Candidates Must Declare Assets and Pending Criminal Cases
Supreme Court Strikes Down Amendment to the Representation of the People Act

          NEW DELHI: In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court has said that the candidates contesting any election under the Representation of the People Act must declare their assets and criminal cases, if any, pending against them at the time of filing nomination papers. Delivering the judgement on Thursday, the apex court also struck down a major portion of the Electoral Reforms Act. A three-judge Bench ... (Contd)

11 Killed in Mumbai Train Blast

          MUMBAI: An explosion on a suburban train left 11 people dead and 75 people injured late on Thursday evening. The attack came a day after the 10th anniversary of the serial blasts in Mumbai that killed 250 people. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. The explosions took place on a general compartment and a ladies special of the Karjat-bound train while approaching Mulund platform at 8.45 pm. The police said the bomb was planted between the two carriages.

           Mumbai has been hit by a series of smaller bomb attacks in recent months, unnerving people who still dread a repeat of the blasts, as traumatic as the September 11 attacks were for the people of New York. The 1993 attacks were blamed by the police on Muslim groups avenging the destruction by Hindus of Babri mosque in Ayodhya in 1992. Thursday's bomb blast coincided with the start of excavations in Ayodhya undertaken to ascertain whether a temple preexisted at the site on which the mosque was built in the 16th century.

          In early December, two people were killed when an explosion ripped off the rear of a bus. Another blast several days later in a building housing a McDonald's food outlet injured 23. And in January, 30 people were wounded when a crude bomb exploded in a crowded street in a Mumbai suburb.

Jharkhand Govt Defeated in House as 7 Ministers Quit (Go To Top)

          RANCHI: Seven ministers of the Babulal Marandi Government in Jharkhand on Thursday announced their resignation on the floor of the Assembly while a cut motion was being discussed. This followed weeks of political crisis and came just ahead of voting on a finance Bill. Two of JD(U) members, three of the Samata, one of AJSU-UGDP and one of Jharkhand Vanachal Congress - all allies of the ruling coalition - asked the Speaker thereafter to make sitting arrangements for them in the Opposition benches.

           The seven were energy minister Lalchand Mahato (JD-U), sports minister Baidyanath Ram (JD-U), tourism minister Joba Manjhi (AJSU-UGDP), revenue minister Madhu Singh (Samata), excise minister Ramesh Singh Munda (Samata), PHED minister Jhaleswar Mahato (Samata) and science and technology minister Samresh Singh (Jharkhand Vananchal Congress). The Samata has five ministers in the Cabinet of whom three have resigned. Both the JD (U) ministers have quit. The Speaker was also elected on a JD(U) ticket. One of the two ministers of the AJSU-UGDP has quit. The present strength of the 82-member House is 79, and the resignation of the ministers takes the Opposition numbers to 42, reducing the Treasury benches to 37.

           The allies have been restive over the style of functioning of Marandi for sometime with the rebel ministers refusing to toe the line on the issue of reshuffling of IAS and IPS officers.

PAC Points to 'Sub-standard' Sleeping Bags Bought for Troops (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: A major scam involving the supply of defective sleeping bags to troops positioned in Siachen has been brought to light by a parliamentary committee. It has recommended that a probe be entrusted to an independent agency. Describing the role of the ministry of defence as "questionable" in the purchase of 8,588 sub-standard sleeping bags from a French firm Monclear in six lots at a cost of whopping 11.86 million francs, the parliamentary public accounts committee expressed its shock that even though the firm had gone bankrupt, the ministry went ahead to negotiate another deal with it. "The questionable role of the ministry of defence, particularly the officers responsible for execution of the contract, must be thoroughly investigated by an independent agency", the PAC said in its 46th report tabled in both Houses of Parliament on Thursday.

