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Gujjars seal off Delhi, burn buses, damage train
India, Russia discuss Sukhoi deal
CPM steps up attack against Cong in AP
President
Election |
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Quader sceptical about poll in B’desh
Kota, Baran observe shutdown
Post-poll uncertainty: Security tightened in Goa
Dr Kler to succeed Trehan
Uri Project
Sonia remark flares up row
SCBA suspends Anand, Khan
Indo-Brazilian declaration covers energy, defence
Teachers strip search 5 students
Rail union poll on June 25
Political row over demolition notice to AIADMK headquarters
2 senior Cong leaders killed in Assam
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Gujjars seal off Delhi, burn buses, damage train
New Delhi, June 4 Normal life was affected in several parts of the city as angry Gujjars torched and damaged buses, pelted the police with stones and laid siege to all major roads leading to Delhi during a day-long shutdown demanding Scheduled Tribe status for the community in Rajasthan. The shutdown took a violent turn at several places like Aya Nagar, Usmanpur, Jasola, Wazirabad, Jaunpur and Badarpur, where unruly crowds torched and damaged public buses and clashed with the police, injuring four security personnel. Six persons and three policemen were injured in stone-pelting and subsequent baton charge in Mehrauli, while a policeman and a rickshaw driver were injured in the Khajoori Khas area in northeast Delhi. As many as 24 buses belonging to the Delhi Transport Corporation were damaged and three were torched by the protesters, according to official sources. A UP Transport Corporation bus was burnt in Jasola, while several private vehicles were damaged in Najafgarh, Khajoori Khas and Ayanagar. Office-goers and commuters residing in satellite townships like Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurgaon and Faridabad had a tough time reaching their destinations due to blockade of all state entry points in the morning rush hours. However, shops and business establishments were open across the Capital, barring some Gujjar-dominated areas like Chilla and Dallupura villages in East Delhi and some South Delhi localities bordering Faridabad. Though the Delhi Police had deployed virtually its entire force of over 50,000 along with some 2,000 central paramilitary personnel, agitating Gujjars created roadblocks, burning tyres and effigies of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Protesters blocked several key roads linking the Capital to adjoining Panipat, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad, triggering major traffic chaos, and took out demonstrations at several places. The police arrested 37 persons and detained some 20 others on the charges of rioting and destruction of public property and registered two cases against them. — PTI
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India, Russia discuss Sukhoi deal
New Delhi, June 4 The Russian General, who is heading a high-level team, also held wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart Gen J.J. Singh. There was an agreement to work out a new framework for stepped up interaction between armed forces of the two countries. The visit of the Russian military delegation is the first high-level contact between the two countries after Moscow demanded millions of dollars more for supplying Sukhoi-30 jets and the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov during a recent visit by the defence secretary Shekhar Dutt. Russia has cited cost escalation and a sharp drop in the value of the Rouble as factors behind its move. Incidentally, the demand made by Russia has also been affecting a number of other deals, including those for more T-90 tanks and for the joint development and production of a 20-tonne multi-role transport aircraft. Gen Maslov is the first Russian Army Chief to visit India in the past eight years. The Russian general was briefed on India's security perspective at the Army Headquarters and he later visited the complex in the cantonment area where the Brahmos missile, jointly developed by India and Russia, is produced. According to reports, Russia has also proposed to India that joint exercises in anti-terrorism operations between the two countries should be held to build on the low-intensity conflicts. These exercises are likely to be held this winter on Russian soil. Gen Maslov will also be the first high-ranking Russian military official to visit Jammu and Kashmir, where Indian forces are fighting militants and foreign mercenaries. He will be briefed at the Northern Army command's headquarters in Udhampur before he visits some forward posts along the LoC. Gen Maslov and his delegation will also call on Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta and Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal F.H. Major and hold talks with defence secretary Dutta. He is also likely to call on Defence Minister A.K. Antony.
