Varun Gandhi’s Dais Collapses and Unheart in Pilibhit

LUCKNOW: A dais that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi was standing on collapsed Friday in his Pilibhit constituency in Uttar
Pradesh, but he did not suffer any injuries, police said.

“The four-feet high dais collapsed just before Varun was about to start his public address in the Bithaura area of Pilibhit,” additional superintendent of police D.K. Chaudhary told IANS on telephone. Pilibhit is about 250 km from Lucknow.

The stage prepared by party workers could not bear the load of around 15 people who had climbed on it, he said. According to police, no one was injured in the incident.

The Supreme Court Friday extended Varun Gandhi’s parole till May 14, one day after balloting concludes in five-phase general elections.

He was charged under the National Security Act by the Uttar Pradesh government and arrested March 28 for reportedly making communally inflamed remarks. The Supreme Court had released him on two weeks’ parole till May 1 after he gave an undertaking that he would not deliver hate speeches.

Leaders Wants Power: Sonia Gandhi

Sriganganagar: Lashing out at the Third and Fourth Fronts for having “sole aim to grab power”, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday said that every leader of these fronts were power hungry and least bothered for welfare of the country and people.

Addressing a poll rally in support of Congress candidate at Ramlila Maidan here, Gandhi said while these parties’ and their leaders’ sole aim was to grab power at any cost, the Congress wanted to serve the people even without chair and power.

Terming the previous NDA regime as “an era of darkness”, she said, “NDA’s rule was devoted to spreading hatred in the name of religion and caste and poisoning the society.” “Country’s borders were unsafe during the period,” she added.

Hailing the UPA government’s achievements in last five years, Gandhi said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has taken a number of initiatives for the welfare of poor, dalit, farmers and youth.

Appealing people to vote for Congress, she said the UPA alliance was committed to carry forward all the development schemes and pending projects, if voted to power.

Expressing her gratitude to public for bringing back the Congress government in Rajasthan, she said all promises made during the assembly polls will be fulfilled.

Congress’ policies and approach were never meant for any single religion or a particular caste but these were holistic and for the welfare of everyone regardless of communities, she said.

She highlighted the UPA government’s popular schemes like NREGA, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Bharat Nirman, farmers’ loan waiver, and nuclear power deal.

Recalling the sacrifices of Sriganganagar’s martyrs in India’s freedom movement, she said they had laid down their lives in protection and security of the border.

She also praised local farmers for their contribution to increase country’s agriculture production.

The Congress President was accompanied by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, PCC President C P Joshi and AICC functionaries.

Lok Sabha Election, 3rd Phase Polling Starts

New Delhi: Polling in the third phase of elections to Lok Sabha began on a moderate note on Thursday during which the fate of prominent leaders such as Sonia Gandhi, L K Advani and H D Deve Gowda will be decided.

Constituencies in Gujarat
1 - Kutch 2 - Banaskantha 3 - Patan 4 - Mehsana 5 - Sabarkantha 6 - Gandhinagar 7 - Ahmedabad East 8 - Ahmedabad West 9 - Surendranagar 10 - Rajkot 11 - Porbandar 12 - Jamnagar 13 - Junagadh 14 - Amreli 15 - Bhavnagar 16 - Anand 17 - Kheda 18 - Panchmahal 19 - Dohad 20 - Vadodara 21 - Chhota Udaipur 22 - Broach 23 - Bardoli 24 - Surat 25 - Navsari 26 - Valsad
Voting began this morning in 107 constituencies spread across nine states and two union territories in the third round of the five-phased elections and would end at 1700 hrs.

A total of 1,567 candidates, including 101 women, are fighting for 107 seats in this phase. Polling is also underway for the 32-member Sikkim legislative Assembly.

Over 14.4 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise across 1.65 lakh booths, where ballots would be cast electronically.

While Congress president Sonia Gandhi is seeking re-election from Rae Bareli, one of the traditional constituencies of the Nehru-Gandhi family, Advani, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, is bidding to hold on to the Gandhinagar seat as he has done in every election since 1991.

Prominent candidates in the fray in the third phase include former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, JD-U chief Sharad Yadav, Congress’ Milind Deora, Priya Dutt and Jyotiraditya Scindia and former Karnataka chief minister S Bangarappa.

Tight security arrangements have been put in place to thwart any untoward incident.

Polling for 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be completed at one go. Besides Gujarat, polling will be held in 16 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 15 in Uttar Pradesh, 14 in West Bengal, 11 each in Bihar and Karnataka, 10 in Maharashtra and one each in Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

UP Chief Minister Mayawati was among the early voters who cast their ballots in the third phase of polls.

Accompanied by senior BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra and party candidate from Lucknow Akhilesh Das Gupta, Mayawati cast her vote at Lucknow’s Montessori College.

Sikkim has 32 assembly seats, of which one is reserved for the Sangha monks, who number 3,058.

