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Family of five gunned down in Bihar village Bhadaura (Bihar), May 8 (ANI): At least five people of a family were gunned down by rebels of the outlawed People's War Associate (PWA) in Bihar on Wenesday. The PWA, founded by one Jainandan Yadav, is a breakaway group of the People's War Group (PWG) which operates in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand besides Bihar. Heavily- armed rebels of the PWA fired indiscriminately on a family in Bhadaura village near Patna. The dead included two women and two children. "My two children and parents-in-law are among those killed," said Munni Devi, an eyewitness. The PWA has over the years used force to terrorise the majority lower caste Hindus or "Dalits" to gain a hold over the region. Ashish Ranjan Sinha, additional director general of police, Patna range, said Sunil Kranti, the present head of the group, was absconding. "Many of the rebels have been killed. Not only the leader of the group, but also others. Ten of these people are in jail. But it is true that 4-5 of the gang members are still on the run and this makes it even more necessary for us to capture them," said Sinha. Three Dalits were gunned down in a similar incident about six months ago. Nearly 15 people have become victims of the PWA over the past one year in the state.(ANI) BJP MLA's revolt against Mayawati
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to top Lucknow, May 8 (ANI): Within almost a week of the BSP-led government in Uttar Pradesh, rumbles of revolt can be heard. Raja Chandramani Singh, BJP MLA, from Bhinga constituency in Bahraich district, on Wednesday decided to protest against the Mayawati-led government. He said it's not he but the people of his constituency who are angry for not including him in the cabinet and he is doing so for the will of his people. Raja Chandramani Singh said, "This is the way of showing our resentment. Personally, I have no grudge and I do not feel sad that I have not got any place in the cabinet. "A day after the swearing-in ceremony a crowd gathered in front of my office and at home. They wanted to know how a senior man who has been elected six times from the same constituency has not been included in the cabinet. "When the cabinet was formed, people kept quiet, thinking that I would be given a chance. But I was not included". He further said, "When people asked what would I do, I said I would show my resentment. We are voting against the government and our effort is that we should succeed in it. This is the extreme way to show our resentment. I invite my expulsion from the party. In spite of whatever action the party wants to take, I'll show my resentment." Replying to such rebellious voices, Rajnath Singh, former chief minister, said, " Any party official or anyone who has a complaint , we would try to find a solution for that." While staking claim to form the government, Mayawati claimed to have the support of 211 MLAs in the 399-member house, whereas she needs only 200 votes to win the confidence motion.(ANI)
George deposes before Venkataswami probe panel Go to top New Delhi, May 8 (ANI): Defence Minister George Fernandes on Wednesday appeared before a judicial commission probing alleged payoffs and corruption in defence deals. Fernandes, who earlier quit the post after the scandal broke out on March 31 last year and was later reinstated, deposed before the Venkataswami Commission of Inquiry for the first time. The Commission is examining whether corruption exists in defence deals worth billions of dollars for purchase of arms and ammunition from foreign companies. The Commission was set up following an expose by a website "Tehelka" which secretly filmed prominent leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and top military officers asking favours and accepting bribes. The scandal was the first big shock to rock Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party government as BJP party president Bangaru Laxman, caught accepting a wad of notes, quit office. Upmanyu Hazarika, counsel for Fernandes, later told reporters his client questioned the motives and tactics of Tehelka. "He said if the motives of Tehelka had been honest then they would have first approached the Defence Minister if they uncovered any corruption but if they did not believe the Defence Minister then they should have gone to the Prime minister and if they did not believe the Prime Minister then they should have gone to the President of India. But having gone to the public and created a prejudice of this sort which is entirely out of sorts, this has not only given a handle to Pakistan but has also demoralised the armed forces," Hazarika said. Fernandes, who was not directly implicated in the tapes, is the coordiantor of NDA and heads the Samata Party whose treasurer R.K.Jain and a senior member Jaya Jaitley were filmed in the video tapes suggesting bribe taking from journalists posing as fake arms suppliers. Siddhartha Luthra, counsel for Tehelka, claimed their charges have not been denied. "Tehelka wanted to show what was stated in the tape was indeed stated by Mr. R K Jain and others. That has not been denied. In fact that has been confirmed by Mr. Fernandes. Tehelka wanted to show that there is an abuse of power, I think we have been able to show that as well be it by the President of the Samata Party, by the treasurer, we have established it today," Luthra said. Opposition parties, which opposed Fernandes' return to the Vajpayee cabinet, have boycotted Fernandes in Parliament and refuse to take replies from him on Defence Ministry matters. Vajpayee's ruling coalition alleges the Tehelka tapes are fabricated and were intended to dislodge the NDA government. Fernandes' hearing before the Commission came on a day when a New Delhi newspaper, Times of India, ran a lead story alleging coffin caskets were bought at double the cost from a US firm for over 500 martyrs during a skirmish Indian troops waged in the summer of 1999 trying to flush out insurgents from the Kargil heights.(ANI)
