it had faith in Gehlot government, and if it did then why did Gandhi visit an area hit by communal riots in 2009 without informing the state government.

"If he trusted their government, why did he come to visit Gopalgarh without telling anyone, without telling the CM?" he asked

Gopalgarh in Bharatpur had seen communal riots in 2009 in which 10 people were killed.

"Do you have faith in a government in which the Human Rights Commission and Minorities Commission do not have trust? Minorities Commission said that this state government cannot protect minorities. So can you trust this state government?" he said.

"The governor of Rajasthan who is from Congress ... what did she say? If you cannot implement tribal welfare schemes, then let me do it. Would you like this type of government to stay in the state. They have ruined Rajasthan," he said.

Taking a dig at the Gehlot government on the number of inaugurations of projects recently, Modi said that no scissors were available in the last few months as the state government was busy in cutting ribbons.

Accusing the United Progressive Alliance government of misusing the CBI, he said that when it became clear that party leader and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje will win in Rajasthan, the agency became active against BJP's Gulab Chand Katara, the leader of opposition.

He said a senior official directly blamed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the coal scam, referring to former coal secretary PC Parakh, who reacted to his name figuring in a FIR by saying that if he was indicted, then the PM should be too.

"If this kind of allegations would have been levelled against me, Vasundhara ji or (Madhya Pradesh chief minister) Shivraj ji (Singh Chouhan), we would have run into problems.

Modi also accused the central government of fooling people by attributing the rise in onion prices to decline in production.

"In fact, onion production has declined by only five percent and prices on the other hand have gone up nearly by 1,500 per cent ... onion is grown mainly in three states — Maharashtra, Andhra and Karnataka, all Congress-ruled states," he claimed.

"Congress is not concerned with rising prices, all they are concerned is with corruption in 2G and coal," he said, urging the people to throw out Congress from Rajasthan.


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Mamata calls Gorkha Janmukti Morcha activists 'extortionists'

DARJEELING: A day after the warring Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) reconciled with the West Bengal government, assuring it would work jointly for development, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday dubbed them as "extortionists".

"There are some who always indulge in the politics of divide and rule. They have no other work but to demand a new state every now and then.

"They do it only to extort money," Banerjee said at a government programme at Matigara near Siliguri of Darjeeling district, without naming the GJM, which has been spearheading the agitation for a Gorkhaland state in the northern Bengal hills.

Blaming the erstwhile Left Front government for neglecting the development of Darjeeling hills, she enumerated a host of developmental projects initiated by her government for turning the region into a "tourism hub".

Observing that Darjeeling had more potential than Switzerland as a tourist destination, she said her government was committed towards developing infrastructure in the region with major emphasis on "tea-tourism".

The GJM has been on a warpath with the Banerjee regime.

However, the Gorkha outfit following a meeting with Banerjee on Friday extended an olive branch assuring it would cooperate with the government in developing the region.


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Crime against children rises by 66% in Assam in 2012

GUWAHATI: Crime against children has gone up by a whopping 66 per cent with 392 incidents reported in Assam last year and rape cases involving minors rising by nearly four-times, State Commission for Protection of Child Rights said on Saturday.

Citing data from National Crime Records Bureau, the Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR) said the state had witnessed a total of 236 cases in 2011.

"Violence against children is a very serious issue in our state and it affects the growth of a child. In Assam, it has been rising," ASCPCR chairperson Runumi Gogoi said at a press conference here.

According to data, incidents of minor rapes are increasing at an alarming rate and it went up by four-times to 156 cases in 2012 from 40 cases in the previous year.

Kidnapping and abduction of children have also been on a rise with the state registering 68 cases last year against 29 such incidents in the previous year, a jump of over two-times.

Likewise, child murders have almost doubled to 15 cases from 8 in the year-ago period, ASCPCR said.

However, incidents of procuration of minor girls declined by 14 per cent to 122 cases in 2012 from 142 cases last year.

Other crimes against children saw an increase of 82 per cent to 31 incidents from 17 cases in 2011, ASCPCR added.

Talking about child marriage, Gogoi said "This social menace is still going on. It is mainly prevalent among tribal people, tea community, missing villages and many interior localities. We have been trying to educate people against it."

To discuss various issues related to violence against children, ASCPCR along with UNICEF will organize a two-day consultation in the city on October 29-30.


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Hindu families should have at least three kids: RSS

KOCHI: The RSS has suggested that the Hindus should revisit their practice of "blindly accepting" family planning methods and start embracing big family norms.

This would help check the reported demographic shift that is happening in favour of minorities in certain parts of the country, RSS joint secretary Dattatreya Hosbale told reporters here on Saturday on the sidelines of the RSS national executive meeting here.

He said the 2011 census figures had indicated that the growth rate of children in the 0-6 age group was 15% among Hindus and 18% among Muslims. He suggested that each family should have at least three children.

Hosbale claimed that former RSS leader late K S Sudarshan had also suggested that Hindu families should have more children. "We don't have adequate number of youths to join our armed forces. The one-child family prefers their children to join sectors like IT."

Interestingly, the Church in Kerala has also launched programmes to encourage the believers to adopt big family norms.

RSS has declined to parrot the criticisms levelled by BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi against Rahul Gandhi on the latter's remarks on Pakistan's links with Muslim youth in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar. "Rahul may have achieved that wisdom, but he must follow up his words with firm action against such terror elements," Hosbale said.

