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Four new Governors appointed

          New Delhi: Former AICC General Secretary Nawal Kishore Sharma, former UPSC chairman AR Kidwai, former IB chief TV Rajeshwar and former Nagaland Chief Minister SC Jamir have been appointed Governors of Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Goa respectively, said a Rashtrapati Bhawan communique today. The new Governors replace Kailashpati Mishra of Gujarat, Babu Parmanand of Haryana, Vishnu Kant Shastri of Uttar Pradesh and Kidar Nath Sahni of Goa. Following the dismissal of the four Governors, the President had given additional charge of Goa to Maharashtra Governor Mohd Fazal, Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh Governor Balram Jakhar, Haryana to Punjab Governor Om Prakash Verma and Uttar Pradesh to Uttaranchal Governor Sudharshan Aggarwal.

Opposition forces adjournment of both Houses (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The two-month-long budget session of Parliament on Monday began on a tumultuous note with a determined BJP-led NDA members stalling proceedings in both Houses on the issue of presence of "tainted" Ministers in United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, forcing their adjournment for the day. The agitated members demanding removal of the "tainted" Ministers, however, allowed new members to take oath - one in Lok Sabha and 51 in Rajya Sabha.

          Meanwhile, indications that the NDA may boycott the presentation of the Railway Budget by Laloo Yadav, the BJP-led alliance has convened a meeting of all its MPs here tomorrow to discuss the strategy in both Houses of Parliament even as it decided to stall proceedings till the "tainted" ministers are dropped. Following a meeting of senior NDA leaders called by Leader of Opposition L K Advani this morning, NDA MPs forced adjournment of the House demanding ramoval of "tainted" Ministers from the UPA Government. "We have decided to stick to our stand that we will not allow Parliament to transact any business till the 'tainted' ministers are dropped. Added to it is the Governors' issue. We will vociferously raise both these issues in both the Houses and stall the proceedings," BJP Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha V K Malhotra said after the meeting.

Laloo gives final touches to rail budget (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav on Monday hinted at larger borrowings, a day before he was to table the railway budget in the Lok Sabha. "Our government has decided to take the Indian railways to the number one position in the world. At present, we are number three. But it's our dream and we will fulfil it. We will get money from wherever we can," Yadav told reporters in New Delhi. Yadav's maiden budget on Tuesday is widely expected to be pro- poor with no increase in second-class suburban and passenger fares. He is also likely to introduce many new trains - a popular measure adopted in most of the railway budgets to fulfil regional aspirations. Train commuters said they expected the railway minister to reduce fares and improve safety. "We definitely cannot afford to have increased prices now because there is too much pressure on the middle class and it affects us," said Meena Singh, a commuter. "We want first that railways should ensure the safety of passangers in train," said Mahesh Verma, another commuter.

29 killed in Uttaranchal bus mishap (Go To Top)

          Dehra Dun: At least 29 people, including four women, were killed and 16 others injured, six of them seriously, when the bus in which they were travelling fell into a deep khud in Chetai area of Almora district in Uttaranchal, a senior official said on Monday. While most of the victims died instantly, five people succumbed to their injuries on way to hospital. The bus was going from Pithoragarh to Haldwani in Nainital district when the mishap occurred, Almora Superintendent of Police Deepak Jyoti Ghildiyal said. The police official said the bus was carrying nearly 45 passengers and that at a sharp turn at Chitai, the driver lost control.

Remand for top cops in stamp paper scam (Go To Top)

          Chennai: Two top police officials from Tamil Nadu arrested in connection with a multi-million dollar fake stamp paper scam, on Monday were remanded to 15 days judicial custody. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths had arrested Deputy Inspector General of Police Mohammed Ali and Additional Commissioner of Police Shankar after raiding their residences last week. Ali is accused of slowing down investigation into the scam. His lawyers, however, denied any involvement of Ali in the scam saying he was a victim of political vendetta. "A senior police official, Mohammed Ali, he has been awarded a gold medal by the President of India for his meritorious services. Despite his sincerity and honesty he has been victimised due to political vendetta. It is a motivated case. No incriminating material or any document have been seized from his person. Especially, a particular media has been boosting it. It is a war against the minorities of Tamil Nadu," Ali's lawyer A.K Shahi told reporters outside the metropolitan court in Chennai. Several top police officials, including dismissed Mumbai police commissioner R.K.Sharma, and the kingpin Abdul Karim Telgi have been arrested in connection with the scam.

           Early this year, the CBI was handed over all the 48 cases in the scam by the Supreme Court after petitioners complained of interference by various state agencies and lack of fairplay and transparency. The cases were earlier being handled by Special Investigation Team (SIT) of different states. More than 100 people across several states, including policemen, politicians and government officials, have been arrested for fraud in connection with the forged paper that is used for such transactions as property and business contracts. The near decade-old scam involves paper used in legal documents, known as stamp paper. Police and prosecutors say although 660 million dollars worth of the paper has been found across nine states, the real figure could be more than 10 times that.