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PM, Rajapakse discuss ethnic conflict
Buddhadeb meets Rizwanur’s mother
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N-deal stands, next step can wait: Moily
UPA unfit to rule country: Advani
Early Poll
Prez, PM extend Id greetings
22 die of leptospirosis in Mumbai
No revision in sales tax cases after 5 yrs
Lalu’s train forced to halt
Aneek Dhar is ‘Sa re
ga...’ winner
Bank agents lead him to suicide
Janmat ban goes
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PM, Rajapakse discuss ethnic conflict
New Delhi, October 13 Rajapakse briefed the Prime Minister about his country’s security forces’ battle with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which has intensified in the recent past. The Sri Lankan President also met President Pratibha Patil, Tamil Nadu Governor S.S. Barnala, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and leader of opposition L.K. Advani during his brief visit. This is Rajapakase’s fourth India visit since November, 2005, when he became President of Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Underlining the need for India to provide dynamic and strong economic leadership to South Asia, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse affirmed today that his government would be ready to talk to the Tamil Tigers if the militant outfit was for genuine negotiations. At the same time, he made it clear that Colombo was meeting the terrorist challenge from the intransigent LTTE “with increasing success today”. Rajapakse categorically said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here that his government was committed to fighting terrorism. At the same time “we are equally committed to seeking a negotiated and sustainable solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka”. He said everyone in the region looked up to India “for strong economic leadership” and impressed upon the UPA government to help its neighbours, too, become economically stable. “If those who carry arms against the state are willing to enter a process of genuine negotiations towards a peaceful and democratic solution, the government and the people of Sri Lanka will reciprocate,” the visiting President observed. Simultaneously, Rajapakse said it would not be out of place to look forward to understanding and assistance from their regional neighbours and friends, especially those with whom they share the strongest bonds throughout history. In a clear reference to India, he said, “We will see in such understanding and assistance the true signs of emerging greatness”. Expressing happiness that the island state’s army had finally liberated the Eastern province from the forces of terror, Rajapakse felt this important achievement could pave the way for a speedy political solution curtailing terrorist fund raising abroad and their illicit trafficking networks, demonstrating to them that the way forward was to join the democratic mainstream in good faith. The President stressed that the protracted ethnic conflict in his country that claimed thousands of lives “has been exploited by separatist forces, which pose a threat to India too”. Rajapakse also drew attention to his government’s desire of preparing a constitution by its own people in keeping with “our own ideals of freedom and governance”. The present constitution has been bestowed by the former colonial rulers. The visiting leader, who favours a single currency for South Asia, noted that India's neighbours also needed to show sensitivity to New Delhi. “My vision is of an India that can never be separated from my vision for Sri Lanka,” Rajpakse added.
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Buddhadeb meets Rizwanur’s mother
Kolkata, October 13 People staged a black flag demonstration and shouted “Go back” slogans as the Chief Minister, accompanied by Mohd Selim, MP, Abdus Sattar, a state minister and Rabin Deb, former local MLA, reached the Tiljala Lane house around 12.30 pm today - 21 days after the death of Rizwanur whose body was found on the railway track near Dum Dum on September 22. The Chief Minister spend about 35 minutes there meeting Rizwanur’s bereaved mother, Kiswar Jahan. On coming out, he was virtually gheraoed by the angry mob. But the policemen and the cadres, who accompanied him, rescued him. Soon after, he boarded his car and left the place under the protection of the security personnel and party men. The Chief Minister’s visit, which was initiated at long last today following large scale pressure from the party, had virtually been a “damage control drive of the CPM” over the issue. Bhattacharjee’s “handling” of the Rizwanur-Priyanka marriage issue and subsequently Rizwaur’s death, had once again put the government and the party in a critical situation. The party had experienced similar situations in the past, among others, on the Singur-Nandigram issues and the CAB election - over the removal of Jagmohan Dalmiya from the presidential post and replacing him with police chief, Prasun Mukherjee. During his meeting with Kiswar Jahan today, Bhattacharjee assured her that the guilty policemen and others involved in the death of her son would be punished. But he wanted her to wait for sometime for the judicial probe and the CID report. However, he did not make any commitment on the CBI inquiry which had been the demand of the victim’s family, Rizwanur’s friends and students and almost all political parties including the CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc, the major partners of the Left front. But Rizwanur’s family members, after their meeting with the Chief Minister, reiterated the demand and said they would fight the legal battle in the High Court.
