Bhopal:
Babulal Gaur was today sworn in as Chief Minister of
Madhya Pradesh. Gaur was administered the oath of office
and secrecy by Governor Balram Jakhar at a function at the
Raj Bhawan here. Gaur replaces Uma Bharti who resigned after
a Hubli Court in Karnataka issued non-bailable warrrant
against her for the 1994 riots in Hubli that broke out after
she along with her supporters hoisted the national flag
at the Idgah maidan in Hubli in 1994. A not-so-well-known
face, Gaur has been elected as an MLA for a record number
of eight times. His name was proposed by Uma Bharti. Meanwhile,
BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said that Uma Bharti
will be leaving for Hubli in Karnataka by train at midnight
as per her schedule. He said that it is immaterial whether
the police team from Karnataka that is reaching Bhopal this
evening will be able to arrest Uma or not. If they are not
able to arrest her tonight then she would proceed to Karnataka,
he said.
Earlier, in New Delhi, the BJP Parliamentary Board had accepted
her decision and asked her to formally hand over her resignation
to the Governor. Uma had forwarded her resignation to BJP
president M.Venkaiah Naidu following the issuance of the
non-bailable warrant against her by the court in Karnataka.
Meanwhile, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh witnessed a series
of protests by BJP workers in support of Bharati. Karnataka
BJP chief and former Union minister Ananth Kumar was arrested
while he was leading a large group of his partymen.
Early in the day, both Houses of Parliament were adjourned
after members engaged in a verbal duel over the Bharati
issue. The Lok Sabha saw uproarious scenes as a determined
opposition led by the BJP sought to turn the tables on the
UPA government, demanding removal of "tainted" ministers
and immediate arrest of those against whom non-bailable
warrants have been issued. In the midst of the pandemonium,
the House passed by voice vote the demands for grants for
Railways for 2004-05 and the relevant appropriation bill
without any discussion. As soon as the House reassembled
after a three-hour adjournment over the Uma Bharti issue,
Leader of the Opposition L K Advani said it is unprecedented
that the police of one state goes to another to arrest its
chief minister. Describing Uma Bharti as "popular Chief
Minister" of Madhya Pradesh, Advani said she had set an
example for others to follow by not only resigning but also
making arrangements for the election of a new leader in
her place. The issue also figured in the Rajya Sabha along
with other issues. The BJP and Shiv Sena members indulged
in slogan shouting, forcing Deputy Chairman K Rehman Khan
to adjourn the House.
Bank
employees strike on Tuesday (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi: Employees of 27 state own bank will be on tomorrow.
While the banks' management represented by Indian Banks
Association has pitched for a 9.5 per cent hike, the nine
major bank unions have demanded at least a 15 per cent rise
in wages of officers and sub-staff. "If an average hike
of 12.25 per cent could be made in 1997 when the banks were
facing crisis, why should they (IBA) offer 9.5 per cent
this time, especially when the banks are doing well," All
India Bank Officers' Confederation senior vice-president
Harvinder Singh said.
Sitting
BJP MLA sentenced to life imprisonment (Go
To Top)
Ahmedabad:
The sitting BJP MLA in Gujarat Kantilal Amrutiya was
today sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of former
city mayor Prakash Raveshia way back in 1999. Six others
were awarded similar punishments by the fast track Judge
AD Mogal. Reports indicate that Amrutiya along with a father-son
duo had conspired to kill the mayor as he was intending
to seek an MLA'a ticket for contesting the elcections. Amrutiya
had even indulged in a scuffle with the deceased, a few
days before at the Gondal circuit house. The plan was however
executed on September 16, 1999. Raveshia was accosted by
four persons after being cornered outside the Nagrik Bank
where he had reportedly attended a meeting with the board
of directors. The six others sentenced to death are namely
Ramesh Koli, Narottam Koli, Magamgokal Koli, Pravin Koli
Gangaram Koli and Prakash Koli.
J-K
Assembly adjourns over domicile rights bill (Go
To Top)
Srinagar:
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was adjourned today amid
noisy and unruly scenes over the controversial bill on domicile
rights of women in the state. Chairman Abdul Rashid Dar
adjourned the Council till Tuesday as the members of the
treasury benches and Opposition National Conference nearly
came to blows following heated arguments over the Permanent
Resident (Disqualification) Bill. The Opposition NC members
were demanding the reintroduction of the bill, which debars
inheritance rights to women marrying outside the state,
in its original form. The Assembly had cleared the bill
in March this year, but it could not be passed in the Council.
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed failed to make a statement
on the bill, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House.
Curfew
relaxed in Manipur (Go
To Top)
Imphal:
Curfew was relaxed here even as the agitation over the
non-withdrawal of the cpntroversial Armed Forces Special
Powers Act appeared to be under control on Monday. People
in the state took to the streets more than a month ago after
a 30-year-old woman was killed by troops who suspected her
of involvement in a revolt that has plagued the state for
decades. The villagers accuse the Assam Rifles of forcing
them to hold rallies in support of Armed Forces Special
Powers Act, at a time when the entire region was seeking
withdrawal of the Act. The state has been on the boil for
more than a month over the act. Doshey, a village head,
alleged that the Assam Rifles, based at U.Saparmeina, forced
them to take out peace rallies. "It's not in the interest
of Manipur if Assam Rifles is there. So the Assam Rifles
ask us to hold rallies that Arms Act should not be removed
from the state," he said. India Army officials, however,
denied the allegations.