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CPM steps up attack against Cong in AP
Hyderabad, June 4 The CPM, which is attacking the Reddy government on various issues, recently launched an agitation, aimed at leading the poor to forcibly occupy government lands which are allegedly in the hands of the rich. Stepping up its offensive, the CPM today organised a "Maha Dharna" at 17 district headquarters, with its activists trying to lay siege the office of the collector. Tension prevailed in several districts, including Nizamabad, Warangal, Khammam and Medak, where the Left workers clashed with the police, who cane-charged the agitators and took several of them into custody. While the ruling Congress dubbed the agitation as "undemocratic", the opposition TDP and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have expressed solidarity with the Left. The CPI, too, is leading its supporters in occupying and planting red flags in government lands. Both CPM and CPI leaders have been arrested. Though the Left parties allied with the Congress in the 2004 elections, the Communists adopted an anti-government stance in the recent times. What has peeved the Congress government is the fact that the CPM worked closely with the Telugu Desam Party on many issues.
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President
Election New Delhi, June 4 The CWC also authorised Congress president Sonia Gandhi to choose the party’s nominee for the elections to the post of Vice-President, indicating party’s willingness to stake its claim for the post among its allies and partners. Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi, who briefed media persons about the deliberations of the CWC meeting, said no names were discussed for presidential elections. “The CWC has authorised Congress president Sonia Gandhi to decide candidates for the elections to the post of President and Vice-President as per requirement,” he said. Though Mr Dwivedi did not say that the UPA’s choice for the post of President would be from the Congress, party leaders later confirmed that the conensus would be built on a candidate from the leading party of the ruling coalition. However, they said no such decision had been taken for the post of Vice-President. Responding to a question about the suggestion of a consensus on the post of President from the NDA, Dwivedi said the UPA was in the process of deciding its candidate. Replying to queries, he said simultaneous authorisation had been given for the two posts so that there was no need to convene a separate meeting of the party’s highest decision making body for decisions to be made for the Vice-President’s post. There is speculation that the Congress would face demands from some of its allies for the post of Vice-President. The party has also sought to pre-empt NDA in any talks for consensus on the two posts. The CWC expressed grave concern at the recent violence in Rajasthan and some other parts of the country and resulting loss of life and property. Expressing deep sorrow at the loss of human lives, the CWC, however, refrained from criticising the Vasundhara Raje government for its handling of situation in the state. Dwivedi said home minister Shivraj Patil briefed the CWC members on the points raised by them concerning the situation in Rajasthan. “The consensus was that tension must be defused immediately. All problems can be solved through talks. Nobody should derive political mileage from the situation,” he said. Among the issues under discussion were uniformity in party membership, simplifying the subject committee deliberations to give more time to delegates to speak during the plenary and changes needed in the party structure at the grassroots in view of changes coming about due to panchayati raj. A draft paper was also being prepared, he said. The CWC meeting, convened at a short notice, was attended by 17 of 20 CWC members and seven permanent invitees. The meeting, lasting one-and-a-half hours, comes days ahead of foreign visits by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi.
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Quader sceptical about poll in B’desh
Shimla, June 4 Quader, a former MP, who represented Jatiya Party formed by Ershad after his dictatorship was brought to an end by a popular agitation, said the army had “tasted the fruits of power and it was unlikely that it will give up its privileged position soon”. Asked why he did not protest when his brother was heading a military regime in Bangladesh, Quader answered that at that time he had not joined politics. A mechanical engineer by training, Quader spoke eloquently about the old association of Bangladesh with Pakistan. “The military rule is a Pakistani phenomenon”, Quader told this reporter last evening on the sideline of the two-day conference of parliamentarians of SAARC countries here. Brother Ershad, Quader said, might be a military dictator at one time but he also has a softer side. “He is a poet too. He wrote poems when he was ruling the country and he still does”, Quader, who was in a dinner suit, said. The Jatiya Party is a partner in the political alliance led by the Awami League in Bangladesh. Representatives of the Awami League, who too participated in the conference concluding yesterday, were also unsure about when elections would take place in Bangladesh. Abdus Shahid, an Awami League representative in the Bangladeshi Parliament, who was also chief whip of the party, said though the army no more carried the same characteristics as the army that killed “Bangabandhu” (Sheikh Muzibur Rehman), it might still like to cling on to power for a while and delay holding of the elections. Awami League representatives present in the conference got annoyed by the noise being made by Pakistani representatives in the conference on the Kashmir issue. While in private conversations, there was a plenty of indications of the annoyance, glimpses of their feelings were visible in the official deliberations as well. The “Awami Leaguers”, as they always have been, were not interested in blowing up the differences between India and Bangladesh and were of the view that Bangladesh could learn a lot about democratic practices from India.