RSS has also sought to distance from Modi's remarks that India needed more toilets that temples. "We need both temple and toilets, and people do not feel there is any sense in fixing priority for one over the other" Hosbale said.


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Rain, floods kill 48 people in Andhra, Odisha and Bengal

HYDERABAD/BHUBANESWAR/KOLKATA: Incessant rain has claimed as many as 29 lives in Andhra Pradesh during the past four days while more than 72,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas.

The rain and flood-battered southern state is unlikely to get respite anytime soon as the Met department has forecast heavy downpour in the next 48 hours.

According to an official note from the commissioner, disaster management, more than 72,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas in nine districts. Also, crops spread over 5.64 lakh hectares and 6,597 houses had been damaged.

The government has set up 178 relief camps in nine districts, including 36 in Srikakulam.

Hundreds of villages across Andhra Pradesh remained submerged, while road and rail routes were affected as the rain fury continued on Friday.

Rain-related incidents like drowning and wall collapse have claimed 29 lives so far. Prakasam district accounted for the maximum deaths at six, followed by Guntur (5), Mahabubnagar (4), Hyderabad, Kurnool (3 each), Vizianagaram, East Godavari, Nalgonda and Warangal (2 each), the statement said.

Besides, two people have been reported missing in Visakhapatnam district.

River Krishna was in spate following which 3.15 lakh cusecs of water is being discharged into Bay of Bengal from Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada. Vast stretches of Vijayawada-Hyderabad Highway were submerged in floodwaters, leading to traffic diversion.

Rail track at Bommayipalli on the Secunderabad-Guntur section was damaged and repairs were being carried out. All important trains on this route are being diverted via Warangal and Vijayawada, official sources said.

The East Coast Railway has cancelled Bhubaneswar-Bengaluru Prasanthi Express and Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam Express trains due to heavy rains. The Puri-Tirupati Express and Coromandel Express also stands cancelled, they said.

A dozen teams of National Disaster Response Force are carrying out relief operations in Srikakulam, Guntur, West Godavari, Nalgonda, Prakasam and Mahbubnagar, they added.

Vehicular traffic has been thrown out of gear as 900 km road stretch has been marooned. As many as 117 minor irrigation tanks were damaged in the rain-ravaged districts. Tens of village tanks have suffered breaches inundating settlements and crops.

Odisha flood situation grim, 16 dead

In Odisha, at least 16 people have died in flood-related incidents where the situation remained grim even as major rivers were receding on Saturday.

Two deaths each were reported from Bhadrak, Jajpur and Nayagarh districts while in worst-hit Ganjam district it remained unchanged at six and four in Jagatsinghpur, special relief commissioner PK Mohapatra told reporters here after the situation was reviewed by chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

"All the deaths were due to wall collapse and drowning," Mohapatra said. "Major rivers like Rusikulya, Godahada and Vansadhara were flowing below the danger mark," he added.

The chief minister said that the incessant rains and floods have caused severe damage to public and private property and standing crop.

He announced three-day relief for the affected people as per provisions under the relief code. It would be distributed in Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Balasore, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj districts, SRC office sources said.

"Two of the three helicopters used for rescue operations in Ganjam district would return to base shortly with the remaining one to be retained for relief operations," the relief commissioner said. Relief teams could now approach inundated areas in boats, he added.

Over 5.32 lakh people in 2,276 villages were affected by the floods, while about 1.47 lakh people were evacuated. Of the 129 villages inundated in Ganjam district by flash flood on Friday, water receded in its 69 villages.

An IMD bulletin said that heavy to very heavy rainfall would occur over the next 48 hours at one or two places over Koraput, Malkangiri, Nawarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati and Kalahandi districts and heavy rainfall at one or two places over north Odisha.

Railway sources said that the Konark Express from Bhubaneswar to Mumbai would resume from the day as water has receded from the tracks.

Rain leave 3 dead in south Bengal

Three people were killed in heavy rains in south Bengal on Saturday with normal life thrown out of gear in the metropolis and adjacent districts and the weatherman predicting it would continue till midday tomorrow.

The rains left two people Sanjoy Mondal and his son Ashis, dead after a balcony of an old house collapsed on Cotton Street here, police sources said. A woman, Dulai Mohanta, died in a wall collapse at Bhurigram in Burdwan, district police said. Kolkata received the season's highest of 140 mm rainfall, Met officials said.

Widespread rain was reported from Durgapur in Burdwan district, which recorded 112-114mm rain. Purulia district reported 65mm rain which affected Bagmundi, Jhalda and Jaypore blocs.

At least 1,334 huts collapsed in Burdwan district, disaster management sources said. Bankura district magistrate Bijoy Bharati said the rains affected Barjora, Sonamukhi, Patrasayar, and Mejia blocks while the Kangasabati river crossed the danger level.

The DVC said that 30,000 cusec of water needed for hydel power generation was to be released, but it was reduced to 25,000 to 26,000 cusec after the chief secretary requested that the release be checked.

Railway sources said the Howrah-Chennai Mail scheduled to leave Howrah at 11.45pm was cancelled. The Howrah-Hatia Express scheduled to leave Howrah at 10.15pm would leave tomorrow at 8am.

A number of other trains including the Howrah-Secundrabad Falaknuma Express, Yesvantpur Duronto Express, the Santragachi-Kochuveli Weekly Puja Special and Santragachi-Chennai AC Superfast Weekly Puja Special were cancelled.

