India News

Mathura: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Saturday slammed Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan for stating that migrant labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh would not be welcomed to work in his state.

"The Constitution of India has given right to every citizen of the country to migrate and work fearlessly in any part of country. Anything that is against the Constitution be it fatwa, or anything else is not justified. Every citizen belonging to any religion or language has right to migrate to the entire country. Narrow-mindedness on this issue is not appropriate," Ramdev told reporters in Mathura.

Ramdev, who participated in the 30th general session of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, where a resolution endorsing the fatwa on Vande Matram was adopted on Tuesday, said people from all faiths should recite the national song.

"Everybody in the world is aware of my stand on Vande Matarm. All of my daily programmes and assemblies begin and end with Vande Matram. Even Muslim brothers have wrong impression about the word Vande Matram, they are considering it as Hindu ritual. It is not at all appropriate and I hope this will be clarified soon,” he said.

The fatwa asked Muslims not to sing the song as some of the verses are against the tenets of Islam.

Some Muslim groups say singing the song "Vande Mataram" would be against Islam because it had strong connotations of Hindu deity worship as it reveres India as a holy goddess.

Although it was expected to become the national anthem when Indian became independent in 1947, similar objections by Muslims saw another song becoming the anthem.

Source ANI

Tawang: In a bid to extend a warm welcome to Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama, residents of Tawang hung decorations and cleaned the streets leading to the Tawang Monastery on Saturday.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader is due to begin his week-long visit to the town close to Chinese border in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday.

Beijing has accused the Nobel peace prize laureate of hurting its ties with New Delhi with the visit to the disputed region.

The Dalai Lama has defended the visit to Arunachal Pradesh as a mere lecture tour, but it has already drawn heavy criticism from Beijing, coming just two months after he visited self-ruled Taiwan, an island China claims as its own.

Despite the tension, the people of Tawang, which has a population of 35,000, were eagerly getting ready to roll out the red carpet for the rare visitor.

"We should not forget that Arunachal Pradesh is very much an integral part of India and his holiness is a religious leader and we have a relationship of a religious leader and his devotees. So we are all very excited and we will receive him in a grand way," said Jampey Tashi, MP, Arunachal Pradesh.

The Government of India has stated that the Dalai Lama is visiting Arunachal Pradesh, an integral part of India, in his capacity as a spiritual leader.

Gurutulku, Abbot of the Tawang Monastery, who has been personally supervising all arrangements for the Dalai Lama''s visit, said he was happy that thousands of followers would be able to hear the religious leader''s discourses.

"We are very happy that this time China could not disturb us. So we find his holiness''s teachings here and we are very happy," he said.

Tenzing Norgu, one of the monks busy painting tree trunks to spruce up the walkway to the monastery, said: "We feel very happy and excited that his holiness the Dalai Lama is coming here. We are getting everything ready for his arrival.”

Kolkata: Ahead of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee''s visit to Midnapore, suspected Maoists gunned down three persons at Kushboni forest on Saturday.

Superintendent of Police, West Midnapore, M K Varma said Manoranjan Mandi, Joyram Murmu and Laxmi Das, all members of the Gana Pratirodh Committee, formed by the CPI(M) to resist the Maoists, were forcibly taken away from their houses to a nearby forest where their hands were tied up and a number of bullets pumped in their bodies. They died on the spot.

The trio belonged to the Jharkhand Jana Mukti Morcha and later joined the Gana Pratirodh Committee and led movements against Maoists, sources said.

"Suddenly at night we heard two loud noises outside. Thinking that people might be carrying some explosions, out of fear we did not go out to see," said Ajay Hansda, a child of the village.

A Maoist poster was found near their bodies in the forest near Dahijuri, in which the ultras alleged that the deceased used to extract money forcibly from the local people.

The bodies of the deceased would be sent to Jhargram hospital for post-mortem, police said.

Meanwhile, the PCPA organised road blockades in different areas of the Jungle Mahal, demanding immediate withdrawal of the combined security forces.

Asit Mahato, convener of the PCPA, said processions with students of different schools would soon start in Muraboni and Ranarani villages in Jhargram to protest the occupation of their school buildings by combined forces.
 
Unprecedented security arrangements were made in Midnapore Town as all roads and lanes in the town were being guarded by armed police ahead of the Chief Minister''s meeting to review the law and order situation and monitor the development activities.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Almost 20 per cent polling was recorded by mid-day for the assembly by-elections in seven states.