The results will be out on May 16. The five-round general elections began on April 16 and so far elections have been completed to 265 Lok Sabha seats of the 545-member lower house of Parliament.

Elections are held to only 543 seats, as two members are nominated from the Anglo-Indian community.

Here comes Femina Miss India 2009!

The stage is set and it’s time to conquer the World, the Universe and the Earth as well! The 20 Pantaloons Femina Miss India 2009 finalists are ready to set the stage on fire. Confident, fun loving, graceful yet flamboyant — the girls are here to make their mark.

The 20 finalists who were unveiled in Mumbai on Monday (March 9), surely seem to be having a lot of fun but there’s a lot of hardwork and training coming their way for the next month — all in a bid to win the most coveted title.

Marc Robinson, Contestant Director said, “The training includes a lot of things, we have a schedule planned out for them. Ther is a diet, they’ve got hair and make up. So ther’s a lot of things that goes into it.”

Sandeep Soparkar, Trainer & Choreographer said, “I would see to it that the girls have the right postures because when they exercise a lot sometimes they develop the wrong posture.”

Their journey to success has just begun and the girls all geared up to fulfil their dream of winning the dazzling crowns. Only 3 would live their dreams on the grand finale on the 5th of April 2009.

Source: www.nhatky.in

DNA Samples Given by India to Interpol

NEW DELHI: India will pass on DNA samples of the lone surviving Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab and his nine dead accomplices to Interpol and Pakistan in current week, Indian newspaper report said.

Home secretary Madhukar Gupta discussed the matter with CBI director Ashwani Kumar — who heads India, Interpol — in a meeting. The discussion centred around what India could share with Interpol at this juncture.

The meeting was held a day after Interpol secretary general Ronald K Noble expressed anguish over India’s failure to share investigation details with the world police body. He was reported as saying in Islamabad that Interpol couldn’t do anything until India provided it with details including the DNA profiles.

A senior home ministry official, however, said, “It is not mandatory for India to share all investigation details with Interpol. We will only share the DNA samples and travel records of the dead and alive terrorists as it will be important to match these details not only with the world police body’s databank but also with what Pakistan intends to share with it.”

The home ministry official said whatever details India shares with Interpol would also be shared with Pakistan as part of New Delhi’s response to Islamabad’s 30 questions on the Indian dossier.

Though the home ministry has so far not forwarded these details — sent to it by the Mumbai Police — to the foreign ministry, officials said it would be done in a day or two so that India could pass it on to Pakistan this week.

Source: www.nhatky.in

DNA Samples Given by India to Interpol

NEW DELHI: India will pass on DNA samples of the lone surviving Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab and his nine dead accomplices to Interpol and Pakistan in current week, Indian newspaper report said.

Home secretary Madhukar Gupta discussed the matter with CBI director Ashwani Kumar — who heads India, Interpol — in a meeting. The discussion centred around what India could share with Interpol at this juncture.

The meeting was held a day after Interpol secretary general Ronald K Noble expressed anguish over India’s failure to share investigation details with the world police body. He was reported as saying in Islamabad that Interpol couldn’t do anything until India provided it with details including the DNA profiles.

A senior home ministry official, however, said, “It is not mandatory for India to share all investigation details with Interpol. We will only share the DNA samples and travel records of the dead and alive terrorists as it will be important to match these details not only with the world police body’s databank but also with what Pakistan intends to share with it.”

The home ministry official said whatever details India shares with Interpol would also be shared with Pakistan as part of New Delhi’s response to Islamabad’s 30 questions on the Indian dossier.

Though the home ministry has so far not forwarded these details — sent to it by the Mumbai Police — to the foreign ministry, officials said it would be done in a day or two so that India could pass it on to Pakistan this week.

Source: www.nhatky.in

Ragging Case, Aman’s family to action Against Medical College

GURGAON: A shocked family of the teenaged medical student, who was ragged and beaten to death allegedly by his seniors in Himachal Pradesh, today said the boy was subjected to immense violence and demanded action against the medical college where he was studying.

Aman Satya Kachroo (19), a first year student of Dr Rajendra Prasad medical college in Kangra, breathed his last on Sunday night in a hospital after being beaten up allegedly by four seniors.

“He was slapped many times, His head was shaved off. He was punched and kicked. He was hit on head and chest. He was forced to work on their project whole night,” Indira, Aman’s aunt, alleged.

Rohit Kachroo, his uncle, said Aman had told his parents about the ragging in the institute. “In fact, we should blame ourselves. He had told his parents about the ragging. We did not think, it will turn this violent,” Kachroo said.

Another relative remembered Aman as a “gentle boy” who was a hard worker. “He never entered into a confrontation with anyone. That was not his nature,” he said demanding stern action against the medical college.

