5.5 magnitude earthquake rocks Kashmir

SRINAGAR: A moderate intensity earthquake shook Kashmir valley on Sunday but there was no report of any damage due to the tremor.

A tremor of 5.5 magnitude was felt in Kashmir but there were no report of any damage, an official said here.

The epicentre of the earthquake was in the Hindukush region in Afghanistan.

Some people rushed out of their homes in panic, a police official said.

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Amit Shah in Kerala as BJP struggles to find foothold in state

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With BJP consistently failing to make electoral breakthrough in Kerala, party chief Amit Shah on Sunday started his maiden visit to the southern state to discuss with leaders and grassroots functionaries strategy to strengthen and galvanise the organization.

Shah will attend a meet of state office bearers tomorrow morning and address a larger convention of over 6000 party functionaries, party sources said.

He is expected to discuss strategy to help BJP expand support base and make electoral gains with special emphasis on the need for strengthening the party at village level.

Shah will seek the blessings of Lord Sree Padmanabhaswamy of the famed temple here tomorrow before holding the meeting of the party's state executive at Vazhuthacad Guest House and addressing the meet of village panchayat pramukhs, sources close to him said.

BJP president Amit Shah

The party is looking with new hope at the southern state, where Left and the Congress have alternatively been in power all along, hoping to sell the development model of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Significantly, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has been in Kerala for the last few days, mostly interacting with senior state functionaries of the outfit.

Shah's visit also assumes significance against the backdrop of factional tussles in the state and the internal debate over luring allies in Kerala, whose polity has been dominated by rival coalitions led by the Congress and CPI-M.

According to political observers, though BJP has grown in membership and support base in the state over the years, it still finds it difficult to attract smaller parties as allies.

This is especially so since the Muslims and Christian minorities are key factors in deciding the electoral outcome in most constituencies and the two fronts have been successful in wooing them.

Though certain sections in BJP in the state are not averse to reaching out to a party like Christian-dominated Kerala Congress (M) seizing on the "goodwill" created by Modi government at the Centre, this suggestion has met with cold response from a dominant section in the state leadership.

Shah will be returning tomorrow night.

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Govt issues show-cause notice to Al Jazeera for allegedly showing wrong India map

NEW DELHI: A leading international channel has been slapped with a show-cause notice by the information and broadcasting ministry for allegedly depicting a wrong map of India in its news reports.

Sources told PTI that the I&B ministry has in its showcause notice to the Al Jazeera TV channel said that it had come to its attention that on more than one occasion last year, a wrong map of India had been shown in its news broadcasts wherein parts of the country were shown outside the border, and sought the channel's response.

"It had come to the notice of the ministry that in some of the news reports shown by the channel in 2013 related to various incidents, parts of J&K were shown in territory outside India. The ministry took the matter with the office of Surveyor General of India.

"After a report was received from the office of Surveyor General of India, a show-cause notice has been issued to the channel," a source said.

As per the Cable TV Network Rules, 1994 it is laid down that no programme should be carried in the cable service which contains anything affecting the integrity of a nation.

TV channels are required to follow the prescribed norms including programme code and advertisement code under the relevant Acts and Rules, they said.

Officials said that the ministry of I&B has powers conferred under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 as per which if the central government thinks it necessary or expedient in the interest of the sovereignty or integrity of India or security of India, it may by order regulate or prohibit the transmission or retransmission of any channel or programme.

"The I&B ministry has issued a show cause notice to Al Jazeera channel and sought its reply on the matter," a source said.

Repeated attempts made to get the channel's version did not fructify.

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BJP forms panel to help govt roll out social schemes

NEW DELHI: In a bid to help publicize and implement social welfare schemes initiated under Prime Minister Narendra Modi government, BJP has formed a committee for active coordination between the party and the government.

The move, BJP sources said, was a conscious strategy to ensure that benefits of welfare programmes being launched by the government reach everyone and the party wants to avoid the repeat of the previous NDA regime when many welfare programmes could not help the poor as they were not publicised well.

BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi while describing the new coordination initiative said, "The unprecedented success of the just launched Jan Dhan scheme is also due to party's active participation in creating awareness about the initiative.

"As against the original target of bank accounts, we managed to open double the numbers on the launch of the scheme because we had already spread a word around about the launch of the initiative."

The committee formed to ensure that government programmes reach grassroots comprises Union Ministers Ananth Kumar, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goel and Smriti Irani on the government side and BJP leaders Naqvi, JP Nadda, Ram Lal and Bhupendra Yadav.

The mandate of the committee is to achieve better coordination between the party and the government in publicising new schemes and to get the best possible results, Naqvi said.

The BJP leader also said that the publicity of government schemes would be on the lines of party's campaign to seek votes.

"Just as we go to people to ask for their votes during elections, we will go to them seeking their participation in government schemes and programmes," said Naqvi.

He said the BJP is taking no chances this time considering the during the previous NDA regime under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, schemes initiated by the government could not reach the grassroots due to slackened government machinery.

The BJP's move comes at a time when the principal opposition Congress is blaming poor marketing of its UPA Government's programmes as the single largest factor behind the party dismal Lok Sabha performance.

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Mamata Banerjee is 'inconsistent': Forward Bloc

BHUBANESWAR: Dubbing Mamata Banerjee as "inconsistent", All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) on Sunday said the West Bengal chief minister lacks ideology.

"She (Mamata) has paved way for the BJP to enter in the politics of West Bengal. We do not subscribe to politics on caste, communalism and other negative forces. Mamata is now facing the music for encouraging BJP," AIFB general secretary Debabrata Biswas told reporters here on the sidelines of a function to inaugurate the party's state office here.

Ruling out the possibility of joining hands with the Trinamool Congress to counter BJP, Biswas said "Let her fight her battle. Left parties will not fall into her agenda."

Mamata has been part of the NDA government and also the UPA government in the past and lacks ideology, he said.

On the multi-crore Saradha Ponzi scam which has affected many in West Bengal, Biswas said "This is like Dasyu (bandit) Ratnakar taking the name of Lord Ram. Let us see how many TMC leaders are involved in the scam."

Stating that there was no difference between Congress and TMC, Biswas said the Left parties would stick to their policies and work for the people of the country.

The AIFB general secretary's statement came barely two days after the West Bengal Chief Minister said no one was "untouchable" in politics including the Communists.

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Rain brings relief to north India

NEW DELHI: Moderate rain lashed Delhi and some areas of Rajasthan though maximum temperatures stayed above normal levels in most parts of northern India.

Rains since early morning and overcast skies throughout the day kept the temperatures within comfortable levels in the national capital, though extreme humidity, which wavered between 65 to 90 per cent, nullified the pleasant effect.

According to the MeT department, the maximum temperature settled a notch above the normal, at 34.8 degrees Celsius while the minimum was recorded as 23.7 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season's average.

The city received 10.2mm rains till 8.30am on Saturday. The weather department in Jaipur said isolated places in Rajasthan's Udaipur division witnessed moderate downpour with Ghatol (Banswara) and Pratapgarh recording 8 and 7cm rains respectively till morning.

Alwar recorded 5cm whereas other places recorded 1-4 cm rains during this period. Light showers were gauged in Jaipur, Churu, Ajmer, Chittorgarh and Kota which received 9.9, 7, 3.8, 3 and 1mm rains respectively.

Meanwhile, maximum temperatures across agrarian states of Punjab and Haryana today hovered above normal level.

Mercury in Union Territory Chandigarh settled at 35.5 degrees celsius, up two notches, the MeT report said, adding that Bhiwani in Haryana recorded a high of 34.4 degrees celsius while Hisar had a hot day at 37 degrees celsius, two notches above normal.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a high of 35 degrees celsius while Patiala's maximum settled at 36.1 degrees celsius, one degree above normal. Ludhiana recorded Mercury at 35.4 degrees celsius.

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Mukesh Ambani drops out of PM's delegation to Japan

NEW DELHI: Mukesh Ambani, the world's richest energy billionaire and head of Reliance Industries, has dropped out of a business delegation accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his visit to Japan.

Ambani, who was to be part of a group of industrialists accompanying Modi on his first major bilateral visit, outside the sub-continent, sent regrets, government sources said.

While the sources gave no reasons for the move, an RIL spokesperson did not offer any comments.

Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, Sunil Bharti Mittal of Bharti Enterprises, Essar Group head Shashi Ruia, Wipro chairman Azim Premji and ICICI Bank chief executive Chanda Kochhar were among the industrialists who are to travel to Tokyo to participate in the meeting of India-Japan Business Leaders' Forum (IJBLF) on September 1.

READ ALSO: PM to travel light to Tokyo, delegation to have 60 members

The forum is co-chaired by chairman of Bharat Forge Baba Kalyani.

Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani with and Gautam Adani, the chairman of Adani Group. (TOI Photo)

Maruti Suzuki chairman R C Bhargava, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) chairman and managing director Dinesh K Sarraf are other members of the business delegation.

Sources said while Modi reached Koyto today, members of the delegation will arrive in Tokyo by tomorrow afternoon.

