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Engineer’s Lynching
TDP eager to get Maya on board
Jharkhand Imbroglio
India rubbishes Gilani’s remarks
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UK backs trial of 26/11 accused in Pakistan
ISI active in Assam: Govt
Time-scale Colonels to get more pay
Kapurthala girl is dy sheriff in California
5 pilgrims dead; 4 lakh take holy dip at Gangasagar
Himalayan nations to discuss glacial threat
‘Rural India getting hooked to Internet’
Devadasis seek hike in govt grant
Big B raps ‘Slumdog’ for projecting India low
Tipsy bulbuls enthral crowd on Bihu
SC: Sanjay can go abroad
FIR lodged against MP for manhandling
2 cops killed in Naxal attack
Foreign airlines may be allowed stake
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Engineer’s Lynching
Lucknow, January 14 Known for celebrating her birthday in a larger-than-life style this year, Mayawati is clearly on the backfoot. The shocking murder of PWD engineer Manoj Kumar Gupta by Aurraiya BSP MLA Shekhar Tiwari and his henchmen after the engineer reportedly refused to pay birthday hafta has caused much embarrassment to the ruling party and its supremo. A day after the murder, Mayawati had charged the opposition parties of politicising the murder. That was when she had announced to observe her birthday as ‘Dhikar Diwas’ when she would publicly expose her political opponents. Elaborating on the party’s plans, state party chief and senior minister Swami Prasad Maurya confirmed that on Dhikar Diwas the party would bring in the open the misdeeds of the leaders of opposition parties when they were in power. The leaders from the Samajwadi party, the BJP as well as the Congress would be exposed. The forthcoming Lok Sabha election along with the ruling party’s overdrive to justify the collection of funds for Mayawati’s birthday has provided an opportunity to all rival political parties to reassert some lost political ground. Mulayam Singh Yadav’s SP has announced to observe the day as ‘Thu Thu Diwas’. According to party spokesperson Rajendra Chadhury the party would hold rallies at district headquarters as well as in the state capital to decry the ruling party’s misdeeds including obtaining of exorbitant sums of money from all and sundry under duress. Not to be left behind the BJP has handed over the lead for tomorrow’s protest to their women brigade, who would observe it as ‘Laaj Bachao, Suhaag Bachao Diwas’. State party president Ramapati Ram Tripathi said the party would highlight the heightened state of insecurity for women in Uttar Pradesh. As a matter of fact the party’s youth wing BJP Yuva Morcha today took to the streets of Hazratganj with begging bowls in hand asking for money for Mayawati’s birthday. They later courted arrest. The Congress has also announced its plans of observing Mayawati’s birthday on 15 January as ‘Lalkaar Diwas’ for which the UPCC state president Rita Bahuguan Joshi has given the slogan of ‘sharm karo, gaddi chodo’ for the ruling BSP. The party would take out a protest padyatra in the state capital.
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TDP eager to get Maya on board
Hyderabad, January 14 Both the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) are keen to forge a tie-up with the BSP to boost their poll prospects. Though the BSP is not a major political force in AP, it has considerable influence on Dalit voters who can become crucial in the face of a close triangular contest in the state. TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, who has already succeeded in roping in Left parties and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to become partners in the grand opposition alliance, is eager to get the BSP on board to take on the ruling Congress at the hustings. Naidu is a key player in the efforts to build a third alternative at the national level, involving left parties and an assorted mix of regional players. The proposed Third Front, as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP, is also projecting Mayawati as the potential Prime Ministerial candidate. On its part, the BSP is looking for a foothold in the southern states and the coming elections in AP will provide an opportunity for the Dalit party to test the waters. It has earned many admirers in the state for its unique experiment in UP where Dalit-Brahmin combination has worked wonders for the party. Though the BSP has so far maintained a policy of not forging pre-poll alliances with any party, it may make an exception in the case of AP as it can offer a perfect platform to make a significant foray in the South. Both the TDP and the PRP have sent feelers to the BSP leadership to explore the possibility of poll alliance. The key aides of Naidu and Chiranjeevi are camping in Delhi and had preliminary rounds of talks with BSP national general secretary Satish Chandra Misra on the issue. According to TDP sources, Naidu is likely to visit Delhi later this month and hold a meeting with Mayawati to discuss the issue of electoral alliance. The actor’s brother-in-law and the party’s key strategist Allu Aravind and spokesman Dr P. Mitra have already held preliminary consultations with BSP leaders and the efforts would continue, the PRP sources said. Ever since entering politics in August last year, 53-year-old Chiranjeevi has been focusing on ‘Change and Social Justice’ planks, prompting his admirers to draw parallel with Barack Obama. The actor is being projected as a crusader of backward classes yearning for their share of political power. With four major opposition parties-TDP, CPI, CPM and TRS - joining hands to form a grand alliance, the actor’s camp finds itself fighting a lone battle against the formidable ruling Congress.