Two of the four accused — Ajay Verma and Naveen Verma — were arrested on Monday while two others, Mukul Sharma and Abhinav Verma are on the run.
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Source: www.nhatky.in

4 Medical Student Charged for Murder

TANDA: The Himachal Pradesh police on Tuesday booked four senior medical students for causing the death of a first semester student on Sunday by ragging and severely beating him up in a government medical college in the hill state’s Kangra district.

The victim, 19-year-old Aman Kachroo, died on Sunday - a few hours after being ragged late Saturday by four final year students of the Rajindra Prasad medical college at Tanda town, 20 km from the district headquarter town of Kangra.

Police officials said that Kachroo died of head and other injuries sustained after being beaten up by drunk seniors during ragging.

Himachal inspector general of police (Law and Order) SR Mardi said that a case of murder (Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code) had been registered against the four senior students.

They had earlier been booked for culpable homicide (Section 304) by the police.

“After receiving the post-mortem report, the case has been converted to that of murder. Two have been arrested while two others are still absconding,” Mardi said.

The students arrested are Ajay Verma and Naveen Verma, deputy superintendent of police OP Jamwal said.

Abhinav Verma and Mukul Sharma were absconding, he added.

The role of the local police and the hospital authorities is under the scanner for not having reacted till the victim died.

Himachal health minister Rajiv Bindal said that a magisterial probe had been ordered into the incident.

“We will take strict action against the senior students who indulged in ragging and anyone else who showed laxity in curbing ragging. If a murder case has to registered against the senior students, it will be done on the basis of the post-mortem report,” Bindal said earlier.

Medical college principal S Sankhyan offered to resign from his post following the incident.

He said that all the four senior students had been suspended from the college for two years.

The hostel warden, Pradeep Bansal, and hostel manager, Deepak Verma, were suspended by the college authorities on Monday.

At least 13 other first semester students were ragged by their seniors in clear violation of Supreme Court guidelines which make ragging a crime and their complaint with the college authorities did not lead to any action to end their suffering.

The Tanda medical college has been infamous in this peaceful hill state for illegal ragging and other activities by senior students. Even state government doctors fear being posted in this college.

Kachroo, whose family originally hails from Jammu and Kashmir but is now settled in Gurgaon, was a brilliant student, family members said. His father is a doctor in Tanzania.

Source: www.nhatky.in

A Student of Medical Killed in Ragging

DHARAMSALA: A Delhi Public School student who had taken admission in a medical school in Himachal Pradesh last year met with a horrible death at the hands of seniors who are training to be doctors.

Aman Kachroo (19), who passed out of DPS International in Saket and enrolled at the Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College, Tanda, in Kangra last August had repeatedly complained to his parents about the brutal ragging that took place on campus — often by completely drunk third-year students. On Friday night and Saturday morning, the boy was beaten so badly that he died.

“Aman used to tell us about ragging but we never thought that it was so serious. The first-year students had complained to the college administration recently, but despite that, no steps were taken to stop ragging. We’ve lost our son, but many others can be saved if timely steps are taken,” his aunt Indira Dhar said on Monday. She said the body was being brought to Gurgaon where the parents have been living since the family moved back to India from Tanzania. Aman’s father is still a visiting faculty at the Dar-es-Salaam University.

Indira Dhar alleged that due to severe beatings at the hands of senior students, Aman sustained grievous injuries on his chest, ears and face. The hostel manager had asked the students to file a written complaint, but even then no action was taken.

That the faculty and college administration had looked away from the campus brutality was obvious. But even after the death was reported, administrators tried to pass off the death as a suicide. Only after the matter blew up and cops got involved, the principal, as a token gesture, rusticated four students suspected to be involved in the ragging.

“Preliminary investigations reveal that the victim was under extreme stress following the ragging by third-year students and had collapsed on Sunday. We were informed of the incident around 9.30 pm,” Kangra SP Atul Fulelzele said. That implies that the college authorities did not call the cops for nearly an entire day after Aman died.

Virkin Dhar, the victim’s cousin, said he had told her that senior students used to rag juniors after getting drunk and the same thing happened on Saturday night, when they physical assaulted freshers. “We have come to know that senior students had punched and slapped Aman, inflicting internal injuries that proved to be fatal,” she said.

Himachal Pradesh government suspended the hostel warden and manager after the death became public. Terming it as an unfortunate incident, state health minister Rajiv Bindal said, “Strict action would be initiated against students who were involved in it. Police are looking into the matter and well ensure total transparency in the proceedings. An autopsy was done in-camera and in the presence of a lawyer.

According to Times Now, two senior medical college students have been arrested and the principal of the college has resigned.

Source: www.nhatky.in

LeT Instead off Al Qaeda as huge Threat to US

Islamabad: Indicative of the growing clout of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) despite an apparent crackdown by the Pakistani authorities, US security experts believe that the terror group and not Al Qaeda has emerged as the main threat and could well stage the next major attack on the American mainland.

