Varun refutes reports, says not joining
Congress
by Pankaj Yadav
New
Delhi: BJP member and son of BJP MP Maneka Gandhi, Varun
Gandhi has outrightly rejected the media reports claiming
that he had plans to join the Congress. "These reports are
totally untrue and baseless," Varun Gandhi said over phone
while campaigning for BJP-Shiv Sena alliance for October
13 Maharashtra polls. When told that rumours were rife in
the Capital that even his aunt and Congress president Sonia
Gandhi had given him the green signal to enter the party,
he said, "I have been in Maharashtra over the past one week
and concentrating on campaigning for my party candidates."
On being asked if he had met Sonia over the issue of his
joining the party, he shot back, "It's none of the media's
business to know about my meetings with Sonia ji." It may
be recalled that yesterday a section of the press had quoted
a 10 Janpath source as saying that Varun had decided to
join the Congress, and had met Sonia at least thrice to
discuss the matter. The report said that Varun enjoyed very
good relations with his cousins Rahul and Priyanka. The
news reports further said that while Sonia allowed Varun
to enter the party "she categorically told him that his
mother Maneka was not allowed to join the Congress". During
the last parliamentary polls, when Varun had joined the
BJP along with his mother Maneka he had expressed intentions
of contesting polls, but he could not enter the fray since
he was six months short of 25.
65
percent turnout in Arunachal Pradesh polls (Go
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New
Delhi: The Election Commission said 65 percent electorate
cast their votes in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday. Voters
shrugged off steady rain and turned out in force in the
state as troops guarded polling stations in a state assembly
election being held in the shadow of violence. "As far as
the poll percentage is concerned the figure which we have
received of tentative poll percentage is 65 percent. We
have to qualify here as we always do. Large number of parties
are in far flung areas an when they come we will be able
to tell you the exact polling percentage," Deputy Election
Commissioner A.N. Jha told reporters in here. The vote in
remote Arunachal Pradesh, which shares a long, mountainous
border with China, is the first face-off between the centrist
Congress party and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) since Congress swept back to power in a surprise
victory in a May general election. Elephants and helicopters
were used to take electronic voting machines (EVM) to some
remote constituencies. Jha said that in six places polls
would be held again on Friday following snatching of EVM
and landslides caused due to heavy rains. "At two places
one in Teju and one in Zeo miscreants tried to snatch the
ballot unit (electronic voting machines) and the poll was
closed by the presiding officers So in six places due to
various reasons here will be adjourned poll held tomorrow,"
he said.
Heavy
rains disrupt normal life in Kolkata (Go
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Kolkata:
Three days of incessant rains have led to the flooding
of large parts of Kolkata and most of eastern India on Thursday.
In Kolkata, normal life was disrupted following heavy rains.
Reports emanating from the city and its outlying surburbs
said several areas had got waterlogged. People waded their
way to their places of work through knee deep water. Rail
tracks of the circular rail, which runs through the city,
are under a foot and half of water following which the authorities
have suspended the services. Abhijit Das, a local, said
though they were happy with the late rains but water logging
was causing a problem. "Actually the time of the rains are
okay. But the roads in Calcutta have added to the problems.
There are traffic jams which have caused us delay in reaching
to our destinations," said Das. Most schools and offices
were forced to close down because of thin attendance. Railway
services to eastern and remote northeastern India were also
disrupted. Meteorological Department officials here said
that there had been 110 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours
and forecasted more rains over the next two days.
Lalu
campaigns for Congress-NCP (Go
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Mumbai:
Bihar stongman Lalu Prasad Yadav's charismatic appeal
is limited to Bihar only. The Congress-NCP alliance called
him for campaigning for their candidates for the forthcoming
Maharashtra Assembly elections. The Railway Minister campaigned
for Pankaj Bhujbal, the son of former deputy chief minister
and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal. Lalu cautioned people to
vote against the Samajwadi Party and the BJP-Shiv Sena combine.