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Jharkhand Imbroglio
Ranchi, January 14 “Our PCC president today met top AICC leaders in New Delhi and apprised them of the present political situation in the state. A solution will be found within two days,” PCC spokesman said. Meanwhile, doctors at the Appolo Hospital here said Soren’s condition was almost normal. He was admitted to the hospital yesterday after he complained of heaviness in chest and high blood pressure.
Left demands fresh polls
With the political situation in Jharkhand uncertain since the resignation of Shibu Soren, Left parties today demanded fresh elections while BJP voiced for imposition of presidential rule in the state. Opposing a fifth CM in the same house, Left parties said both the UPA and the NDA had failed to provide any stable govt in the past four years. “Fresh poll should be the only alternative as the current house has already seen four governments in four years. How many more chief ministers should they impose on the people?” CPI state unit assistant secretary said.
— PTI
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India rubbishes Gilani’s remarks
New Delhi, January 14 Sources indicated the steps that could be taken might include snapping bilateral trade, transport and cultural links and reducing the strength of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. India could also delay naming a successor to its High Commissioner in Islamabad Satyabrata Pal. India today reacted sharply to Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s statement that the material provided by New Delhi on the Mumbai attacks constituted “information” and not “evidence”, saying it reinforced the already strong doubts about Islamabad’s capacity and willingness to cooperate in combating terrorism. “There is a continuing pattern of evasiveness and denial in Pakistan’s response to the terrorist attack on Mumbai,” External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee observed. It is becoming clear to New Delhi that Pakistan is once again shying away from delivering on its commitment to root out terrorism from its soil and trying to buy time, hoping that international heat on it would be off as the clock ticks. The thinking in official circles is that the diplomatic heat on Pakistan should be intensified after Barack Obama is inaugurated as US President on January 20. The Foreign Minister said India had asked Pakistan to undertake investigations in Pakistan into the Mumbai mayhem and share the results with New Delhi so as to bring the perpetrators to justice. “We await a response from the Government of Pakistan. Instead, we hear of statements by Pakistani leaders at high levels to the media. These reinforce the already strong doubts which exist on Pakistan’s stance on terrorism from Pakistan, and on its capacity and willingness to cooperate with other countries against terrorism,” he pointed out. The sources, meanwhile, denied that there were differences between the External Affairs Ministry and the Home Ministry on how India should deal with Pakistan in the aftermath of the Mumbai attack. They were asked to comment on the statement by Home Minister P Chidambaram in an interview to ‘The Times’ of the UK that India could cut off diplomatic, business, transport and tourist links with Pakistan if it fails to act against the terror groups responsible for the 26/11 strikes. The sources said there was no question of the two ministries working at cross purposes. The government was responding in an extremely ‘cautious but tough’ manner and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Foreign Office, and the Ministries of Defence and Home were working in close coordination. Asked why the Home Minister had taken such a hard line, the sources said traditionally Home and Defence Ministers do the tough posturing since they are affected the most in the event of a terrorist attack or aggression while the External Affairs Ministry does the balancing act. “The Home Minister obviously is articulating the sense of anger among the people over the attack. What Chidambaram has said is certainly on the government’s agenda but we will have to wait at least till Obama takes over,” they added.
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UK backs trial of 26/11 accused in Pakistan
Missing witness returns home Mumbai, January 14
New Delhi, January 14 British foreign minister David Miliband said there is evidence about involvement of Pakistan-based people and Islamabad should follow its commitments with actions. "We will support their prosecution under Pakistani law, because they have broken the law in Pakistan. It’s the Pakistani law that they have broken as well as international decency and common sense," he told at Karan Thapar's 'Devil's Advocate'. He was responding when referred to New Delhi's demand that those accused of terrorist acts in India should be handed over to face trial in India. On the dossier of evidence given by India to Pakistan, he said, "We have absolutely no doubt about the origin of the attack in Mumbai in November. The origins are in Pakistan." Noting that there have been some detentions in Pakistan, he said, "They (should) now lead to successful prosecutions. We believe the evidence is there." He said it was "critical" that "the words of the Pakistani government which are commitments" should be followed through into action. The minister said he was in Pakistan on the day Mumbai attacks took place. "We had good words from Pakistani authorities that need to be translated into action. Indians don't want words. They want action. We support that position," said Miliband, who has met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and held talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram. He talked about "short-term" and "medium-term actions" that Pakistan needs to take. "Short term action - find the culprits, if found guilty, punish them, take action through the courts. Medium-term action - root out the terror networks which pose threat not only to India but to the fundamentals of Pakistani state as well," he said. On Manmohan Singh's view that official agencies of Pakistan could have been involved in the Mumbai attacks, he said, "We don't have evidence to show that the attacks were directed by the Pakistani government." He, however, noted that "the Pakistani government had a policy towards the Lashkar-e-Taiba under the previous regime of President Musharraf...we do know that...This is public knowledge... I think it’s very important that approach is changed."