Four Killed, 16 Injured in Rajouri Bus Explosion (Go To Top)

          RAJOURI: Four persons, including three women, were killed and 16 injured on Thursday when a powerful bomb blast ripped apart a passenger bus which was parked at the local railway station. Following the incident, about 200 local people gathered and shouted slogans against the police for their lack of ability to provide adequate security against terrorist activities. They even threw stones at the police personnel. The injured were later admitted to a local hospital, and many discharged after first aid was administered to them.

Nitish Tables Godhra Report in Lok Sabha (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: Railway minister Nitish Kumar tabled a detailed report on the Godhra carnage in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The report contains the names of all the 62 passengers who boarded the Sabarmati Express on February 27 last year when the incident occurred. It may be recalled that 59 passengers, all of them reportedly Hindus, were burnt to death inside a compartment on the fateful day. The incident led to communal violence which spread across the State. The violence lasted more than two months killing hundreds of innocent people, mostly Muslims.

           It took more than a year for the railway staff to identify the dead passengers and prepare the report. More than 150 railway officials worked round-the- clock for preparing the document which said that the particulars of a few passengers could not be obtained as their addresses were either incorrect or illegible. It further said that on the day of the incident, the train was so jampacked that even the ticket-checking staff could not enter some of the coaches.

Delhi's New Phase in E-governance (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: The Indian Capital on Thursday entered a new phase in e-governance as all 56 of its citizen services went online. Chief Minister Sheila Dixit launched a web portal to provide information on a number of services, including addresses of blood banks and even telephone numbers of local legislators, to the public. A unique factor about the project is that free internet kiosks have been set up across slum areas in the city for easy access of information to the under-priviledged.

           "We have to bring down the digital divide between the educated and those living in slums and unauthorised colonies. We have to bring down that divide. Already 30 computers have been set up in some slum areas and 1200 more will be set up later. We aim to cover all the slum areas and want to provide information especially to women and children," Dixit said. With an ever-swelling population of over 13 million, Delhi is one the most slum-ridden cities in the country. For the millions living in Delhi's shanties, opening a bank account, filling a school application or even registering a complaint, is now just a click away.

15 Killed, 500 Injured as Storm Lashes 8 Bengal Districts (Go To Top)

          KOLKATA:  Fifteen people were killed when a deadly storm lashed eight districts of West Bengal on Wednesday night. The storm, which caused large-scale damage to standing crops, left around 500 people injured, reports said. Most of the damage was caused in Hooghly and Bankura districts. At a speed of around 80 km per hour, the storm left a trail of devastation uprooting trees, electric poles and telephone posts and flattening innumerable mud houses in rural areas. It caused damage to crops and affected flowering of mangoes.

           Train services in Howrah and Sealdah were hit and departure of two Air Sahara flights were delayed. A flight that took off from Guwahati was forced to return. Nine persons were killed and 20 injured in Hooghly when a tree fell on them, the police said, adding that condition of some of the injured persons was serious. Four persons lost their lives in lightning in Chanditala. In Bankura's Bishnupur and Jaypur areas, two similar deaths were reported. Three persons, including a British national, were injured at the NSC Bose International Airport when an iron shed was blown apart and fell on them outside the domestic terminal building, airport sources said. In another incident at Sapuipara in Howrah, electric cables snapped by the storm fell on a rickshaw-puller, electrocuting him.

POTA Review Panel Set Up, But Opposition Not Convinced (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: The Central Government set up a panel, to be headed by former Punjab Chief Justice Arun Saharya, on Thursday to propose changes in a tough new anti-terror law to prevent its misuse following allegations that States were using it to settle scores with political rivals. Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani told the Lok Sabha that the review was prompted by complaints that the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), passed last year, was being used in cases not warranting its use.

           "The review committee will take a comprehensive view of the use of this legislation (Prevention of Terrorism Act) in various States and give its findings and suggestions for removing shortcomings in the implementation of this law, with a special reference for enusring that the provisions of this Act are not used against those who are criminals or those whose acts cannnot be termed as terrorist acts," Advani said.

           The BJP-led Central coalition had said it needed the law to fight insurgents in Jammu and Kashmir and revolts in the country's north-east. But Opposition parties and human rights groups raised fears that it might be used to harass innocent people and target minorities or Government opponents.

