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MiG-21 crashes into Jalandhar bank, seven die Jalandhar, May 3 (ANI): At least seven people were killed and over a dozen others injured when an Indian Air Force fighter jet crashed into a residential area in Jalandhar on Friday. The plane, a MiG-21, crashed into a bank and adjacent shop and burst into flames in the heavily populated residential area. "The fighter plane fell on a building, housing a plywood shop and a bank that caught fire. The fire which broke out at 10:30 am (local time) continued until 1 p.m. in the afternoon. Armymen controlled the fire and rescue operations are on. People who were trapped inside were burnt to death. The injured have been hospitalised," said an eyewitness. The plane had taken off from Adampur in Punjab. The pilot had safely ejected before the crash, which was apparently caused by an engine flame-out. Brigadier R.S.Sidhu, an army official, said the aircraft was on its regular training flight. "An aircraft MiG-21 on training flight crashed and immediately after getting to know about it, we commenced the fire fighting which is in progress," he said. Of the injured, four are stated to be in critical condition and have been shifted to a local hospital in neighbouring Ludhiana city. Meanwhile Indian Air Force Chief S. Krishnaswamy, said the MiG aircraft fitted with R-25 engines have been grounded. He told reporters in New Delhi: "I have directed that this particular type of aircraft what you call the one that uses this particular type of engine, that is the R-25 engine. All the other MiG-21 variants use different engines - the R-11. The R-25 was used on this aircraft. So since we had two flameouts, it's our process plus of course, the responsibility in the logical sense to examine why this had occurred, technically and in totality. So therefore, I have directed that currently we ground the fleet other than what is being considered of operational assistance. Since you all know, we are deployed operationally at the so called borders. We have a very high state of readiness that we cannot afford to relax." The defence ministry said last month that more than 100 MiG-21s had been lost in accidents over the last decade. Krishnaswamy added: "We are stopping the training flying, that is the routine training exercises so that we examine thoroughly and then take stock of the situation." The ageing Russian-made fighter jet is the backbone of the Indian air force. The main reasons for MiG-21 accidents have been technical defects, bird hits and human error.(ANI) Mayawati, 19 others sworn inGo to top Lucknow, May 3 (ANI): Ending days of speculation, Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati took oath as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh on Friday. She was sworn in at the head of a 19-member cabinet comprising representives of BSP, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya (National) Lok Dal. Of the 19 ministers sworn in, 10 are from BSP, seven from BJP and the two from RLD. Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri administered the oath of office and secrecy at Raj Bhawan. He has given Mayawati three weeks to prove her majority on the floor of the Assembly. During her meeting with the Governor earlier on Friday, Mayawati claimed the support of 211 legislators in the House which at present has an effective strength of 399 members. Talking to reporters after being sworn in, 47-year-old Mayawati said law and order would be her priority area. "Stern steps will be taken to maintain law and order in the state. Criminal elements will not be spared. Whichever organisation they may belong to, they will be treated accordingly. Now since I have taken charge of the government, the criminal elements will not be seen roaming outside and will be sent behind bars. Not only this, there will be no discrimination on the basis of caste or religion," said Mayawati, who assumed the chief minister's chair for the third time in seven years. The BSP champions the cause of the Dalits, who are at the bottom of India's social caste heap, while the BJP traditionally draws its support from the middle and upper classes.(ANI)
Mamata's pro-Centre stand on Gujarat angers Marxists
Kolkata, May 3 (ANI): The ruling Marxists in West Bengal have decided to launch a no-holds-barred offensive against Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee for siding with the Vajpayee government against the opposition motion on Gujarat violence in the Lok Sabha. Former chief minister and veteran politburo member Jyoti Basu has fired the first salvo, accusing the TC leader of maintaining "double standards regarding communalism." The West Bengal CPI(M) leaders feel Ms Banerjee is indulging in "political opportunism for which she will have to pay a heavy price in the near future." The party also hopes to exploit the issue in next year's panchayat polls by dubbing her "anti-Muslim and a close associate of the communal Sangh Parivar." The state CPI(M) has understandably been angry with Ms Banerjee's move to raise the law and order