Thirty-one constituencies in the States of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, Rajasthan, Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Chattisgarh are undergoing polls today.

So far, the polling has been peaceful as security forces and para military personnel are keeping a strict vigil in the poll-bound constituencies.

In Firozabad Lok Sabha seat, where Congress candidate Raj Babbar is pitted against Mulayam Singh Yadav''s daughter-in-law Dimple, 18 per cent polling was registered whereas in 11 Assembly seats in the state, the turnout was just 15 per cent.

According to West Bengal chief election officer Debasish Sen, a turnout of 23 per cent was recorded in the by-elections to ten assembly seats.

By-elections to nine seats are being held as MLAs from these seats have been elected as members of Parliament in the last Lok Sabha elections, while in one seat, it is due to the death of state''s former transport minister Subhas Chakraborty.

The West Bengal by-elections are being viewed as a dress rehersal for the 2010 Assembly polls in the state.

Over 15 per cent voters turned up in the initial hours in the bypolls in Kannur, Ernakulam and Alappuzha Assembly constituencies in Kerala, another Left-ruled state.

In Rohroo and Jawali assembly seats of Himachal Pradesh, about 15 per cent polling was recorded. Bypoll in the two assembly seats is taking place due to resignation of Union Steel minister Virbhadra Singh and BJP MP from Kangra Rajan Sushant respectively.

Voting in bypoll to Vaishali Nagar Assembly seat in Durg district of Chhattisgarh was held under tight security.

In Rajasthan, over 10 per cent voters cast their votes in Salumber and Todabheem assembly constituencies. The outcome of the polls is being considered crucial for measuring the popularity of the Ashok Gehlot government and determining the stance of Gujjars after the Rajasthan High Court''s recent stay on reservation granted to them.

Voting was also in progress in two seats in Assam.

Source ANI

New Delhi: CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat on Saturday asked the Union Government to withdraw the new ordinance, which requires the State Government to bear the expenses if it fixes sugarcane prices lower than that advised by the centre.

The ordinance passed on October 23 is interpreted to mean that it would discourage the State governments from announcing higher SAP.

"The ordinance issued by the federal government will severely affect sugarcane farmers especially in Uttar Pradesh. So we are against this ordinance. When they will introduce the bill in Parliament, we will unitedly oppose it. We are against this policy and we want the government to take it back and talk to everyone and think about what to do on the issue," said Karat.

The ordinance has led to a severe discontentment among the farmers in Uttar Pradesh, which produces half of India''s cane.

The Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) fixed by the Centre is rupees 130 while the State Advised Price (SAP) is between rupees 165 and 170.

Ajit Singh, chief of regional Rashtriya Lok Dal, who is spearheading the cane farmers'' movement in the state, met Karat here on Saturday.

"By repealing the SAP and in the name of Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) if you reduce one third of the price….In Punjab, it is rupees 200, in Haryana it is 185 and if you bring it to 130 in Uttar Pradesh, will the farmers of the state cultivate sugarcane next year? The state produces 40 percent sugar. All the shortcomings should be solved by discussion; else this (ordinance) will wipe out sugarcane farmers in the state," said Singh.

Later, Singh also met Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh.

"We will not sit if the sugarcane mill owners start to decide the fate of farmers. We have had discussion and chalked out a strategy on the issue. If need be, myself and Mulayalam Singh will go with Ajit Singh to fight for the cause of the sugarcane farmers," Amar Singh told reporters.

Source ANI

Patna: Violent clashes ensue between two communities in Patna on Monday following the alleged killing of a Muslim businessman.

Mohammad Shamsher was allegedly killed on Friday night in the Khajekala area of Patna.

When people of Muslim community came to know about the cold-blooded murder, they turned violent and came on the streets to attack Hindus.

“A group 10-20 Muslims came and started beating a Hindu guy. When the neighbours went to save him, they started throwing crude bombs at us," said Sadanand, a local.

Clashes ensued following the attacks and situations worsened.

Police personnel had to air-fire in a bid to control the situation and disperse the clashing mob.

As per latest reports, two persons were injured in the clashes and the situation has been brought under control.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Dr Wahid Baloch, who is the head of Baloch society of North America has rubbished Pakistan''s allegation that India is fuelling insurgency in Balochistan.