           The coalition allies have welcomed the move to review the law. However, the Opposition is up in arms, accusing the Government of having an ulterior motive. Said Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, Congress leader: "We are arguing that first of all our party did not approve of POTA at all. We still hold the view that we do not need POTA, other laws are there by which we can tackle the issue." The Communist parties have asked for scrapping the controversial law. "The appointment of the review committee is the clearest admission on the part of the Government of India that there has been a misuse, and that the law has not been used for the purpose. Our demand is for scrapping it altogether," said Somnath Chatterjee, senior leader of Communist Party of India (Marxist).

           POTA sets strict new rules for arrest, interrogation and investigation and allows suspects to be detained for 30 days without producing them before a court. The move to form the committee follows the use of the law against two prominent regional politicians by chief ministers in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu that triggered a furore.

Blast in Patna: Three Dead, Six Hurt (Go To Top)

          PATNA: At least three people were killed and six others, including a woman, were seriously injured in Patna on Wednesday when a building collapsed following the explosion of a large number of powerful bombs inside its premises. Police suspect that the house was being used as a centre for making bombs illegally. The house had been rented out just a few days ago to the three people killed in the incident. The police are still in the dark about the identity of the deceased.

           "A lot of damage has been caused here. The whole building has been completely destroyed by the explosion. We have called an official team. Prima facie, it seems the explosion was caused during the making of a bomb. A pistol was also found near a dead body. This also supports our theory," said ON Bhaskar, Superintendent of Police, Patna. He did not rule out the possibility of recovery of some more bodies from the debris. Members of a family living in a house adjacent to the affected building had a narrow escape when two doors of their house got damaged in the explosions.

Rape Cases Put Bengal CPI (M) on a Sticky Wicket (Go To Top)
-by Gautam Ghosh

          KOLKATA: The West Bengal CPI(M) leadership has been caught on the wrong foot over the involvement of party functionaries in a number of rape cases in different districts during the past one month. The ruling Marxists are naturally worried about the possible fallout of the shameful events on the prospects of their nominees in the panchayat polls scheduled for May. The party is also facing isolation in the Left Front with major partners like the Forward Bloc, RSP and the CPI echoing the demand of the Opposition parties for stringent punishment of the accused CPI(M) workers and charging the "big brother" with unleashing terror in the country-side to win the panchayat elections at their cost.

           The rape cases have also received national dimensions with Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee raising the matter in the Lok Sabha and demanding a CBI probe into the ghastly incidents "in view of the CPI(M)'s attempts to hush them up." The BJP recently sent a parliamentary team to Dhantala in Nadia district to probe a gang-rape of female passengers of a bus carrying a marriage party on the night of February 6. The team has already submitted a report to Union Home Minister LK Advani and party chief Venkaiya Naidu, demanding a CBI inquiry.

           The second major incident was reported from Chheramari under Ghokshadanga police station in Cooch Behar district on February 22 when a housewife and member of Ganatantrik Mahila Samiti, CPI(M)'s women's wing, was gang-raped by party functionaries at her residence as the fallout of a local dispute. The housewife, Runu Das, is reported to have been sexually assaulted by some CPI(M) workers who disputed her claim for a job in the local school. The victim lodged a complaint with the police the following day, leading to the arrest of three of the accused. However, the gang leader, who enjoys considerable political clout, was left untouched as the district CPI(M) leaders were against his arrest.

          The outrage in Cooch Behar was followed by the rape of an Adivasi woman at Khardah in North 24 Parganas on March 8, allegedly by a CPI(M) activist. The incident has greatly embarrassed the State CPI(M) leadership as Khardah happens to be the constituency of finance minister Asim Dasgupta.