Left
ultras call for shutdown in Bihar (Go
To Top)
Patna:
The CPI (M-L) called for a day-long shutdown here on
Monday over the killings of five of their activists. Five
activists of the party were gunned down by suspected rebels
of the banned People's War group (PWG) in Paliganj district
on Friday. Several Left parties, including Communist Party
of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) have
supported the shutdown call. "Today we have called a Bihar
shutdown against the killing of our five activists in Paliganj,
which is a conspiracy by the state government," said K.D.
Yadav, member of central committee, CPI (ML). Police said
some arrests have been made in the killings. Meanwhile,
PWG has in a statement claimed to have engineered the killing
of the five activists, saying that the CPI (ML) always fomented
trouble in the region.
Church
attacked in Ranchi (Go
To Top)
Ranchi:
Around a dozen armed goons attacked a church in a village
in Jharkhand severely injuring the priest late on Sunday.
Rev John Sundar, who said he was beaten with sticks and
sharp edged weapons when he tried to question the miscreants,
is in intensive care at a hospital in state capital Ranchi.
"Last evening all of a sudden four to five men with their
face covered attacked me," Sundar said Monday. Police did
not suspect a communal angle but have not ruled any possibility.
"We are investigating. We have got some clues, this does
not have any communal angle. Earlier there was an incident
of dacoity. We are exploring all possibilities," Abdul Gani
Mir, Lohardaga SSP said.
Chennai
police arrest 80 lawyers (Go
To Top)
Chennai:
Chennai Police today arrested 80 lawyers as they attempted
to block traffic outside the Madras High Court. Lawyers
across Tamil Nadu have been on strike for the past fortnight
in protest against a set of conduct rules imposed by the
chief justice of the High Court. Only the Bar Association
has the authority to make the rules, the lawyers claimed.
70
Indian trucks head for Kathmandu (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi/Kathmandu: With the Maoist blockade of Nepalese
capital Kathmandu entering its sixth day today, the Indian
Government has reportedly sprung into action and sent 70
trucks with essential commodities to help the people there.
With roads leading to Kathmandu still blocked, the prices
of vegetables, oil, cooking gas, pulses, rice and other
consumer items have soared in the past few days. The UN
has reportedly offered to act as a mediator between the
Royalist government and the Maoists, which has been turned
down by Nepal's Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. On Sunday,
over 25,000 protestors comprising industrialists and labourers
organized a rally in Kathmandu to denounce the closure of
12 multinational companies due to the Maoist threat. The
Maoists countered the protest by gunning down a local businessman
here this morning. Three gunmen shot the man four times
in front of his apartment and fled. Investigators at the
scene of the crime said they suspected the rebels to be
behind the attack.
Maoists
kill businessman, Katmandu blockade enters 6th day (Go
To Top)
Kathmandu:
Suspected Maoist rebels today gunned down a local businessman
here, as the rebel blockade of the Nepalese capital entered
its sixth day. Three gunmen shot the man four times in front
of his apartment and fled, according to police who said
they were still trying to determine the motive. Investigators
at the scene said they suspected rebels in the attack. Katmandu's
road links with the rest of the country have been shut down,
as the Maoists continue to demand the release of government-held
rebels.
Security
tight as violence spreads in B'desh, Hasina blames Govt (Go
To Top)
by Nazrul Islam
Dhaka:
Against the backdrop of Saturday's assassination bid
on former primer Sheikh Hasina, angry protestors in Bangladesh
have gone on the rampage, forcing the authorities to tighten
security and declare a state of alert across the country.
So far, at least 100 people have been injured in clashes
with their opponents and the paramilitaries. An uneasy situation
prevails here, as the Awami League observed daylong shutdowns
in at least 10 districts. AL activists also set on fire
the offices of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party,
blaming the government for Saturday's grenade attack. Security
people have recovered two more live grenades close to the
Awami League headquarters, where a series of grenade attacks
killed at least 18 and injured 300 on Saturday. Angry mobs
continue to roam the streets, pillaging shops and other
establishments in several districts. A passenger train was
also set on fire in Bhairab, causing injuries to at least
50 people on Sunday. Another passenger train was damaged
In Chittagong.
SAIL
reduces prices by Rs 1000 per tonne (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi: Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has decided to
reduce prices of its steel products by Rs 1000 per tonne
for both flat as well as long products. This reduction will
be effective from today for all segments. Taking into account
the impact of excise duty and sales tax, the effective reduction
to customers will be about Rs 1150 per tonne. Commenting
on the move, SAIL Chairman VS Jain said: "SAIL has all along
been a strong believer in stabilisation of steel prices
and has substantially reduced exports to make more steel
available in domestic market. In the present scenario, price
reduction by SAIL will have positive impact in lowering
domestic steel prices. We hope that the benefit would get
passed on to ultimate consumers. We shall review the position
from time to time."