He criticized them alike and also criticized Narendra Modi
for his communal bearings. "Earlier government created disunity
between people of different religions. They created useless
issues like that of the nationality. The earlier government
stayed in power for a long time. Throughout this period,
the borders of our country became very unsafe. Godhra massacre
took place. People from different religions died and we
were made fun of on the whole world," Lalu said. Lalu sent
the crowd into peels of laughter by his gimmicked one- liners.
PM
Nair is Secretary to President (Go
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New
Delhi: PM. Nair, an IAS officer who is to retire on
October 31, has been appointed as Secretary to the President
with effect from November 1, 2004 on contract basis. According
to a press release, the ACC has approved the appointment.
The official notification says that the terms and conditions
of appointment of Nair is to be finalized by the President's
Secretariat in consultation with the Department of Personnel
and Training for a tenure co-terminous with the term of
the present President of India.
'Circumstances'
not ripe to sign NPT now: PM (Go
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New
Delhi: Asserting that India is a responsible nuclear
power acting with due restraint, Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh on Thursday said "circumstances" were not ripe for
the country to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT) now. "I don't know whether the circumstances are ripe
right now for for us to sign that (NPT). But we are voluntarily
fulfilling all the commitments that go with being a responsible
nuclear power acting with due restraint," Singh said at
a joint press interaction with visiting German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder.
Germany
backs India for permanent seat in UN Security Council (Go
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New
Delhi: Germany would support India's candidature for
a permanent seat in the United Nation Security Council,
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said here today after
his ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Schroeder,
who is on a two-day visit to India, also said that Germany
wants to deepen its economic relations with India and also
work for a multilateral approach in international relations,
along with support for UN Reforms. He said Germany would
also work closely to forge better cultural ties as well.
Besides the Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister K
Natwar Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed,
Heavy Industries Minister Santosh Mohan Deb, Cabinet Secretary
B K Chaturvedi, Navy Chief Arun Prakash and Delhi's Lt Governor
B L Joshi were present at the ceremonial reception. After
being received formally by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,
Schroeder inspected a guard of Honour. India and Germany
are expected to sign several bilateral agreements after
the German Chancellor's meeting with the Prime Minister
today.
21
Pakistanis to visit Chirar-e-Sharif shrine in Kashmir (Go
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Srinagar:
Twenty-one Pakistani pilgrims will visit Kashmir's famous
Chirar-e-Sharif shrine later this month, disclosed a group
of Kashmiri peace activists after their return from a visit
to Pakistan. According to the Kashmir Times and the Daily
Times, the Governor of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Lt.
General (retired) S.K. Sinha, has said that he would be
happy to meet the visiting Pakistani pilgrims.
36
more Pak journos arriving (Go
To Top)
Lahore:
Thirty-six Pakistani journalists will arrive in India today
to attend a four-day regional conference titled "Inter-state
Conflicts in South Asia" in New Delhi. The conference will
start on October 9 and has been arranged by the South Asian
Free Media Association (SAFMA). According to the Daily Times,
delegates from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and
hosts India will attend the moot. Noted columnist Munnoo
Bhai, who heads the Punjab section of SAFMA, told the paper
that with both Pakistan and India agreeing to relax visa
restrictions for journalists, such events would soon be
a regular feature. Bhai also confirmed that the SAFMA is
trying to ensure similar treatment for writers, doctors
and lawyers. Bhai said that the 16-member SAFMA delegation
that is currently visiting Srinagar would join them for
the New Delhi conference. SAFMA, he added, would also host
an international media conference in November in Lahore,
and is planning an Indo-Pak parliamentary conference in
India in December.
Multan
blast toll rises to 39 (Go
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Multan:
At least 39 people were killed and more than 80 wounded
when a suicide car bomb exploded at a rally for an assassinated
militant religious leader in central Pakistan early on Thursday,
police said. The car exploded after being driven into a
crowd of mourners at the overnight rally in the city of
Multan to mark the first anniversary of the shooting of
extremist Sunni religious leader Azam Tariq. The rally had
concluded and people were dispersing in pre-dawn darkness
when the blast ripped through the crowd. Hospital staff
said the wounded were still being admitted to hospital.