— PTI
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ISI active in Assam: Govt
Guwahati, January 14 The Assam home department has informed the Assembly that the investigation into the serial blasts gathered evidence about involvement of fugitive NDFB leader Ranjan Daimary and a section of the cadres of the banned outfit. In view of the close coordination of Bangladesh-based Ranjan Daimary with the ULFA’s fugitive chief Paresh Baruah, the ISI, HuJI and other Islamist organisations, the investigators suspected involvement of all these forces and evidences gathered during the course of investigation had been handed over to the CBI. The house was informed that Assam police had so far arrested 11 persons in the state for having connection with the ISI. Of these, two ISI operatives — Pakistan nationals Fashiullah and Mussafa (alias Abdur) — were still in jail in the state. One of the arrested ISI operative and a Bangladeshi national, Abdul Kashem (alias Nazrul alias Manir Ahmed) had fled from the lock-up of the Jalpaiguri court in West Bengal. The rest eight arrested ISI operatives — Salim Ahmad, Md Akram Malik, Hanif Khan, Javed Khan, Eusuf Khan, Md Yamin, Md Taber and Md Hanif Khan — were acquitted by the district sessions court in Kamrup after the government.
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Time-scale Colonels to get more pay
Chandigarh, January 14 Orders issued on the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission were silent in regard to time scale colonels and consequently they were drawing lower emoluments than selection grade officers of the same rank. Sources said they were now expected to get their revised salaries from next month and would also be entitled to consequential arrears from January 1, 2006. The orders granting them equivalent remuneration were issued a few weeks ago. Time-scale Colonels would now also get a grade pay of Rs 8,700 per month. Meanwhile, the upgradation of Lieutenant Colonels to Pay Band 4, though agreed upon by the government, is expected to take a few more months to finally come through. The Sixth Pay Commission had placed Lieutenant Colonels in Pay Band - 3 (Rs 15,600-39,100), but moved their civilian counterparts into Pay Band - 4 (Rs 37,400-67,000). Sources said that another pay commission related glitch addressed recently is payment of dearness allowance (DA) on military service pay (MSP) to Army officers. Interestingly, DA on MSP was being paid to Air Force and Navy officers, but for some reason being denied to Army officers. The Principal Controller of Defence Accounts had referred the matter to the law ministry, which clarified a few days ago that DA was admissible on MSP. All armed forces officers are entitled MSP of Rs 6,000 per month. There are also reports that the rates of DA may be enhanced for government employees in the near future.
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Kapurthala girl is dy sheriff in California
Kapurthala, January 14 After completing her six-month training, Paramvir will formally join as the deputy sheriff in a function being held there on January 17, Saturday. The joy of Paramvir’s father Gurdev Singh knew no bounds when he learnt during his on-going India visit since September last year that his daughter would join as the deputy sheriff on Saturday. Hailing from Kala Sanghia village in Kapurthala district, Gurdev Singh had migrated to USA in 1979 after spending two years each in Muscat and Dubai respectively. Gurdev Singh is too happy to express in words his happiness on outstanding achievement by his daughter. Talking to The Tribune, Gurdev Singh said “I am leaving for California on Thursday itself as my daughter insisted that I reach there at the time of her joining as the deputy sheriff.” Born and brought up in California, Paramvir has brought laurels to her family. Her fiancée Mandeep Singh of Sadakpur village near Nakodar in Jalandhar district is also extremely happy over Paramvir’s success. Although Gurdev Singh is just a fifth-class pass, yet he left no stone unturned to educate his daughter and two sons Harnek Singh and Amandeep Singh. Gurdev runs the business of washing trucks.
