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Andhra HC suspends reservation for Muslims

         Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh High Court in an interim order on Thursday suspended the operation of the state government order providing five per cent reservation for Muslims in education and employment. HC Chief Justice Devender Gupta and Justice C.V. Ramulu, after hearing a batch of writ petitions challenging the validity of the order, suspended it and referred the case to a full bench of three judges, observing that it needed a deeper examination. The case will come up on July 27. While suspending the order, the HC directed the professional educational institutions not to fill up the five per cent quota reserved for minorities till final hearing of the case. One of the counsels of petitioners D.V. Seetharam Murthy told reporters after the order, "we have contended before the court that the state government has not undertaken required exercise before issuing the order." The government also did not consult the Andhra Pradesh Backward Class Commission which is the competent authority to include any caste in backward list, he added. The NTR Health University yesterday in a notification had asked the students of Muslim community to apply for the seats in medical colleges in the light of the reservation order which was challenged in the court by a section of the aggrieved students.

Army comes under fire for death of woman in custody in Manipur (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Dozens of students from Manipur took out a protest march here Thursday against the death of a woman in the custody of security forces. The state has been rocked since the 32-year-old T.H. Manorama alias Henthoi was found dead after she was picked up by paramilitary Assam Rifles on July 11. Protesters claim that the army enjoys unchecked powers under the Armed Forcer Special Power Act, introduced in 1958 in Assam and Manipur states, amongst the worst hit by insurgency and are demanding a repeal of the draconian act. "We basically demand that the armed forces act of 1958, which is being used to perpetrate atrocities in the northeastern states including Manipur, be repealed. Indian army, in the name of handling militancy, have raped many women, many people have been taken away by them, never to return. We protest against this and demand immediate withdrwal of special powers act," Arambam Naomi Meitei, a student activist said.

          The army claimed that Manorama was member of an outlawed rebel group active in Manipur and was arrested for abetting terrorist activities. Manorama's family members have denied that she was an explosives expert and an active member of the banned People Liberation Army. The Communist Party of India (CPI), who took out a separate march in New Delhi against the Manipur incident, slammed the army for making, what they say are, false justification. "We do not believe in the justification given by the army. We demand that those involved should immediately be arrested and punished. Extra powers which have been given to the army and paramilitary forces under the special forces act, should be again reviewed by the parliament and the government," Brinda Karat, a Leftist activist said. Thousands have poured out on streets accusing the army of human rights violation, rapes and fake killings. At least one person has died and more than 100 injured in the protests. Curfew has been clamped in four valley districts, including Imphal, since July 15.

Kalam seeks SC opinion on Punjab waters issue (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: President APJ Abdul Kalam on Thursday made a reference to the Supreme Court seeking its opinion on the validity of the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act, 2004, over SYL waters passed by the Punjab Legislative Assembly, an official source here said. The Presidential reference was made under Article 143 of the Constitution, the source said.

Opposition to stall Parliament for Soren's arrest (Go To Top)

         New Delhi: The Opposition today warned that it would continue to stall proceedings in Parliament till the Union Minister for Coal and Mines, Shibu Soren, was not arrested. Soren evaded arrest on Wednesday and Thursday, even as a police team from his home state of Jharkhand arrived in the capital to execute the arrest order for his alleged role in a mob attack 30 years ago in which 10 Muslims were killed. "It was decided that we should take up the Shibu Soren issue more effectively in both the Houses. In the last 57 years it has never happened that a union minister has been absconding and he is wanted," Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra told reporters here after a meeting of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on the issue. The NDA has paralyzed Parliament proceedings over the ruling UPA's refusal to drop its "tainted" cabinet ministers. Meanwhile, activists of Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) staged a silent protest in front of a Ranchi local court that is due to take up Soren's plea. Samuel Guriya, the president of the Ranchi wing of JMM, wearing black badge as a mark of protest, said their leader was being framed. "This is a symbolic threat to Jharkhand government that they should stop harassing us. It should stop harassing our guru (Shibu Soren) for the thing which happened 30 years ago as this was an agitation by every tribal. This was a movement for the revival of Jharkhand," he said. The case against Soren relates to a political massacre at Chirudih in 1975 during the movement for a separate state of Jharkhand. More than 3,000 people were arrested on charges of murder. Except for Soren and a few others, the rest have since been freed.

Parched AP demands water from Karnataka (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh today appealed to the Centre to use its influence to convince Karnataka to release its share of water from the River Krishna to counter prevailing drought-like conditions. An all-party delegation led by state Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here today and requested him to ask Karnataka to release the water as quickly as possible. Facing a near drought for the fourth consecutive year, the Andhra Pradesh Government claims that it is battling to save crops in its agricultural belt, which includes the regions of Telangana and Rayalseema, besides the coastal Krishna Delta. Reddy claimed that the Krishna reservoirs in Karnataka were overflowing and sought a release of 50 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water from it. "The Almati Dam was constructed recently by Karnataka. Of course, we are not going into the legality or any such matter but they have impounded in Almati and Narayanpur Reservoirs water to the tune for 136 TMC out of a total capacity of 166 TMC. Their canal systems have not developed totally, so there is no way they can use all the water. So, as a humanitarian gesture, we have asked the Prime Minister to use his good office to secure the release of water from Karnataka, to the tune of 50 TMC," Reddy told reporters. Andhra Pradesh is currently facing a rain deficit of more than 30 percent.