Talking to ANI, Dr Baloch said,  " Well if India has helped Baloch people, then Baloch people would not be suffering in the hands of the Pakistani Islamic Jehadi army.

"Infact, these allegations are baseless and they are just being promoted to hide the Pakistani crimes against Baloch nation. Baloch people are suffering in the hands of Pakistan and Pakistani military," he added.

Wahid Baloch asks Pakistan to tell  the world what they have done to balcohis rather than pointing fingers on the neighboring countries.

According to Dr. Baloch, Pakistani forces and especially its secret service the ISI, are engaged in gross human rights violations in the region. He claims that many nationalists have been killed, tortured, women were raped and chemical bombing was applied.

Baloch said "Pakistan is a terrorist state, there is no doubt it. Pakistan continues to terrorize its own citizen, especially Baloch people. We are victim of Pakistani state terrorism for the last 60 years that has not been reduced or abated. It''s still going on. On the other hand Pakistan is producing terrorist, Islamic extremism and terrorism through its ISI funded sponsored Madarassas and institution. They are exporting terrorism to bleed people in the neighborhood like India, Afghanistan or any one else."

 Managing Director of  Balochistan''s first television Channel "Baloch Voice" Munir Mengal who was held by Pakistani Intelligence agencies and tortured also reveals that Taliban Shura is still very much present in the region and entire secretariat of Taliban is established in Quetta and these elements are backed and supported by Pakistani Establishment and the ISI. 

In an interview, Munir told ANI "Actually ISI and Pakistani armed forces, they were the creator of Taliban and they used all these forces against Baloch. During the 80s we see that they say Baloch are communist so they imposed Taliban on us.

"They funded religious, political parties; religious terrorist organization and they built thousands of Madarassas in our region to combat us. For that purpose they brought lot of fundamentalist Taliban into Quetta. From that time they built headquarters and many things. Even many of those places are no go area for us. They have secretariat of Talibans, where they have top Talibani officials. They come and go and they do each and every thing," Munir added.

In another startling revelation Munir said that "Mega port at Gwader which is built with Chinese assistance on the Makran coast will be used as a launching pad to orchestrate international terrorism in future".

He said Pakistan would use its nuclear weapons as a threat to the international community.

"With respect to the Gwader they have more then one thousand thirty thousand acres of land at the naval base camp there. They will use it as a launching pad and it''s threat for you all. They might use it for great cause of Islamization", he added.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Trade Minister Anand Sharma has said that India will resolve a dispute with the European Union over generic drugs in an amicable way.

"In India-EU summit we have discussed this and all other issues and we both are committed to resolving outstanding matters amicably," Sharma told reporters after the talks with EU officials here on Friday.

Sharma said the shipment of drugs was consistent with WTO regulations.

"These shipments were for third countries and therefore there was no violations either of the ... agreement because they are very much in conformity with the existing GATS provisions as well as the existing WTO agreements," he added.

He pointed out that there has been a major dilemma in trade and intellectual property policy -- how to reconcile the provision of affordable medicine to people in poor countries with the need to encourage medical research through patent protection.

Sharma was joined at a press conference by the Swedish Trade Minister Ewa Bjorling and EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton, who said officials on both sides were meeting later in November to resolve the dispute.

Ashton played down differences but said a trade pact should tie in with efforts on climate change as well as spur growth in jobs and businesses.

"We are collaborating to make sure that everything we are doing to promote trade is also co-supporting our economies and through our economies, our people, to give them great opportunities for jobs, great opportunities for business to make sure that everything we do supports our ambitions on the environment, so it is not really about one side in a sense making another side do anything, this is how we develop our negotiations together," Ashton said.

India and the EU, India''s biggest trade partner, met in New Delhi this week with a potentially lucrative free trade deal and the slow-moving Doha trade talks also high on the agenda.

A Free Trade Agreement has been under negotiation since 2007, and the EU estimates such a deal could help bilateral trade cross 237 dollars billion by 2015.

The EU has linked the talks to India''s environmental performance, intellectual property rights and sensitive issues such as child labour. India has said it wants to keep the focus of the talks on trade.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today claimed that the political crisis in the State has been resolved.

Talking to reporters here before leaving for Vaishno Devi shrine,Yeddyurappa said the BJP government in Karnataka would complete its full term.

"I am thankful to my party''s national leadership for reposing faith in the leaders and resolving the current crisis. The government will complete its full term under my leadership in the Stat," he said.