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Govt striking a balance between security concerns and probity to ease blacklisting norms for arms companies

NEW DELHI: The Modi government has struck a balance between national security considerations and probity while easing blacklisting norms for armament companies facing corruption charges. This comes in the backdrop of large-scale blacklisting proving counterproductive for operational military readiness during the UPA regime.

"The issue (of blacklisting) has been discussed at length at the defence ministry. There are a large number of firms which have been blacklisted. Now that upholds consideration of probity but narrows our buying options which can affect our security preparedness," said finance and defence minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday.

As was first reported by TOI earlier this month, the MoD ruled out blacklisting of global engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, which is under CBI scanner for allegedly employing agents, on the grounds of "operational urgency and national security".

READ MORE: Govt not to blacklist Rolls Royce for 'operational' reasons

Then, earlier this week, the MoD imposed just "a partial ban" on Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica, all dealings with which were earlier put on hold after its UK-based subsidiary AgustaWestland got enmeshed in the infamous VVIP helicopter kickbacks case.

The MoD decided that while ongoing contracts and follow-on deals for spare parts with Finmeccanica will be allowed to continue unhindered, fresh deals will not be inked if other armament companies can provide the same equipment.

"The issue was referred to the attorney general. Thereafter, the law ministry considered it. We have eased to the extent that where supplies have already been made, you need servicing of those equipment. Now you cannot say we have blacklisted you and we won't take your space parts. That will make the equipment redundant," said Jaitley.

Asked if the rules would be applied to all blacklisted firms or only Finmeccanica, which is supplying a whole host of equipment to the Indian armed forces from Selex radars or Otomelara naval guns, Jaitley said this was a common principle and would be applicable in all cases.

This marks a major shift from the earlier UPA era, under A K Antony as defence minister, where there was "indiscriminate blacklisting" of armament companies after allegations of corruption and bribery. Among the armament majors blacklisted for 10 years were Singapore Technologies Kinetics, Israel Military Industries, Rheinmetall Air Defence, Corporate Defence of Russia and BVT Poland.

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2 dead, 2 injured as hosiery plant's boiler explodes in West Bengal

BARASAT (WEST BENGAL): Two persons were killed and two others seriously injured when a boiler in a hosiery plant exploded in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Saturday.

The incident took place in the Talberia hosiery plant under Duttapukhur police station, police said, adding, an employee and a wood supplier were killed.

The two seriously injured employees have been admitted to the Barasat General Hospital.

The blaze was controlled within an hour by the fire brigade, police said.

The reason behind the explosion was not immediately known and a probe has been ordered, they added.

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Balraj Puri, veteran journalist, dies at 86

JAMMU: Veteran journalist Padma Bhushan Balraj Puri passed away after prolonged illness at a Government Medical College here on Saturday. He was 86.

He is survived by his wife, daughter and journalist son Luv Puri. His cremation will take place at Jogi Gate in Jammu tomorrow, family said.

Puri, born on August 5, 1928, began his career in journalism as an editor of an Urdu weekly in 1942 and since then, he had been regularly contributing to various local and leading national dailies.

Puri was conferred Padma Bhushan for his contribution in the fields of Literature and Education in 2005 and also the Indira Gandhi award for national integration on October 31, 2009.

He was an author and co-author of about 40 books and approximately 1,000 articles for various dailies in India and abroad.

Jammu and Kashmir governor N N Vohra has expressed grief over the sad demise of Puri, an eminent journalist, author and political analyst. The governor spoke to his daughter and conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved family.

In the condolence message, the Governor said that Puri was one of the very few people who had a rare knowledge about every aspect of J-K's history, from before 1947, and had dedicated his entire life to the cause of promoting peace, goodwill and communal harmony in the society.

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Gujarat CM reviewed progress of ‘Gatisheel Gujarat Target 100 Days’

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel on Friday held an interim review meeting of the Gatisheel Gujarat Target 100 Days' work plan of Patan, Mehsana, Aravalli, Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar and Kutch district at Mehsana.

She asked the district administration to adopt the target mantra of 'Outcome' in stead of 'Output'.

While concerning over the girls' health, she urged specialist doctors, general practitioner of PHC and senior social servants to personally visit a school and enlighten the students about benefits of the iron tablets, health care and sanitation values through easy-to-understand presentations as this can help avail expected results.

She made an appeal to the respective collectors in particular to take up the target to make available toilet facility in every house as a part of Mahatma Gandhi Cleanliness Mission. She directed the citizens to partake for the same and reviewed solid waste management as a part of this mission.

The chief minister suggested a planning wherein the Sakhi Mandals and other women should be guided to avail bank loans and other women welfare schemes run by the state government.

She directed all those present collectors, DDOs, district police officials to remain proactive in solving out public grievances by integrating with Lok-Samvad Setu.

She called for to create an environment with the help of Chintan Sibir to bring revamp in the employee's working methods and also to develop sense of compassion in their behavior towards the citizens.

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Girl alleges she was sexually harassed, blackmailed at Visva Bharti University

SANTINIKETAN: Authorities at Visva Bharati University authority are looking into a complaint by a girl student of Kala Bhavan that she was "sexually harassed" by three students of the same department.

"We have received a complaint through the principal of Kala Bhavan. We have summoned a meeting immediately and have already started our proceedings to probe the complaint," Mousumi Bhattacharya, chairperson of the Internal Complaint Committee against sexual harassment, said.

"We have talked to the girl and her father. We shall complete the investigation and submit report to the concerned authority as early as possible," she said late on Thursday night.

Today, the girl and her father were first taken to the vice-chancellor Susanta Datta Gupta's office where they spent close to two hours and then taken to another building for discussion.

It was not immediately known what transpired at the discussion. After the discussion, the girl and her father were taken to Bolpur railway station in a university car from where they left for Kolkata by the Saraighat Express.

An official of Visva Bharati said, "In her letter to the university authority the girl, a second year student of Kala Bhavan who hailed from Sikkim, had alleged that she was sexually harassed by three students."

She also alleged that they have recorded some obscene pictures with their mobile phones and threatened to blackmail with those.

On Thursday, the father of the girl came to Santiniketan. He met the university authority and demanded immediate action against those students.

He said yesterday, "The boys misbehaved with my daughter and she was threatened that she would be blackmailed with with some pictures which they had taken with a mobile phone."

On Friday morning the father took away his daughter from the hostel and said, "I shall take her to Kolkata for the time being and take the final decision after some days."

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Pak tried to make a spectacle of talks by meeting separatist leaders: Modi

NEW DELHI: Breaking his silence on cancellation of talks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India was "disappointed" as Pakistan wanted to make a "spectacle" by meeting separatist leaders but said efforts will continue to build peaceful, friendly and cooperative ties with Pakistan.

He laid the ground rules for future talks, asserting that "any meaningful bilateral dialogue necessarily requires an environment that is free from terrorism and violence".

In an interaction with the Japanese media, he said "India desires peaceful, friendly and cooperative ties with Pakistan.... India has no hesitation to discuss any outstanding issue with Pakistan within the bilateral framework that has been established under the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration".

He was responding when asked about the cancellation of foreign secretary-level talks which were scheduled for August 25 in Islamabad after Pakistan high commissioner to India Abdul Basit had met Kashmiri separatist leaders here prior to that.

A file photo of Narendra Modi meeting his Pak counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Delhi. This meeting had set the stage for foreign secretary-level talks.

"We .. were disappointed that Pakistan sought to make a spectacle of these efforts and went ahead with talks with secessionist elements from Jammu & Kashmir in New Delhi just prior to the meeting of the foreign secretaries," Modi said.

At the same time, he added, "We will continue to make efforts to build peaceful, friendly and cooperative ties with Pakistan."

He recalled that he had a "very good meeting" with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in May, 2014, when he attended the swearing-in ceremony of his government here.

"We together decided that the foreign secretaries should meet and explore how to take relations forward," he noted.

A file photo of Pak envoy Abdul Basit (R) meeting a J&K separatist leader in Delhi.

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J&K government official sent to 3 years in jail for taking bribe

SRINAGAR: A special anti-corruption court in Jammu & Kashmir on Friday convicted a government official for taking bribe and awarded him three years' imprisonment.

The court of additional special judge anti-corruption J&K convicted the then 'naazir' (revenue official) in Handwara Tehsil office of north Kashmir's Kupwara district, a spokesman of the state vigilance organisation (SVO) said.

Mohammad Abdullah Geelani, a resident Laribal Handwara, was sentenced to undergo an imprisonment of three years and was also slapped with a fine of Rs 10,000 for the offence, the spokesman said.

He said in default of payment of fine, the accused shall undergo further imprisonment of six months.

Geelani was arrested by SVO in June 2006 while accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a person in lieu of changing the mutation of his ancestral land, the spokesman said.

