Advani deserves to be President of India, Nitin Gadkari says

NEW DELHI: Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari has said party patriarch LK Advani deserves to be the President of India, a post commensurate with his stature.

Appearing on Rajat Sharma's show "Aap ki Adalat" on India TV, the Union road transport minister said it would not have been proper had he (Advani) been made the Lok Sabha Speaker as the party veteran has already been deputy prime minister.

"Advaniji was deputy prime minister and it would not have been proper had he been made the Speaker. Advaniji deserves to become the nation's President," Gadkari said, according to a press release issued by the channel. "All of us respect Advaniji and we want that he should get a post commensurate with his stature," he said.

Gadkari said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken a conscious decision not to induct ministers above the age of 75 years due to which some senior party leaders like Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi did not find a place in the Union Cabinet.

LK Advani.

Comparing the party seniors with Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan who cannot play the role of a hero now as the generation has changed, the former BJP president said even he may be replaced ten years from now to make way for new people. He dismissed as media speculation reports that Joshi wanted to become deputy chairman of Planning Commission.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with LK Advani.

"Joshiji is our thinktank, our senior leader. Our party will surely utilize his vast knowledge and experience," he told the channel.

Nitin Gadkari.

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7 facts about the railway fare hike that you must know

NEW DELHI: The railways hiked fares of both passenger fares (14.2%) and freight (6.5%) on Friday, leading to furious uproar.

The Modi-led government at the Centre supported the hike saying that it is in fact 'bitter pill' that the aam aadmi must put up with.

Detractors on the other hand alleged that the Centre was already failing in delivering its election-time promise of 'achche din'.

READ ALSO

Govt railroads 'steepest' 14% hike in passenger fares, 6.5% in freight rates

Won't mind rail fare, freight charges' hike if services improved: Citizens

Activists of Socialist Unity Center of India protest against hike in rail fare, outside the governor's house in Kolkata

Here are the seven facts about the 'historic' rail fare hike that you must know:

1) As railway minister, Pawan Bansal had to bit the bullet and raised fares by 5-10% after a decade in June 2013. Reservation and supplementary charges for superfast trains were also hiked by 5.8%.

2) The next hike of fares took place in October 2013. It was initiated by Bansal's successor, Mallikarjun Kharge. Fares went up by 2% and freight tariff increased by 1.7%. A few days later, the cost of food on Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto express trains was raised by Rs 25-27.

3) Danish Trivedi, Pawan Bansal's predecessor in the railways ministry, had hiked fares in February. However, the increased fares had to be rolled back following opposition within his party, Trinammol Congress. In fact, Trivedi also resigned from his post following the controversy.

Congress supporters protest against the rail fare hike in Delhi

4) Rail fares were reduced twice during the UPA's two-time tenure at the Centre. The first time was when Lalu Prasad was minister (UPA-I) and the second time was when Mamata Banerjee was railway minister.

5) The biggest reason that has been cited by railways for increasing fares in massive shortage of funds. Railways has been losing Rs 30 crore every day after the UPA government withdrew the fare hike announced on May 16, the day Lok Sabha election results were declared.

6) Passenger subsidy alone had been adding up to Rs 26,000 crore.

7) It seems like a wary UPA had left fares unchanged in the interim rail budget in February.

Do you back the government's decision to hike railway passenger fare?

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Naval brass to discuss ways to strengthen ties with Indian Ocean region nations

NEW DELHI: The naval top brass will congregate here next week to discuss measures to further bolster military cooperation with countries in the Indian Ocean region (IOR) in the backdrop of China's expanding strategic footprint in the region.

"The three-day naval commanders' conference, chaired by Admiral Robin Dhowan, will discuss foreign cooperation initiatives and engagements to strengthen ties with IOR littorals, as has been stressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," said an officer.

The conference, which will be inaugurated by finance and defence minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday, will dwell upon the Indian Navy's role to undertake "capacity-building" of the maritime forces of IOR countries. "Spanning 28 million sq km, the IOR is host to a third of the world's population, with a significant share of international trade passing through the sea lanes of the region," said the officer.

The top naval leadership will also take up the "combat readiness" of their force, strengthening of coastal security, optimal utilization of funds and human resources development, among other issues.

China's expanding maritime links with eastern Africa, Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Cambodia, among others, will however figure high on the agenda.