"I will take everyone into confidence in running the government - and together we will work for the good of the State without giving any chance for unlawful activities in the State," he added.

Earlier, ruling out possibility of a change in the leadership, the BJP high command discussed a compromise formula to ensure smooth functioning of the State government.

Amid reports that some of the rebels MLAs are ready to resign from the membership of the Assembly, party sources said that the rebel group is being accommodated and the final formula will be in place in a day or two.

Source ANI

Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Huda on Saturday inducted six cabinet ministers and two ministers of state in his cabinet.

They were sworn in by the Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadiya at Raj Bhawan here.
Those who were inducted as cabinet ministers are Capatain Ajay Yadav, Randeep Surjewala, Mahinder Pratap Singh, Paramveer Singh, Geeta Bhukal and Omprakash Jain, an independent.

Gopal Kanda, Shivcharan Sharma and Sukhveer Kataria, all independents were inducted as ministers of state.

The swearing-in came two weeks after Hooda assumed office. Ahead of the final installation of the Ministry, the ruling Congress had resorted to a last-minute postponement of the Cabinet expansion, which was earlier, scheduled for Friday.

Source ANI

New Delhi: At least seven students were injured when their school van was hit by a mini-truck near Kashmere Gate here this morning.

According to sources, the mishap took place around 7:30 am when the children of Delhi Public School Mathura Road were going to school.

The injured students were rushed to Trauma Centre at ISBT.

Source ANI

Mumbai: The swearing in of the new Congress -NCP ministry in Maharashtra will take place today.

The Congress will have 23 ministers and the NCP have 20. While all NCP ministers are expected to take oath today, the Congress ministers would be sworn in two phases.

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan accompanied by NCP legislature party leader Chhagan Bhujbal, who will be the Deputy Chief Minister, met Governor S.C. Jamir on Friday and handed over the letters of support to stake claim.

The Congress-NCP alliance has a combined strength of 144 in the 288-member House.

The delay in staking claim was due to the NCP making a strong demand for sticking to the 1999 formula, under which the Congress will get Chief Minister ship but the NCP will get key portfolios like Home, Finance, Power and PWD.

Source ANI

Srinagar: With an aim to spread the message of unity and national integration amongst fellow countrymen, two police officers embarked on a bicycle rally from Srinagar to Kanyakumari on Saturday.

Joint Director of Haryana Police JVJ Sandho and Assistant Director of the National Police Academy, located in Hyderabad, Ajay Kumar Nand will cycle from Srinagar to the southern tip of Kanyakumari.

“Army and other organizations keep on undertaking such adventure sports. Cycling is popular in other countries as well. I''m interested in sports and cycling and so we thought that why not we undertake this journey, Kashmir to Kanyakumari, in which we take the help of police of other States as well. National Police Academy is a central organization where policemen are trained, so we''ve started from here and hope that in coming years police personnel of other states will also join in,” Sandho said.

Meanwhile, flagging off the rally Inspector General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Ahmed said: “These senior officers have come from National Police Academy, they are IPS (Indian Police Service) officers, they are cycling from here Srinagar, from the top of India to the other end, Kanyakumari to spread the message of national (integration) and unity. This is another flag that police services are flying and I hope they come out with flying colours.” 

During their long journey, the due will travel through the Himalayas, criss-crossing Indo-Gangetic plains and Deccan plateau, to the Indian Ocean coast. They will be joined by 20 other police officers, who have been probationers of the elite academy.

Source ANI

Ranchi: Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, who is facing arrest as soon as he is discharged from Apollo Hospital in Ranchi over an alleged multi-crore hawala transactions, will remain in hospital for another day due to a stomach upset.

“The team of doctors will review the health condition of Koda in a day or two and decide on his discharge,” said Javed Akhtar, the hospital spokesperson.

Koda is currently admitted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital after he complained of a pain in his abdomen, giddiness and vomiting.

Earlier, the Income Tax sleuths had indicated that Madhu Koda would be arrested as soon as he is discharged from the hospital.

The department has also issued a Red Corner notice against Koda and eight others for their alleged role in money laundering, diversion of state funds and indulging in huge illegal investments abroad.

An ED team from Delhi had earlier arrived in Ranchi to obtain documents on the alleged hawala transactions carried out by Koda and his associates. It intends to obtain material evidence and documents seized by the income tax department and source information from the records of the tax searches against Koda and others.