           The wife of an RSP gram panchayat member was similarly raped by five CPI(M) functionaries at Basanti in South 24 Parganas on March 11. According to district RSP secretary Subhas Naskar, all the five accused youths belong to the CPI(M), but the police are yet to arrest them. The Alimuddin Street mandarins, who initially tried to underplay the incidents, now appear somewhat defensive as the evidence of the party workers' involvement is slowly coming to the surface. The party, however, has decided to offer legal aid to some of the accused as a face-saving device.

           The Cooch Behar incident has assumed another dimension with Biswas casting aspersion on the victim's "character and life-style" in total disregard to a Supreme Court ruling on the delicate subject. He described the incident as "concocted" and held the media and the Opposition parties for "the false propaganda against the CPI(M) workers on the eve of the panchayat polls."

           The State CPI(M) secretary has also drawn flak from a number of leftist women's organisations for casting aspersion on rape victim's character. Gita Sengupta, a senior leader of the RSP's women's wing, was surprised by Biswas' remarks. "No one can raise any question about the character of a rape victim. Anyone, who takes part in a rape, is a criminal in the eye of law. As a Marxist, Biswas should have known this fact." Aparajita Goppi, a Forward Bloc leader, felt it was improper to raise any question about the victim's character. The women's wing of Trinamul Congress, Congress, SUCI and the BJP too have severely criticised Biswas' observation and threatened to launch stirs, demanding its withdrawal.

           The strongest indictment of the Marxists in connection with the rape incidents has come from Kamal Guha, senior Forward Bloc leader and agriculture minister, who has held local CPI(M) leaders responsible for the "abominable crime." Guha, who also hails from Cooch Behar, visited Chheramari on Wednesday and talked to the victim's family members. He told mediapersons after the visit that local CPI(M) leaders were creating pressure on the villagers not to openly talk about the ghastly incident.

Samajwadi Party MPs Walk Out of Lok Sabha (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI: The Samajwadi Party members continued disrupting proceedings in the Lok Sabha on Thursday over Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati's alleged threat to arrest Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Party members Akhilesh Singh and Ramjilal Suman had moved adjournment notices seeking time for discussion of the matter during the Question Hour. But Speaker Manohar Joshi said the issue would be discussed during Zero Hour. This enraged the SP members. Singh alleged that BSP had also threatened to kill him and his brother for repeatedly raising the issue of corruption in UP. Describing the matter as "very serious" pertaining to the security of a member of the House, the Speaker said "I have taken note of it and it will be brought to the notice of the Union home minister." The SP members then walked out of the House alleging Mayawati had threatened Yadav.

Many Indians Return Home from Kuwait (Go To Top)

          NEW DELHI:  Dozens of Indians living in Kuwait returned here on Thursday fearing reprisal attacks with chemical and biological weapons if the United States wages war on Iraq. Kuwait is expected to be the launch pad for any invasion on neighbouring Iraq with over 1,00,000 American and British forces already in the Gulf nation. Indian workers, who make up a significant minority in the oil-rich nation, employed mostly in hospitals, banks and hotels, comprise 15 per cent of Kuwait's 2.3 million population. Baghdad has threatened Kuwait that in the event of an attack, it would hit back by sending squads of suicide bombers to punish its neighbour for hosting the US forces. Kuwait was helped by the United States 12 years ago when Iraq had invaded its territory.

           Although the Indian embassy in Kuwait has announced plans to evacuate their citizens if war breaks out, the Indian community of over 340,000 people is still nervous. More than three million Indians live in the Gulf region, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Kuwait.

Reports of Osama's Arrest Untrue, Says Pakistan (Go To Top)

          ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Government has stated that reports of Osama Bin Laden's arrest is basless. According to interior minister Faisal Saleh Hayat, "it is absolutely unfounded," reports Dawn. The denial came following an Iranian radio claim that the Al Qaeda leader had been captured in Pakistan. Even Washington says it has no information to substantiate the report emanating from Teheran. Iranian radio, monitored by the BBC, had said that Bin Laden was being held by Pakistan's ISI and that US troops were present.