A recent US pentagon report held the Chinese navy was expanding its operational and deployment areas further into the Pacific and IOR, though its efforts are facing logistical and intelligence hurdles as of now, as was earlier reported by TOI.

"China desires to expand its access to logistics in IOR and will likely establish several access points in this area in the next 10 years. These arrangements will take the form of agreements for refueling, replenishment, crew rest and low-level maintenance," said the Pentagon.

India, on its part, has been stepping up its own engagement with IOR countries to counter China's moves. Apart from military assistance and training, Indian warships and Dornier reconnaissance aircraft have been regularly helping countries like Maldives and Seychelles in maritime and anti-piracy patrols, surveillance and hydrographic surveys.

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6 Punjabis return home; others in Iraq safe, Sushma tells Badal

CHANDIGARH: Six Punjabis from Gurdaspur district, who were stranded in strife-torn Iraq, have returned home safely.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj assured that all the Punjabis in Iraq were safe.

Jaswant Singh, a resident of Balewal village, Shamsher Singh of Sallo Chahal village, Satnam Singh of Natt village, Parhlad Singh of Aliwal village, Surinder Ram of Puranshala village, and Major Singh of Thikriwal near Qadian, all in Gurdaspur district, returned to their homes safely on Friday night.

They travelled to their homes in Gurdaspur district after landing at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

It was a touching scene when Jaswant Singh reached his home amidst tears rolling down his face. His elder brother had died of heart attack a few days back after learning about the strife in Iraq.

He told reporters that after the recent strife in Iraq, his company neither paid him the salary nor his dues, and only provided him with a return air ticket to India.

According to Jaswant's family, he had gone to Iraq two years back and was working as a labourer in a company. He was stranded with other Indians after ISIS fighters took over the area where he was living.

Talking to the mediapersons during his 'Sangat Darshan' programme in Lambi assembly segment in Muktsar district, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal said that Sushma Swaraj had informed him over phone on Saturday morning that all the Punjabis in Iraq were safe.

He said that his government was constantly in touch with the Centre to ensure the safe and prompt return of all Punjabis stranded in Iraq.

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Now, barricades divide Andhra and Telangana

HYDERABAD: Police have put up barricades between the administrative blocks being allotted to the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments at the secretariat here in a bid to restrict unauthorised movement of people.

As Hyderabad is the common capital of both the states for ten years, the secretariat of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh has been divided into two from June 2 for the administrative purpose.

While Telangana government has been allocated A, B, C and D blocks, the Andhra Pradesh government is given J, K, L, H-south and north blocks.

The barricades erected overnight separated blocks that constituted Telangana secretariat from the Andhra secretariat.
A large number of personnel belonging to the central security forces are deployed at these barricades. The decision to physically divide the secretariat was taken by the government, said a senior police official.

Policemen putting barbed wire near the entrance of Telanagana secretariat in Hyderabad.

VB Kamalasan Reddy, DCP (central zone) said that barricades have been put up for security reasons, besides limiting the flow of visitors' movement between the two zones.

"It is a government order to put up barricades for security reasons. Visitors are moving from one side to another without any authorization. Some visitors obtain (entry) pass from one gate and moving into other zone," Reddy told.

File photo of new entrance for Telangana secretariat being made ready.
However, employees of the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat have expressed disappointment over the arrangements.

"Employees were not consulted before erecting barricades. The move sends wrong signal that situation in the Secretariat is not congenial," said AP Secretariat Employees Association president Murali Krishna.

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One of the 40 Indians abducted in Iraq escapes, 16 others moved out

NEW DELHI: Sixteen Indians stranded in violence-affected areas of Iraq have been evacuated even as one of the 40 abducted Indians has fled from the captors in Mosul town which is under the control of the militants.

The developments came on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the situation at a high-level meeting which was attended by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, home minister Rajnath Singh, national security adviser Ajit Doval, cabinet secretary Ajit Seth, foreign secretary Sujatha Singh, heads of intelligence and security agencies as well as senior officials of the external affairs ministry.

External affairs ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said that the meeting reviewed the "entire dimensions" of the situation taking into consideration all facts and information available to the government.

READ ALSO: Promised wages by Iraq rebels, Indian nurses to stay in Tikrit

"We can confirm to you that one Indian has escaped and is in touch with our embassy in Baghdad," Akbaruddin said.