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Kota, Baran observe shutdown
Jaipur, June 4 According to police sources, Kota, Baran and Barr in Pali district observed bandhs today. Bhiwadi in Alwar district observed a partial shutdown. Mawli town in Udaipur district also called a bandh today. According to reports from Kota, correspondent, except some shops, which remained open in city's inner alleys, the town observed a total bandh. However, there are no reports of any untoward incident from any part of the city. The Army and police patrol continued in the city. Gujjars put off a rally in the city when police refused them permission. Baran also remained peaceful during the bandh. The Army had staged a flag march there last evening. In Jodhpur, the Jodhpur Gujjar Mahapanchayat took out a rally today from Devnarayan temple till the Collectorate and handed over a memorandum to officials there.
— UNI
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World Environment Day Today Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 4 The Ministry for New and Renewable Energy said there would be hydrogen-fuelled vehicles on the roads by 2020. Hydrogen is considered the green fuel for the future. Speaking at a seminar, National Hydrogen Energy Road Map: Opportunities for Public Private Partnership, minister of state for new and renewable energy Vilas Muttemwar today said about one million hydrogen-fuelled vehicles would ply on the roads by 2020. Hydrogen was a potential green fuel for future, which could reduce the GHG emission, said the chairman, Steering Group, National Hydrogen Energy Board, Ratan Tata, adding that the hydrogen fuel would be the alternative to fossil fuel. The ministry is also confident of achieving over 10 per cent of the total installed power generating capacity in the country by 2012 from renewable power. At present, the renewable power generating capacity is about 10,252 MW, contributing 7.75 per cent of the installed power generating capacity. As far as hydrogen for running vehicles is concerned, the hydrogen-based power generating capacity of 1,000 MW will be set up by that time. Hydrogen is a source of clean energy and apart from water, distillery waste bagasse can be used to produce hydrogen fuel. Climate change due to the rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is one of the most serious environmental concerns. Expansion of the industry, increased population and use of fossil fuels are responsible for the emission of GHGs. India is concerned about the climate change because of its dependency on agriculture and forestry for livelihoods. But the big question is to find low-carbon growth strategies for emerging countries, without compromising their right to develop.
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Green award for Chuharpur Park
New Delhi, June 4 The deputy conservator of forests (DCF), Yamunanagar, won the second prize in the government agencies’ category for 2004. Incidentally, the Rajasthan Police has won the first prize in the category. The awards will be given away to individuals and institutions chosen under 12 different categories on World Environment Day tomorrow. The IPVM awards were instituted by the ministry of environment and forests in 1986. The first prize includes a medallion, a citation and a cash prize of Rs 1,25,000 while the second prize carries a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000 apart from a medallion and a citation. The Herbal Nature Park, spread over 76 hectares in Khizrabad on the Bhud Kalan road in Yamunanagar district, is home to more that 350 species of medicinal plants, herbs and shrubs. As per DCF N.S. Malik, here in the Capital to receive the award, the park has the almost extinct Chinese plant Zincobiloba, the extract of which is used for treating cancer. Some of the other important plants grown in the park include ashwagandha, sarpaganda, vach, brahmi, chitrak, safed musali, shatavari, isabagol, rudraksh, jatropha and palmarosa. The main objectives for developing the park are the conservation of medicinal plants of Haryana for study and research, developing a gene pool of indigenous and exotic plant species for conservation and propagation purposes. “Besides, the park also aims at popularising cultivation and use of Indian medicinal and aromatic plants in the area by local people and establish sustainable medicinal plants resource base,” he says.