“We are and should be concerned about the threat LeT poses, given its global network,” Juan Zarate, deputy national security adviser for counter-terrorism in the Bush administration, told the Chicago Tribune in an interview published Sunday.

According to Zarate, the FBI and other US intelligence agencies had been focussing on the LeT as the next big threat to US security even before the Nov 26-29, 2008, Mumbai terror attacks.

The Tribune quoted US authorities as saying that the LeT was in many ways a bigger threat than the Al Qaeda, whose leadership was on the run from numerous Predator strikes in the Pakistan’s northwestern tribal areas.

Zarate’s remarks come amidst reports that the LeT had got a new set of commanders to replace Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Zarrar Shah who the Pakistani authorities detained after the Mumbai carnage that India has blamed on the terror group.

Pakistani investigators initially pointed to an LeT hand in last week’s attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore but later ascribed it to the Al Qaeda.

“We are and should be concerned about the threat LeT poses, given its global network,” Zarate told the Tribune.

“It doesn’t just reside in South Asia. It is an organisation that has potential reach all over the world, including the US,” he added.

Bruce Riedel, chairman of the Obama administration’s Pakistan-Afghanistan strategy review team, said he believed such a “global jihadist syndicate” of disaffected young Pakistanis was the most likely mechanism for launching an attack on US soil.

The Mumbai attacks, according to Riedel, was only the latest of several such by such militants on soft targets frequented by Americans, including hotels in Kabul and Islamabad.

The Mumbai mayhem had claimed the lives of over 170 people, including 26 foreigners - six of them American citizen. India had subsequently given the FBI access to Ajmal Amir Kasab, the sole terrorist captured alive during the carnage.

India says Kasab and nine other LeT operatives, all of whom were killed during the attacks that lasted for over 60 hours, had staged the assault.

India had also asked the FBI to examine evidence collected from five GPS phones used for coordinating the attack, requesting the FBI to analyse the data. The FBI established that the attack was mounted from the sea.

The Tribune said that Washington wanted Pakistan to not only dismantle LeT but also other similar groups founded during the Afghan war or later to participate in the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir.

Quoting US and allied intelligence sources, the report claimed that potentially tens of thousands of Pakistanis had been trained in the LeT’s guerrilla camps in Pakistan, many of whom had gone on to fight for the Al Qaeda.

This includes a small number of US residents, some of who are believed to have returned home. Nearly a dozen Americans, including many members of the so-called Virginia Jihad Network, have been convicted in US courts of training at LeT camps and conspiring to provide material support to the group.

The US is also concerned about the thousands of disaffected Westerners and Pakistanis in Britain and other countries in Europe who travel frequently to Pakistan, the newspaper said.

Citizens of these countries do not need a visa for coming to the US.

An unknown number of those have trained in LeT camps, and after getting “indoctrinated in its hatred of the West and returning home, they were free to travel to the United States with virtually no background check”, the Tribune said.

Source: www.nhatky.in

Pak Army Begun to Flex its Muscle

NEW DELHI: The army in Pakistan has begun to flex its muscle. Pakistan’s army chief general Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, who has so far kept a low profile, has asked President Asif Ali Zardari to ‘clean up the mess’ soon.

Well-placed military sources in Islamabad said Kiyani has been asked by the United States to bring some order in the region. After his recent visit to Washington, Kiyani held a meeting with top Pakistani army commanders on March 6 to share the concern of the US over the state of affairs in the country, especially after the dissolution of the Punjab government and the subsequent anti-government agitation that has plunged the country into another political crisis.

Zardari’s bid to settle scores with the opposition led by Sharif has now gone down well with Washington.

The Supreme Court last month effectively barred former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif, who are opposition leaders, from contesting elections.

The Sharifs and the PML-N, Pakistan’s second-largest party, have accused Zardari of being behind the court decision. Their supporters have taken to the streets and more strife is expected.

Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Sharifs’ party were bitter rivals in the 1990s, a turbulent decade in which Bhutto and Sharif both served as prime minister twice without completing a term. A military coup in late 1999 ousted Sharif and brought Musharraf to power.

Analysts fear a return of the politics of confrontation between the country’s two biggest parties.

Musharraf’s successor as army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, has vowed to keep the army out of politics. But the danger is that if the crisis becomes acute the military, which has ruled for more than half Pakistan’s 61 years of history, will feel forced to act.

The army has little reason to back Sharif, even if Zardari is widely unpopular and disliked by hawkish elements who distrust his pro-West stance and dovishness towards India.

Sharif had bad relations with at least three army chiefs during the 1990s. Morever, the West is wary of Sharif, believing he panders to the religious/nationalist constituency that opposes the war on terrorism.

The United States wants Pakistan to focus on fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida, and doesn’t want the army diverted by politics or, analysts say, drawn into helping Sharif.