The 40 Indians, who were working in a construction project, were abducted in Mosul which was seized by Sunni militant group ISIS.

Muslims offer prayers in Ahemdabad for the safe return of Indians trapped in Mosul

Akbaruddin also said that the abducted Indians are safe and noted that the government was making "every effort so that it is resolved at the earliest".

Asked about negotiations with the militants, the spokesperson said, "We are knocking on all doors, front doors, back doors and trapped doors."

A man fires a RPG in this still image taken from an undated recruitment video for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)

Eight Indians have been evacuated from Baiji while eight others were moved out from Anbar.

They have since been flown out of Baghdad.

Iraq is witnessing serious strife with Sunni militants, backed by Al-Qaida, capturing two key cities and marching towards Baghdad. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been displaced in the fighting that broke out on June 10.

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371 sunstroke deaths during summer in Andhra

HYDERABAD: As many as 371 people died due to sunstroke during this summer in (new) Andhra Pradesh as severe heat conditions prevailed in the state.

The highest number of 127 sunstroke deaths were reported in Vizianagaram district, followed by Prakasam (69), East Godavari (47), Krishna (36), Srikakulam and Guntur (30 each), an 'Action Taken Report on Heat Wave Conditions in 2014' (as on June 19) from the revenue disaster management department said on Friday.

Severe heat conditions prevailed in Andhra Pradesh during this summer with maximum temperature levels hovering over 40 degrees celsius and the mercury levels came down considerably during the last few days with the onset of monsoon.

Recalling that chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced payment of ex-gratia of Rs one lakh from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF), the report said the district collectors have been asked to process proposals for payment of Rs 50,000 under the 'Apathbandhu' scheme to the victims' families.

An amount of Rs 1.64 crore has been released to the district collectors from the CMRF, it said.

The government had issued instructions to all the collectors and other departments like medical and health, agriculture and irrigation regarding preparedness during the summer season to mitigate sunstroke deaths and the same were reiterated subsequently, the report said.

A list of Dos and Don'ts were given wide publicity through electronic media during May and June to prevent sunstrokes.

The district collectors are ensuring availability of ORS, glucose and potassium chloride in the hospitals, it said.

In its weather observations, the release said the southwest monsoon has further advanced into remaining parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and most parts of Telangana.

Conditions are favourable for further advancement of southwest monsoon into remaining parts of Telangana during next 48 hours, it said, adding that heatwave conditions prevailed over some parts in the districts of Krishna and Guntur in Coastal Andhra.

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Govt announces steep hike of 14.2% in railway passenger fare

NEW DELHI: In a pre-budget move, cash-strapped railways on Friday effected a steep across-the-board hike of 14.2 per cent in passenger fares in all classes and a 6.5 per cent increase in freight rates to garner Rs 8,000 crore a year.

The decision, which will come into effect from June 25, marks implementation of an announcement of May 16, the day Lok Sabha election results came, when the hike was announced but put on hold immediately.

In a flip-flop, the ministry first announced Friday's hike will be implemented with immediate effect but later changed it to June 25, saying the officials needed time to execute it.

Announcing the decision, less than a month after the NDA government took over, railway minister Sadanand Gowda said, "I was forced to implement the order that was done by my predecessor. I am only withdrawing the withholding order."

He said the interim budget presented by the previous government had assumed certain revenues on the basis of the proposed hike that was announced on May 16.

The railway budget will be presented in Parliament in the first week of next month.

Do you back the government's decision to hike railway passenger fare?

Do you back the government's decision to hike railway passenger fare?

Do you back the government's decision to hike railway passenger fare?

A goods train carrying shipping containers passes through Navi Mumbai. (Getty Images photo)

"Meeting the annual expenditure would not be possible unless the revised rates as finalised by previous government is implemented, hence order of withdrawing implementation of revised fare and freight has been withdrawn," said the railway ministry, which is incurring a loss of about Rs 900 crore per month in passenger segment.

"Accordingly, the revised passenger fare and freight rates and freight structure rationalization will come into effect from June 25, 2014," it said in a statement.

A train moving on a bridge over in the Nilgiris. (Getty Images photo)

The hike was announced nearly a week after Modi said the country should be ready for "tough decisions" required to improve the financial health.

