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Padma honours for
Amrita, Gulzar
Revision of poll
rolls next month Maharashtra
ministers quit Jharkhand
minister sacked for bribe |
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Punjab CM seeks
nod for airport near Phillaur Minister denies
pressure on Governors Jakhar's faux pas Left Front wins
civic body poll Decentralise
water management: Patkar Assam Rifles
admits to rights violations Contradictions
on Godhra train fire emerge Liberhan panel
concludes hearing in Babri case Youth surrenders
in love-murder case Kaizad Gustad
gets bail Women’s panel
takes up prostitutes’ cause Woman sells
newborn for Rs 4,000: NGO Cops look to
gods for SP’s transfer Kanwaljit is
ITBP chief
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Padma honours for Amrita, Gulzar
New Delhi, June 30 A distinguished jurist and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, 75-year-old Venkatachaliah, was presented the prestigious Padma Vibhushan by the President. Renowned poet, novelist and short-story writer Amrita Pritam and eminent astronomer and astrophysicist Prof Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, two other Padma Vibhushan awardees, were not present. Agricultural scientist S.S. Johl, Gulzar, Bharatnatyam dancer Alarmel Valli, noted economist and policy maker C. Hanumantha Rao, scientist G. Padmanaban, journalist M. V. Kamath, veena exponent Madurai T. N. Seshagopalan and social worker Poornima Arvind Pakvasa were among 19 Padma Bhushan winners. The nation's highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, was not announced this year. The President honoured cricketers Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid with Padma awards. Yoshiro Mori, former Japanese Prime Minister who has been instrumental in the normalisation of relations with India and improving economic relations after the ban imposed in the wake of the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests, was not present to receive the Padma Bhushan award. In his characteristic style, Dr Kalam stepped down from the podium on 15 occasions to pin the medals on those who were old and found it difficult to walk.
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Revision of poll rolls next month New Delhi, June 30 The electoral rolls revision process will begin from July 1, Deputy Election Commission
A.N. Jha told newspersons here yesterday. In Arunachal Pradesh and Maharashtra, where Assembly polls are due in October, the exercise will be undertaken after the elections, Mr Jha said. For the intensive revision, the preparatory work will be completed by August 1, while house-to-house enumeration will be done from August 2 to September 3. The draft rolls will be published on October 29, while claims and objections can be filed till November 20. The final rolls will be published on January 3, 2005. For special summary revision, the draft rolls will be published on September 15, while claims and objections can be filed till October 15. The final rolls will be published on January 3, 2005. On an experimental basis, the Election Commission has decided to utilise the services of the delivery post offices in Maharashtra, where draft rolls have been published, will receive claims and objections from voters. Services of postmen were being utilised for verification of such applications received in the post offices of the state only, he said adding that the Commission intended to extend it to all other states after the experiment succeeded. The Commission has decided to provide the facilities to file claims and objections online through the Internet, Mr Jha said adding this facility was being tried on an experimental basis in Maharashtra. Mr Jha said the Commission had decided to prepare electoral rolls with the elector’s photograph printed on it. To begin with, Kerala and some selected Assembly constituencies in other states would be covered under this programme. The Commission was also considering using the Geographic Information System (GIS) in the electoral management, he said. |
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Maharashtra
ministers quit Mumbai, June 30 The ministers from the Congress submitted their resignation letters to Mr Shinde Wednesday at his official residence. Ministers from the NCP have begun submitting their resignations to party leader and Deputy Chief Minister Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil. Most of the NCP ministers have already quit ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting, sources say. Mr Shinde later told reporters that he was in consultations with party leaders in New Delhi about those who would be allowed to continue in the Cabinet. The fate of the NCP ministers would be decided by Mr Sharad Pawar and state-level leaders. Till Tuesday, several ministers were hesitating to put in their papers. However, the Chief Minister kept the pressure and even threatened to sack ministers, sources said. |
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Jharkhand minister sacked for bribe
Ranchi, June 30 Chief Minister Arjun Munda announced that Singh had been dropped from his Council of Ministers shortly after the JD(U) leader was suspended from the party by its President George Fernandes. In view of the suspension of Singh from the party, the Chief Minister said he was dropping the minister. Singh vehemently denied the charge and said, “A section of the BJP is after me and wants to spoil my political career.” Shortly after a newspaper published a report alleging that Singh had accepted Rs 50 lakh in lieu of supporting someone in the Rajya Sabha poll, Mr Fernandes, here along with other senior leaders, suspended him from the party. “We have only one way before us after we got the unexpected news that one of our ministers, Madhu Singh, has taken Rs 50 lakh to support somebody during the Rajya Sabha elections. He has been suspended,” Mr Fernandes said at a press
conference. — PTI |