situation in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha under Rule 184. Trinamul MP Bikram Sarkar formally placed the party's proposal in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The proposal said the "House is concerned over the state governments' failure to ensure protection to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the minority community all over the country, particularly in West Bengal, and calls for fast and effective steps under provisions of the constitution to protect their democratic and fundamental rights." A list of 17 persons, including five women, killed in violence in rural Bengal, has been submitted along with the proposal. It accused the Marxists of helping "state-sponsored terrorism" and sought the Centre's intervention under Article 355 of the constitution. The CPI(M) has naturally described the Trinamul Congress proposal as "ridiculous and politically motivated." "Trinamul Congress is trying to wriggle out of the difficult situation in which it has landed itself over the Gujarat issue. Even a mad person can not compare the Gujarat situation with the one prevailing in Bengal," a senior state CPI(M) secretariat member observed. Mamata Banerjee's Gujarat stand has also drawn flak from a section of Muslim religious leaders as well as the state Congress leadership. Former PCC chief Somen Mitra feels she has "once again given ample proof of her political double standards and joined hands with the communal forces simply to get a berth in the Union Cabinet." Mitra has not only attacked Ms Banerjee on the sensitive issue but also urged "the secular elements in Trinamul Congress to quit the party and return to the Congress." The Imam of the Tipu Sultan mosque Maulana Barkati, who earlier happened to be a great admirer of the supremo, thanks her decision to support the BJP on the Gujarat issue has "robbed her of whatever secular credentials her party earlier used to have." The Bengal Congress, however, has been somewhat caught on the wrong foot by the TC move to discuss the West Bengal situation in the Lok Sabha under Rule 184. The Congress legislators and MPs from Bengal, who have been vocal about the "CPI(M)'s terror," do not know how to react if Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha P.M. Sayeed agrees to accept the proposal. However, AICC spokesman Abhishek Singhvi did not mince words yesterday while rejecting Ms Banerjee's contention. "Her argument does not hold ground. How can you compare the Gujarat situtation to Bengal's?" he asked. There is, therefore, every possibility of the Congress high command siding with the Marxists in the event of the Lok Sabha discussing the Bengal situation in the wake of Trinamul Congress' proposal. According to informed sources, the Trinamul Congress leader has taken a calculated risk by casting her party's votes in favour of the Vajpayee government on an extremely delicate political issue over which NDA partners have expressed divergent views. Ms Banerjee, on her part, believes that she requires the Centre's full backing against the Marxists at a time when the Congress is trying to befriend them at the national level with a view to capturing power. The Trinamul Congress supremo apprehends her party's complete isolation in the event of the BJP's apex leadership turning hostile. It is precisely for these reasons that she decided to oppose the Congress-sponsored motion in the Lok Sabha, while sticking to her demand for Narendra Modi's removal as Gujarat's chief minister. Trinamul also believes that the Centre's changed attitude towards the Gujarat situation has been apparent after the NDA's decision to support the opposition-sponsored motion in the Rajya Sabha. Besides, the appointment of K.P.S.Gil, former Punjab police chief, as Modi's security adviser is also expected to bring about a qualitative improvement in the Gujarat situation. The party has also welcomed the Prime Minister's announcement on a multi-crore package for the rehabilitation of the riot victims. Trinamul Congress insiders said Ms Banerjee's primary concern was to wage a fresh political battle against the Marxists with renewed vigour. She believes that "corruption, the Left Front government's economic bankruptcy and misrule" will be the major issues over which the future elections will be fought. "Communalism has never been a major political issue as far as West Bengal is concerned. It is the CPI(M) which always tries to exploit the people's communal feelings to get votes. Our party has no such intention," she has told her close associates.(ANI) One shot in Ankleshwar, student stabbed in Ahmedabad