Manohar Joshi is NDA choice for Speaker
Go to top New Delhi, May 8 (ANI): Manohar Joshi, who is heavy industries minister in Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajapyee's ruling coalition, belonging to hardline Shiv Sena, is all set to be the Lok Sabha Speaker. He said he would be happy if there was consensus over his candidature. The election is due on Friday. "It's true that the work is difficult but I am used to this for years. I was elected as the Mayor of Bombay and as you know later the chief minister of Maharashtra. I am confident of myself and will not have any problems in future," said Joshi. Joshi is likely to emerge as the consensus candidate after several opposition parties said they did not want to field a candidate against him. "We are not going to put up any candidate because it is a number game. NDA (National Democratic Alliance) uptill now has got majority and we do not want to put up a candidate just as a symbolic protest but I hope after he is elected he will be looking after the interests of Parliament and members," said Somnath Chatterjee, senior lawmaker of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The Congress party also said it would not oppose Joshi's candidature. "Our decision was clear to support the candidate forwarded by the NDA. We did not give any choice as we do not want to bring any politics into it. According to traditions the Speaker is elected by the government and therefore we don't want to rethink about it," said Congress lawmaker Priyaranjan Das Munshi. Though the Speaker's post is open to election but by convention the post goes to the ruling party or alliance and the Deputy Speaker's post to the opposition, both by consensus. The present Deputy Speaker P.M. Sayeed belongs to the Congress party. The Speaker's post fell vacant after G.M.C. Balayogi died in a helicopter crash in March this year. Balayogi belonged to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is the second largest supporter of the ruling National Democratic Alliance. TDP refused to field its candidate for the Speaker's post this time after its relations strained with Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its handling of the situation in riot-hit Gujarat. TDP also walked out of Parliament last week during a censure motion moved by the opposition against the coalition government. Earlier newspaper reports said Petroleum Minister Ram Naik and Tourism and Culture Minister Jagmohan were in the race for the post.(ANI)
TNP opposed to call for Prabhakaran extradition
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top Chennai, May 8 (ANI): A regional Tamil party protested in Chennai on Wednesday against the state assembly resolution calling for extradition of Velupillai Prabhakaran, chief of Sri Lanka's rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Police arrested around 200 protesting members of the Tamil Nationalist Party (TNP) across Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. At least 40 TNP activists were arrested when they were attempting to burn copies of the Tamil Nadu Assembly resolution. TNP leaders, including president P. Nedumaran, were already placed under house arrest since Wednesday morning after police did not grant them permission to stage demonstration. The April 16 resolution urged the Central government to initiate steps to extradite Prabhakaran and put him on trial for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. TNP activists said they were against any move that could jeopardise peace prospects in Sri Lanka. "We do not want the Tamil Nadu government to spoil the peace initiatives in Sri Lanka and urge the government to withdraw the resolution," said C. Jayaraman, an activist. Many Tamilians whose population is concentrated in Tamil Nadu sympathize with the LTTE which is waging a two decade-long struggle in parts of northern and eastern Sri Lanka for a separate Tamil homeland. Besides the TNP, two partners of the federal coalition-the Paatali Maakal Katchi (PMK) and the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam (MDMK) -- have opposed the resolution. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has turned down Prabhakaran's proposal calling for Indian mediation in Sri Lanka's ethnic dispute. Vajpayee also ruled out lifting a ban on the LTTE but offered to consider allowing medical treatment on humanitarian grounds to ailing LTTE spokeman Anton Balasingham. New Delhi is reluctant to involve itself in Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict after a bitter experience in peacekeeping in the late eightees in LTTE's stronghold Jaffna peninsula, having lost more than a thousand troops in trying to disarm the LTTE. But today it is in a bind, as it faces opposing forces on the issue. India outlawed the LTTE after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was blown up in 1991 at an election rally in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber and accused Prabhakaran of ordering his death. Rajiv Gandhi had brokered an abortive peace pact between Tamil rebels and Colombo in 1987.(ANI)