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Post-poll uncertainty: Security tightened in Goa
Panjim, June 4 The police said at least 100 complaints had been filed by activists across the state. Reports of people injured in clashes in the interiors of Goa are also coming in. In all 30 companies of central security forces deployed in Goa clad in anti-riot gear have been asked to take up patrol duties from Monday morning amidst fears of violence escalating as the hour for counting nears. Political parties here say, they are heading for a tight finish in several constituencies. For the first time in several years, even senior politicians from Goa are keeping their fingers crossed rather than put on a show of confidence. Among those who are worried about their future include former BJP Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar who faced a tough battle for the Panjim seat from Congress candidate Dinar Tarcar. Parrikar told reporters that he expected to win but with a lower victory margin. Others keeping their fingers crossed include former Chief Ministers Luizinho Faleiro and Churchill Alemao contesting the Navelim seat, NCP leader Wilfred D'Souza and Health Minister Dayanand Narvekar. All of them faced tough contests and are expecting a photo-finish. Leaders of the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP admit that the smaller parties and the Independents will determine who forms the next government. Both parties haven't been able to even contest all 40 seats in the Goa House. "We must admit that we don't have a presence in parts of Salcette," says BJP leader Manohar Parrikar of the region seen as Goa's Christian heartland. The BJP has fielded 33 candidates while the Congress is contesting just 32. The NCP in alliance with the Congress is contesting six seats. "So far the Congress has got in touch with me, but I will take a decision later," says Save Goa Front leader Churchill Alemao who quit as South Goa Congress Member of Parliament only last month to float the new outfit. The BJP is also said to be in talks with the regional Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party for an alliance after the results are out. A confident MGP leader Sudhin Dhavalikar who virtually resurrected the party in the past five years is a very ambitious man today. "I have bigger plans now than I did in the past," says Dhavalikar. After propping up the Parrikar government five years ago, Dhavlikar switched support to Rane. In both governments he held the public works department ministry.
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Dr Kler to succeed Trehan
New Delhi, June 4 Dr Trehan was described as “an icon who would certainly be missed” by none other than Shivinder Mohan Singh, chief executive officer and managing director of Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre Limited (EHIRCL), with whom he had a 10-day long slanging match recently. Dr T.S. Kler, executive director, cardiac sciences, who has been handpicked by the management to succeed Dr Trehan, is a former alumni of the PGI, Chandigarh. An active interventional cardiologist and an expert electrophysiologist, Dr Kler is credited with setting up India’s first dedicated electro-physiology department in Escorts. Dr Kler was gracious in acknowledging his predecessor’s contribution in building the institute. Addressing media persons at the Escorts Heart Institute here today, Dr Kler said, “Institutes are created not by individuals but by a team but Dr Trehan’s role was one of the biggest. He did a marvellous job. I will do my best to carry forward his good work so that we remain at the top of technical expertise and patient care”. Dr Kler who was decorated with the Padma Bhushan in 2005, voiced concern for the poor patients and said they would like to make Escorts pro poor. “We certainly would not like the poor sections of society to be deprived of treatment here”. Dr Kler hails from Amargarh village in Punjab and has an academic connection with Patiala and Chandigarh. He completed his MBBS from Patiala and his MD in medicine and DM in cardiology from the PGI, Chandigarh. Asked if Dr Trehan’s resignation has deprived them of his patient following, Dr Kler said, “There are always patients of individual doctors. There are some who are patients of Dr Trehan. They may follow him. That happens”. Shivinder Mohan Singh also announced the surgical programme would be led by Dr K.S. Iyer, head of paediatric cardiac surgery. Dr Iyer had operated on more than 6,000 children and adults with congenital heart surgery at Escorts. Equally eminent members of the surgical programme are Dr Meharwal, Dr Yugal Mishra and Dr Vijay Kohli, who will serve as directors for adult cardiac surgery. Dr Anil Karlekar has been promoted as head of anaesthesia and critical care medicine in place of Dr Yatin Mehta, who left along with Dr Trehan. The institute has, however, not thought of replacing Dr R.R. Kasliwal, head of the department on non-invasive cardiology, who has also left the institute to join Dr Trehan. The Escorts managing director contended that the Escorts team has the ability to provide comprehensive post operative care. Asked if Dr Trehan’s resignation will deprive Escorts of a chunk of its patients, Shivinder Mohan Singh said, “That will not change with an individual coming and going. We are very confident that our new team will take us to new heights and we are not looking back”. Dr Kler agreed that Dr Trehan’s departure to Apollo had lowered the morale of the employees. He said he had given employees a pep talk and even succeeded in dissuading 20 middle order and junior doctors from leaving. Meanwhile, Dr Trehan claimed that he enjoyed every moment of his first day at Indraprastha Apollo hospital”