The Santragachi-Tirupati Express scheduled to leave Santragachi at 4.05pm tomorrow was also cancelled. All south bound trains were being diverted via Jharsuguda-Bilaspur-Nagpur route or via Jharsuguda-Sambalpur-Titlagarh route.

Emergency controls have been opened in all the four divisions — Kharagpur, Adra, Chakradharpur and Ranchi.


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Modi is a creation of VHP, Singhal says

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 25 Oktober 2013 | 22.44

JAIPUR: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Ashok Singhal on Friday claimed that BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is a "creation of VHP" and is best suited to unite people of all castes, creeds and religions.

"All political parties (barring BJP) are not only openly committing loot, corruption, and generating black money but also dividing the society in the garb of religion, language," Singhal told a press conference here.

"Modi, who is a creation of VHP, is himself a party and we all can take his shelter. He has power and capability to unite people of all communities, castes and religions," he told reporters.

The country cannot become a 'mahashakti' (super power), unless people from all walks of life unite, and this can only happen under the leadership of Modi, who can unit people from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, he said.

"Secularism is a theory popularized by political parties, which has divided the nation," the VHP patron said.

Referring to the recently held "sant meeting" in Delhi, Singhal said the emphasis was to make India a spiritual country and contain religion conversion.

The VHP leader also reaffirmed his outfit's commitment for building a Ram temple at Ayodhya.

"Bhagwan Ram is sitting under a tent in Ayodhya," Singhal said, adding that Ram temple will be built by passing an act in Parliament, and "Modi will do it when time comes".

When asked about the UP government's crackdown on VHP's '84-Kosi' yatra, Singhal said, "Mulayam is an enemy of Hindus, but whatever Hindus want will be done there in Ayodhya."


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SC expresses reservation on passing order against hate speeches

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday expressed reservation in framing of guidelines for restricting hate speeches by politicians and leaders of social and religious organisations.

"How can we stop people from making derogatory speeches? How can it be enforced? If it is an offence then file a complaint under the Representation of People's Act against the politicians," a bench headed by Justice B S Chauhan said.

The counsel appearing for petitioner NGO Pravasi Bhalai Sanghatan pleaded that the apex court should pass order in this regard as no action is taken on the complaint and referred that it had filed a plea in Maharashtra but nothing was done on it.

The bench then asked the petitioner to file a copy of the complaint before it and adjourned the case for three weeks.

The apex court had earlier issued notices to the governments of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh which witnessed incidents of alleged speeches. It had also sought response from the Election Commission on the issue.

The EC in its reply said that it has no power to de-register a party on the ground of complaints of violation of the provisions of the Constitution.

"Law in its present form does not empower the Commission to withdraw recognition of a recognised political party or to de-register a party on the ground that one of its leaders indulged in hate speech, particularly when the hate speech is not made during the period and in place where Model Code of Conduct is in force," it said in its response.

The PIL said there was a need for guidelines as hate speeches destroy the fabric of democracy and violate the provisions of the Constitution.

The PIL named Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh as respondents as the two states witnessed incidents of alleged hate speeches.

It referred to the alleged hate speeches made by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray and claimed that no FIR was registered about them in the state.

The PIL had said that in Andhra Pradesh, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Akbaruddin Owaisi had allegedly made hate speeches and was arrested for them. But after being released on bail, he had again made similar speeches in Nanded, Maharashtra, it alleged.


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Afghan onions fail to bring down price; Delhi team in Maharashtra to buy onions

CHANDIGARH/PUNE: Arrivals of onion from Afghanistan have failed to bring down retail prices of onion in Punjab as it continued to remain high, with traders citing poor quality coupled with low arrivals.

In the wake of skyrocketing prices of onion in India, Punjab traders have been importing onion from Afghanistan via Attari-Wagah land route.

Daily 3-5 trucks laden with onion are crossing over to India, traders said. "There is not much onion crop available in Afghanistan. Therefore the arrivals into India are as low as 60-80 tonne per day," Amritsar-based vegetable trader Anil Mehra told on Friday.

Traders further pointed out that the quality of imported onion was inferior and as a result of which it did not find acceptability among consumers.

"The onion imported from Afghanistan is of very poor quality. People did not like it. However, it is being purchased by hotel and restaurant owners," he added.

Traders further said though wholesale price of onion went down by Rs 5-7 per kg, yet there was no impact on retail price which are hovering around Rs 70-80 per kg.

Major part of imported onion from Afghanistan is being consumed in Punjab itself, traders said. Earlier, Amritsar based traders had tried to import onion from neighbouring country Pakistan.

They had even asked their counterparts in Pakistan to seek permission for onion export to India through Attari-Wagah land route in a bid to enhance bulb's supply but Pakistan refused to supply onion to India, traders said.

India imported onions from Pakistan in the month of January in 2011 when the country faced massive shortage of supply.

Delhi govt team in Maharashtra to buy onions

Meanwhile, Delhi government team has reached Maharashtra to purchase onions from the Nashik market in a bid to lower prices of the kitchen staple which has surged to as much as Rs 90-100 in the national capital region.

"I had a telephonic talk with (Delhi chief minister) Sheila Dikshit about availability to onions in Maharashtra following which a team of Delhi government officials arrived in the state yesterday (Thursday)," Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan told reporters here on Friday.

He added that "they will be purchasing onions from Nashik (Lasalgaon market) as per their requirements."

Lasalgaon in Nashik, about 200km from here, is the country's largest onion market.