Easier Visa for Chinese Travellers to Pakistan (Go To Top)

          BEIJING: Pakistan has relaxed its visa policy for Chinese tourists and businessmen to strengthen people-to-people contact between the two countries. Under the policy, Chinese travelling agencies and tour operators are allowed to apply for group visa, said an official of the Pakistan embassy in Beijing. The number of visas issued by the embassy rose to 4,190 in 2002 from 1,811 in 2001, he said, according to the News. To encourage maximum interaction among the peoples of the two countries, the Chinese Government has also included Pakistan in the list of popular tourist destinations. The China Southern Airlines recently decided to introduce another flight to Pakistan from March 30 to meet the increasing demand.

Candidates Must Declare Assets and Pending Criminal Cases (Go To Top)

          (Contd) ... comprising Justice MB Shah, Justice PV Reddi and Justice DM Dharmadhikari held that the amendment to Section 33-B of the RPA was "illegal and null and void." The Bench said the introduction of legislation to effect electoral reforms was not enough to stop money and muscle power from playing a role in the elections. The court added that the Electoral Reforms Act enacted by Parliament last year was "beyond its legislative competence" as the law says that voters did not have the right to know about the candidates before they cast their votes. The court said the judgement rendered by the Supreme Court earlier has attained finality and could not have been sidetracked by the amendment to the RPA. It said that Section 33-B of the amended Act did not pass the test of constitutionality as it imposed a blanket ban on dissemination of information to the voters about the candidates.

           "The main crux of the Supreme Court judgement today is, one it has taken judicial notice of the fact that there is a large criminalisation of politics and that has brought the polity of the country to a very low level that something must be done about it," said Kamini Jaiswal, Supreme Court lawyer. Jaiswal also said that the verdict would help remove obstacles to the citizens' right of franchise. "Number two, the right to vote of a citizen is a fundamental right and only that who is going to vote can be regulated by statute. But the right to vote is a fundamental right and cannot be taken away. And for the exercise of a fundamental right, the freedom of expression, there can be no obstruction," she added.

           The Supreme Court said the Election Commission has to issue a new guideline for implementation of the present judgement. Opposition Congress Party welcomed the decision and asked the Centre to come up with appropriate amendments to the Act. "We brought our amendment, it was negated by the Government," Congress spokesman Priyaranjan Dasmunshi told reporters.

           The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party said it would like to have a poitical consensus on the issue. "Our party is of the opinion that the criminals should not contest elections and there should be transparency. This was agreed to by all political parties. But our party is of the opinion that there should be a meeting of all political parties again and following a consensus a new law should be made," BJP spokesman VK Malhotra told correspondents.

Execution on Wheels in China's Yunnan Province (Go To Top)

          SINGAPORE:  Prisoners in death row are being executed using lethal injections in mobile vans in China's Yunnan province. The 18 white-and-blue vans in Yunnan in south-western China look just like any normal police van, with flashing lights and siren on the roof and the word "Court" emblazoned on its side. But the similarity ends there. The fleet is in fact China's first "mobile execution ground", where prisoners given death penalty are executed, says a report in Straits Times.

           Inside, the vans look more like an operating theatre, according to journalists who have seen the vehicles. A grey, metallic bed, about two metres long, lies in the centre, surrounded by operating consoles and a disinfectant area in the four corners. The vans - costing 500,000 yuan each - now serve the 18 courts in Yunnan, which is among the first in China to experiment with lethal injections in May 1996.

           A member of the staff at the provincial Capital's Kunming Higher People's Court told the Straits Times that the fleet was a necessity and a "convenience", given Yunnan's mountainous roads. Criminal law experts also point out that Yunnan has a higher proportion of death row inmates, many of them arrested for drug trafficking. Yunnan, which borders the "golden triangle" area where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet, is the epicentre of China's heroin trade. Lethal injection enjoys the strong backing of China's Supreme Court. Officials and State media have described it as being more "civilised", humane and cost-efficient than the traditional practice of execution by shooting through the heart or the back of the head or neck.