Uproar, walk-out in Rajya Sabha over 'coffin scam'
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top New Delhi, May 8 (ANI): An agitated Opposition stalled proceedings in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday as they demanded the resignation of Defence Minister George Fernandes in connection with the so-called coffin scam. They also sought a statement from the Prime Minister on a court notice to CBI to register case against those involved in Tehelka expose. All the members stood up as Suresh Pachouri (Congress) raised the issue during Zero hour and the House was thrown into turmoil for over 40 minutes. As a result, there was an adjournment for 15 minutes followed by a walkout by the entire Opposition except AIADMK. Pachouri drew the House's attention to a newspaper report which alleged that 500 aluminium caskets for Kargil martyrs were bought at a very high price of 2500 dollars, and wanted to know if the government had followed a proper procedure before placing the order. In his reply, Fernandes said the government has asked Indian embassy in Washington to furnish details of the caskets procurement and would consider instituting an inquiry into the whole case. He added that the Defence Ministry and the Army Headquarters might be approached for details of the purchase. The suppliers may also be contacted in this connection, according to him. Earlier, when Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Krishan Kant asked Fernandes to speak during zero hour after 15 minutes of adjournment amid uproarious scenes, Congress member Kapil Sibal said "we don't recognise him (Fernandes) as Defence Minister." Barring AIADMK, the entire Opposition trooped out when Fernandes rose to speak. (PTI)
India rubbishes Pak charge
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to top New Delhi, May 8 (ANI): India on Wednesday rubbished Pakistan's charges which suggested that New Delhi could have been involved in the suicide attack outside an upmarket hotel in Karachi which killed 12 people, including 10 French defence technicians and the suicide bomber. "Well, such allegations should be treated with the disdain that they fully deserve. The allegations are totally and completely baseless and as usual, they are a shining example of Pakistani fabrication," said foreign ministry spokesperson Nirupama Rao. The bomb exploded at around 8 a.m. outside the Sheraton Hotel as the bus packed with French workers was about to leave for a dockyard where they were helping to build two submarines. Although no one has claimed responsibility, Pakistani police preferred to point the finger at India. Pakistan often accuses Indian intelligence agents of planting bombs and sowing disorder. The two countries have fought three wars since partition and independence from Britain in 1947. Rao said the suicide attack underlined the need to step up campaign against international terrorism. "What this indicates is that we have to continue our struggle against terrorism, international terrorism wherever it occurs and until this scourge is completely eradicated, we cannot afford to let down our guard or to relax our effort," she said. Suicide bomb attacks are almost unheard of in Pakistan, although violence by Islamic extremists is a regular part of life for Karachi's 14 million people, but usually between members of Islam's Sunni and Shi'ite sects. Foreigners in Pakistan, however, fear signs of a campaign against them since President General Pervez Musharraf threw his weight behind the U.S.-led war on terror and abandoned his former Taliban allies in neighbouring Afghanistan.(ANI)
Internet connectivity link with Afghan foreign ministry
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to top New Delhi, May 8 (ANI): The growing Delhi-Kabul relationship has acquired a new dimension with the establishment of internet connectivity link with the Afghan Foreign Ministry. This will ultimately enable the war-battered country to be connected with the rest of the world. The system was set up with the help of National Informatics Centre which sent three experts there to do the job. Afghanistan has also been given six computers and the required land network. External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh spoke to his Afghan counterpart Abdullah Abdullah on Wednesday through satellite link on this occasion, according to the ministry spokesperson Nirupama Rao. The two men exchanged greetings and Abdullah thanked the Indian government for its contribution to rehabilitation efforts. Reference was also made to the Afghan Civil Aviation minister Zalmay Rassoul's current visit to India which has agreed to give three Airbus 300 planes to Ariana Airlines. As yet another positive development in Indo-Afghan ties, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has extended a grant of 10 million dollars to the interim administration in Kabul, the spokesperson informed the media. A similar amount was provided earlier. Speaking on other subjects, she refuted the reported Pakistani allegation of Indian hand behind the bus explosion in Karachi on Wednesday that killed 12 people, including 10 French nationals, and said the baseless charge should be treated with the degree of disdain that it deserves. About the harassment of musician Shova Mudgal a few months ago at Hong Kong airport, the report of which was published only recently, Rao stated that India has conveyed its unhappiness over the incident to the authorities there and stressed that such incidents must not be allowed to take place again in the future.(ANI)
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