Two days back, Gowda had said he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi before announcing the hike.

While a flat 10 per cent has been announced in all classes, an additional 4.2 per cent increase under fuel adjustment component (FAC)-linked revision scheme will be effected on passenger fares, taking the upper revision of fares to 14.2 per cent, an official said.

Passengers waiting to board a local train in Mumbai. (Getty Images photo)

The railways had earlier issued a notification on May 16 effecting hike in passenger fare by 14.2 per cent across the board and freight charges by 6.5 per cent from May 20. This was followed up with an official press release.

The May 16 fare hike decision, which had raised eyebrows as it came in the midst of Lok Sabha election results, led to a scurry of activities in Rail Bhawan on that day and the Railway Board went into a huddle to discuss its fallout.

Soon after, the red-faced railway ministry had put the decision on hold, saying the matter related to the revision will be left to the next government.

The then railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge came out with a statement directing the Board to leave the decision on the hike to the new government.

"It is now informed that under the directions of the minister of railways Mallikarjun Kharge, the decision on the proposed hike in the freight charges and passenger fares have been kept pended till further advice for placing this proposal before the new government," the statement said.

READ ALSO: Govt initiates steps to relax FDI policy in railways

A fresh notification was issued later, stating that the "revision of fares with effect from May 20 should be pended till further advice."

The railway minister had on Wednesday met finance minister Arun Jaitley and said that he would discuss the fare issue with the Prime Minister.

Seeking a significant increase in gross budgetary support, Gowda, along with minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha and senior railway officials, had met Jaitley as part of the pre-budget discussion.

About the discussion with Jaitley, the railway minister had said "it was a fruitful meeting with the finance minister who suggested some measures which will be reflected in the rail budget."

Gowda said "we have sought more budgetary support. There is a need for more funds for national projects."

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Social media official language order applicable only in Hindi belt: PMO

CHENNAI: Following strong criticism from several political parties, the Prime Minister Office on Friday clarified that the use of Hindi on Central Government's social media platforms is applicable only to states in the Hindi belt.

A PMO statement said the attention of the government had been drawn to the concerns expressed about instructions on the use of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states. However, "this (instruction) is neither a new policy nor an attempt to impose the use of Hindi on any non-Hindi speaking state," it said.

The department of official languages, ministry of home affairs, issued a circular on March 10, 2014, stating that Hindi speaking states must give equal importance to the use of Hindi on its social media platforms. The instructions reiterated that both English and Hindi should be used on official Twitter, Facebook, blogs and other platforms by the Central Government, it added.

The PMO also clarified that that these instructions of the department of official languages did not seek to impose communication in Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states.

"The instructions of department of official languages have only reiterated the existing Government of India's policy on the use of
Hindi in which the use of Hindi is compulsory in government's communication only in the Hindi speaking states," it clarified.

In its circular dated May 27, the ministry of home affairs communicated the above guidelines of the department of official languages with regard to the social media to the departments under the ministry of home affairs.

On Thursday, DMK leader M Karunanidhi flayed the Centre for 'imposing' Hindi on non- Hindi states. Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and BJP allies in Tamil Nadu -- MDMK and PMK -- also urged PM Narendra Modi to ensure English is used in official social media accounts.

Former Union finance minister P Chidambaram said there would be a backlash in non-Hindi speaking states, especially Tamil Nadu, if the Centre imposed the language on these states.

CPM leader Brinda Karat condemned the Centre saying the push for Hindi was against constitutional spirit of linguistic equality.

READ ALSO: Don't provoke a sleeping tiger, Vaiko warns govt

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Chennai Corporation conducts dengue awareness programmes in schools

CHENNAI: The Chennai Corporation removed 1,345kg of unused articles in five of its fifteen zones on Wednesday as part of an exercise to prevent the outbreak of vector-borne diseases.

Awareness programmes on the causes of dengue, how it spreads and how it can be prevented were conducted at fifty five schools in these zones. The five zones where the programme was conducted are Thiru-vi-ka Nagar, Ambattur, Anna Nagar, Teynampet and Kodambakkam. Teynampet is one of the vector prone localities.

Cases of malaria and dengue peak in July and August. "Starting next week, workers will be sent to inspect households," said a health official of the corporation.

"Breeding spots will be identified and removed," he added.

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