"There is no hoarding of onions by traders in Maharashtra. We had a reduced production of the commodity because of unseasonal rains but the situation will improve by November 1 when the new crop starts arriving in the market."

Chavan said because of the facilities provided by the government, the farmers were in a position to ensure a better shelf life for the perishable crop which they earlier used to dispose in a panic sale, flooding the markets.

The chief minister said his Government was ready to help out the Delhi administration and make them available necessary quantity of onions for purchases.

"I have suggested to Dikshit to directly involve the government machinery to make the purchases. After accounting for the transport cost, the Delhi administration may be able to sell onions to people at a price of Rs 50/55 per kg (rate is hovering around Rs 100 a kg in Delhi retail market)."

"If a truck carrying onions travels non-stop from here to Delhi, it will take only 24 hours to land the consignment in the national capital," said Chavan, who spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a function.


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Frustated? Let's debate over it

NEW DELHI You must have cried aloud, listened to high-pitched music, worked out or cursed to vent your frustration over one or the other issue, but debating a painful emotion is certainly a new concept. Surprisingly, debating one's frustration is a growing trend today among the youth, and providing a platform to all such infuriated people is an interesting page on Facebook- The Frustrated Indian.

Started by a Delhi techie, who was among those lathicharged during the protest at India Gate seeking justice in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case last year, 'The Frustrated Indian' is among the fastest growing pages on Facebook in terms of likes. Its popularity beats some of the most watched, read and followed news websites.

"I was a part of the Nirbhaya protest and had personally experienced the police brutality. I was enraged by the incident like never before but was not able to express my anger. I knew social media had a prominent role in raising nation's conscience during Anna's movement and Nirbhaya protest. So, I decided to use it as a tool to vent my anger and give others a platform for the same by sharing their views and debating their problems," said Atul Kumar Mishra, the founder of page.

"Ain't we all frustrated? Just take a ride in a sleeper class compartment of Indian Railways and observe the random discussions. You will know the mood of the nation. The basic idea was to educate and inform people about the negativity around, channelize their frustration and come out with a logical solution to the problems through suggestions, advice and experiences of the followers," said Mishra.

The response to the page has been phenomenal. The number of likes on the page, from 10,000 in April this year, has gone upto 80,000 in October.

"Without sounding boastful I would like to mention that the page has been extremely well received. Professionals from different fields have subscribed to our post notifications. Their experience is of goods help to the subscribers," he said.

"The best thing about TFI (The Frustrated Indian) is its members. Today, TFI is a thriving community of 82,000 members. However, for us, it has always been about quality, rather than quantity. TFI members are the face of young India. They are intelligent, well-informed, opinionated and full of restlessness. They want to play a greater role in the nation's destiny," said Shefali Vaidya, admin of the page and a Goa based journalist.

"The Frustrated Indian provides the youth of the country a platform for coming together and exchanging perspectives, as a first step to Positive action, but also for inculcating that spirit of Reason before Prejudice, Action before Preaching, and Logic before Belief, that now resonates amongst the massive following that this page has generate," said Rahul Sharma, a Gurgaon based Technical Research scholar.


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Professionals form a network to support Narendra Modi in Karnataka

BANGALORE: Friends of BJP, NaMo Brigade, NaMo Sena, Modi Fans ... self-financing motivated volunteers, all educated tech-savvy urban professionals, are grouping together in Karnataka to support BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

The participants are not aspirants of any position in the party, but are volunteers whose objective is to support the saffron party gain power.

The Friends of BJP, supported by the party and its leadership, held their meeting last Sunday to chalk-out strategies for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. During the meeting, they pledged to dedicate their weekends till the next general elections towards 'Mission 272+' to work for getting majority for the BJP.

"I have my own start-up company. Two months prior to the election, I will engage myself 24x7 for Modi,'' said P S Raghu.

The volunteer network has chalked out three-pronged strategy to reach out to the masses, especially in rural areas, where the BJP's presence is limited. Door-to-door campaigning, social media and enrolling and influencing new voters are the programmes chalked out. As the volunteers are working professionals, the campaigning is done during weekends. Leaflets describing the ideology of the BJP, governance model of Modi and the 100-plus alleged scams during the UPA regime are distributed.

"The network is to ensure the involvement of the rising middle class in the political process. We actively use technology to connect and grow. We create groups and they work in designated areas. In Karnataka, the network is growing rapidly," said Amit Malviya, national co-convener of Friends of BJP.

Won't they have to answer uncomfortable questions like the Gujarat riots and the polarizing personality of Modi? "Of course, we answer all questions raised by the citizens. Post-2002, not a single incident of communal violence has happened in Gujarat. Can there be a better example for his leadership qualities? During our campaigning, we try to quell the misconceptions surround Modi,'' said Channamallikarjun Patil, state convener of BJP's Communication Cell.


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More shelling, firing by Pak troops; PM says he is disappointed with Sharif

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 24 Oktober 2013 | 22.44

JAMMU/ON BOARD PM'S SPECIAL AIRCRAFT: Pakistani troops fired mortar bombs, rockets and automatic weapons on border posts and civilian areas along the international border in Jammu and Samba districts, resulting in heavy exchanges till the wee hours of Thursday.

"There was shelling of mortar bombs, rockets and firing by automatic weapons on border outposts (BoPs) in Nikki Tawi areas of Jammu district and Ramgarh belts of Samba district since last night," BSF officials said on Thursday.