SOURCE: www.nhatky.in

Sanjay Dixit Wins RCA Election

Jaipur: Riding on the wave of support from the Rajasthan government and prevailing anti-Modi sentiments, IAS officer Sanjay Dixit defeated IPL commissioner Lalit Modi for the top job in the RCA election by five votes on Sunday.

The AGM of RCA began at 10.00 am with 32 district units voting at the future cricket academy from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm. While Dixit polled 18 votes, Modi got just 13.

Dixit acknowledged that it was a tough challenge and expressed gratitude to the ‘whole public of Rajasthan’ for supporting his candidature.

“It was a tough challenge. We accepted it and were successful.”

“This is first step to undo all the corrupt practices prevalent during Modi’s tenure.”

“I thank not only the association members but also the public of Rajasthan for their love and affection.”

The RCA elections saw a complete rout of Modi and his entire faction with all his loyalists facing crashing defeats in election for other posts as well.

Ameen Pathan lost the election for the post of secretary 12-19 to Ashok Kumar Ohri, who is president of Churu District Cricket Association.

Modi’s embarrassing exit from the RCA will have no bearing on his position in the BCCI as well as the chairman and commissioner of the IPL.

Modi is also a vice president of the Punjab Cricket Association.

Modi held state government responsible for his defeat.

“I paid the price of being close to Vasundhara Raje (former Chief Minister of Rajasthan). The state government did whatever it could to defeat me.”

“But there will be no affect on IPL matches. They will be held in Jaipur only,” Modi said after the results.

The run up to the RCA election was marked by a series of allegation and counter allegations between the two rival groups which fought a fierce battle to gain control of the Association.

The date of the election was fixed by the Supreme Court after Modi challenged a decision to hold election on February 22.

Modi had run into a rough weather of late.

Last month, an FIR was lodged against Modi, alleging irregularities in disbursement of funds in tune of Rs 6 crores meant for the Jaipur blast victims during the IPL last year.

Source: www.nhatky.in

LeT had Plans to set an Operation in Colaba

Mumbai: The Pakistan-based terror group, Lashkar-e-Toiba, had plans to set up an operational base in a rented accommodation in posh Colaba in south Mumbai in early 2008 to coordinate the 26/11 terror plan, according to investigators.

The plan could not materialize because of some reasons, and finally, the ‘operational base’ was set up in Room No.14, Batatawala Chawl, Nagpada, also in south Mumbai.

Incidentally, Badhwar Park in Colaba where the LeT planned to set up the operational base, is an exclusive multi-storeyed residential complex, housing some of the top officers of Indian Railways (IR), including high-ranking functionaries of Central Railway, Western Railway and Konkan Railway.

The choice of Badhwar Park was considered crucial to the entire scheme of the conspiracy for its proximity to the targeted locations.

This was corroborated by the fact that the terrorists selected the Machhimar (fishermen’s) Colony, opposite Badhwar Park, as the landing point and then dispersed to their respective destinations in five groups.

Details in the 11,000-plus page Mumbai Police charge sheet point to the Mumbai terror mission of the LeT as a well-planned strategy of its chief Hafiz Sayyed and chief of operations Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police A.T. Duraphe.

Indications are that the conspiracy could have been hatched in mid-2007 and finally implemented a year later, on Nov 26, 2008.

One of the arrested conspirators, Fahim Ansari, originally a resident of Motilal Nagar, Goregaon suburb in north-west Mumbai, was arrested in February 2008 by the Uttar Pradesh police and was handed over to Mumbai Police Dec 18, 2008. Between December 2007 and January 2008, under an assumed name of Sahil Pawaskar, he made unsuccessful attempts to rent a flat in the Badhwar Park.

Later, from the Nagpada room, Ansari conducted detailed reccee of iconic and important locations in Mumbai. He even procured a Reliance mobile number for his communications.

To camouflage his intentions, Ansari, known by over half a dozen aliases, enrolled himself for a course with SoftPro Computer Educational Council, located at Engineering Building, right opposite the Bombay Stock Exchange building - which was targeted in the March 12, 1993, terror attacks.

After completing the detailed groundwork, Ansari handed over the maps and other papers to Sabahuddin Ahmed, an important LeT functionary in India.

On his part, Sabahuddin got in touch with the LeT’s Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Abu Kaahfa and passed on the information to them.

“It was these maps and directions which enabled the arrested terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir, alias Kasab, and his nine associates to arrive with absolute precision at the targeted locations and to comprehend the topography and layout of the targets,” Duraphe noted.

When they finally struck Nov 26, 2008, they succeeded in killing over 170 people and injuring 300 more in the terror attack which lasted nearly 60 hours.