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5 pilgrims dead; 4 lakh take holy dip at Gangasagar
Sagar Island (WB), January 14 An estimate of about four lakh devotees took the holy dip at the confluence of Gangasagar, official sources said. One of the pilgrims, Ramchandra Bhunya from Burdwan district in West Bengal, died after he tripped over a crowd of stranded devotees, who were trying to board a launch on way to Kapil Muni’s temple, the sources said. At least eight persons were injured in the melee. Two pilgrims Mohanlal Chowrasia from Madhya Pradesh and Hazari Lal from Uttar Pradesh died at Kachuberia and the Sagar islands today after complaining of chest pain and uneasiness, the sources said. The other two pilgrims died of heart attacks. One of them has been identified as Sandhya Garai from Sonamukhi in Bankura district. A sea of humanity from across the country thronged the sprawling area before the temple since last midnight. Thousands of devotees took holy dip in the early hours today.
— PTI
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Himalayan nations to discuss glacial threat
New Delhi, January 14 The effort is based on the realisation that hazards in the Himalayan region were bound into a delicate relationship of cause and effect and together combined to increase risk in the entire region. Just one of the ways in which a crisis might emerge is this - an earthquake may render the glacial lake moraine (natural dam) unstable, leading to a GLOF; a GLOF quite surely renders land in its path unstable, accentuating the probability of a landslide. It may further affect downstream communities and high-value socio-economic assets, thus affecting the worth of nations. It is to find answers to these problems that the UNDP would host a special assembly of the four affected Himalayan nations - India, Pakistan, Bhutan and Nepal. The meet would be held on January 20, 21 at Paro in Bhutan and would discuss responses on how nations could factor in GLOF risk reduction in their development projects and community level contingency plans. Senior functionaries from India, UN, NGOs and research scientists from the four project countries as also from UK, Switzerland and Thailand would attend the brainstorming session.
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‘Rural India getting hooked to Internet’
Mumbai, January 14 I-Cube, which traditionally mapped internet users in urban India, has for the first time covered rural India in the survey and the results seems to be encouraging, especially since 5.5 million people actually claimed that they used Internet at some point of time, a release issued here today said. Since rural India was mapped for the first time, the year on year growth of Internet users in rural India could not be estimated this time. Commenting on the research findings, IAMAI president Dr Subho Ray said, “Given the various government and private sector efforts to connect rural Indians, this was the right time to take the survey to rural India and find out the state of affairs there.” In fact, penetration of Internet in rural India is directly related to the activities of the government and NGOs, he added.
— UNI
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Devadasis seek hike in govt grant
Bangalore, January 14 Now, 33-year-old Shobha has become an activist fighting for the eradication of the system. Shobha, who was here to participate in a conference organised by the National Commission for Women (NCW), has two school-going children from a partner. Being dedicated as a devadasi, there was never any possibility of her ever getting formally married to anyone. Another devadasi, Airawati, too, had a similar tale to share at the conference. Her mother had five sons, but she wanted a daughter. She took a vow that she would dedicate her daughter to god. So, when Airawati was born, the mother kept her word and dedicated her nine-year-old to god. Now after 46 years, Airawati has four children, including a married daughter, from a partner. Thankfully, the children of devadasis are not ostracised in their localities and are able to lead normal lives. There are 22,941 devadasis in the state, as per the governmental statistics. Koppal district heads the list with 4,880 devadasis, followed by Bagalkot (4,804) and Belgaum (3,600). They are given a monthly allowance of Rs 400 by the state government. But, they are not satisfied with this paltry amount and want it to be increased. They also want financial support for the education of their children and land grants for the upkeep of their families. Shobha and Airawati complained that while the practice of dedicating devadasis was declared illegal by the state government in 1982, action under the Act was seldom taken. Till date, only one conviction had taken place under the Act, they said. While the devadasi system, according to a section of scholars, carry the tradition of women priests prevalent in ancient civilisations, in modern India the practice has come to be associated with sexual exploitation of women and commercial sex. The NCW quoted a study to inform that 46 per cent of the devadasis in a particular area were found to be commercial sex workers. Educated youths from these communities have taken up cudgels against the system and this is said to be an important reason for its sudden decline.
