Muzzafarpur (Bihar):
An impoverished woman who tried to kill herself along with
her two young children, as she was unable to provide them
with food has hit political limelight in poll-bound Bihar,
amongst the country's poorest, where leaders are at loggerheads
over the issue. Sunita Devi, a lower caste Hindu woman and
her children were last week saved from drowning by locals
in Muzzafarpur. The young mother, barely 23 years of age,
who works as a maid earning barely 40 rupees a month said
she was driven to despair as her ailing husband has been
without medication for weeks and her toddlers were hungry
for days. Sunita said she has been trying drastically for
better employment, even begged food from neighbours but
as winters set in and work began more scarce, survival has
been near impossible. Now recovering at a local hospital,
she recalled in horror the sight of her starving children,
clad in nothing but torn sheets, shivering and rummaging
local fields for wild roots, as she sat in despair and desperation.
"My children have been asking for food, they are reeling
in hunger. We had not eaten food for last two, three days.
How much can a person tolerate?" she asked.
Reacting to the development Geroge Fernandes, leader of
the NDA and lawmaker from the area slammed the state government
of inaction. "If women have to die with their children because
of hunger, if we cannot help them then we are of no use,
this is what I have told to my party members," he said.
The state administration, however, refused to accept the
woman's claim. "Nobody dies of hunger. There would be surely
some other factors behind it. That is why I am waiting for
the reports to come," said Surya Kumar Mishra, the district
magistrate. Extremely backward and lawless Bihar has been
rocked by a controversy after ruling party leader Lalu Prasad
Yadav allegedly distributed money to the poor at an elections
rally. Opposition parties have blamed the government for
neglecting the people as it spent millions on its own campaigns
and promotion.
FIR
lodged against Fernandes (Go
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Muzaffarpur:
Janata Dal (U) leader George Fernandes was in the centre
of a controversy over violation of model code of conduct
with the authorities filing a case against him for alleged
attempt to bribe voters after some money was paid to a woman
in a hospital in his Lok Sabha constituency here. Superintendent
of Police Amit Lodha said a case was filed under Sec 171(b)
of IPC (attempts to induce voters) against the former Defence
Minister and some of his party workers following a complaint
that they paid money to Sunita, who is said to have attempted
to commit suicide on Thursday driven by poverty. She is
said to have jumped into a river from a bridge in the town
with her two young children. However, some fishermen present
in the scene rescued them after which she was admitted to
the hospital. Lodha said the money-- a sum of Rs 500-- was
seized from her. Elections have been announced in Bihar
and the model code of conduct is already in operation. Reacting
quickly to the development, RJD spokesman Shivanand Tiwari
said payment of money was in violation of the code of conduct
and if Fernandes had done that then the Election Commission
should take stern action for violating the code.
Denying the allegation, Fernandes said on coming to learn
about the incident of attempted suicide by the woman he
went there with his party colleagues to see them. "No money
has gone from my hands nor did I have any money," he said,
adding, the allegations were "a lie" and he would file a
counter case.
Earlier,
however, the JD (U) leader reacted sharply to the allegations
made against him. According to the leader he found nothing
wrong in extending help to a person who had taken recourse
to the 'ultimate step' due to starvation. He said, on his
way to Chapra to kick off the party`s election campaign,
that the woman was living in abject poverty and no one came
forward to help her. Her husband was unable to earn a livelihood
owing to ill health, said the leader. He maintained it was
his duty to help the family.
NAIMPLB
urges men to stay off triple divorce (Go
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Lucknow:
The Indian Muslims should strongly desist from divorce
through triple "Talaq", the country's apex decision-making
body for the minority community said today after a crucial
meeting. The directive by the All India Muslim Personal
Law Board (AIMPLB), which is made up of Islamic community
leaders, had earlier as well decided to prescribe a model
marriage decree to stop men from divorcing their wives by
simply saying the word "talaq", or divorce, three times.
Though the board has a sway over India's Muslims, it has
no authority. The board that also approved the draft of
the model "Nikahnama" said it would carry out a massive
awareness campaign to clear misconceptions and teach people
the true meaning of both the Nikah and the triple divorce.
"In the declaration we have made it clear that the marital
disputes have to solve by the an arbiter and a local Muslim
court. With these things we have finalised the draft of
the model Nikahnama," AIMPLB general secretary Abdul Hamir
Qureshi said Lucknow.
Paswan's
LJP to contest assembly polls on its own (Go
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New
Delhi: Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party on Saturday
decided to fight the coming assembly polls on its own. However,
the party kept the doors open for alliance with Congress
and said there could be no tie-up with JD-U till it remained
part of the BJP-led NDA. "It has been unanimously decided
to contest the polls in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana on
our own," Paswan told newsmen after a meeting of the LJP's
National Executive. "If the JD-U wants to join hands with
LJP, then it will have to break its alliance with BJP and
in case Congress and Left Front want an alliance with LJP,
they are warmly welcome," he added.
PV
Narasimha Rao cremated with full state honours (Go
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Hyderabad:
The mortal remains of former Prime Minister P V Narasimha
Rao were consigned to flames with full state honours on
the banks of Hussainsagar Lake on Saturday afternoon. Rao's
eldest son, PV Ranga Rao, lit the funeral pyre amidst chanting
of vedic hymns. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, BJP president
L K Advani, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajsekhar
Reddy, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra Pradesh Governor
Sushil Kumar Shinde, and a host of Union ministers and leaders
of various political parties attended the funeral. Earlier,
Rao's flag-draped body was carried in a hearse placed on
an army truck and escorted from the Jubilee Hall to the
cremation ground with military precision. A large number
of people from all walks of life lined the streets of Hyderbad
to bid a tearful farewell to the former Prime Minister and
son of the soil. At the cremation ground, personnel of the
three services reversed arms before the tricolour was removed
from the body and presented to members of Rao's family.
The body was then placed on the funeral pyre for the last
rites.
The
cremation site, spread in an area of 2.9-acre land, will
be developed as a memorial for Rao. "It is a beautiful location
besides the Hussainsagar Lake, the most prominent and beautiful
place in Hyderabad. The CM has decided that the location
is befitting of a national leader and a son of the soil,"
said Ashok Kumar, MD, Hyderabad Development Authority. A
number of family members of Rao, his childhood associates
from the native Vangara village in Karimnagar district,
besides leaders from the erstwhile Nizam state comprising
Marathwada and parts of Karnataka were also present on the
occasion.
Andhra
HC rejects representation on Rao's cremation site (Go
To Top)
Hyderabad:
The High Court of Andhra Pradesh rejected a representation
moved by a group of NGOs opposing the former Prime Minister
P V Narasimha Rao's cremation on the banks of Hussainsagar
lake claiming it was a violation of High Court's earlier
decision. Some NGOs working in the field of environment,
moved a house motion on Friday before Chief Justice Devendra
Gupta through fax stating that the government's decision
about selecting the site of the cremation was violation
of earlier High Court judgement on public cremation and
protecting Hussainsagar. However, the Chief Justice rejected
the representation and cleared way for former Prime Minister's
cremation saying, "it was in no way violation of law. The
government has to abide by law and will abide by law". The
chief Justice further added, "people should also realise
the stature of the person and his contribution to the nation
and state in particular". The NGOs also opposed the move
of the government in a letter written to the State Chief
Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy.