In the biggest-ever provocation close on heels of visit of Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde to India-Pakistan border, Pakistani troops on Tuesday resorted to night-long heavy shelling and firing at over 50 border outposts along IB in which one BSF head constable was killed and seven other security personnel injured.

In the latest round, they fired 82mm mortar shells and also rockets, aparts from light machine guns (LGMs) in civilian areas as well.

BSF troops guarding the borderline retaliated, resulting in heavy exchanges, which continued 0230 hours on Thursday, officials said.

There was no loss of life or injury to anyone in the shelling and firing, they said.

Due to shelling, panic-stricken villagers have fled their homes to safety.

PM disappointed with Sharif

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said he was disappointed with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and asked him "even at this late hour" to recognize that what was happening on the LoC and international border is not good for the two nations.

"Let me say I am disappointed because in the New York meeting (between them last month) there was a general agreement on both the sides that peace and tranquillity should be maintained on the border, LoC as well as IB and it has not happened. It has come to me as a big disappointment," Singh told reporters accompanying him way back from his two-nation tour to Russia and China.

"We had agreed at that time that if the ceasefire of 2003 has held ground for 10 years, then it could be made to hold later on also. That it has not happened is something which is really a disappointment," he said when asked whether he was disappointed with Sharif.

He said even at this late hour he sincerely hoped that Sharif would recognise that this development "is not good for either of the two countries".

The Prime Minister's concerns comes against the backdrop of heavy firing by Pakistani troops not only along the LoC but also along the IB and the loss of lives of two BSF personnel in the last one week and continuing ceasefire violations in the past three weeks even after the New York meeting.

Over the New York meeting on the margins of the UN general assembly, Singh had come under attack from BJP for engaging in "futile talks" with Pakistan.


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Modi's campaign will wane, Congress will surprise again with win: PM

ON BOARD PM'S SPECIAL AIRCRAFT: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the Narendra Modi-led BJP campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections "will peak early" and the country will be "once again surprised" by the results that will bring Congress back to power.

He also rejected a view that the Congress campaign has not been active and that the Gujarat chief minister was rising in popularity because of a number of scams during the tenure of UPA-II.

"Well, I think the Congress party is quite active. I don't share the view that Congress party is not quite active enough. The BJP may have started early but it will also peak early. Slow and steady, I think, is a thing which sometimes works in public life as well. I am confident that the Congress party will come out victorious in the 2014 elections," Singh said.

When asked whether the various scams in UPA, price rise and resignation of two ministers have affected his credibility and Modi's popularity was rising, the Prime minister shot back, "first of all, I would say that the scams that you are referring to took place not in UPA I but UPA II.

"After that we had a general election. The Congress party won in that election hands down and I am sure when the results of 2014 elections get out, the country will once again be surprised," Singh said.


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I am not above law, ready to face CBI in coal scam probe, Manmohan Singh says

ON BOARD PM'S SPECIAL AIRCRAFT: Holding that he was not above the law, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday offered to face the CBI or "for that matter anybody" in the coal scam probe as he has nothing to hide.

Singh, who has been under opposition attack after the filing of an FIR by the CBI against industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and former coal secretary PC Parakh in a coal block allocation case, broke his personal silence for the first time since the controversy broke out 10 days ago.

"I am not above the law of the land. If there is anything the CBI or, for that matter anybody, wants to ask me, I have nothing to hide," he told reporters on board his special plane on the way back from China after a two-nation visit.

He was asked about the clarification issued by the PMO last week that the decision to allocate a coal block to Birla-headed Hindalco in Odisha was appropriate and there was nothing wrong. The opposition attacked Singh, saying he was in charge of the coal ministry at that time and he should subject himself to questioning by CBI.

Noted industrialists and trade bodies had attacked the CBI action, saying caution should be exercised while dealing with reputed individuals, industrialists and honest bureaucrats.

Initially, Singh appeared to be reticent in answering a question on whether CBI should be given so much autonomy that an inspector of the agency would be allowed to question the prime minister.

"Well, let me say, this matter is before the courts and I would not like to comment on it," he replied.

He was asked for his comments about the Supreme Court monitoring the probe in various scams affecting the decision-making process and adding to the government's image of being struck by "policy paralysis".

"I would not like to go into what is happening in the Supreme Court. It is the highest court of the country and I would not like to comment about the court as to what it does or does not," he responded.

To a question whether CBI cases and scams were casting a shadow on his legacy as Prime Miniser, Singh shot back, "That is for history to judge. I am doing my duty and will continue to do my duty. What impact my 10 years of prime ministership will have, it is for historians to judge."


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Rahul third generation of Gandhis to hate Sikhs: SAD

CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal on Thursday launched a collective attack on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, saying he was the third generation of his family to harbour hatred for the Sikh community.

The Akali Dal leaders took a strong exception to Rahul's remarks during his Rajasthan rally on Thursday in which he said his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi were killed by communal forces.

"By saying that it took him 10-15 years to calm down his anger against the two bodyguards who killed Indira Gandhi, he has only proved that he is the third generation to hate the Sikh community. First she (Indira) expressed hatred by sending Indian Army to Golden Temple, then his father and now him," said Harsimrat Kaur, the SAD MP from Bathinda

Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal's wife said that Rahul's lengthy description of her grandmother's assassination was "theatrics as the Congress was yet to "bring the perpetrators of 1984 riots to justice".