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Sex ratio dips in rural areas

AHMEDABAD: Researchers have sounded an alarm bell regarding the dwindling Child Sex Ratio (CSR) in both urban as well as rural areas. The CSR, according to 2011 census, in Gujarat—886 girls per 1,000 boys in the 0-6 age group — for the first time has shown a sharp dip in rural areas which were considered comparatively safer for the girl child.

A paper presented by N S Shanthi of the Centre for Social Justice at a seminar Gandhinagar revealed that the sex ratio has dipped more in rural areas as compared to urban areas. This is in contrast to the widespread belief that sex determination and the resultant abortion of the girl child was more rampant in urban areas.

Citing an example, Shanthi said that Rajkot showed an alarming situation — 12 out of 14 rural blocks had less than 900 girls against 1,000 boys; while in urban areas, the CSR was less than 900 girls against 1,000 boys in 9 out of 12 blocks.

Shanti said the CSR among SC and ST has traditionally remained higher, but 2011 census proves migration of community members to urban areas has fuelled a desire for son over daughters.

According to census figures, SC population in 11 districts has shown less than 900 CSR, while the lowest CSR in SC population is in Gandhinagar (829). In ST, four districts have shown CSR less than 900 and they are Gandhinagar (854), Mehsana (856), Amreli (897) and Bhavnagar (799).

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'Ensure purchase of maize by state in place of passing buck to centre,' Congress to Badal

JALANDHAR: Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh has asked Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to ask Centre to allow National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) to purchase maize from state farmers instead of passing the buck to union government.

Referring to the chief minister's proposal to ask Centre to allow NAFED to purchase maize, Rana said, it amounted to running away from responsibility. "Seven state governments in India including Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Bihar were already purchasing maize from their farmers then why can Punjab not do the same thing," he asked.

He pointed out that the farmers were going for distress sale by selling maize at as low as Rs 800 to Rs 1000 per quintal against the MSP of Rs 1310 per quintal. He said, about one lakh metric ton maize was being produced in Punjab by the farmers at the government's instance but most of it was not procured by the government thus forcing farmers to go for distress sale. Instead of purchasing the maize the government was trying diversionary tactics by asking the centre to allow one of its agencies to purchase maize which is just eyewash.

Taking a dig at Badal he remarked, "the Chief Minister either did not know the real facts or was simply misleading the people". "Since it is the NDA government at the centre of which, the Akali Dal is a part, Badal should use his good offices to get funds and procure maize of his own in the state and not leave the farmers at others mercy," he said.

Rana held that the state government should have properly planned the procurement policy before misleading farmers to grow maize. "After all no farmer produces any crop to go for distress sale particularly when he has been assured of a minimum support price", he added.

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AAP demands withdrawal of security cover given to 1984 anti riots accused

AMRITSAR: After heavy criticism of BJP government for providing Z category security to Muzaffarnagar riots accused Sangeet Som, it is now Aam Admi Party (AAP) that has demanded to withdraw the Z category security cover given to alleged accused of 1984 anti Sikh riot.

Senior Supreme Court lawyer and AAP's leader HS Phoolka told TOI on Thursday that he had written a letter to union minister for home affairs Rajnath Singh asking him to withdraw the Z category security provided to the accused of 1984 anti Sikh riots.

"The issue of providing Z-security to the political leaders who are facing serious criminal charges of instigating riots and killing innocents has come into focus and media glare recently and it is highly unfortunate that the leaders who are responsible for killing of hundreds of innocent citizens have gotten high security cover , palatial bungalows, and cars from the state exchequer" he said.

Various political parties including Congress had censured BJP government's decision of providing Z security to Sangeet Som.

Phoolka said that for past 30 years, the leaders who were responsible for killing innocent Sikhs in November 1984, had been provided with the highest security cover which includes about 30-40 security guards and they had also been provided palatial bungalows and number of cars at the expenses of public.

"People like Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar have been enjoying this luxury at public expenses since last 30 years" he said adding that the leaders like H.K.L. Bhagat and Dharam Das Shastri, who have now died, also enjoyed this luxury throughout their lives.

Not only these, he said, a large number of other persons were provided security.

Giving example he said "Balwan Khokhar who is now convicted for murder was also provided the security cover, another accused Mahender Yadav who is convicted for instigating riots is till today enjoying the security cover as he is on bail"

He said the total expenses spend on providing security to the alleged accused of 1984 anti Sikh riots would be more than the compensation given to the victims of riots.

He said "Sajjan Kumar has been provided approximately 40 security guards, government bungalow and government cars". The successive Congress governments had been doing so but now even the present government had started doing this for the accused of U.P riots.

He said he had urged Singh to take immediate steps to not to spend any public money on these accused persons. "Rather I have suggested them to spend the same money for the benefit of the victims" said Phoolka.

He said he had demanded that the luxurious facilities of 30-40 security guards, lavish bungalows and numbers of cars given to Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar and other riots accused should be withdrawn immediately and the same money should be provided for education and employment of thousands of victims.

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Casual workers in Rajasthan get a raw deal, says report

JAIPUR: By a rough estimate, out of thousand casual employees in Rajasthan, 957 labourers do not get security benefits of employment and 988 are not eligible even for the paid leaves. The latest data released by the national sample survey (NSS) on `informal sector and conditions of employment in India' reveals the pathetic condition of casual workforce in the state.

In the wake of labour reforms initiated by the state government, space for unorganized labours is likely to shrink further. As per the report only 6% of casual workers receive regular monthly salary while most of them, about 58%, are on daily payment. Casual labourers are those workers whose normal employment consists of a series of short term jobs. They are usually hired by the hour or day or for the performance of specific tasks.

Adding to the depressing working conditions, the casual workers hardly have any representation to convey their demands. Non existence of union or association in their field is 92% in the state. This is among the highest in the coun try. Situation of salaried employees, largely falling under the organized sector, is not better either. Merely 36% among them are associated with any association.

In terms of written job contracts, Rajasthan has the most dismal record. About 99% don't have any written agreement with their employers, the highest in the country. Apart from that they are poorly paid. On an average, a casual worker gets just Rs 165 per day.

"Most small scale industries and agriculture in Rajasthan depend on casual workers. But their condition is similar to workers in UP and Bihar. They can't represent themselves, their wages are low apart from other factors contributing to their misery," said Shiraz Sheikh, who works with an NGO for unorganized sector.JAIPUR: By a rough estimate, out of thousand casual employees in Rajasthan, 957 labourers do not get security benefits of employment and 988 are not eligible even for the paid leaves. The latest data released by the national sample survey (NSS) on `informal sector and conditions of employment in India' reveals the pathetic condition of casual workforce in the state.

In the wake of labour reforms initiated by the state government, space for unorganized labours is likely to shrink further. As per the report only 6% of casual workers receive regular monthly salary while most of them, about 58%, are on daily payment. Casual labourers are those workers whose normal employment consists of a series of short term jobs. They are usually hired by the hour or day or for the performance of specific tasks.

Adding to the depressing working conditions, the casual workers hardly have any representation to convey their demands. Non existence of union or association in their field is 92% in the state. This is among the highest in the coun try. Situation of salaried employees, largely falling under the organized sector, is not better either. Merely 36% among them are associated with any association.

In terms of written job contracts, Rajasthan has the most dismal record. About 99% don't have any written agreement with their employers, the highest in the country. Apart from that they are poorly paid. On an average, a casual worker gets just Rs 165 per day.

"Most small scale industries and agriculture in Rajasthan depend on casual workers. But their condition is similar to workers in UP and Bihar. They can't represent themselves, their wages are low apart from other factors contributing to their misery," said Shiraz Sheikh, who works with an NGO for unorganized sector.

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56 bonded labour of Chhattisgarh rescued from J&K brick kiln

RAIPUR: Following several incidents of bonded labour and human trafficking in Chhattisgarh, fresh case of nearly 56 bonded labours of state being kept in confinement and forced to work without payment and food at Jammu & Kashmir has come to the fore.
According to preliminary reports, all the bonded labourers hail from janjgir-Champa district and were taken to Jammu's Navashehar tehsil by a local contractor called Faggu to work at brick kiln.

Cases of rescuing bonded labour of state has taken a toll in last two years with 350 labours rescued by a Delhi based NGO — Bonded labour liberation front.

Director of NGO Nirmal Gorana told TOI that these 56 labours were sold off by Faggu to a contractor in Jammu who shuttled them from Jammu to Kashmir as per the requirement of work.

"The lot of 56 includes 31 children with minimum seven month old baby to maximum 50 year old man. The children were also used as labours at brick kiln. While they lead their life with advance payment given to them in tits and bits, the contractor has neither paid them from last three months, nor has provided food or allowed them to return home," Nirmal said.

The natives of Chhattisgarh are on their return journey and after working for over a year, they have nothing to bring back home, in stead the little silver ornaments and utensils they had were sold off to arrange for food.

Talking about insensitive attitude of Chhattisgarh government and administration at J&K Nirmal also alleged of receiving threats not to indulge amid non co-operative attitude of governments. Rather a divisional commissioner at Jammu claimed that they have not noticed any initiation by Chhattisgarh government on the issue while thousands of labour from state migrate to J&K through local brokers who violate interstate migrant worksmen Act. "But there was no monitoring or regulation being done against the local touts by labour department," Nirmal alleged.