Source: www.nhatky.in

Chemical leak in Singapore Plant 3 Indian killed

Singapore: Three Indian workers were killed and two others badly injured in a toxic spill at a chemical plant in Singapore, officials said on Sunday. The workers suffered severe burns on Friday when nitric acid leaked from a heat exchange unit of the Chemic Industries plant located in Tuas, an industrial zone in the southwest of Singapore.

Officials said two workers were killed instantaneously when the leak occurred, while another died in the Singapore General Hospital late Saturday.

The injured workers were still in hospital. One of them was stated to be in critical condition with over 70 percent burns.

All work at the chemical plant has been stopped while authorities investigate the cause of the leak.

An employee of Chemic Industries refused to divulge any details about the incident or how the leak occurred. However, the three men who died were described by other employees of Chemic Industries as young married men whose families were in India.

Singapore has around 200,000 Indian industrial workers, most of whom are employed as skilled or unskilled labour in the marine engineering and construction industry.

Source: www.nhatky.in

More Than US Presidential Election, LS Polling To Cost

New Delhi: At a staggering Rs 10,000 crore, the Lok Sabha polls this summer would cost more than what Barack Obama and others spent in the US Presidential race.

According to information available with the US Federal Election Commission, Obama and other candidates collectively spent close to USD 1.8 billion (nearly Rs 8,000 crore) in the 2007-08 Presidential Elections.

A survey conducted by Centre for Media Studies (CMS) back home pegs the estimated amount to be spent on the Lok Sabha Elections, which would determine the next government in the country, at about Rs 10,000 crore (USD 2 billion).

This does not include the cost of holding Assembly Polls in states like Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.

While the cost of US elections was spread over a year, India would see the massive spending in a matter of months.

The estimated Rs 10,000 crore cost for the Lok Sabha elections includes about one-fourth or Rs 2,500 crore being spent through “unofficial money” or the cash to be paid to voters by the candidates, the CMS survey says.

The latest Presidential Elections in the US has been billed as the most expensive ever, with cost doubling from the previous elections held in 2004.

Similarly, the cost of general elections in India, according to CMS, is also set to more than double this year from about Rs 4,500 crore in last Lok Sabha polls and would be the highest in the history of the country.

According to the CMS study, the government spending would be about 20 percent of the total expenses, including about Rs 1,300 crore by Election Commission and about Rs 700 crore to be spent by various Central and state government agencies for purposes like photo identity cards, EVMs and polling booth.

Various political parties are expected to spend about Rs 1,650 crore from their party funds, which would include about Rs 1,000 crore from the two main parties — Congress and BJP alone.

In addition to spending by parties, candidates of the national parties are estimated to put in Rs 4,350 crore, while those from the regional parties are expected to spend another Rs 1,000 crore.

As per the information available with the US Federal Election Commission, Obama topped the list of all Presidential candidates by spending over USD 760 million — more than double the amount of about USD 358 million spent by his Republican rival John McCain.

Another Democrat Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton spent about USD 244 million.

According to another set of estimates for the US elections compiled by Washington-based think-tank Centre for Responsive Politics, the overall cost of the 2007-08 US federal elections was USD 5.3 billion, including about USD 2.4 billion on the presidential race.

Source: www.nhatky.in

Prez Rejected CEC Recommendation for Removal of Chawla

New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil on Sunday rejected Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N Gopalaswami’s recommendation for removal of Naveen Chawla as EC.

In the first month of this year, Gopalaswami had forwarded a suo moto request to Patil demanding the removal of Chawla from the post, accusing him of partisanship.

A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique said President Pratibha Patil has accepted the government recommendation for rejection of the CEC’s report against Chawla and arrived at a “considered opinion”.

“The government has recommended that the CEC’s report and the recommendation to remove Navin Chawla from the post of Election Commissioner may be rejected.”

“The President, after careful consideration of the report of the CEC, the government’s recommendation, constitutional provisions and the Supreme Court judgement, arrived at a considered opinion and has accepted the recommendation of the government,” Rashtrapati Bhawan spokesperson Archana Dutta said.

The confusion over Chawla’s stay as EC had to be cleared prior to the announcement of upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Reports claim that election dates could be announced in a couple of days, after Chawla resumes work following a leave taken due to some health problem.

Earlier, the BJP had also accused Chawla of being biased and close to Congress, and had asked the then President APJ Abdul Kalam to remove him from the Election Commission under Article 324(5), which the later forwarded to the Prime Minister. The BJP also sent a copy to the CEC as well.

Gopalaswami, in his affidavit to the apex court, had claimed that the CEC had suo motu power to recommend the removal of an Election Commissioner. Following this, the BJP withdrew its petition in the apex court and again took up the issue with the CEC.

The government had maintained in the Supreme Court that the CEC had no suo motu power to remove an Election Commissioner.

Chawla had last year raised serious objections to the holding of the Karnataka Assembly Elections in May but was over ruled.

Similarly, he is believed to have also had reservations over the conduct of Assembly Elections of Uttar Pradesh in the summer of 2007.