"30 years and just six months before 2014 polls, he suddenly remembers his grandmother's death. But what about those families who lost over 5,000 members in various parts of India and are yet to receive justice against crimes committed by Tytler and Sajjan Kumar?" she said.

Rahul had said that he was very angry because of his grandmother's murder.

"It takes years to get rid of anger, but it takes one minute to incite it. The incident filled me with a rage," Rahul had said in Churu in Rajasthan.

Harsimrat also said Rahul's remarks would identify that none other than the Congress party is communal in nature.

The Akali Dal's Delhi unit sidestepped Rahul's remark about his own safety, saying anyone could kill him like his grandmother and father.

"Nobody is safer than Rahul Gandhi in this country. The cavalcade that follows him everywhere" Akali Dal's Delhi president Manjit Singh GK told TOI.

He also warned the Congress to not, "reopen the wounds caused due to Operation Bluestar and anti-Sikh carnage."


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Onion woes: Sheila Dikshit says situation is very serious

NEW DELHI: Mindful of possible impact of rocketing onion prices on assembly polls which are just six weeks away, a worried chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Thursday asked the Centre to take immediate measure to rein in the rates and sought Election Commission's permission for sale of the bulb at a reasonable price.

Dikshit, eyeing an unprecedented fourth victory in the December 4 polls, met agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and food minister K V Thomas and requested them to improve supply of the kitchen staple to Delhi.

"The situation is very serious. We are trying to stabilize the prices," she said.

The chief minister specifically requested Pawar to direct national agricultural cooperative marketing federation of India (NAFED) to make available adequate quantity of onions for Delhi on no-profit no-loss basis so that its price, which is hovering around Rs 100 a kg in retail market, comes down.

Co-operative major NAFED on Wednesday floated tender for import of the bulb from Pakistan, Iran, China and Egypt.

In 1998, Congress had come to power in Delhi defeating the incumbent BJP government riding on high onion prices.

"We are also exploring the possibility of procuring onions at wholesale rate from major onion producing states preferably from the cities of Nasik and Pune to improve supply," the chief minister said.

Dikshit said government has approached the Election Commission requesting it to allow sale of onion at reasonable price across the city. The model code of conduct restricts the government from going ahead with the initiative.

"The situation is serious. That is why we have requested the Election Commission to allow us to sell onion at reasonable prices so that people can be insulated," she said, adding 8,000 quintals of onions have arrived in the city which could help ease prices.

"So far, prolonged rains have affected supplies. We hope in next 2-3 days prices will come down. Even though the crop is good, but a lot of it got damaged due to prolonged and heavy rains. We are trying our best to see prices come down. I request traders to stop black marketing and hoarding," she said.

She said that a team of officials has been sent to Maharashtra to negotiate price and get onions.

"We will soon amend APMC (agriculture produce marketing committee) Act. Delhi is not a producing state but a consuming and trading state. Control of prices has to be there in producing states," she added

Officials said traders have started selling onions through 55 mobile vans across the city at reasonable price.


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Angry Shinde tells troops to give fitting reply to Pakistan

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 23 Oktober 2013 | 22.44

NEW DELHI: Agitated over the killing of a BSF jawan in firing by Pakistani troops along the international border in Jammu on Tuesday night, Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde upped the ante, saying that all such unprovoked acts would be met with a "befitting" reply from the Indian side.

"We will give a befitting reply to Pakistan," Shinde told reporters here, reacting to the large-scale firing since Tuesday on BSF positions along the international border in Jammu. He added that additional BSF troops were being deployed at vantage points in the wake of the recurrent ceasefire violations.

Senior officials in the BSF told TOI that each ceasefire violation by the Pakistani troops was being countered with retaliatory fire, and that the force was fully geared to respond to every act of aggression from across the border. They feel that the large scale firing on Tuesday night, covering nearly 50 BSF outposts, was pre-meditated and part of a Pakistani ploy to step up border tensions.

Pakistan has reportedly shown little interest in sorting out issues through flag meetings. Their commanders failed to turn up for the flag meeting on October 18, when one of their jawans was killed in retaliatory fire, as well as on Wednesday.

Minister of state for home RPN Singh said acts of aggression on Indian soil would not be tolerated and "our troops will reply in the same coin".

Pakistan's aggressive act, which cost a BSF jawan his life in RS Pora, coincided with Shinde's trip to Jammu on Tuesday to review the situation at forward positions on the international border/Line of Control and discuss steps with arms of the Unified Command to beef up Indian positions and effectively counter aggression from across Pakistan.

Altogether, more than 130 ceasefire violations have been reported so far this year, the highest in the past eight years.

Pakistani Rangers had on Monday opened fire at 10 border posts and heavily shelled over 50 border outposts the following night, killing a head constable of BSF.

Asked about the rise infiltration attempts – they totaled 254 until September 30 this year – Shinde said, "There are rivers and rivulets which are tough to fence. But we have discussed possible solutions".

Shinde had on Tuesday conducted an aerial tour of the fenced areas along IB, besides surveying infiltration routes and damaged fencing and riverine border belts with Pakistan lying between Akhnoor in Jammu district and Pahadpur (in Kathua district). He even presided over a meeting with agencies that make up the Unified Command, asking the J&K Police, BSF and Army to get their acts together and work in complete synergy while countering the terrorists.


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Court admits BJP petition against Rahul Gandhi

BHOPAL: A day before AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi comes to Madhya Pradesh for the second phase of his election campaigning, a court in Bhopal on Wednesday admitted a complaint lodged by the BJP against the Congress leader's alleged use of the word 'rape' before a gathering of tribals on October 17.