Over 117 bonded labours were rescued from J&K in February this year by same NGO.

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India should improve R&D contribution globally, Rajya Sabha deputy chairman says

PUDUCHERRY: Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P J Kurien on Thursday said the country's share of investment in global research and development was as low as 2.1% while China's contribution towards it was 12.5% and that of the US was 33.6%. He said policy makers and academia should focus on improving country's contribution in research and development globally.

Conferring degrees on students who successfully completed undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Kurien said the country has the largest number of medical colleges in the world (more than 380) that admit more than 65,000 students to MBBS programme annually.

"However, we see that a large section of our population still has limited access to minimum basic healthcare facilities. A good number of our children remain outside the protective cover of immunization. Similarly, many pregnant women in our country do not undergo the mandatory three check-ups during pregnancy," he said.

"It is therefore imperative that the government, society and the medical fraternity work together to ensure that the best healthcare facilities are in the reach of every common man in the country," he said.

Kurien said India has the third largest higher education system in the world after the United States and China with an annual enrolment of more than 2.5 crore (including open and distance education). The number of higher educational institutions has increased from about 30 universities and 695 colleges in 1950-51 to about 700 universities (as of 2013) and 35,000 colleges (as of 2012) according to a University Grants Commission report, he said.

"The enrollment in higher education has grown from 166 lakh to 260 lakh during the Eleventh Plan period (2007-2012). The gross enrollment ratio for higher education grew from 12.3% in 2006-07 to 19.4% in 2012-13," he added.

He said despite the presence of a good number of world-class institutions, the country had been facing several challenges including inequitable access to higher education, shortage of faculty members, deficient infrastructure, urban-rural and male-female inequality and disparity as well as insufficient and poor quality research.

"The country has to allocate a larger share of its GDP towards meeting these challenges," he said.

Pims director-principal John Abraham said the institute offers postgraduate courses in 20 disciplines and MBBS programme. The institute recorded 87% pass rate in March 2014 university examinations while 15 departments recorded 100% pass rate.

He said the institute, besides registration with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, has been registered with Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (SIRO) under the department of science and technology.

Ninety one graduates and 46 postgraduates received degrees during the convocation.

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Jathedar directs Panth to strengethn SGPC which seeks intervention of PM in Takht Hazur Sahib incident

AMRITSAR: While Jahtedar of Akal Takht Giani Gurbachan Singh has directed Sikh Panth to strengthen hands of Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for implantation of single maryada (Sikh code of religious conduct) at all the five Takhts the SGPC president has sought direct intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for restoration of its three members in Takht Hazur Sahib Board.

"It's unfortunate that Maharashtra government has reduced the nomination of SGPC members in Takht Hazur Sahib Board from earlier four to only one members , then how can we implement single maryada at all Takht's," said Gurbachan Singh while talking to TOI on Wednesday.

He said Sikhs in India and those living abroad wanted implementation of single maryada at all Takht's which was possible only if SGPC was strong and it sends maximum of its members in other Board's . "Differences, if any , can be resolved through dialogue and with good presence," he said.

He also quoted incident of carving of HSGMC out of SGPC . "If SGPC is not strong then people with vested interests raise their voices so we must make SGPC a strong body," he said.

Maharashtra cabinet had in recent past approved the recommendations of Bhatia committee which suggests reducing the number of SGPC's nominated members in Takht Hazur Sahib Board from four to only one and doing away the nomination of single member from Chief Khalsa Diwan.

Presently both the Takht Hazur Sahib and Takht Patna Sahib have their own maryada and even doesn't recognize Akal Takht approved Nanakshahi Calendar.

On clipping wings of SGPC by Maharashtra government, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said Maharashtra government had attempted to isolate Sikhs from Takht Hazur Sahib which was not acceptable. "It's direct intervention of Maharashtra's Congress government in Sikh's religious affairs," said Makkar. He said SGPC would urge Narendara Modi to directly intervene and ensure to restore the pride of SGPC.

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Lalit Modi can return to India, Delhi high court rules

NEW DELHI: Delhi high court on Wednesday ordered restoration of the passport of former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Kumar Modi, paving the way for his return to the country.

A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Vibhu Bakhru set aside the order revoking Modi's passport but made it clear that it was not expressing any opinion with regard to the alleged violations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) by him which are being examined separately by the authorities under FEMA.

Restoring his passport, the bench said the materials taken into consideration while revoking his passport were "extraneous and irrelevant".

Further, the bench said the order revoking Modi's passport was invalid as it was in violation of Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression) and (g) (practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business) of the Constitution.

The bench also said there is a specific procedure and statutory provisions for default or non-compliance of summonses under FEMA and revocation of his passport for such default on the ground that it was in the interest of general public "was not lawful".

"... extraneous considerations and irrelevant materials were taken into account by the officers under the Passports Act while rendering their decisions dated March 3, 2011 and October 31, 2011.

"This is also apart from the more serious issue of invalidity on account of violation of Article 19(1)(a) and (g). The Single Judge, in the impugned order dated January 16, 2013, in our view, did not examine these aspects of the matter.

"Since there is a specific procedure and there are specific statutory provisions for default in non-compliance with summonses under FEMA itself read with relevant provisions of the Income-tax Act and the Civil Procedure Code, the revocation of the appellant's passport for that so-called default (which is yet to be adjudicated upon), on the ground that it was in the interests of the general public, was not lawful," the court said.

On January 16, 2013, a single-judge bench of the high court had dismissed Modi's plea challenging the orders revoking his passport passed by the regional and chief passport officers on March 3, 2011 and October 31, 2011, respectively.

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Asian Development Bank to provide up to $9 billion loan to India

NEW DELHI: Committing to support infrastructure development in India, Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday said it will provide up to 7-9 billion loan to the country over the next three years.

"ADB's operations for India will maintain high level of lending, amounting to a total of $7-9 billion over the next three years," ADB president Takehiko Nakao said here.

Besides, the multilateral funding agency will provide around $30 million for technical assistance grants, especially for building institutions and capacity at the state as well as the local levels, he said.

Nakao, who is on two-day official visit, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finance minister Arun Jaitley and discussed macroeconomic situation and ADB's funding programme to boost infrastructure sector.

During the meeting, he emphasised that ADB will help India accelerate infrastructure development, boost manufacturing, improve skills of the young people to enhance their employability, expand trade through regional cooperation, and promote private sector activities.

Stressing that India has a potential to grow at 10 per cent, Nakao said its economy is expected to expand at 5.5 per cent in the current fiscal. For the next fiscal, it has projected a better growth rate of 6.3 per cent in 2015-16.

"To get back to a high growth path of 8 to 9 per cent, it is also crucial to implement investment-friendly reforms being initiated by the government," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and ADB president Takehiko Nakao

Easing the regulatory burden on industry by eliminating red tape and promoting inter-agency coordination, enabling single window clearance mechanisms, and reviewing land acquisition procedures should be part of the national strategy to attract local and foreign investors, he said.

"Together with efforts to build world class infrastructure and skills, these steps would create the job opportunities needed to absorb India's youthful and growing labor force and ensure that growth is inclusive," he added.

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Lalu undergoes 6-hour-long surgery, doctors close 3mm hole in his heart

MUMBAI: Former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad underwent a six-hour-long cardiac surgery at Asian Heart Institute in Bandra-Kurla Complex on Wednesday.

He underwent three procedures during the operation — his aortic valve was replaced, a portion of his ascending aorta was repaired and a 3mm hole in the heart was closed.

After performing the surgery, hospital's head Dr Ramakanta Panda said, "There were no surprises. We had already informed the family that there were multiple issues in the heart and they were ready."

Yadav, who rushed to Mumbai on Sunday and got admitted to hospital the next day, will be in the ICU for the next three to four days and in recovery for another week.

" It was a flawless operation, and Laluji tolerated the procedure very well," added Dr Panda.

The former Bihar chief minister will also be put through a cardiac rehablitation programme.

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Air India tops list of passenger complaints, SpiceJet second

NEW DELHI: Air India tops the list of passenger complaints lodged against Indian airlines in July this year, followed by no-frill carrier SpiceJet, official data shows.

Most air travellers, who have lodged complaints against the airlines, complained of problems relating to delayed flights and their customer services.

While Air India topped the list with the maximum of 213 complaints, it was followed by SpiceJet with 129 and IndiGo with 92. These carriers were followed by GoAir with 81 complaints and Jet Airways 61, the data for July showed.

The least number of complaints — three and two — were registered against new carriers AirAsia India and Air Costa respectively.

Officials said these complaints have led the DGCA to tighten the screw on airlines, especially on checking instances of rude or unhelpful behaviour of their staff at airports and in the aircraft.

The air carriers have also been told to improve quality of service particularly when the flights have been delayed or cancelled, they said, adding, they have been asked to follow the laid-down guidelines about provision of snacks in case of delays and accommodation in case of last-minute cancellation.