Nationwide raids were conducted for three days to unearth the assets of the former Jharkhand Chief Minister and his associates.

Source ANI

Guwahati: On the eve of sixth one-day international between India and Australia, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that this was one series where the middle-order has not performed consistently.

Addressing the media in Guwahati on Saturday, Dhoni said: “This is one of the series where the middle order has not performed consistently, where we have only performed in patches. It is not that we don’t perform in each and every game. But of course it''s good if we get a good start so that the middle order and lower order can capitalize on that.”

However, Dhoni ruled out that stress was a reason behind the defeats.

“We play throughout the year so whether it is a five-match series or seven-match series or test match series because we don''t have a longer break between the series and after this we will have to play against Sri Lanka,” he said.

Meanwhile, Australian vice captain Michael Hussey said that his team would like to maintain its rhythm and try to wrap the series by winning Guwahati game.

“For our team it would be nice to remain as number-one team. What motivating us is to try and win this series against India, that''s all we are really focusing on at this moment. I guess that if we do that (winning the series) then the by-product is that we remain the number one team,” Hussey said.

Guwahati is the venue for the sixth ODI match scheduled on Sunday.

Source ANI

Midnapore: Trinamool Congress party and Communist Party of India (Marxist) supporters clashed with each other here on Saturday, as West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee arrived in Midnapore district on a two-day visit.

Police detained many TMC workers for waving black flags to the convoy of CM Bhattacharjee.

Trinamool workers staged sit-in outside the Circuit House where the State CM is staying during his visit.

Meanwhile, just a few hours before Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was to arrive in Midnapore, suspected Maoists gunned down three members of the CPI(M) affiliated Gana Pratirodh Committee at Kushboni forest under Binpur police station area on Saturday.

Superintendent of Police, West Midnapore, M K Varma said Manoranjan Mandi, Joyram Murmu and Laxmi Das, all members of the Gana Pratirodh Committee, formed by the CPI(M) to resist the Maoists, were forrcibly taken out of the houses to a nearby forest and killed by pumping a number of bullets in their bodies while their hands were tied.

According to Sub-Divisional Officer Jhargram P Ulaganathan all the three belonged to the Jharkhand Jana Mukti Morcha and later joined the Gana Pratirodh Committee and led movements against Maoists. They are believed to have been killed for being informers.

Source ANI

Ferozepur (Punjab): Alert patrolling personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF), deployed along the India-Pakistan border, seized counterfeit currency notes worth Rs. 900,000, said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of BSF Rajesh Gupta on Saturday.

The seizure was made at a place in Manglok sector in Punjab.

Addressing the media at Ferozpur, Rajesh Gupta said that the fake currency notes of denominations of Rs 500 and 1000 were found in 16 bundles.

“We got the information that on the gate number 212 that falls under Joginder area of Manglok sector, which is between barren lands, near the River Sutlej, FICN (fake Indian currency notes) was buried. We conducted search operation on November 4 and 5. We carried out search operations, but did not find anything,” Gupta said.

“Then, we searched again yesterday and found fake currency at two places. In the first place, we found Rs one lakh and at the other we found Rs eight lakh. The first bundle of Rs one lakh was found in Rs 1000 denominations and the second bundle was found in Rs. 500. There were 16 bundles,” he added.

He further revealed that the currency must have been smuggled across the border from Pakistan. He also mentioned that over the past five months, BSF had detected and seized fake currency notes worth Rs 2,20,000.

However, no arrests were made in the latest seizure and investigation is in progress.

Source ANI

Allahabad: To accelerate the tourism industry in Uttar Pradesh and to promote adventure sports among the masses, a three-day water sports rally is being organized at Allahabad.

The event named Ganga Water Rally commenced on Saturday and the response according to the organizers has been encouraging.

Among the various events are the thrills of rowing down the River Ganga from Allahabad to the holy city of Varanasi via Mirzapur.

Seven teams of adventure sports enthusiasts began their journey on the opening day.

Earlier, the other participants displayed their skills in rowing varieties of crafts such as kayaks, canoes and rowing boats.

According to Amit Srivastava, Regional Tourist Officer of Allahabad, the main objective of the rally has been to explore scenic beauty along the River Ganga and to develop adventure tourism, which holds the potential to attract foreign tourists.