The court of first class judicial magistrate (atrocity) Bhopal Vishal Sharma, on Wednesday admitted a complaint petition lodged by BJP national vice-president Prabhat Jha against Rahul Gandhi under provisions of section 200 CrPC and section 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989. The sections deal with punishment for offences of atrocities against "whoever, not being a member of a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of the scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe in any place within public view."

First hearing of the case has been scheduled for November 19 when Prabhat Jha will have to be present before the court to record his statement in the case. After examination of the recorded statement, the court will decide whether or not to issue a notice to Rahul Gandhi for intentional humiliation of tribals while addressing an election campaign meeting in Shahdol district on October 17.

Rahul Gandhi was addressing his first election campaign meeting in tribal-dominated Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh last Thursday. Speaking on the Shivraj Singh Chouhan BJP government, he said: "Do you think that the incumbent government for ten years has respected tribals? What do you feel? What do your women think, has this government respected you? They indulged in corruption," Rahul said. Someone from the crowds interrupted and shouted back, "Balatkar kiya (indulged in rape)". Rahul Gandhi, thereafter, corrected himself and repeated: "Balatkar, sorry balatkar."

Speaking to TOI, complainant Prabhat Jha's lawyer Om Shrivastava argued that under the provisions of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, one cannot even utter the word rape before tribals because it amounts to their humiliation. And Rahul Gandhi first asked the entire gathering of tribals, including the women if they had been respected. And thereafter, said they had been raped.

Prabhat Jha's petition argued: "That, while addressing the gathering the accused with a motive to alienate the public from the state government uttered words which were not only humiliating but also obscene… That, the word 'balatkar' is taken for as a very derogatory and demeaning term. The words itself brings with it stigma, humiliation and most importantly inferiority complex. The accused uttered the wprd again and again in his speech only with the intention to humiliate the tribal population present in the said meeting."

The petition further reasoned: "That, the Constitution of India mandates life of dignity of all the people of India irrespective of the class, creed or religion. The accused has not only insulted the tribals present in the meeting but all the tribals living in Madhya Pradesh, which has a sizeable tribal population." Complainant Jha prayed before the court "to punish the accused in accordance to the law".


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Girl gang-raped, set ablaze in UP

KANPUR: A 14-year-old girl, who was allegedly gang-raped and then set ablaze in Orai (Jalaun) district by a local goon and his two aides, on Tuesday, died in the hospital during the wee hours of Wednesday.

The victim had suffered 80 per cent burn injuries. The goon and his two accomplices have not been arrested yet.

The victim, a class 8 student, was a resident of Nipaniya village under the limits of Sirsa Kalar police station of the district. According to the complaint lodged by her father, on the evening of October 22, she along with her elder sister had gone to use the toilet situated at the farm when a local hoodlum Ram Bahadur along with his two accomplices arrived on the scene.

The trio forcibly dragged her to a nearby secluded spot and gang-raped her.

Later, when the girl and her sister threatened the goons that they will report the matter to the police, the trio set her on fire.

Thereafter, the hoodlums escaped before issuing serious threats to her elder sister, who rushed back to the village and apprised her family and other neighbours about the shocking incident.

They rushed to the spot to help her but by that time she had already suffered 80 per cent burns. The girl's father however alleged that the cops at the Niyamatpur police out-post initially refused to lodge a complaint against the rapists.

She was admitted to the district hospital, where she succumbed to burns during the early hours of Wednesday. Additional superintendent of police, Lallan Singh meanwhile said that the raids are underway to nab the accused.


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Abu Jundal seeks bail in Aurangabad arms haul case

MUMBAI: Alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba operative and key plotter of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, today filed a bail application in the special MCOCA court here in 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case.

The application says he should be released on the ground of 'parity' as the Bombay High on Monday granted bail to Javed Ahmed Majid, a co-accused.

"The plea will be heard on Monday," said advocate Ejaz Naqvi, Jundal's lawyer.

The application also says that there are no witnesses who corroborate police's case against him, the only evidence being confessional statement of another accused, which was later retracted.

On May 8, 2006, a team of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chased a Tata Sumo and an Indica on Chandwad-Manmad highway near Aurangabad, arrested three persons, and seized 30 kg RDX, 10 AK-47 assault rifles and 3,200 bullets.

Jundal, who was allegedly driving the Indica, managed to escape. In the same month he fled to Bangladesh, and travelled further to Pakistan.


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South Korea appoints SRK as goodwill ambassador

NEW DELHI: Shah Rukh Khan is the new poster boy for South Korea — not its conglomerates, but the nation. The Bollywood superstar has just been appointed goodwill ambassador for South Korea.

So you know South Korea only as the land of Samsung and Hyundai? The King Khan could introduce you to Kukkiwon, the world famous taekwondo academy, Psy of Gangnam Style fame and K-pop, the mouthwatering Korean barbeque. To South Koreans, the actor could teach their first cricket team a thing or two about the business of the game — maybe organize the first match between Kolkata Knight Riders and the Koreans. And, perhaps, open Bollywood to a new part of the world.

Khan as a public diplomat and an ambassador of India's soft power is not hard to imagine. But only if the man can tear himself away from tinsel town to walk the talk. The South Korean government had to pursue Khan for over two months before he agreed to officially accept the offer. They ideally want him to visit South Korea before the maiden visit of their president Park Geun-hye.