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Punjab CM seeks nod for airport near Phillaur New Delhi, June 30 The Punjab Chief Minister also sought the upgradation of the Amritsar international airport to bring it at a par with the international parameters, as approved by the International Airport Authority. “The government has agreed to construct a greenfield airport near Phillaur, between Jalandhar and Ludhiana, on the lines of the Bangalore international airport,” the Punjab Chief Minister said after his 40-minute meeting with Mr Patel. “The ministry is working fast on this project and if everything goes working, we will have the first landing at the new airport by 2006,” he said, adding, “Global tenders will be shortly invited for the project.” Capt Amarinder Singh impressed upon Mr Patel to commence a direct international flight of Air-India from Amritsar to the UK with a view to improving air connectivity between the East and the West. He also mentioned that after the success of this new flight, other international airlines could be persuaded to initiate more such flights to various destinations in Punjab. The Punjab Chief Minister also urged upon the Civil Aviation Minister to release adequate funds to the Punjab Government for the upgradation of infrastructure at the civil aviation clubs at Jalandhar, Patiala, Amritsar and Ludhiana, which were in dilapidated condition and required proper maintenance on a priority basis. Capt Amarinder Singh was accompanied by Mr Lal Singh, Finance Minister, Mr Avtar Henry, Food and Civil Supplies Minister, and Mr Malkit Singh Birmi, Jails, Housing and Urban Development Minister. |
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Minister denies pressure on Governors New Delhi, June 30 “No pressure is being exerted on the NDA-appointed Governors to step down,” Mr Jaiswal said here in response to the charge made by former Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani that Governors appointed during the Vajpayee regime were being asked to resign. “What Mr Advani stated has been denied by Rajasthan Governor Madan Lal Khurana who has contended that no one had asked him to step down,” the minister told newspersons here. Mr Jaiswal, who returned from a visit to Surankote in Jammu region where 12 persons were killed by militants recently, said the Centre was contemplating on providing modern weapons to Village Defence Committee (VDC) members in Jammu and Kashmir to counter militant attacks in higher reaches. |
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Jakhar's faux pas Bhopal, June 30 The oath of affirmation was administered by Acting Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court Rajiv Gupta. Apparently finding the recitation of the Sanskrit text cumbersome, Mr Justice Gupta pronounced only the first word “aham” and Dr Jakhar then completed the oath. Those present at the function, held on the lawns of Raj Bhavan, included former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, Chief Minister Uma Bharati, her Cabinet colleagues, state BJP president Kailash Joshi and state Congress president Subhash Yadav. Ms Uma Bharati and 30-odd others had also taken their oath as members of the assembly in Sanskrit in December last year. |
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Left Front
wins civic body poll Kolkata, June 30 The counting of votes began today morning and continued till late hours in the evening. The results announced so far, indicated a sweeping victory for the CPM and its partners. But Mr Subhas Ghising's GNLF re-established its control in the hills in capturing Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong municipal boards. In the plains, however, the CPM won larger number of seats. Of the 18 municipalities, including the Siliguri Mahakuma Parisad where the elections were held, the Left Front kept its control in 11 municipal boards. Unlike in the past, the Congress, however, fared better than the Trinamool Congress in winning in Malda, Islampur, Raiganj, Kaliaganj in north Bengal and Saithia municipalities in Burbhum district. The Trinamool Congress won in the Egra municipality, east Midnapore, Rajpur and Sonarpur in South 24-Parganas and a seat in the byelection in Kolkata. But the CPM recaptured its full control in winning the maximum number of seats in the Dum Dum and South Dum Dum municipalities which fall under the Assembly constituency of Mr Arunava Ghosh, TMC MLA. The CPM secretary, Mr Anil Biswas, congratulated the people for voting them to power in most of the municipal boards. But the TMC leader, Ms Mamata Banerjee, said the results did not vindicate the people's real verdict. She alleged in most of the places, there were no elections at all. Both the TMC and the BJP had withdrawn their candidates from the fray there, she claimed. |
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Decentralise water management: Patkar
New Delhi, June 30 Stressing that the centralised water bodies created by the past wrong approach was a challenge to the Manmohan Singh government, Ms Patkar said “merely being secular won’t do. They have to clarify their development agenda.” Calling for a “decentralised, sustainable and non-destructive” water and land management policies, she stressed upon the urgent need for national consultation on water projects and policies. Further, the National Policy for Resettlement and Rehabilitation-passed hurriedly and secretively by the NDA government-should also be reviewed, she added. Welcoming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s decision to empower gram panchayats, she said this should be followed honestly in all sectors including water and power. On the privatisation of water through foreign direct investment and diverting it for the urban elite, she said this was another kind of privatisation and control of resources. Stressing on the rights of the local people, she said there was a need to give due primacy to local harnessing. Praising the Common Minimum Programme of the UPA government, the Narmada Bachao Andolan activist said the upcoming budget should also set these dimensions and have those reflected into the allocations. On the immediate actions required from the government, the Narmada Bachao Andolan pointed out that with the onset of the monsoon atleast 150 villages in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat would be flooded. The NGO also said that Harsud township in the Narmada valley with a population of 22,000 was being forcibly evicted. It also charged Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Uma Bharti of entering into an “inhuman conspiracy” for constitution of the Narmada Control Authority.