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Big B raps ‘Slumdog’ for projecting India low
New Delhi, January 14 “If 'Slumdog Millionare' projects India as Third World dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations,” the Big B said in his latest blog. “Its just that the 'Slumdog Millionare' idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner, gets creative Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not,” Bachchan said. The actor also criticised world cinema bodies for not recognising Indian cinema, especially of the feel good and escapist variety. “The commercial escapist world of Indian cinema had vociferously battled for years, on the attention paid and the adulation given to the legendary Satyajit Ray at all the prestigious film festivals of the West, and not a word of appreciation for the entertaining mass-oriented box office blockbusters that were being churned out from Mumbai.” “The argument: Ray portrayed reality. The other escapism, fantasy and incredulous posturing. Unimpressive for Cannes and Berlin and Venice. But look how rapidly all that is changing. Retrospectives in Paris and New York, dedicated TV channels running Hindi cinema on prime timings, premiers at Leiscester Square, the home of all Hollywood royalty, thronged by hundreds on the street in cold biting weather. Affable recognition at most corners of the universe… And a dear friend from Los Angeles wires in that Hollywood is abuzz with India and the phenomenal talent that exists there. We’re talking cinema still,” the actor said in his blog. The film, which won for music maestro AR Rahman the Golden Globe award for best musical score for the song 'Jai Ho', has bagged Golden Globe in four major categories like the Best dramatic picture, director, screenplay and the original score. Directed by Hollywood director Danny Boyle and based on a novel by Indian diplomat Vikash Swarup, 'Slumdog Millionaire' is the rags-to-riches' story of a poor uneducated boy who goes on to win a jackpot on the game show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati'.
— UNI
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Tipsy bulbuls enthral crowd on Bihu
Guwahati, January 14 In tune with the tradition that dates back to the days of the Ahom Dynasty in the state, 250 red-vented bulbuls, a tiny bird from Pycnonotus Cafer family, were engaged in fight with each other much to the glee of hundreds of onlookers. “The birds are caught by local people in the run up to Bhogali Bihu and are groomed for the fight on the Bihu day. The tiny creatures are fed with ‘bhog’ - a locally prepared meal laced with herbal intoxicants on the eve of the fight. The tradition of bulbul fight started centuries back when an Ahom king visited Hajo during Bhogali
Bihu” an official of Madhab temple said. The locals use bamboo traps to catch the birds in the nearby forest for the fight, a practice that has been vehemently opposed by wildlife activists in the state. Hundreds of spectators cheered the fighting bulbuls, which were in an intoxicated state, amid beating of drums at Hajo on the occasion. The winner was presented with a trophy and Rs 3,000 in cash. The birds’ owners who take their bulbuls to the fight, prepare a meal containing bananas, a small quantity of cannabis, locally available intoxicating herbs, black pepper, clove and cinnamon, and feed the birds regularly to gain strength to survive the onslaught during the fighting. During the fight the owner controls the inebriated bird with a string attached to its leg while it fights aggressively with the opponent amid thunderous clapping by the huge crowd that gathers on the temple ground. Animal rights activists under the banner of the People for Animals and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have been calling for a ban on organising bulbuls fight during the post harvest festival in the state.
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SC: Sanjay can go abroad
New Delhi, January 14 The court asked Dutt, who has challenged his conviction and five-year jail term by a TADA court in the 1993 Bombay blasts case, to return his travel document to the CBI by February 28. An apex court Bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan gave permission to Dutt after his counsel Fali S Nariman made a plea for allowing his client to go abroad. Additional Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam did not oppose the request. The actor also expressed the desire to go to South Africa in April and May, but he would have to approach the apex court later. The Samajwadi Party has nominated Dutt as the party candidate for the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat, but he can contest the polls, expected to be held in March-April, only if he gets his conviction stayed by the apex court. Under election laws, no one sentenced for two years or more in a criminal case can contest elections.
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FIR lodged against MP for manhandling
Lucknow, January 14 The police formally registered a case at the local Ghazipur police station yesterday on a 30 October 2008 complaint by secretary of the Laxmanpuri Jan Kalyan Samiti Uday Pratap Singh. Police sources say the complainant had charged the MP and his goons of allegedly manhandling the tube well pump operator, chasing him away and taking charge of the tube well operations.
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2 cops killed in Naxal attack
Kanker (Chhattisgarh), January 14 IGP (Bastar Range) AN Upadhyay said in view of Forest Minister Vikram Usendi's tour to the Bhanupratapur area, six constables from Pankhajur police station were en route to Badgaon for road opening on their motorcycles. When they reached near Dodade village, ambushed insurgents triggered bomb blasts and opened fire in which Raghuraj Singh Kushwah and Tulasiram Guram were killed. Constable Kiran Usendi went missing and the ultras fled with an AK 47 from the spot.
— UNI
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Foreign airlines may be allowed stake
New Delhi, January 14 "May be the time has now come to explore whether foreign airlines can be permitted to invest part of that 49 per cent in the domestic sector," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters here. Describing it as "only a thought process", he said "no formal decision has been taken, nor any note moved" on the issue. He said such options were being considered to improve the financial health of the aviation sector and to attract more investment as the "financial markets do not seem to support" the cash-strapped industry at the moment. Official sources have said the government was toying with the idea of allowing foreign airlines to pick up between 20 and 25 per cent stake in Indian carriers. — PTI
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