There were 129 passenger complaints against SpiceJet in the month of July. (TOI file photo)
However, they said that the number of complaints have to be seen in terms of the number of flights any airline, including Air India, operated on a daily basis.

They also pointed out that there was a tendency among some airline staffers not to register complaints, saying stern action could be taken against the staff or the airline whenever such instances came to notice.

Surprise checks being carried out by the regulator on a regular basis at times focused on these issues, they said.

The data, however, also showed that substantially less number of complaints were registered with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in July compared to June. The number of complaints in July was 581, while it was 900 in 900 in June.

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Shivraj Singh Chouhan inducted into BJP Parliametary Board

BHOPAL: What BJP veteran LK Advani recommended in March last year, has been implemented by party national president Amit Shah on Tuesday. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been appointed as one of the 12 members of the BJP Parliamentary Board - the highest decision making elite body of the party. In addition he has also inducted into the 15-member national election committee.

On March 31 last year Prime Minister Narendra Modi was inducted into the Parliamentary Board because he would be given a major role to play in the 2014 elections.

At that time LK Advani, who was opposing Narendra Modi as probable PM candidate stature, had recommended that Shivraj Singh Chouhan was an equally efficient administrator and should be given a place in the Parliamentary Board. But Advani's recommendation was ignored and Narendra Modi became the only chief minister to be inducted into the top decision making body.

One year and five months later, it is none other than Prime Minister Modi's trusted man Amit Shah who willingly and without any dispute made place for Chouhan (again, as the only chief minister) in the Parliamentary Board. Though it was always said that Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh is much closer to the Prime Minister than Chouhan, he was not inducted. Neither was Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje or her Gujarat counterpart Anandiben Patel.

The message, therefore, is clear: Chief minister Chouhan is being prepared for a bigger role for the party at the national level. Speaking to reporters at the state secretariat, the chief minister said, "I will work relentlessly and implement the responsibility given to me by the party."

While Chouhan has been elevated to the party's elite 12-member body, Madhya Pradesh minister for urban administration and housing Kailash Vijayavargiya has been appointed election in-charge for the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana. He is the only minister for Madhya Pradesh who has been given such a big responsibility. During Lok Sabha polls in April-May, Vijayavargiya was again the only minister from Madhya Pradesh who was asked to manage the elections in Varanasi, the Prime Minister's constituency. The minister for urban administration is known to be close to the Prime Minister and might soon be elevated to a position of greater accountability.

Union minister for social justice Thavar Chand Gehlot also from the state has been retained as a member of the Parliamentary Board headed by Amit Shah. Gehlot, is important as he is Dalit leader and extremely amiable.

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Rajinikanth in party’s good books, will welcome him, BJP says

NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu BJP on Tuesday down played reports of it wooing Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, but said that the actor was welcome to the party fold.

Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan told PTI here that Rajinikanth was already in the good books of BJP and recalled his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when the latter had visited Tamil Nadu for the Lok Sabha election campaign.

On media reports of BJP attempting to attract the ace actor and make him the chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming state Assembly elections, she said, "It is only a press message, an unauthorised message from the press. It is not the authorised press release from our party.

"But, already Rajinikanth in the good books of our party. Our Prime Minister, during his campaign met him," she added.

Soundararajan was in New Delhi on Tuesday to meet BJP national president Amit Shah, for the first time after she was appointed as the new president of BJP's Tamil Nadu unit.

Noting that Rajinikanth had offered Rs one crore for then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's pet project to interlink rivers, she said, the Tamil superstar would be cordially invited to the party.

Rajinikanth (left) with Narendra Modi talking to reporters after the two met at the former's Chennai residence, on April 13, 2014. (TOI photo by BA Raju)

"Rajinikanth announced Rs 1 crore help when our great Vajpayeeji announced interlinking of rivers. He is a 'national minded' actor. We will invite him and we will cordially invite him ... We will welcome him," she said.

On the other hand, Soundararajan also stated that the state unit would invite Shah to Tamil Nadu and the party's agenda is to win the forthcoming state assembly election in 2016.

"We are facing our assembly election in 2016. So, it is very crucial period that I have taken over. It is a hectic schedule (that) should be planned, strategy should be planned," she said.

The BJP's state chief further said that the future strategy of the party was to resolve the Lankan-Tamil issue and the problems concerning fishermen from Tamil Nadu.

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Bihar bypolls a proper lesson for secular forces: CPM

NEW DELHI: Left parties on Tuesday said the unity between JD(U) and RJD in the Bihar assembly bypolls had paid off in keeping BJP out and stressed that secular forces should draw proper lessons from this.

"These bye-elections have political significance as far as Bihar is concerned. The unity among some major non-BJP secular parties has paid off as they could pool their votes and resources. I think the understanding was correct as far as their getting together (in Bihar) was concerned," CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said here.

He observed that the Left can cooperate with secular forces wherever possible, but there were political issues regarding Congress and its policies.

"As far as the political aspect of how non-BJP forces can be raised, as far as we are concerned, there are other aspects as well. Wherever possible, we have to cooperate with secular parties but we also have political issues regarding the Congress," Karat said.

On Congress, he said, "Our party line is to fight BJP primarily because it is in power now. But we are opposed to the policies of the Congress too."

CPI national secretary D Raja earlier said the victory of anti-BJP forces in the assembly bypolls showed "growing disenchantment" among the people with BJP and its policies and the secular forces must draw lessons on how to fight the ruling coalition at the Centre.

"The results show that the people are not prepared to accept the RSS and corporate-driven policies of the BJP government. It shows a fast-growing disillusionment among them," he said.

Observing that the trend of last month's bye-elections in Uttarakhand in which all the three seats went to Congress was continuing, Raja said, "The secular forces must draw proper lessons that BJP has to be fought, not only on the secular plank, but on its economic policies also."

Karat had last week said that CPM was committed to form a broad platform to fight against the "anti-people policies and communal designs" of the Narendra Modi government.

Addressing a gathering in Kannur in Kerala, he had said like in Bihar where CPM, CPI and CPI(ML) had jointly contested the bypolls. He said efforts towards forming such a platform would be on in Jharkhand too where such an alliance would be formed to contest the assembly elections.

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Bombay HC asks PIL on fair elections to be treated as representation by EC

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Monday directed the Election Commission and law commission of India to consider a public interest litigation as a representation for amending the law to ensure that the forthcoming assembly elections are held in a free and fair manner.

A bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice M S Sonak was hearing a PIL filed by Sharmila Ghuge a law faculty at Jitendra Chauhan College of Law in Mumbai and Anand Sarda a social worker from Nagpur. Their lawyer Shyam, Dewani submitted that the election commission ought to extend the two child norm applied during panchayat elections as a prohibition to contest election to the upcoming assembly elections as well and device a system for even those people who cannot be present physically on the poll day to cast their votes.

The PIL made a slew of suggestions which it said the EC ought to consider to make sure that elections in a democracy which is vibrant stays free of lumpen elements. There must be a restriction in the number of candidates and prevent those having chargesheets against them from contesting to avoid burdening the state exchequer of having to conduct a by-election if the candidate wins and is later convicted. Ghughe said corporate firms or organizations facing prosecutions must not be allowed to make donations to any political party and all donations must be brought under the ambit of the Right to Information Act.

The Bench said given the paucity of time before the elections are held it may not be possible for the state election commission to consider and incorporate the suggestions given in the code of conduct for the upcoming elections. The HC however directed the petitioner to make law commission a party and direct the EC to consider the reforms as suggested in the PIL.

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Ex-Army men working in paramilitary to get equal compensation

NEW DELHI: (PTI) In a decision that will benefit nearly 1,000 ex-Army men working in different paramilitary forces on contract basis, home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday ordered that in the event of a line-of-duty death such soldiers will get benefits akin to a regular personnel.

As per the rules, next of kin of all regular personnel of the paramilitary forces like CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, SSB among others get Rs 15 lakh as compensation if one dies in fighting terrorists or Maoists or any adversaries.

However, ex-service men, who have joined the paramilitary forces do not get any compensation if they are killed in the line-of-duty as they are contractual employee and their service agreement do not provide for any financial benefits to the family members.

"The home minister has personally intervened on the issue and removed the anomalies. Henceforth, next of kin of former army men will get the benefit if anyone of them is killed in line-of-action," a home ministry official said.

The issue was flagged before the home minister by the CRPF which referred the case of 11 CRPF personnel who were killed in an ambush by Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district in March this year.

While family members of nine of the regular CRPF personnel got the compensation amount of Rs 15 lakh each but two did not get as they were former army men and employed to the CRPF on contract.

The home minister ordered that the next of kin of the two martyrs — an Inspector and a head constable — be given the compensation amount.

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Why can’t witness protection be made statutory? HC asks

MADURAI: Expressing concern over the decline in conviction rates in heinous crime cases due to absence of protection to witnesses, the Madras high court bench here on Monday directed the home secretaries of the Centre, Tamil Nadu governments, Union law commission secretary and state DGP to explain measures available for protection of witnesses.