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to top Ahmedabad, May 3 (ANI): Tension continued to prevail in Ankleshwar town of Bharuch district after a Bharatiya Janata Party worker was injured in a shoot-out while three incidents of stabbing were reported in Ahmedabad, the police said on Friday. The BJP worker, who owns a provision store near Piraman Naka, was fired at by assailants from point-blank range on Thursday. He is now stated to be out of danger. In Ahmedabad, a student, who was on his way to examination hall on a two-wheller, was stabbed. Two other persons were assaulted in separate incidents. Residents of Ahmedabad said they yearned for peace but the administration needs to curb anti-social elements. "We do not want this hatred to continue for ever. Still there is time for us to work together with love and amity. If government and police cooperate, peace can be restored," said Imtiaz, a Muslim.(ANI)
90 Maoist rebels killed in two clashes with Nepali soldiers
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to top Kathmandu, May 3 (ANI): Ninety Maoist rebels have been killed in two separate gunbattles with troops, the defence ministry said on Friday. Fifty insurgents were killed when security forces overran two rebel ining centres and hideouts in Rolpa district, 450 km west of here, andu late on Thursday. Another 40 were gunned down in in Doti, 550 km west of the capital, in the overnight crackdown. The latest killings follow an offer by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) for a resumption of peace talks. (ANI)
Mixed reaction in Islamabad to Musharraf's victory Go to top Islamabad, May 3 (ANI): Pervez Musharraf's landslide victory in the referendum on Thursday has evoked a mixed response among the residents of Islamabad. Official results show he took more than 97 percent of the votes, with turnout estimated at over 70 percent. The April 30 exercise was aimed at extending the President's rule and providing him legitimacy. This seems to have won over a certain section of the people. "God give him a good, long life to serve Pakistan. Under his leadership, I think Pakistan is going to improve a lot and the economy is going to improve more," said Zulfiqar Khan, a businessman. The military ruler's bloodless coup in October 1999 to oust Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and adoption of strong stance against corruption won the support of many Pakistanis who were sick of the country's greedy and self-serving political elite. But the General faced a difficult problem when a Supreme Court ruling said he must hand over administration to a democratic civilian government within three years of his coup. Hence, determined that his economic and political reforms must not be allowed to be reversed, Musharraf announced a referendum on his rule, jumping over the political parties, to seek a mandate directly from the people. Abid Hussain, a journalist, said the turnout was much lower with the vote appearing to have been massively rigged in Musharraf's favour. "I don't know where those people who supposedly voted came from because I myself did not cast my vote. I didn't vote because whoever comes to power does nothing other than giving us false hopes," Hussain added. However, he remarked that the tainted referendum may have the reverse effect and embolden political parties ahead of parliamentary elections due by October. The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said the turnout was low. Political parties estimated it at five to seven percent. Musharraf's support for the U.S.- led war on terrorism has won him many friends in the West, and the United States has refrained from criticising the referendum. Western nations say they expect him to keep his promise to hold free and fair elections in October, but their support is probably guaranteed at least until then.(ANI)
Uphold Constitution, Jamaat tells Musharraf
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to top Karachi, May 3 (ANI): Pakistan's radical Jamaat-e-Islami party on Thursday has urged President Pervez Musharraf to uphold the Constitution and follow a legal path that would pull the country out of the political crisis. Leader of the JI, Professor Ghafoor Ahmed, put forward a seven- point agenda at a press conference in Karachi on Thursday. The agenda stresses the need to hold transparent elections later this year and allow political parties to campaign for the polls. Pakistan is set for parliamentary elections in October, a move which Musharraf says will allow the country to return to "democracy." If he takes up a liberal stance, Musharraf may become popular among the country's political parties, according to Ahmed. "Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf must decide whether the country is more important for him or himself. If he follows the constitutional path and does not become arrogant after the referendum, then the political parties in the country might consider helping him in pulling the country out of crisis," Ahmed told reporters. Musharraf won a landslide victory on Wednesday in a referendum to extend his rule but allegations of poll fraud tarnished the victory. Official results show he won more than 97 percent of the votes but Ahmed warned the military ruler not to make amendments in the Constitution as it would mean injustice to the country. Most political parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's most influential hardline Islamic group, boycotted the referendum, terming it "flagrantly unconstitutional".(ANI) |