— UNI |
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Assam Rifles admits to rights violations
Shillong, June 30 In his concluding remarks after a two-day debate attended by Central paramilitary personnel of the north-eastern zone, the Assam Rifles Director-General, Lieut-Gen Bhopinder Singh said a jawan spent almost 42 continuous years of service combating insurgency, so “occasional violation” of human right was not ruled out. The Assam Rifles, however, did support the NHRC and other rights organisations in their efforts to bring to light the “excesses” committed by some members of the force. Thanking the NHRC for giving the Assam Rifles an opportunity to host the event, the General said the force was committed to counter-insurgency operations in the North East. NHRC Member R. S. Kala, who along with his colleague, Mr M. S.
Mallik, came here to judge the debate competition, said the government should provide more than an enabling environment for the vulnerable groups of society to protect human rights. The two-day event, organised by the Assam Rifles on behalf of the NHRC on “How relevant are human rights for prisoners and prisoners of war,” was attended by paramilitary forces deployed in the North-East. In overall performance, the CRPF was adjudged the winner and BSF runners-up.
— PTI |
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Contradictions on Godhra train fire emerge
Ahmedabad, June 30 Mr Bawa, whose cross-examination before the two-man inquiry commission of Justice (retd) G. T. Nanavati and Justice (retd) K. G. Shah continued today, was asked by advocate Mukul Sinha if investigation had revealed whether the fire in the S-6 coach was on the floor or the ceiling. Mr Sinha sought to know as to how 59 passengers were completely charred while 70 others who survived in the S-6 coach only received minor injuries and that too in the portion of the body above the waist. Mr Bawa said as per the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, the fire was on the floor of the coach even as he failed to explain how the survivors received injuries only above the waist. The retired DSP said bodies of the victims had not been sent to the FSL while only 550 kg of items collected from inside the coach were sent. He said there was no trace of petroleum hydrocarbon found from the 550 kg material that was taken as samples from the coach. On being asked by Mr Sinha if his probe had revealed involvement of any foreign hand/organisation in the carnage as was speculated in the media, Mr Bawa replied in negative. To another question, he said he had conducted the panchnama of the "inside portion" of the ill-fated coach and of the samples on May 1, 2002. Later, Mr Sinha, who is appearing on the behalf of the Jan Sangharsh Manch, told reporters Mr Bawa had no clear answers to the cross-questioning. Mr Sinha also demanded an "impartial" inquiry into how the coach caught fire and how the deaths occurred.