“The prime motive of the water rally is to promote water sports, to bolster tourism in the towns located along the River Ganga and to spread the message, ''Keep Ganga Clean'' among the people. We must keep our River Ganga, free of pollution as it is our lifeline,” Srivastava said.

Rajeev Aggarwal, District Magistrate of Allahabad, said that the expansive region through which River Ganga flows has a huge potential for growth of tourism, supplemented by adventure sports.

“The aim behind this rally is to encourage adventure sports especially water sports in Uttar Pradesh and to develop a feeling of healthy competition and sportsmanship among the participants. Also, we wish to popularise this stretch along with the Yamuna bank, which is considered to be the best for water sports. By doing so we wish to make the locals residing in and around this area feel that this is a focal point of attraction for the tourists,” Aggarwal said.

On the very opening day, the participants as well as the locales were seen enjoying the event to the hilt.

“We are feeling really very good. This is a great step taken to enhance water sports here,” said Abhay Singh, a participant.

The grand finale of Ganga Water Rally will take place on November 9.

Source ANI

New Delhi: By-elections for one Lok Sabha seat and 31 Assembly seats in seven states remained by and large peaceful, as over 60 per cent of voters turned out on Saturday.

 

Saturday’s polls were conducted under the watchful eyes of security forces and paramilitary personnel who were deployed to maintain a strict vigil in all constituencies undergoing elections.

 

53 per cent polling was registered in Firozabad Lok Sabha Constituency, where Congress candidate and veteran Bollywood actor Raj Babbar contested against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav''s daughter-in- law.

 

The Lok Sabha by-election was necessitated after Akhilesh Yadav, Mulayam’s son vacated the seat and retained Kannauj seat.

 

Meanwhile, on the 11 State Assembly seats, 41.67 per cent polling was recorded.

 

Two minor incidents of violence were reported from Uttar Pradesh in a clash during polling at a booth in Jasrana area of Firozabad parliamentary constituency.

 

However, State Chief Election Officer Debasish Sen said that in West Bengal, a turnout of 65 per cent was recorded in the by-elections to 10 assembly seats.

Source ANI

Ranchi: A local court on Saturday sent Vikas Sinha, an associate of former Jharkhand Chief Madhu Koda, to 10 days into the custody of Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his alleged role in the hawala transactions and the illegal investments.
 
Vikas Sinha, the brother of another associate Binod Sinha, Vikash, has been charged under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act by the ED.

Vikas, who was arrested on Friday, will now be sent to the Directorate’s headquarters in Delhi for interrogations in the multi-crore scam.

The department has also issued a Red Corner notice against Koda and eight others for their alleged role in money laundering, diversion of state funds and indulging in huge illegal investments abroad.

An ED team from Delhi had earlier arrived in Ranchi to obtain documents on the alleged hawala transactions carried out by Koda and his associates. It intends to obtain material evidence and documents seized by the income tax department and source information from the records of the tax searches against Koda and others.

Nationwide raids were conducted for three days to unearth the assets of the former Jharkhand Chief Minister and his associates.

Koda is currently admitted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Apollo Hospital in Ranchi after he complained of a pain in his abdomen, giddiness and vomiting. 

Income Tax sleuths have indicated that Madhu Koda will be arrested as soon as he is discharged from the hospital in Ranhi.

Source ANI

Mumbai: Congress leader Ashok Chavan and Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal took oath of office and secrecy as Maharashtra’s Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively on Saturday evening here at Raj Bhawan. 

Ashok Chavan along with 37 other cabinet ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor S C Jamir here at the Raj Bhawan, as the Congress-NCP alliance formed government after a wait of 16 days since poll results of the State Assembly were announced.

The new Government has 18 ministers from the Congress party and 20 from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

The list of ministers taking the oath included—Narayan Rane (Cong) , R.R.Pati (NCP), Patangrao Kadam (Cong.), Shivaji Rao Moghe (Cong.), Ajit Pawar (NCP), Radhakrishan (Cong.), Jayant Patil (NCP), Harshvardhan Patil (Cong.), Ganesh Naik (NCP), Balasahab Thorat (   ), Lakshman Thoble (NCP), Anil Deshmukh (NCP), Jaydutt Shirsagar(NCP), Manohar Naik (NCP), Vijay Kr. Gavit (NCP), Sunil Tatkare (NCP), Ramraje Nimbalkar (NCP);not an MLA at present, Babbanrao Pachpute (NCP), Rajesh Tope (NCP), Rajendra Darda (Cong), Naseem Khan (Cong.), Suresh Shetti (Cong.), Hasan Mushrif (NCP), Nitin Raut (Cong.), Subash Jhanak(Cong.) and others.