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Uri Project Rajeev Sharma Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 4 Shah, who is here for a meeting of the Indus Water Commissioners which ended on June 1, today told reporters that Pakistan would seek World Bank intervention if India did not stop work on the 240 MW Uri power project being constructed on the Jhelum river in Jammu and Kashmir. During the talks, the Pakistani side demanded immediate stoppage of the Uri-II power project, pending resolution of the issue. The Government of India is unperturbed by the Pakistani stand and has no intentions of stopping construction on the Uri project. New Delhi believes that there is nothing new in the Pakistani stand and it simply shows that Pakistan has still not understood the spirit of the verdict of a World Bank-appointed neutral expert on Baglihar dam in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has opposed every single power project on the western rivers on one ground or the other. So many power projects are coming up in Jammu and Kashmir that by 2010 this power-deficit state would turn into a power-surplus one. This will make the already existing contrast between J&K and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir all the more stark, given the pathetic state of infrastructure in PoK. Another development emanated today from Islamabad at the Pakistani Foreign Office spokeswoman’s briefing and pertained to a meeting between Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers that was supposed to be held in Hamburg, Germany, last week but could not take place. Tasnim Aslam said the Indian government had approached Pakistan for a meeting between the two foreign ministers. Officials concerned in the South Block here say Pakistani Foreign Office spokeswoman’s assertion was “incorrect”. Pakistani sources maintain that the Ministry of External Affairs had, in a communication on May 7, 2007, sought to seek Pakistani consent for a meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers in Germany on the sidelines of Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM). Pakistan had agreed to have a meeting between Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee on May 28, but the Indian side did not get back. Indian officials deny that any such communication was sent to Pakistan in the first place. The two developments are being seen here as mercurial nature of Indo-Pak relations and it would be too early to say whether these incidents would rock the peace process boat. India and Pakistan are set to hold three high-level meetings as part of the fourth round of Composite Dialogue process in coming weeks. The two countries’ Culture Secretaries are scheduled to meet in Islamabad on June 28-29, followed by a meeting of the Home Secretaries in New Delhi on July 3-4 and then a meeting of the Commerce Secretaries in July end in New Delhi. The issue of operationalising the inter-LoC truck service is likely to come up at the Indo-Pak Commerce Secretaries’ meeting.
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Sonia remark flares up row
Panjim, June 4 Addressing an election meeting in Goa last fortnight, Gandhi promised that the waters of the Mhadei would not be diverted as demanded by Karnataka since it would affect the interests of the people of Goa. Reacting to Gandhi's remarks, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediurappa has threatened to launch an agitation against the Congress chief. The Mhadei or Mahadayi, as it is called in Karnataka, originates in the forests of the southern state where the government plans to construct seven dams on the main river. Another four diversion dams on its tributaries are also planned to fill up the Malprabha basin in Karnataka. Opponents of the proposal who include several environmental groups say the move by Karnataka will virtually shut down the water supply of Northern Goa, which is a lower riparian area. The Mhadei flows into Goa where it is called the Mandovi in Panaji. Karnataka shares 28.8 km of the Mhadei, 81.2 km of the river flows through Goa. Of the total catchments area of the river estimated at 2032 sq km, more than three-fourth falls in Goa. The Goan government in an affidavit before the Supreme Court stated that much of Goa's forest land, internal waterways, waterfalls, even water treatment plants would dry up if Karnataka's Mhadei plan bears fruit.