Bryan Adams Sings, Woman Wakes Up from Seven-year Coma (Go To Top)

          LONDON: Just as Canadian rocker Bryan Adams started belting out his hits at a concert in Germany recently, a 24-year-old woman awoke from a seven-year coma. Christiane Kittel, a huge Adams fan, reportedly opened her eyes and started calling her mother's name. "She was totally fascinated by the music and the singer. It was an evening I will never forget. I could have hugged the whole world," Adelheid, Christiane's mother, was quoted as saying by the Sun.

           Christiane had been in coma since suffering a blood clot on the lung just before her 17th birthday. "When I heard Bryan Adams was playing near us, I knew I had to take her. I decided she had to hear him," said Adelheid, who took her daughter to the concert in the city of Regensburg in a special wheelchair. According to Dr John Firth, a consultant neurosurgeon, Christiane's brain had probably been slowly repairing itself during her years in a coma.

Posh to Launch, But Not to Model, Her Lingerie Range (Go To Top)

          LONDON: Another name can now be added to the string of celebrities launching their own brand of clothing. Victoria Beckham will be launching her lingerie range in a deal with Marks and Spencer worth more than one million pounds. However, protective hubby David Beckham has asked Posh, 28, not to model the sexy underwears herself. "Victoria has been in talks with Marks and Spencer about designing and launching her own range. They approached her following the success of David's clothing range in the store. She is very keen but has made it clear that, unlike Kylie Minogue, she will not be modelling the underwear herself," a friend said. "She told them that David would not be happy for her to do that," the friend added. The latest deal will further boost the former Spice Girl's fortune of around 28 million pounds, the report added.

Let  'Spiderman'  Teach You Physics (Go To Top)

          WASHINGTON: Read comics and Physics will instantly be fun and easy! Sounds unlikely, but it's true. According to James Kakalios of the University of Minnesota, the fantastic feats of comic-book superheroes are useful for teaching physics. He was talking at the American Physical Society meeting in Austin, Texas, last week. Most students do not see the relevance of physics to their everyday lives. "We create these highly stylized problems involving projectile motion or throwing balls off cliffs that seem so divorced from reality," Kakalios said, according to a report in Nature.

          So he has developed a university course entitled 'Everything I know of science I learned from reading comic books'. "When I use comic-book examples, students never wonder when they're going to use this in their real life," Kakalios jokes. "Apparently they have plans post-graduation that involve spandex and patrolling the city." The course covers topics such as Newton's laws of motion, biomechanics, materials science, thermodynamics and quantum mechanics.

           Questions include: How much force is required to leap a tall building in a single bound? What does this imply about the gravity on Krypton? If Spiderman's webbing is as strong as real spider's silk, can it support his weight as he swings between buildings? If you could run at super speeds like the Flash, could you run up the sides of buildings or across the ocean and more importantly, how frequently would you need to eat?

           In answering these, students have to apply the laws of physics and make common-sense estimations of real-world properties such as Superman's weight, the time he takes in pushing off from the ground, and the height of a tall building. This approach teaches more than just physical principles, Kakalios argues. "Students come out with a sense of critical thinking which, more than memorizing any particular set of equations, is one thing that I've always tried to impart."

Geri's Guarded Confession About Her Lesbian Fling (Go To Top)

          LONDON: Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell has confessed that she had a lesbian fling. Geri, who has had a string of failed relationships with men, revealed in an interview that she enjoyed a romp with another woman, according to a report in the Sun. "I had a little lesbian thing but I'm not saying anything about it. And I don't think the girl was a real lesbian. I'm being honest. I'm not going to describe it. That is as far as I'm going with it. You have to respect the boundaries. I realised pretty quickly that I was not a lesbian," she said. "I could never ever say who it was. It was just one of those moments. I have actually never told anyone this before. I think it is just part of experimenting - I was kind of drunk at the time," she further stated. Geri refused to pinpoint the date, but said "it was somewhere between the ages of 16 and 30. It was just a drunken moment." Her frank outburst is all the more surprising because she rarely speaks about her sex life.