Most of the ministers, especially the senior leaders were heard taking oath in Marathi.

Central Minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan was present during the swearing-in ceremony. However, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar skipped the ceremony.

Source ANI

Guwahati: On the eve of the sixth ODI between India and Australia, Chief curator of Assam Association (ACA) Sunil Kumar Barua said that he hopes the game would be a high-scoring tie.

Barua said that a lot of effort has been put in to make the Nehru Stadium track conducive for a one-day-international match.

“The pitch I hope it will be behaving nicely and we tried to make a very good pitch so that people can enjoy the game,” Barua said.

Guwahati is the venue for the match scheduled on Sunday.

Source ANI

Bastar (Chhattisgarh): Ghotul has existed as an institution among Muria Gond tribals of Chhattisgarh in which children six years onwards learn to socialize and educate themselves about life skills while living together.

The unique system of Ghotul has played a vital role in the development of tribal culture over the years. It has played a significant role in developing awareness or imparting knowledge among members of Muria Gond tribals at early stage of their lives.

The institution promotes mutual understanding between male and female children. As at a tender age of six years boys and girls become entitled with its membership and social responsibilities.

 The females are known as ‘Motiyaris’ whereas the male workers are known as ‘Cheliks’.

Ghotul has existed as a symbol of tribals’ deep rooted culture.

An interesting fact of Ghotul lies in the development of womenfolk here. Besides participating actively in decision-making process, women are assigned with the administrative task at the Ghotul.

Unlike other traditional societies the women are not bound to the hard and fast rule of spouse-selection, arranged marriage. 

However, of late the Naxals have started targeting this unique system of learning and living together of the Muria Gond tribals.

Although the red ultras claim that their fight is for the betterment of the landless and poor, the reality seems to be different.

The Naxals want to enlist these youngsters to join their cadres instead of allowing them to learn and grow up according to their tradition. 

The Naxals are now targeting the deep-rooted tribal tradition and culture. The latest example of their attempt to discourage young people from joining the ‘Ghotul’.

“Their (Naxals) violence resulted in the closure of ‘Ghotul’. The closure n of ‘Ghotul’ is a matter of concern,” said Liken, former member of Ghotul.
 
 “Basically, the Naxals want to close the institution of ‘Ghotul’ because they don’t want an exchange of thoughts. Secondly they also want to put an end to the age old tribal tradition,” said Jitender Singh Mina, Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO).

The system of Ghotul imparts a sense of democracy early in life. In Ghotul, the students share a feeling of friendliness, sympathy and unity among the members.
 
“Long back when I was 10 or 12 years old, I used to go to ‘Ghotul’. And if I didn’t go to Ghotul any day, my mother would scold me a lot. It was through ‘Ghotul’ that I got to know about my tradition, dance, games, song and the method of farming,” said Saita, a former member of Ghotul.
 
According to some anthropologists, the Ghotul is an ancient institution and some of them describe it as a living university. There are no books or test, yet it teaches one life’s education. Students are teachers here, and teachers are students. It is truly a wonder.

Ghotul is normally located outside the village. A long time before the land grant universities were a norm in the western world, the Adivasis reserved empty tracts of land for educating the young.

The Ghotul building can be as small as a hut or as big as a meeting hall, depending on the village population and leadership. Some have plenty of lighting while others are built small in order to conserve heat. Where there are problem of wildlife attacks, the Ghotuls are built on a raised platform.

In Ghotuls, no distinction is made between love and sex. Everybody is free and behaves responsibly.

Children learn about love at an early age, by watching others. They imitate what they see. Mothers typically teach their daughters about the extent to which they can go at the Ghotuls.

In case of any problem, the Motiyari (girl) tells the elders and they collectively sort out the problem.

The students at the Ghotul consider it their duty to provide entertainment during festive ceremonies. They play music, sing songs and dance through out the night.

Source ANI

Chennai: At a time when gold prices have touched the sky, gold lovers in Chennai are seeing it as a promising investment.

Gold prices hit an all time high on Wednesday at Rs. 16,664 per 10 grams, but many view rise in the price of the yellow metal as an investment opportunity.

Customers say that although buying gold at such a time poses problem, but from an investment point of view, it is reasonable to put money in the metal.