Gopalaswami’s term as CEC expires on April 20, and Chawla is most likely to take over from him.

Source: www.nhatky.in

Call For Shutdown in Jharkhand by Maoists

Ranchi: Maoists forced a shutdown against alleged police atrocities in Jharkhand on Saturday. The 24-hour shutdown call disrupted road and rail traffic.

“We are facing a lot of problems. I have to go to Palamu, but there is no train available. The government is not able to do anything. Not only me, all the passengers are facing problems,” said Rahul, a rail passenger.
Bus services to and from Ranchi have been completely snapped, and passengers remained stranded at the bus stands. Residents said that they were fed up by the frequent shutdown calls that adversely affected their livelihood.

“We run these buses for our livelihood. There is a shutdown here at least once in a week on one pretext or the other. What will the citizens do?” asked Guddu, a bus driver. Shops and business establishments also remained closed. Maoists, who are banned in several states including Jharkhand, say they are fighting for the rights of farmers and the poor. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the rebels the biggest challenge to the country’’s internal security.

Source: www.nhatky.in

Pak Navy’s Contention rejected by India

Tiruchirappalli: India on Saturday rejected Pakistan Navy chief Admiral Noman Bashir’s contention that terrorists involved in attacks in Mumbai did not use the sea route and said there was evidence that they did.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said India has evidence to prove that terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks used sea route from Karachi.

There was no further evidence that is required to be given to Pakistan as “all requisite evidences had been provided to them. The chargesheet (filed in a Mumbai court on February 26) gives clarification to many of the questions Islamabad had asked”, he said.

Chidambaram was reacting to a question on the Pakistan Naval Chief’s claim there was no evidence to show that the terrorists who came from Karachi used the sea route to reach Mumbai.

Source: www.nhatky.in

Interim Budget Presented by Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament

New Delhi: Presenting the Interim Budget in the Parliament, acting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that the economy had maintained a growth between 7%-8% and per capita income had grown by 7.4% in the last 4 yrs. He also said that government was within striking distance of fiscal correction.

He people of India had voted for change. He referred to the CMP of the UPA which he said was created to bring about this change.

Highlights

# People voted for change

# Manmohan singh wanted a change in the way the country is run

# CMP was built around this call for change

# 7 economic objectives

# Maintaining 7-8% growth

# Access to education, health

# Employment generation

# Assuring 100 days of employment

# Agri, rural development

# Fiscal consolidation and reform

# Fiscal devolution

# Indian showed sustained growth of over 9 %

# 4.7% growth in per capita in 4 yrs

# Fiscal Deficit between 4.5% to 2.3%

# Domestic investment rate as a proportion increased to 39% in 2008

# Domestic saving increased to 39%

# All with guidance of Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan and with P Chidambaram contribution

# Growth drivers were Agri, services, manufacturing, construction

# Real heroes of Indian success stories are farmers

# 22.5 of wheat 28.5 mt of rice in PDS

# Food production grew by 10% every year to reach 230 mt in 08

# Manufacturing growth 9.5% inform 04 to 08

# Construction growth 26% from 04 to 08

# Export grew by 26.4% from 04 to 08

# Foreign trade as part of GDP grew to 35.5% in 08

# Capital inflows in 08 : 97% of GDP

# This lead to accumulation of reserves and pressure on prices

# Effort made to deliver on commitments

1155 hrs IST: Per capita income increased 7.4% per annum during the UPA govt’s tenure
1154 hrs IST: Fertiliser subsidy increased by Rs44,863cr from about Rs14,000cr during 2008-09
1152 hrs IST: Expenditure for 08-09: Rs750,884cr, Planned expenditure: Rs2,43,386cr
1148 hrs IST: 15-point programme for the welfare of minorities set up
1148 hrs IST: Rs 65,300 crore in loans waived for farmers in FY 08-09
1147 hrs IST: Revised budget estimates for 2008-09 increased to Rs 909,053 crore from Rs 750,884 crore
1146 hrs IST: Non-performing assets of public sector banks have fallen from 7.8% in 2007 to 2.3% in March 2008
1144 hrs IST: The PSU profits have gone up 72 pc from 53000 crore to 91000 crore and their contribution to the central exchequer has gone up 86%
1143 hrs IST; Rs 632 crore provided for recaptalisation of Regional Rural Banks
1143 hrs IST: Turnover of public sector companies increased from Rs587,000cr in 2003-04 to Rs10,87,000cr in 2007-08
1141 hrs IST: Outlay on higher education has been increased 900% in the 11th Five Year Plan
1138 hrs IST: FDI inflow of $23.3bn between April and Nov 08
1137 hrs IST: Govt to continue to provide interest subsidy to farmers in FY 10
1134 hrs IST: Student loans increased from Rs4,500cr to Rs24,260cr as on September 30 over 3 years
1133 hrs IST: New scheme for young widows in the age group of 18 to 40 unveiled; will get priority in admission to ITIs and a stipend of Rs 500 per month
1130 hrs IST: Inflation rate fell to 4.4 per cent on January 31, 2009
1129 hrs IST: World economy, according to forecasts, will fare worse in 2009 than in 2008
1128 hrs IST: India is second fastest growing economy in the world with 7.1% GDP expansion in 2008-09
1128 hrs IST: Export growth rate in first nine months of 2008-09 touched 17.1%. Industrial production fell by 2% in December
1128 hrs IST: Occasional downturns are inescapable in market economy, Mukherjee quotes Amartya Sen
1127 hrs IST: Allocation for agriculture increased by 300% from 2003-04 to 2008-09
1121 hrs IST: Agri credit raised to Rs 2,50,000 crore
1048 hrs IST: Populist handouts likely in UPA’s Budget