"Why can't we make protection of witnesses statutory?" Justice Kirubakaran, who impleaded these government officials, asked during the hearing a petition by one Tilakavathy. Tilakavathy's husband Karthikeyan was hacked to death by 14 people some years ago. She had filed the petition seeking the transfer of the case from additional district and sessions court in Tamil Nadu's Pudukottai district.

The judge asked Tamil Nadu additional advocate general K Chellapandian and assistant solicitor general of the Union government GR Swaminathan to take notice and get instructions on September 4. The petitioner said the prime witness in the case, Suman, was threatened and forced to turn hostile on April 3 when he was examined in the court.

Suman had givern a police complaint that he was kidnapped by three accused in the case, the petitioner submitted. Suman had also filed a petition before the additional district and sessions judge of Pukukottai seeking to scrap the evidence given by him in the court. However, no order was passed.

The petitioner maintained that the witness was threatened by the accused.

Lawyers outside the Madurai branch of Madras high court. (TOI file photo by K Antony Xavier)

"It is a very dangerous situation in which witnesses are threatened and made hostile to get the acquittal of the accused. Therefore the witness protection is one of the important issues in criminal cases. Otherwise the administration of criminal justice would continue to be in danger and it is not good for society," the judge said.

"Heinous crimes like murders and kidnapping are increasing in the last 20 years throughout the country. Therefore time has come to examine the condition by the concerned governments very seriously and take appropriate steps to safeguard and protect the witnesses," the judge added.

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Five JVM (P) MLAs resign from membership

RANCHI: Five JVM (P) MLAs who recently joined BJP tendered resignation from membership of the legislative assembly on Monday, the day when speaker was about to pronounce his judgement in connection with the petition of disqualification filed against them under defection law.

While Foolchand Mandal appeared in person to hand over resignation to speaker Shashank Shekhar Bhokta, while he was holding his court to dispose the cases, four other MLAs - Samresh Singh, Jaiprakash Bhokta, Chandrika Mahatha and Nirbhay Shahbadi faxed their resignations to the assembly secretariat. Bhokta refused to accept the resignations sent through fax and ordered the MLAs to turn up before the Speakers court in person to submit their resignation.

Senior MLA Samresh Singh is undergoing treatment because of some eye related ailment, pleaded excuse for not being able to turn up while the remaining three appeared before the court to confirm that they are ready to tender resignation. "Since the case of disqualification on grounds of defection was already underway it was entirely on the discretionary powers of speaker whether to accept or reject the resignations and I decided in affirmation," Bhokta said.

Asked as to why the MLAs were given a chance to resign instead of taking action under provisions of anti defection law under Article 10 of the Indian constitution, Bhokta said that the maximum quantum of punishment for proved event of defection is also disqualification from membership. "Even if the court had pronounced its order after finding them guilty of defection they would have lost membership and since the MLAs were ready to resign the court found it apt to accept them," he said.

With the resignation of five MLAs being accepted by the Speaker the effective strength of 81 member Jharkhand assembly has now been reduced to 72. While JMM turncoats Hemlal Murmu and Bidyut Baran Mahato and Congress MLA Chandrashekhar Dubey had tendered resignation ahead of contesting the Lok Sabha general elections, Laxman Gilua of BJP got elected to the Lower House and eventually lost membership of the assembly.

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Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh once again shown black flags in Ranchi

RANCHI: Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh was once again shown black flags at Birsa Munda airport in Ranchi and at the programme venue in Garhkhatanga where he laid foundation stone of National Institute of Agriculture Biotechnology on Monday.

JMM workers as per their announced programme of boycotting all union ministers gathered in huge number at the airport and were successful in delaying the movement of ministers motorcade for some time. JMM central spokesperson Vinod Pandey said that JMM will continue with its protest unless the PMO issues an apology for heckling of chief minister Hemant Soren in a programme at Ranchi attended by the Prime Minister on August 21. "We are not going to tolerate insult to our chief minister and the party has decided to go ahead with its programme," he said.

JMM workers also showed black flags to the union minister at Garhkhatanga where the minister laid foundation stone of the institute but the BJP supporters outnumbered protestors and local administration had made proper arrangements to avert any situation of clash.

Singh later attended a meeting with the scientists of Indian council of agriculture research at the Indian Institute of Natural resins and Gums (IINRG) at Namkom and met party workers at the BJP headquarters.

Media in charge, state BJP Sawarmal Agarwal said that the party has left it on the conscience of local administration to ensure that the union ministers' programme in state are organised properly. "Every union minister is a guest for the state government and administration has the challenge to ensure that they are not disturbed during state visit," he said admitting that BJP workers have also been directed to remain present and avoid deliberate disturbance caused to the ministers by JMM or their supporters.

Singh would be laying the foundation of a Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in Mandu, Ramgarh on Tuesday and participate in workers meet at Hazaribag. He would also attend a programme in Ranchi the same day and leave for Delhi on Wednesday.

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Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh once again shown black flags in Ranchi

RANCHI: Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh was once again shown black flags at Birsa Munda airport in Ranchi and at the programme venue in Garhkhatanga where he laid foundation stone of National Institute of Agriculture Biotechnology on Monday.

JMM workers as per their announced programme of boycotting all union ministers gathered in huge number at the airport and were successful in delaying the movement of ministers motorcade for some time. JMM central spokesperson Vinod Pandey said that JMM will continue with its protest unless the PMO issues an apology for heckling of chief minister Hemant Soren in a programme at Ranchi attended by the Prime Minister on August 21. "We are not going to tolerate insult to our chief minister and the party has decided to go ahead with its programme," he said.

JMM workers also showed black flags to the union minister at Garhkhatanga where the minister laid foundation stone of the institute but the BJP supporters outnumbered protestors and local administration had made proper arrangements to avert any situation of clash.

Singh later attended a meeting with the scientists of Indian council of agriculture research at the Indian Institute of Natural resins and Gums (IINRG) at Namkom and met party workers at the BJP headquarters.

Media in charge, state BJP Sawarmal Agarwal said that the party has left it on the conscience of local administration to ensure that the union ministers' programme in state are organised properly. "Every union minister is a guest for the state government and administration has the challenge to ensure that they are not disturbed during state visit," he said admitting that BJP workers have also been directed to remain present and avoid deliberate disturbance caused to the ministers by JMM or their supporters.

Singh would be laying the foundation of a Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in Mandu, Ramgarh on Tuesday and participate in workers meet at Hazaribag. He would also attend a programme in Ranchi the same day and leave for Delhi on Wednesday.

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Muslim religious leaders dismiss 'love jihad' talk

LUCKNOW: Muslim religious leaders and scholars have dubbed as "false propaganda" the issue of 'love jihad' raised by BJP and other right wing outfits, saying that Islam does not allow forced conversions.

Taking strong exception to the campaign by saffron outfits on the issue, they stressed it was only an attempt to gain political mileage and the entire community "cannot be put in the dock" over a few incidents.

"Jihad is the movement launched for some good cause and anything such as love jihad is both unislamic and condemnable," member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangimahli told PTI.

'Love jihad' is a term coined by some Hindu groups for alleged efforts to get non-Muslim girls to convert to Islam through love affairs. The issue had come up during the state BJP's working committee meeting in Mathura this weekend but was dropped from the resolution at the last minute following allegations that the party was out to fan communalism.

Farangimahli and other scholars and religious leaders stressed that forced conversion are not acceptable in the eyes of Islam.

"There is no no movement such as love jihad being carried out by Muslims..., there had been a couple of incidents of conversion for marriage but the entire community cannot be put in the dock over them.... love jihad is a wrong propaganda. We take it that this so called campaign is only to gain political mileage which would also weaken communal brotherhood in the country," Farangimahali said.

"We are against a Muslim girl or boy forcing a person of any other religion to convert for marriage .. this leads to negativity in marriage", he said.

Farangimahli's contentions also find support in the fatwas issued from time to time by the renowned Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband.

In separate fatwas issued on March 8, 2012 and March 22, 2012 to queries by different people, Deoband has said that embracing Islam only for marriage was wrong and it is better not to enter into such a matrimony.

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Transferred to Mizoram, Maharashtra governor Sankaranarayanan resigns, says he may return to active politics

MUMBAI: Hours after he was shunted to Mizoram, Maharashtra governor K Sankaranarayanan on Sunday resigned from his post, virtually hitting out at the Centre suggesting that the move could be part of political vendetta.

Refusing to take up his new assignment, Sankaranarayanan, a 82-year-old senior Congress leader from Kerala, said he did not want to continue in the gubernatorial position any longer and that he had sent in his resignation to President Pranab Mukherjee. His term was due to end on May 6, 2017.

"I don't want to continue as governor. It is not possible for me to go to Mizoram. There may be many reasons in the backpages. As governor, I have never played politics. I will honour the Constitution as it is a magna carta for the post," he told a news conference at Raj Bhavan.

A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique issued late last night said Sankaranarayanan has been shifted to Mizoram and Gujarat governor OP Kohli has been asked to discharge his duties.