“Inflation is certainly significant and noticeable. This poses problems, but also the opportunity to invest in gold as it is profitable and sustainable,” said Shabana, a customer.

While, Siva Kumar, a jeweler, said: “The price of the gold is rising uninterrupted and inflation is in fact induced by the Government which is preventing the devaluation of rupee by withholding the commodity. Owing to this development, investing in gold will be profitable in the long run. Perpetual demand for gold augments the price, giving inflation its continuity.”

Source ANI

Srinagar: Police were compelled to use tear gas and air firing on Saturday to disperse violent mobs protesting against the death of a local youth.

The youth took to the streets after a body of a man, identified as Mohammed Yaqoob, was recovered on Saturday morning.

The dead body of Yaqoob, who used to sell barbecues at Lal Chowk in Maisuma, was recovered from a shed where he used to sell meat preparations.

After Yaqoob’s body was sent for post-mortem, the youth took to the streets and enforced a shutdown.

Police fired teargas shells and baton charged the protesters to control the agitating mob, which had damaged many vehicles during the protest. Many people including some media persons were also injured during the incident.

Meanwhile, Senior Superintendent of Police of Srinagar, Javed Bedaar, has assured that the police have registered a case and commenced the investigation.

“Investigation is being carried on and hopefully, we will get the culprits soon,” Javed Bedaar said.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Ahead of the much awaited visit of Tibetans’ spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Sunday, Arunachal Pradesh has geared up for His holiness’s welcome here. 

 

Indian journalists have been allowed to cover the Nobel Laureate Dalai Lama’s visit in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. However, the foreign journalists are yet to be allowed.

 

“We are yet to decide to give visas to foreign journalists,” said MEA sources.

 

Sunday’s visit will be Dalai Lama’s sixth visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

 

Tawang is perched at a height of 10,000 feet.

 

Posters with pictures of the Tibetan spiritual leader in a colour presentation and flags are all set to greet visitors to the place, where Dalai Lama had landed in 1959 after his escape from Tibet.

 

Tight security arrangements have been put in place around the area, located between - China and Myanmar, with the Tawang district administration making all efforts to ensure a peaceful visit of the leader.

 

China has raised objection to Dalai Lama’s visit to Tawang area.

 

Dalai Lama is scheduled to hold discourses in the three centuries old Tawang monastery and at nearby Dirang from November 9 to 12 and another at Bomdila before leaving for Itanagar.

 

Last week, Dalai Lama reportedly contended that he was travelling to Arunachal in connection with teaching his beliefs. He also said that Tawang held great memories for him, as this was his first stop 50 years ago when he was forced to flee Tibet.

 

He is scheduled to visit Tawang monastery to deliver spiritual discourse to his followers at the invitation of local leaders and also dedicate a new hospital.

 

To China’s objection over Dalai Lama’s visit to Tawang, India made it clear that the Tibetan leader was free to travel any part of India, but he was not allowed to indulge in political activities.

Source ANI

Chennai: The ban to play cricket at Chennai’s Marina beach has come as a big setback to ardent cricket lovers, who now have no alternate location to enjoy the game.

The ban followed a decision taken after a joint meeting of senior officials belonging to the State Government, police department and Chennai Corporation.

According to the police, youngsters who play cricket on the beach cause hindrance and disturbance to the walkers and the vehicles using the service road which was laid as a part of beach beautification programme.

However, Nagraj, a college student who visits the beach for playing cricket, said that he has ground to play near his house, and before banning the activity the Government has to find an answer to their problems.

“There is no playground near my house, so we come here to play cricket. But the police has put a ban on playing cricket on the beach and now we don''t have a playground to play on. Now, the Government has to find a solution to this problem,” said Nagaraj, a college student.

The parents are also agitated over the ban, as they feel that playing cricket helps the children to focus on their lives.

“We are condemning the ban implemented by the Government on playing cricket on Marina beach because playing is the only way of deviating the youngsters of choosing a wrong path in life. Playing is health for them, which would encourage them to get good education,” said Masilamani, a parent.

Meanwhile, the State Government has decided to make alternative provisions for the cricket enthusiasts by opening some playgrounds, which includes May Day Park, Gopalapuram, Turnbulls road, Nandanam Extension, Mandaveli South Cooum road, Thiru.Vi.Ka Nagar and the Pattinappakam housing board playground.

Source ANI