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SCBA suspends Anand, Khan New Delhi, June 4 The two advocates have also been issued show-cause notices as to why action should not be taken against them, SCBA president P H Parekh said. The decision to suspend the senior advocates and to seek their response on the incident was taken at a SCBA's executive meeting, he said. A three-member committee has been formed to inquire into the issue and it would submit its report within four weeks, he said. The committee includes Parekh, senior advocate V Shekhar and advocate Vikrant Yadav. Anand, who is defending the main accused Sanjeev Nanda and now dropped Special Public Prosecutor I U Khan, were allegedly shown in collusion to influence the witness, Sunil Kulkarni, in a sting operation.
— PTI |
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Indo-Brazilian declaration covers energy, defence
New Delhi, June 4 The Red Fort Declaration 2007 was announced late this evening after the formal talks between visiting Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The talks gave an ambitious roadmap for bilateral cooperation in many areas. On the strategic front, the leaders emphasised the need for the early holding of the first meeting of the India-Brazil Defence Committee and early development of a programme of cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy consistent with their international obligations. They reiterated their support for each other’s permanent membership in an expanded UNSC. They decided to make IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) forum more meaningful and vibrant and hold its second summit in this October in South Africa. Its ministerial meeting would be held here on July 16-17 to ensure that the summit’s preparations are meaningful and substantive. Besides, India and Brazil resolved to push their bilateral trade to US $10 billion by 2010, develop greater connectivity and investment in each other’s economies, especially in the infrastructure sector. Along with this, they also laid emphasis on holding the Festival of India in Brazil and Festival of Brazil in India next year. Besides, the two countries also resolved to give a fillip to their cooperation in such diverse areas as science and technology, space, culture, tourism, poverty alleviation programmes and education. On the Doha Development Agenda, the PM and President Lula stressed upon the importance of close coordination between the two governments to effectively realise the development dimension in every aspect of the outcome of the negotiations. A high-level delegation accompanied President Lula, who held intensive discussions with President Kalam and the PM. External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, leader of the opposition L K Advani and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi also called on him. The visit by the Brazilian President, within a span of eight months of the visit by Prime Minister Singh to Brazil in September last, is a reflection of the growing strategic partnership between the two countries. The first meeting of the India-Brazil Strategic Dialogue, co-chaired by national security advisor M K Narayanan and foreign minister Celso Amorim, was held recently and it touched upon areas of space, nuclear energy, defence and the fight against terrorism.
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Teachers strip search 5 students
Malda (West Bengal), June 4 Agitated guardians alleged that all students of Class VII of the school were strip searched by three teachers after a woman teacher complained that her bag, which contained a mobile phone and Rs 2,000, was stolen from the common room. They did not complain to the police fearing that this would jeopardise the future of their wards in the school, the guardians said. Principal of Badalmoni High School Tarun Goswami, however, denied the strip search. The teacher’s bag was later found beneath a tree, but the mobile phone and money was not found, Goswami said. The school authorities and the guardians later met to arrive at a settlement. — PTI
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Rail union poll on June 25
Chandigarh, June 3 The Supreme Court had appointed the registrar, trade unions, Delhi, as administrator to resolve the union dispute and hold the elections. Meanwhile, U.C. Arya (deputy labour commissioner) and O.P. Sapra (labour officer, Delhi) have been appointed returning officer and assistant returning officer, respectively, to conduct the elections at Karnail Singh Stadium.