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N-deal stands, next step can wait: Moily
Guwahati, October 13 He said: “There will always be conflict within a coalition government but a conflict resolution mechanism is also evolved. The nuclear deal is not necessarily linked to elections as the Congress-led UPA government will run its full term till 2009. We are opposed to precipitating instability in the country by opting for snap polls.” He asserted that India was not under pressure from any quarter, including the USA, to operationalise the nuclear deal. “The operationalisation of the deal can wait. Unparalleled benefits were offered to India in the deal that would be a boon for the country’s growth,” he said giving enough hints that the Congress would hate to shelve the deal. “We are no longer a developing country, but a country that is in run for the third global super power position after the USA and China. The nuclear deal would be a one step forward towards achieving the goal,” Moily said criticising the opposition parties, including the BJP for trying to read too much into the stand-off with the Left parties over the nuclear deal. The Congress leader took pot shots at the BJP for trying to whip up communal passion in the country over the botched government affidavit on the Sethu Samudram project. “The BJP, which is now trying to gain political mileage out of it, was the one to initiate the project to link eastern and western coastal areas while it was in power. The UPA government was only trying to follow up what the previous government had initiated as per the healthy tradition of governance. Now the BJP’s communal design has been exposed,” he said.
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UPA unfit to rule country: Advani
New Delhi, October 13 In a statement issued here today, Advani attacked the two leaders for their “u-turn” on the issue of Indo-US nuclear deal saying, “They have done it not out of any principles but purely due to the rude realisation that going ahead with the deal would sink the government”. Accusing the Prime Minister of assisting the US to bring India into the NPT regime through the backdoor, the BJP leader said, “Neither rejection of the deal by the NDA and a majority in Parliament nor widespread criticism from the scientists, security experts and foreign policy professionals had made the Prime Minister or the Congress president see reason”. On the Prime Minister’s statement that “even if the nuclear deal does not go through, it will not be the end of life”, Advani reacted observing, “All I can say is that this is certainly the end of whatever little legitimacy he had in the high office”. “The extraordinary combination of ineptitude, arrogance, immaturity and lack of conviction that Dr Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi have displayed in the past three months shows that the thoroughly opportunist alliance UPA is unfit to govern”, Advani said.
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Early Poll
New Delhi, October 13 The ministers, who met Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh here today after his arrival from an official visit to the USA, conveyed their views on the decision of the Election Commission, which caught the party by surprise. The ministers said the decision could result in a "constitutional anamoly", as the new assembly would be constituted nearly two months before the term of expiry of the present assembly. Maintaining that the Election Commission had not met the demand of holding simultaneous polls in the state, the ministers said there was possibility of large parts of the state being under snow when polling is held on December 19 for 65 of the 68 seats. They also expressed unhappiness over the Election Commission "not consulting" the state government over the poll dates. The Chief Minister later met senior party leader R.K.Dhawan, who is in charge of the state, to discuss the party's strategy. State PCC chief Viplove Thakur also met the AICC leader. Sources said the party's central leadership was keen to study the submissions made by the state Congress and the state government to the Election Commission before taking any decision on moving the poll panel for change of dates. The party would also look at the political fallout of any such decision, as it is likely to be made a major issue by the opposition BJP. The Congress high command is likely to consult legal experts before taking a final decision on the issue. Sources said that ministers have been told to stay in Delhi till Monday. The Congress has simultaneously started the process of consultation for constituting campaign committee and manifesto committee for the assembly elections. State leaders will meet party president Soni Gandhi before leaving the national capital. Sources said that a reason for unhappiness of ministers was the early announcement of polls depriving the government from making popular announcements. They said that apart from finalising some recruitments, the state government had planned functions for giving shape to announcements regarding a central university, IIT and medical colleges. The ministers have maintained that their unhappiness over the early schedule of elections should not be construed as their being not prepared for the polls.