SOURCE: www.nhatky.in

World’s First Fly Russian Fighter is Indian Woman

BANGALORE: Suman Sharma, daughter of a retired Indian naval officer and an army colonel’s sister, became the world’s first woman to fly the mighty Russian MiG-35 fighter jet at the Aero India international air show here.

The 30-year-old also became the first civilian woman to co-pilot the American-strike fighter F-16IN of Lockheed Martin two days before the biennial event took off at the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Yelahanka, about 20 km from here.

“The Russians confirmed from Moscow that I was the world’s first woman to fly the Mikoyan fourth generation twin-engine multi-role fighter aircraft (MiG-35) Friday (Feb 13) with MiG Corp test pilot Mikhail Belyaev for over 40 minutes cruising at 0.9 Mach speed and pulled 7G above 20,000 feet,” an elated Suman said on the sidelines of the air showpiece.

A qualified pilot with a stint in IAF as a commissioned officer and currently a flying instructor with the Indian Military Academy (IMA) at Dehradun, Suman flew in the single-engine F-16 with Lockheed test pilot Paul Randall. They touched 6G while flying 90 miles southwards into interior Karnataka.

“I had the privilege of taking controls in both the fighters for a while to perform loops, barrel and side rolls, stalls, dives and 360 degree turns. Though I was alert and fit, breathing at such altitudes and speed is a bit difficult. Yoga practice came to my rescue,” Suman recalled.

In the run up to her mid-air adventures onboard the supersonic fighters, Suman had flown to the US by a Boeing commercial jet (737) for 15 hours non-stop from New Delhi to Chicago in January 2008 on a familiarization trip to Lockheed factory where she got a feel of the Falcons in a simulator and a first-hand exposure to the latest aerospace technologies.

“During my IAF service, I co-piloted transport aircraft AN-32 and IL-76 and flew civilian jets subsequently. The experience came handy in conditioning to fly the fighters. In addition, yoga practice, jazz dance and diet control made me remain lean and fit to wear the G-suit and participate in aerobatics at different G force,” Suman noted.

Unwilling to make a comparison between the American and Russian fighters and her preference, Suman said while F-16 was a lighter, lean and mean machine to super cruise, MiG-35 was certainly heavier with tremendous power and thrust to go full throttle.

“It is unfair to compare as both (fighters) are a class by themselves. It all depends on how they are used and by whom. Being fly-by-wire with latest avionics, flight controls, radars and other navigational aids, it is the level of our alertness and reflexes that makes the difference in flying them,” Suman affirmed.

Asked whether she applied to the IAF to fly in one of its Sukhoi (Su-30MKI) fourth generation fighters, Suman said though she did to co-pilot a Su-30 and its latest Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) Hawk, she was yet to get a clearance.

“As a rule, IAF does not allow women warriors to be taken as prisoners of war (POW) by the enemy though women pilots in the US and Israel fly combat aircraft. Though the Russian air force is not averse to fair-gender flying fighters, there are no women fighter pilots yet,” Suman pointed out.

Suman, however, is hopeful the IAF would change its rule sooner to allow women pilots to fly fighters in light of a recent proposal to recruit about 800 women commissioned officers in combat flying.

“The IAF recruits women through the service selection board for various positions, including piloting transport aircraft and choppers,” she said.

Daughter of Commodore (retd) H.P. Sharma and younger sibling of Colonel Rajesh Sharma of the Dogra Regiment, Suman is passionate to fly solo to connect herself with God in the infinite space.

“Given the opportunity, I would love to fly all kinds of aircraft, especially fighters, and hope to do by participating in other international air shows,” she added.

The New Delhi-based Suman wants to inspire other women, especially girls, to take up flying as a profession and compete with men as there is nothing that one can’t understand in a magnificent flying machine.

“It is not a rocket science or so difficult to grasp. With good academic and science background, any girl or woman can take to flying even a combat aircraft,” she said.

SOURCE: http://www.nhtaky.in