— PTI |
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Liberhan panel
concludes hearing in Babri case New Delhi, June 30 The one-man inquiry commission, headed by Justice M.S. Liberhan, who was given the task to probe the 1992 demolition 10 days after the incident while he was the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, had been given extension till September 30 to complete the inquiry. On conclusion of today’s proceedings, Justice Liberhan said “curtains are down now” and his report “can be expected very soon.” The commission, while granting time to Union Government counsel P.P. Malhotra to submit additional written arguments on July 20, turned down the plea of Aslam Bhure for giving him further hearing. Bhure is one of the petitioners in the Supreme Court, challenging the trial proceedings in the Ayodhya demolition case against BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders. After closing the arguments from all parties concerned who had deposed before it as witnesses, the commission said if any party felt that some matters had been left over to be brought to its notice, they could make submissions regarding those in writing by July 20. The commission, which was constituted on December 16, 1992, had examined 99 witnesses, including former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao during whose tenure the mosque was demolished. |
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Youth surrenders in love-murder case Chennai, June 30 The incident had sent shockwaves across South India as the girl had complained to the college principal and the police but they failed to protect her. Manohara, an MCA student of Saradha College in Vijayawada, fell in love with his classmate Sri Lakshmi (24). Sri Lakshmi, who hailed from Hyderabad, was staying with her uncle to attend the college. She turned him down when Manohara professed his love for her. However, he did not give it up and kept on stalking her and even threatened her with dire consequences unless she accepted his proposal. Following repeated threats from him, Sri Lakshmi lodged complaints with the college principal and the local police, which did not seem to have taken any action to apprehend the youth. On June 21, the final day of the academic year, when Sri Lakshmi reached the college, an angry Manohara pounced upon her and repeatedly stabbed her with a knife. Sri Lakshmi died on the spot but Manohara fled. The incident triggered off fear and shock among girl students and their parents and people were surprised why the police had not taken any action against Manohara particularly when Sri Lakshmi had lodged a complaint against him. The Vijayawada police launched a manhunt for Manohara but he had escaped from Andhra Pradesh. After he surrendered to the Chennai police, a special police team from Vijayawada arrived and he was handed over to
it. |
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Kaizad Gustad
gets bail Mumbai, June 30 Granting bail, Mr Justice Dilip Bhosale of the High Court set bail at Rs 35,000 with sureties of the like amount. The judge also ruled that none of them would be able to leave the country without the permission of the court. They were asked to deposit their passports with the
police. Gustad and his associates, Ashish Udeshi and Hadley D’Mello, approached the High Court after their bail plea was rejected twice by a railway magistrate and once by a sessions court. Urging for bail, Gustad and his colleagues pleaded that they had been wrongly booked for the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the case of Nadia Khan. She was knocked down by a train at Mahalaxmi railway station during the shooting of film “Mumbai Central” on May 25. Khan (27), a British national, was taken to hospital by Udeshi and D’mello where they told the police that she was hit by a truck while crossing the road nearby. Nadia Khan’s relatives have now appointed a British coroner to monitor the case in India. They have filed a complaint against Ayesha
Shroff, wife of Bollywood star Jackie Shroff and the film’s financier. |
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Women’s panel takes up prostitutes’ cause New Delhi, June 30 The NCW Chairperson, Dr Poornima Advani, who will lead a three-member team to the beach in Vasco on Saturday, told TNS that prostitutes living there were on the road as their houses had been razed to the ground. Other members of the team are Nafisa Husain and Praveen Patkar, who have been taking up issues related to trafficking. The NCW, which has held public hearings with the prostitutes in various states, plans to take up the matter of providing decent shelter to these women with the Chief Secretary and the secretaries for Home and Tourism, besides the Chief Minister and the Governor. Dr Advani said the red-light area on the Baina beach was very old and all governments had dealt with the request of residents of Goa to oust the prostitutes. She said the prostitutes were from Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and were in the 16-30 age group. |
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Woman sells newborn for Rs 4,000: NGO Coimbatore, June 30 The woman, a resident of Kunnathur village, had reportedly sold her second born just four hours after its birth as she could not take care of it, convener of the Campaign Against Child Trafficking
(CACT) C Nambi told reporters here today. The incident had been confirmed by a fact-finding team of the
CACT, which recently visited the village following reports about the auction, he said demanding the government takeover the custody of the child. The woman, who had also “sold” her first child, had offered new born for Rs 5,000 in the auction held at Shandy village a fortnight ago, he said, adding that a person purchased the infant for Rs 4,000, believing that “bringing home a girl child, born on a Friday, would be auspicious”. The team also found that a local cobbler had “booked” the child and had even met all the expenses of the woman when she was pregnant, Mr V.P.
Sarathi, Chairperson, Coimbatore Human Rights Forum, and another member of the CACT team, said. Saying that the team had contacted 20 persons in the area, who had confirmed the sale, Mr Sarathi accused the police of failure to act promptly and properly, when the auction was taking place, within 200 metres of Kunnathur police station.
— PTI |
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Cops look to gods for SP’s transfer Morena (MP), June 30 The target of the 'yagya' reportedly performed today was Superintendent of Police Rajesh Gupta, who after taking over charge a month ago, had suspended nearly a dozen policemen including three inspectors and two sub-inspectors for incompetence. The overweight policemen were warned of suspension by Gupta in case they didn't shed weight within two
months. — PTI |
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NEW DELHI: Mr Kanwaljit Singh took over as the new Director-General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on Wednesday. A 1969 batch IPS officer of West Bengal cadre. Mr Kanwal Jit took over from Mr R.K. Aggarwal, who retired on Wednesday. He was earlier the Additional Director-General of the ITBP. — TNS Kanwal Jit Singh, New Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), taking his charge from
R. C. Aggarwal, outgoing DG ITBP, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
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