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New Delhi, October 13 The President said, “On the joyous occasion of Idu’l Fitr, I convey my warm wishes to all my citizens in India and abroad. As we celebrate this day as a day of forgiveness, fellowship, thanksgiving and moral victory, I hope that the occasion with its tradition of giving and sharing will infuse the spirit of unity and harmony in us,” she added. The Vice-President said, “The spirit of generosity and charity associated with the festival promotes the feeling of brotherhood among people and helps usher in a humane society”. — TNS
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22 die of leptospirosis in Mumbai
Mumbai, October 13 Leptospirosis is caused after dung and urine of rats find its way into the blood streams of humans when they wade through areas flooded by rain water. Within days, the victim displays symptoms like fever, headache, chills, muscle ache, vomiting, diarrohea and abdominal aches. “Though all the civic hospitals have the requisite kits to treat patients of leptospirosis, the victims come for treatment very late when it is simply not possible to save them,” Jairaj Pathak, health commissioner, BMC, told The Tribune. He noted that more than 274 persons, who contracted the disease, were saved because of the timely treatment. Doctors have been asked to warn patients about the dangers of wading in flood waters. But most of the victims chose to get themselves treated using home remedies, doctors say. Most parts of Mumbai are infested with giant bandicoots that inhabit the underground sewers that are more than a century old. With the city administration having lost most of the maps of these sewers, rat-catchers hired by the BMC overlook many of these spots. The BMC has set up its own molecular lab to test suspected victims of leptospirosis in 2002, when the city was hit by a major epidemic. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC) has set up a data-base of platelet donors, who may be called upon to donate blood during emergencies. Though Mumbai’s hospitals have sufficient blood stocks as part of a disaster management initiative, not enough blood platelets are being harvested for specific emergencies like lepto, say officials.
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No revision in sales tax cases after 5 yrs
New Delhi, October 13 While applying the principle in the Bhatinda-based milk producers federation’s sales tax case, the apex court described the initiation of proceedings against it as wrong for alleged tax irregularities by the Punjab Excise and Taxation Department after a gap of more than five-and-half-years. Though the Excise Department had passed a final assessment order on March 20, 2001 against the Bhatinda District Cooperative Milk Producers Union, a notice was issued to it on September 4, 2006, alleging that they had committed irregularities and therefore, should produce the entire records before it. The federation, instead of producing the records before the department, had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which held that a notice - after a gap of over five years on passing of a final assessment order on tax returns against the federation - was “wholly unsustainable” under the law. But the Punjab government challenged the high court order in the Superme Court, which rejected it laying down the law on revisional jurisdiction of the taxation authority. A Bench, comprising Justice S B Sinha and Justice H S Bedi, said even the Punjab general sales tax and the rules framed there under fix a cap of five years for reviving tax proceedings for past tax-related flaws. “The revisional jurisdiction, in our opinion, should ordinarily be exercised with three years having regard to the purport in terms of the said act. In any event, the same should not exceed the period of five years,” the Bench ruled. It further said what should be a “reasonable period” for reviving the tax matter, must be found out from the statutory scheme itself and sub-section 6 of Section 11 of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act fixes it as five years.
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Lalu’s train forced to halt
Patna, October 13 The heritage train, reportedly, comprising four bogies, had a coach exclusively showcasing components used in trains and photographs depicting the historic journey of the Indian Railways since pre-Independence days. East Central Railway sources said the incident occured soon after the train left Chapra Kutchery station for Marhaura with hundreds of people forced into its four bogies. The steam engine could not bear the pressure and burst emitting volumes of smoke. The coal-fuelled engine stopped immediately and did not catch fire.
— TNS
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Aneek Dhar is ‘Sa re ga...’ winner Mumbai, October 13 The first runner-up was Raja Hasan of Rajasthan, while the third place went to Amanat Ali of Pakistan in the popular music show aired on Zee TV. While the winner received 3.65 crore votes through SMSes, the first runner-up got 3.52 crore and the second runner-up collected 3.43 crore votes. Aneek was presented with a music contract worth Rs 50 lakh with Zee TV and Universal Music and a Chevrolet Spark car. The best performer trophy went to Mauli Dave of the US who was voted out of the contest a few weeks ago, while Poonam Yadav won the ‘Spark of the show’ trophy. — Agencies
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Bank agents lead him to suicide
Hyderabad, October 13 Naresh (31), a resident of Vinayaknagar, consumed poison yesterday in his house, the police said today. Naresh, a father of two, had taken personal loans from five financial firms, including HDFC, City Financial and GE Money. He defaulted in paying the instalments after an accident three months ago, the police said. The deceased’s wife, in her complaint, alleged recovery agents of GE Money on Thursday evening threatened to seal the house if he failed to repay the loan. Based on the complaint, a case under Section 174 of the CrPC has been registered and further investigations are on, the police added.
— PTI
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Janmat ban goes
New Delhi, October 13 In its appeal, M/S Broadcast Initiatives Limited has said there was no deliberate attempt by the channel to defame anybody.
— TNS
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