Large patches of blood stained the ground and pieces of
flesh lay scattered around. Nearby houses and shops were
damaged. The car was completely destroyed. Residents said
most at the rally were members of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
(Soldiers of Mohammad's Companions), an outlawed Sunni Muslim
group that Tariq headed and which has been blamed for many
attacks on minority Shi'ite Muslims, who make up about 15
percent of Pakistan's mainly Sunni population of 150 million.
The blast came after hundreds of people gathered at a village
about 130 km northeast of Multan for the funeral of Amjad
Hussain Farooqi, a militant described as a key link between
al Qaeda and local extremist groups who was killed by security
forces on Sept. 26.
An
angry crowd of hundreds of people gathered outside the main
Nishtar Hospital in Multan after the blast, screaming in
mourning. Meanwhile, Federal Interior Minister, Aftab Ahmad
Khan Sherpao, expressing his deep sorrow and grief on the
heart- rending terror incident in Multan, disclosed here
that the prime minister has called for an emergent meeting
to review the obtaining situation following the gruesome
incident and mull over the different security proposals
regarding holding of such future congregations in the country.
The interior minister, while talking to the newsmen here,
revealed that a Suzuki vehicle was blasted through a remote
control explosive device unleashing this devastating incident.
He said that army has been called in Multan as a precautionary
step. He told that the District Nazim had given permission
to Tanzim Millat-e-Islamia for holding this public meeting
in Multan and the district governments should coordinate
with the provincial governments before giving permissions
for such public meetings.
US
awards scholarship to 40 Islamic Bangla students (Go
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by Nazrul Islam
Dhaka:
The United States has awarded scholarships to 40 Bangladesh
Madrasa students, both male and female, in what the US officials
say is a bid to improve their English language skills. At
a function at the American Centre in Dhaka on Wednesday
night, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Harry K Thomas handed
over the certificates to the first batch of students, asking
them to grab the full potential of the new programme. "You
are the first students from Bangladesh to participate in
the programme. When you study English, the whole world will
be opened to you and you will learn many things," Thomas
said. He also said that the programme was also being held
in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Maldives. Twenty students
each from Madinatul Ulum Women's Kamil Madrassah and Tanjimul
Ummah Cadet Madrassah were awarded the scholarship under
the ACCESS English language project, a new programme of
the US State Department. The students will be given two-years
of after-school English lessons under the programme which
will cover their tuition, books, other study materials and
transportation. "You know the language of Internet is in
English, and if you want access to the latest technologies
in the most efficient way of conducting business, English
is the key," Thomas said. He said that with the expansion
of European Union and the shrinking globe phenomenon, English
has become the language of trade and Commerce. "Bangladesh's
economic success is closely linked to the education and
English fluency of its citizens," he added.
Bad
weather, tornados kill 21 in Bangladesh (Go
To Top)
Dhaka:
Tornados lashed through many parts of Bangladesh, battered
by heavy rain, killed at least eight people on Thursday,
raising the death toll from bad weather to 21 in last three
days. In the afternoon a powerful tornado that lasted for
few minutes killed six people, injured scores others and
left a trail of destruction at a Muslim congregation site,
where several thousand people gathered for prayer, in Tongi
near Dhak. Tornadoes hit in central Faridpur and Gopalganj
districts and southern Barguna and Khulna districts, faltering
several hundred homes in the countryside. Two persons was
reportedly killed in Faridpur and Gopalganj.
India
150 for 6 against Australia at close of day two (Go
To Top)
Bangalore:
India were 150 for six at close in their first innings
on the second day of the first cricket Test against Australia
here today. India trail Australia by 324 and need 125 more
to avoid a follow- on. Brief Scores: Australia: 474 all
out India: 150 for 6 in 44 overs (Ganguly 45, Sehwag 37,
Laxman 31; McGrath 3/37, Kasprowicz 2/23, Warne 1/46).