To a question if he felt his transfer was humiliation and a political vendetta by government, he said, "In life there are many humiliations. If you think this is humiliation, I don't think so. It is up to you (media) to decide if this is a political vendetta or friendship. Our press people are so shrewd, so capable, so intelligent."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) being received by the Maharashtra governor K Sankaranarayanan on his arrival at Mumbai Airport, on July 21, 2014. Also seen is Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan (2nd from right). (TOI file photo)

"In a democratic set up, no government is permanent ... no post is permanent, that will change. Democracy is bigger than anything, we are one of the biggest democratic countries in the world," he said in a veiled dig at the Narendra Modi government.

Sankaranarayanan also indicated that he may return to active politics. "I am a free citizen from tomorrow. There will be no protocol. I am free to speak and criticize," he said.

Sankaranarayanan was among the first batch of governors who was telephoned by home secretary Anil Goswami to put in his papers after change of government at the Centre.

Some governors had given in to the pressure and resigned, while others, including Sankaranarayanan, had dug in their heels and refused to do so.
Sankaranarayanan had told reporters in mid-July that he had received two calls from home secretary Anil Goswami, asking him to resign, but he had refused to do so.

He said he was satisfied with his performance as the state governor. "I know I have done justice to my work," he said.

K Sankaranarayanan at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai, on October 18, 2013. (TOI file photo by Ashish Raje)

When asked about the replacement of governors that usually happens when new government takes charge, Sankaranarayanan said that gubernatorial assignments are above politics.

"They (governors) are appointed for five years and the term is extended if the President feels so. Prestige and status of governors should be upheld. No government or post is permanent democracy is bigger than these things. I don't have agony against anyone. I am happy," he said.

Sankaranarayanan has been serving as governor of Maharashtra since January 22 2010. He took oath as Governor for a second time on May 7, 2012 after the President granted him a fresh term of 5 years.

"I have no complaints against any political party or organization. I have had excellent relations with all parties in Maharashtra, including Shiv Sena and BJP," he said in response to a query.

The transfer of Sankaranaryanan comes close on the heels of the Supreme Court issuing a notice to the Centre on Uttarakhand governor's plea challenging Modi government's moves to ease him out of office, bringing the controversy over removal of UPA-appointed governors under judicial lens.

Responding to a query on his tenure in Maharashtra, Sankaranarayanan said, "I got support from people from all walks of life in the state.

Sankaranarayanan said that he was shifting to Sahaydri Guest House here on Sunday evening before heading back to Kerala.

Meanwhile, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan paid a visit to Sankaranarayanan.

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UPA's sanitation scheme a failure, will review it: Govt

NEW DELHI: The government will review the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan scheme, launched by the previous UPA government in 2012 to eradicate the menace of open defecation in the country, saying it was a "failure".

Ahead of the conference of state ministers in charge of drinking water and sanitation here on Monday, the government on Sunday said it will take stock of "Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) launched in the first year of the 12th Five Year Plan and the factors behind its failure".

The government also said Monday's meeting, convened by the ministry of drinking water and sanitation (MDWS), will evolve a strategy for speedy implementation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mission of 'Swachh Bharat' by 2019.

In 2012, the Total Sanitation Campaign was revamped as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, modifying guidelines and objectives to accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areas with renewed strategies.

Criticizing the programme envisaged by the then minister of drinking water and sanitation Jairam Ramesh, the ministry, in a release, said, "From over 1.2 crore toilets to be built annually prior to 2011-12, the figure has come down to below 50 lakh per year now."

States have also carried out a baseline survey in 2012-13, from which it is clear that out of the 17.19 crore rural households in the country, about 11.11 crore households do not have latrines, the release said.

MWDS pointed out that toilets have not been built for 8.84 crore households. More than two crore families who were given subsidy under the programme do not have functional toilets today, it said.

Modi had personally expressed anguish in his Independence Day speech and vowed to achieve 'Swachh Bharat' by 2019 as a tribute on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, by eliminating the unhealthy practice of open defecation.

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India to fence over water to stop immigration from Bangladesh

KOLKATA: As a huge part of Indo-Bangladesh border is marked by rivers and wetlands, the central government in a one-off initiative in the country has decided to implant special kind of fence over water along the riverine border to stop illegal immigration. Replicating the Singapore 'skid marine hedge model', this floating fence will help to prevent immigrants trying to enter into the mainland of the country.

In 2003, the island state Singapore made a long wall along their Pulao Ubin beach so that the illegal boat of the immigrants cannot push back to their coast. After that they align a floating drum wall in the sea of Pasir Ris beach of Singapore. The drum walls will be inter-connected with wires so that people cannot cross over. Although this doesn't have an aesthetic view but it can be an effective method to prevent immigrants. Now Indian government thinks, if they can put this kind of wall in many areas of Bangladeshi border, it will help to prevent infiltration.

According to a top BSF official, there are two areas that needs to be addressed- the mapping of the riverine border and then the fencing of that border. "According to the instructions of the central government we have almost completed the mapping and have identified our area along the river and other water bodies. Now we are waiting for the sanction of funds so that the fencing portion can be done," the BSF officer said.

When asked about the fence, IG (South Bengal) of BSF, R K Mishra said, "The central government is keen to put up fence all along the border and we are doing everything to implant fencing so that illegal immigration can be checked". Interestingly of the 3326 kilometre border only 501 kilometres is left without fence of which 130 kilomteres is land where barbed wire fencing is going on and the rest of the portion is covered with rivers and water bodies.

Previously during budget speech home minister Rajnath Singh had said that government wanted to finish the unfinished work of fencing as quickly as possible but he admitted fencing in the rest of the area was a problem because the area is full of rivers, lakes and wetlands.

"At present only 45 kilometres of the river has been separated by dikes but rest of the portion - a major part of which falls under North and South 24 Parganas there is nothing. We have done the mapping and a report has been sent to the ministry of home affairs. This is an expensive project and we need fund allocation from the government. Once the funds are cleared we are hopeful that the work of the project can be started". Without the divulging the details of the financial involvement, the officer added, "This cost could be twice or even three times than setting up such common wire fence. We are hopeful that we will be able to start the project after the end of pujas".

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Congress stands exposed, reveal who had pressurised CAG: BJP

NEW DELHI: Attacking the Congress over former CAG Vinod Rai's claims, BJP on Sunday said the opposition party stood "exposed" and demanded that the identity of leaders who "approached him" to drop names of those involved in scams during the UPA regime be revealed.

The ruling party said Rai's disclosures have vindicated its stand that the then UPA government was not only misusing constitutional bodies but was also putting pressure on them.

"We want the Congress to reveal the names of those who were putting pressure on the former CAG. Who were those people who had established contacts with Vinod Rai and went to his home?", party spokesperson Bizay Sonkar Shastri told reporters.

He said the charges against the previous UPA government made by BJP "have been proved true".

Rai, whose book is due for release in September, has claimed that UPA functionaries deputed politicians to get him to leave out names from the auditor's reports on Coalgate and Commonwealth Games scams.

Reacting to the allegations of the former comptroller and auditor general, another party spokesperson Sambit Patra said it was something that was known for long to everyone in the country.

"I believe that the kind of subversion the constitutional institution was subjected to by the Congress is out in the open today," he told reporters.

He said the disclosure has also made it clear that Congress' main motive was not to fight corruption but to stay in power.

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We couldn't take UPA's achievements to people: Digvijaya

HYDERABAD: Alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power by "making false promises", Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh on Sunday said some shortcoming lay with his party too in taking the UPA's achievements effectively to the people.

"Gujarat model of development. What is this Gujarat model of development? By making false promises and spreading them, people of this country were misled. Narendra Modi was chief minister for 12 years. Number of poor grew. Malnutrition grew," Digvijaya alleged.

"Eliminating corruption is talked about. But, Babubhai Bokaria, who was given three-year punishment by court, is minister even today. And, they talk about eliminating corruption. Narendra Modi is an expert in speech and making false promises. They (facts) would all come out," he further alleged.

Referring to BJP's charge that Congress has not done anything in 60 years, he wondered whether the inaugurations of projects done by the government in the last 60 days (after NDA came to power) were completed only during the period.

The projects inaugurated during the last 60 days, including railway line to Mata Vaishnodevi in Jammu, power project in Leh and NTPC plant, were done by Congress government, he claimed.

"Have you done this in 60 days? You have come this far by making false promises. But, our mistake also lies in this. We could not campaign. We could not take the work of UPA to the people. We could not give confidence to people by taking the achievements of UPA to the people," Singh said.

The AICC general secretary was speaking at a convention organized on the city outskirts to deliberate on the future course of action for Telangana Congress.

Observing that Congress could not muster public support which it should have for having delivered on separate Telangana demand, he said there is a need to reflect on that.

Claiming that the credit for passing the separate Telangana Bill in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha should go to the UPA despite stiff opposition, he said the Congress might not have succeeded in taking it to the people.