The president will make her visit to India in January, where New Delhi and Seoul are expected to upgrade their relations for closer ties at the political and strategic levels. India and South Korea have signed a civil nuclear agreement, but operationalizing that is still a while away. India too has to clear the path for the biggest FDI into this country: Posco that is held up by environmental hurdles in Odisha.

But there is a greater demand, for a greater understanding between people of both countries. But Khan's superstar status means he has a tiny window of opportunity to play diplomat in real life.

In recent times, India and Malaysia, working at revamping relations, also had a Shah Rukh Khan moment. The Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, on his first visit to India, requested for the actor's presence at the formal dinner with the prime minister. Unfortunately, even Manmohan Singh's office could not get Khan to be present at the dinner, which was the beginning of a new relationship between India and Malaysia.

Interestingly, in December 2008, he received the title of 'Datuk' — often equated with the British knighthood — from the Governor of Malaysia's southern Malacca state, Mohamad Khalil Yaacob.

Clearly, Korea will need a great deal of patience with Khan. In these gloomy days, India needs all the ambassadors it can get.


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Uttarakhand police launch manhunt to nab Ramdev's brother

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 22 Oktober 2013 | 22.44

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand police has launched a massive hunt to track yoga guru Ramdev's younger brother, Rambharat who went into hiding a couple of hours after he was booked along with four others on the charges of abducting a youth.

A 12-member police team led by circle officer (Kankhal) CMS Negi is looking for Rambharat (40). He is accused of abducting Nitin Tyagi (26), holding him captive and torturing him for four days in a room at Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust, Phase 2, in Haridwar.

IG (law and order) R S Meena said cases were registered late on Monday against Rambharat and four security guards working at the Trust under sections 365, 342 and 323 of IPC for kidnapping at Kankhal police station on a complaint lodged by the victim's grandfather Som Dutt Tyagi.

Meena said in his complaint Tyagi said that Rambharat and four others allegedly picked up the victim outside the Trust on Friday, held him hostage in a room and tortured him for four days. A senior employee close to Rambharat said that Nitin Tyagi of Rai village in western UP's Muzaffarnagar district, worked as a peon at the Trust two years ago and had suddenly disappeared after committing a theft. "On suddenly spotting NitinTyagi outside the Trust on the morning of October 18, Rambharat lost his cool and took him in a room to inquire him about the theft case," he said.

IG Meena said one of the security guards Ramesh Chand, wanted in connection with the case, was arrested early on Tuesday in a raid conducted by a police team. Efforts were on to arrest Rambharat and others, he added.

Uttarakhand police beefed up security at the Trust on Tuesday after several BJP workers led by BJP MLA Haridwar Madan Kaushik held a demonstration to protest against the registration of what they described as false cases against Ramdev's brother and others.

"The way Ramdev's brother and others were booked in the case, it is clear that it was done at the behest of the Congress central leadership to intimidate and harass yoga guru Ramdev and others close to him," said the BJP MLA.


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PM in Beijing; India, China to sign landmark pact on border cooperation

BEIJING: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day visit during which India and China are expected to ink several key pacts, including an agreement on a mechanism to prevent incursions by Chinese troops along the line of actual control.

Singh, who arrived here from Russia tonight, will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday on a host of issues. He will also meet Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People's Congress, the Chinese parliament.

Besides the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement, a series of pacts are expected to be signed after his talks with Li, officials said.

The landmark agreement on border cooperation — expected to be signed on Wednesday — is aimed to avoid face-offs between the arimes of the two countries like in Depsang valley in Ladakh recently. However, plans for putting in place a liberalized visa regime look elusive.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who arrived here to a warm reception on his three-day visit, will meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday after which the border agreement is expected to be signed.

Giving indications that decks have been cleared for signing of BDCA, sources said, "Don't ask about the outcomes now. We will give you details tomorrow."

The BDCA was cleared by the Cabinet committee on security last week as part of further confidence building measures to avoid incidents along the LAC which has seen many intrusions from the Chinese side.

The BDCA also provides for setting up of a hotline between the DGMOs of the two countries on the lines of the mechanism India has with Pakistan.

The deal is expected to be cleared after talks between Singh and Li, who will host a lunch for the Prime Minister. This is the second meeting between the two leaders in five months after the Chinese Premier visited India in May.

On Wednesday, President Xi Jinping will also host a banquet dinner for Singh, signifying the importance attached to the Indian leader's visit.

Along with Li, Singh will address business leaders attending the second India-China CEOs Forum being held on the sidelines of the Indian Prime Minister's visit.

Ten top Indian industrialists led by Reliance Anil Dhirubai Ambani Group chief Anil Ambani and prominent Chinese industrialists are taking part in the CEOs' meeting.

On October 24, Singh will address future leaders at the central school of the Communist Party of China before his departure.

China has said Singh's visit is of great importance for deepening the bilateral strategic partnership. "We attach great importance to the visit and are looking forward to it," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

"It is of great importance to deepen China-India strategic partnership" as Singh's visit follows the one made by Premier Li Keqiang to India in May, she said.

Ahead of his arrival, Singh told the Chinese state-run media that he had attempted to put bilateral relations on a "stable growth path" during the past nine years.

"Working together with the Chinese leadership, my attempt has been to create a forward looking agenda for our bilateral relations. There has been tremendous increase in our economic exchanges as both India and China themselves have grown and prospered," he said.


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