— TNS
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Political row over demolition notice to AIADMK headquarters
Chennai, June 4 The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) had sent a notice to the AIADMK show causing the Opposition party that why its building, which houses the party headquarters, should not be demolished. Reacting sharply to the notice, Jayalalithaa yesterday vowed to root out the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) from the political map of Tamil Nadu. She compared Karunanidhi with “evil” Mahabharata characters like Duryodhana, Dushasana and Sakuni, and called him “a modern day version of Hitler, Mussolini and Idi Amin rolled into one”. Though a senior state minister Arcot N. Veeraswamy stated that the notice was sent by mistake as more than 75,000 buildings in the metropolis were under the apex court scanner for violating building rules, Jayalalithaa stood to her ground. While Jayalalithaa launched her tirade against the state government yesterday, Karunanidhi chose to remain quiet and enjoy his birthday celebrations. However, today Karunanidhi said the notice sent by the CMDA was based on the guidelines of the monitoring committee set up by the Supreme Court and the state government had no role in it. The committee was also not required to inform the government on it. He stated, “Neither I nor the minister in charge of the department knew it, till the statement of Jayalalithaa came out,” and questioned Jayalalithaa’s propriety for blaming the state government on the issue. “She only has to challenge the court on the issue and not the Tamil Nadu government, which is not at all linked to the issue. The government has no right in the issue. The statement of Jayalalithaa would amount to contempt of the proceedings of the court”. Karunanidhi also said if the AIADMK headquarters conformed to the building norms with due authorisation, it could have been shown to the journalists. “Since they did not follow rules, they applied for regularisaiton in 2000 and the papers were rejected as it did not have sufficient documents,” he said. However, this was not the main issue for which Karunanidhi took exception and decided to open his mouth today. It is Jayalalithaa’s another allegation that seems to have rattled the Chief Minister. The ruling DMK and the AIADMK are now at loggerheads over a huge property in the Nilgiris near the hill station of Ooty, inside Kodanadu estate, a sprawling 900-acre plantation, which allegedly belongs to those close to Jayalalithaa. She spent a few days this summer in that building located deep in the estate and supposedly hidden from the public eye for years. Local DMK officials complained to the district administration that the building, reportedly having 90 rooms and having a built-up area of 14,000 square feet, had been constructed violating town planning rules and hill area conservation norms. An attempt by district officials to enter the Kodanadu estate to inspect the premises resulted in a scuffle with the estate workers and local AIADMK men. Some were arrested for allegedly preventing public servants from performing their duty, and later released. Jayalalithaa accused the administration of trespassing into the private premises, and alleged that a “woman member” of the Karunanidhi household had acquired an estate in the neighbourhood, and the government action was aimed at enticing workers from the Kodanadu estate to their own.
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2 senior Cong leaders killed in Assam
Guwahati, June 4 Assam police spokesman Bhaben Bez informed that both the leaders were traveling from the district headquarter town at Haflong to Umrangshu when they came under the attack by unidentified militants. The killed leaders were identified as Purnendo Langthasa and Nindu Langthasa. Purnendu was the Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the just dissolved North Cachar Hills Autonomous District Council (NCHADC) ruled by Congress and Nindu Langhthasa was an Executive Member of the council. Both of them were among most prominent Congress candidates in the forthcoming election to the NCHADC to be held on June 12. The killings have been construed as a major blow to a tribal political clan called Langthasa. Purnendu is the eldest son of veteran Congress leader G.C. Langthasa, an MLA in the Assam House and a former Hill Areas Development minister. The elder Langthasa is the senior most Congress leader from the Dimasa tribe in the state. With the killing of Purnendu today, the elder Langthasa has so far lost two of his five sons at the hands of assailants. Unidentified gunmen at Haflong town killed one of his sons, Normendu in 2003. His youngest son, Nirmalendu was abducted by suspected ULFA militants in 2005 and was in the captivity of ultras for over a month. Today’s killings sparked panic reaction from people in the district that is considered fiefdom of Langthasas. All business establishments, offices and educational institutions closed their shutters as soon as the news of killings reached the sleepy hill town that has been bearing the brunt of insurgency for over a decade now. The hill district is facing serious law and order problem because of on-going clashes between Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) ultras who are in truce with the Government of India and ‘Black Widow’ ultras opposed to the peace process. The state government agreed to deploy 16 additional companies of paramilitary forces in the hill district before the election of the NCHADC. However, the forces were still being awaited.
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