In an apparent reference to the alleged differences within Telangana Congress, he said: "We are all political workers and we have our ambitions. But, we have to accept that there was a shortcoming on our part."

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UPSC preliminary examination on Sunday, Supreme Court rejects plea seeking stay

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Saturday refused to postpone civil services preliminary examination scheduled for Sunday, saying the objections raised by students on comprehension part have been addressed and the exam can't be stayed at the last hour when nine lakh students are ready to appear.

In a special hearing, a bench of justices JS Khehar and Arun Mishra, which assembled on Saturday on a non-working day, dismissed the plea for a stay on the examination.

The bench granted a patient hearing for around half an hour, but did not agree with the contention of the petitioner that the examination procedure favours students from science background.

"You have pointed out only one point that is on comprehension and it has been removed. Defect has been remedied," the bench said.

It was referring to UPSC's decision asking candidates not to answer questions in English comprehension section of the preliminary exam following protest over its inclusion.

Advocate Ravindra S Garia and Vishal Sinha, appearing for the petitioner Angesh Kumar, submitted that the present pattern of examination is already skewed against the students from non-urban background and from Humanities and non-engineering/science/management streams.

"Your difficulty has been removed so you are in better position. Your grievance has been decided in your favour. Merit cannot be assessed in your way," it said, adding that these are academic issues which should be left to the government and expert bodies to decide.

Civil services aspirants protesting against English comprehension paper in UPSC exam and "discrimination against candidates with non-science background."

The bench, however, observed that the bright students opt for science and medicine stream and that may be reason why people from such stream do well in exams.

"Where do the most intelligent students go? The cream goes to science and medicine. So students from those stream score marks higher than the students from humanities background," the bench said, adding, "No system is perfect." It also asked the petitioner why he approached the court so late.

"Everything is same. Syllabus is same. Why do you need more time? Nine lakh students are ready to appear in the exam. What to do if one is not ready. All students applied in May and they have prepared for the exam," it said, adding, "We find no merit in this petition and the same is accordingly dismissed".

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PM sanctions Rs 2 lakh to kin of each dead in floods in 4 states

NEW DELHI: Condoling the loss of lives in floods in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sanctioned Rs two lakh for the next of kin of each of the deceased.

Modi also sanctioned Rs 50,000 for each of the seriously injured from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund, a PMO statement said.

"The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the loss of life in the floods in the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam," the statement said.

Floods have ravaged Uttar Pradesh and caused damage in Uttarakhand, Bihar and Assam. At least 89 people have died in floods in UP alone.

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Brigadier posted on LoC allegedly sodomizes sahayak, faces sacking

NEW DELHI: A brigadier deployed along the line of control in the Poonch sector of Jammu & Kashmir is facing the prospect of disciplinary action for allegedly sodomizing his sahayak (assistant).

Sahayaks, who were earlier known as batmans, are regular combat soldiers who are provided to officers for helping them out in doing official tasks. But there are demands to scrap the system as they are allegedly misused for doing domestic chores.

The brigadier was commanding troops in the Poonch sector along the LoC and was in charge of the sensitive area where Pakistani ceasefire violations are frequent.

After receiving complaints about his behaviour, the brigadier has been attached to the an infantry division for a court of inquiry, sources here said. He has been forced to proceed on leave, they said.

Army headquarters said such an incident has come to light and investigations are going on in this matter.

Officials said similar cases had taken place earlier also and officers have been sacked as such conduct is not acceptable in the armed forces.

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Withdraw Teesta's security cover: Gulbarg massacre witness requests Modi

AHMEDABAD: The prime witness to the Gulbarg Society massacre of post-Godhra riots has requested prime minister Narendra Modi to withdraw the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) cover from social activist Teesta Setalvad and a team of lawyers that assist her in legal proceedings.

Key witness in this case, Imtiyazkhan Pathan and four other witnesses have sought withdrawal of security cover on the ground that Setalvad, her former aide Rais Khan, the lawyers and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri's widow Zakia and son Tanvir have never faced threat. Moreover, Zakia and Tanvir are not eye witnesses to the case, and there is no point in extending such heavy security cover to them.

Pathan is the only witness that has implicated Modi during the trial of 2002 riots cases. He told the court that when Jafri called Modi for help, the later abused him on phone and did not send any help when the colony in Chamanpura area was surrounded by rioters. Sixty-nine persons including nine persons from Pathan's family lost their lives in this massacre. He identified 23 accused persons during the trial.

In his application, a copy of which is also sent to the Union Home Ministry and the Supreme Court-appointed SIT and Gujarat chief minister, Pathan has alleged that the social activists throw around their weight with the CISF cover with them. He has asserted that the eye witnesses like him are required to be given CISF cover. When contacted, Pathan told TOI, "The witnesses are guarded by a constable and three constables work to protect them in three shifts. But in most of the cases, the policemen spend hardly a few hours with witnesses, and leave them exposed to danger."

Another signatory in this application, Firozkhan Pathan cited example of Nadeem Saiyed, who was a witness in the Naroda Patia massacre case. "He was given security of one constable, but the guards usually stayed with him during day time. When he was assaulted and killed in the open, no guard was present to protect him. The reason behind assault on Nadeem could be different though," he said.

Few witnesses in the Gulbarg Society case and Setalvad fell apart fall apart after Setalvad's NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) kicked out Rais Khan in 2008. Last year, they lodged an FIR against Setalvad, her husband and office bearers of the society accusing them of duping them by giving false promise to purchase the society land to construct a museum of conflict.

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Build Ram temple in Ayodhya: Subramanian Swamy to PM Modi

NEW DELHI: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate steps to rebuild the Ram temple in Ayodhya by 2016 and fulfil the party's commitment to the electorate.

In a letter to Modi, he has suggested appointment of a former Chief Justice of India like SH Kapadia as the executor who may liaise with a designated minister like Gen VK Singh.

The designated minister, Swamy said, may issue notice to the hereditary supervisor of Babri masjid asking him to formally withdraw his claim to the Ram Janmabhoomi and offer him an alternative site for a masjid to be built at public expense across the Saryu river.

The former Union minister also suggested calling a meeting of Islamic clerics including from abroad and seek an endorsement and if it is not forthcoming then government should move an enabling bill in the Parliament and get it passed.

He wants a Ram temple rebuilding committee on the Somnath temple model.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) with BJP Faizabad MP Lallu Singh during their 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign in Faizabad, UP.

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Centre says it never asked Uttarakhand governor Aziz Qureshi to quit after he moves Supreme Court

ON BOARD SPECIAL PLANE: The government on Friday denied claims made by Uttrakhand governor Aziz Qureshi that he had been asked to quit and said an "appropriate response" will be filed before Supreme Court soon.

Talking to PTI after touring flood-affected areas of Uttar Pradesh, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said, "... There was no move to remove him. He holds the constitutional post with the pleasure of the President."

The statement from the minister came a day after the Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre on the Uttarakhand governor's plea challenging the Narendra Modi government's move to ease him out of office, bringing the controversy over the removal of UPA-appointed governors under judicial lens.

The apex court had also issued notice to home secretary Anil Goswami who had allegedly threatened governor Qureshi to resign from the post or face removal by Centre.

However, the home minister maintained that no pressure was exerted for Qureshi's removal and said that a response will be filed before the apex court soon.

Uttarakhand governor Aziz Qureshi (right) with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

The government will be filing an "appropriate reply to the Supreme Court" in response to Aziz's decision to approach the apex court, he said.

Qureshi is the first governor to move Supreme Court against the Modi government.

Earlier, the NDA government had sacked Mizoram governor Kamla Beniwal, 87, who had served in Gujarat earlier and had a running battle with Narendra Modi when he was the state's chief minister.

Virendra Kataria, a former Congress leader, was also sacked as Puducherry lieutenant governor last month.

Four other governors — MK Narayanan (West Bengal), Ashwani Kumar (Nagaland), BL Joshi (UP) and Shekhar Dutt (Chhattisgarh) had put in their papers apparently after they were telephoned by the Union home secretary.

Home minister Rajnath Singh.

Two former law ministers — Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid — had termed home secretary's calls to the governor as unconstitutional as Quereshi had taken charge of the office on May 15, 2012 for a tenure of five years.

A bench headed by Chief Justice RM Lodha had granted six weeks time to Centre and Goswami to file their response on the allegation levelled by the Governor and referred the case to 5-judge Constitution bench observing that interpretation of Article 156 (term of office of governor) is involved.

Qureshi had said in his petition that Centre and the home secretary should be asked on whose behest he was threatened and urged the court to "reprimand and pass strictures against such person(s)".

The Supreme Court of India.

Qureshi said in his plea that after NDA government came to power at the Centre, Goswami had called him on July 30 and asked him to tender resignation and made it clear that he will be removed from office if he does not step down.

On August 2, Qureshi handed over in person his explanation to the President in a confidential communication and similar intimation was also made to the Home Minister, the petition said, adding that the copies of the communication is also filed in a sealed envelope for court's perusal.

The governor alleged in his petition that Goswami again called him on August 8 insisting that he resign.

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