Sharmila
Tagore to be the new Censor Board chief
New
Delhi: Veteran Hindi film actress Sharmila Tagore will
be the new Censor Board chief in place of Anupam Kher, who,
reports said, has been unceremoniously removed from the
post. Earlier in the day, the Information and Broadcasting
ministry had directed Kher to resign from the post. He was
appointed to post by the previous BJP-led NDA government.
However, Kher had turned down the directive saying that
it was "politically motivated". It could not be confirmed
till the last reports reached here whether Anupam Kher had
resigned or not.
Over
800 explosives recovered in Gujarat's Kutch district
Ahmedabad:
Gujarat police have reportedly recovered over 800 explosives,
most of them rocket shells from three different places in
the state's Kutch district. "Police have found 837 explosives,
mostly rocket shells, from three different places around
Anjar and Adipur towns," a news agency report quoted Kutch
District Superintendent of Police Piyush Patel as saying.
The explosives recovered included live grenades and mortars
and were destroyed by an army team on Tuesday.
55
to 60 pct voting in Maharashtra (Go
To Top)
Mumbai:
Nearly 60 percent of the total voters in Maharashtra
cast their votes in the Assembly elections held today. Exit
polls, released after the voting ended, said that the Congress-NCP-RPI
alliance was way ahead of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. The
exit polls predicted around 150 seats for the former, nearly
120 seats for the latter, and the rest to the Independents.
In other states where by-polls took place, varying voting
percentage was reported. The highest turnout of nearly 65
percent was reported from Rajasthan where by-polls took
place in two Assembly seats - Behror and Merta. In Punjab's
two Assembly constituencies - Kupurthala and Garhshankar
- where by-polls took place, over 60 per cent of the electorate
cast their votes. Nearly 58.25 per cent of the 82,294 electorate
exercised their franchise in the byelections to the Basohli
Assembly segment of Jammu and Kashmir today.
In
Maharashtra, the major contestants were: Chief Minister
Sushil Kumar Shinde (Congress) - South Solapur. The Congress
party has not lost the seat since 1985. Deputy Chief Minister
Vijaysinh Mohite Patil (NCP) - Malshiras. Patil, a four-time
MLA, has lost the seat just once. Home Minister R R Patil
(NCP) - Tasgaon. Patil has been winning since 1990; polled
48 per cent votes in 1999. Minister of State for Home Kripashankar
Singh (Congress) - Santacruz. He won the seat in 1999, polling
50 per cent votes. Chhagan Bhujbal's son Pankaj Bhujbal
(NCP) - Mazgaon. He faces two-time MLA Bala Nandgaonkar
of Shiv Sena. Sushil Kumar Shinde's son-in-law Raj Shroff
(Congress) - Malabar Hill. He faces two-time MLA Mangat
Prabhat Lodha of BJP. Fashion designer Shaina NC (BJP) -
Bandra. Mumbai NCP President Sachin Ahir (NCP) - Shivadi.
He won in 1999 but lost the 2004 Lok Sabha polls.
In
the last Assembly elections, the Congress secured 76 of
the 288 seats, while the Shiv Sena got 69, the NCP 59, the
BJP 56 and Others 28. Both alliances in the fray -- Congress-NCP
and BJP-Shiv Sena have predictably declared their chances
of winning the polls as bright, citing their achievements
over the last five years. He said he is certain the Congress-NCP
alliance will return to power in Maharashtra. Elaborate
security arrangements were made by the authorities to ensure
free, fair and peaceful polling. A total of 75,000 state
police and 35,000 homeguards were deployed alongwith 2,500
paramilitary forces.
CCS
meets, reviews situation in north-east, Kashmir (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Security met for close
to two hours today to review the security situation in the
country. Informed sources in the PMO said that besides discussing
the fallout of the bomb blast killings in Assam and Nagaland,
the CSS also reviewed the developments in the North East,
the progress in talks between the Naxalites and the Andhra
Pradesh Government and the peace process in Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting also reportedly discussed the recent ceasefire
offer made by the National Democratic Front of Bodoland
in Assam.
SC
pulls up Centre on nutrition issue (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi: The Supreme Court today pulled up the UPA Government
over its attitude in not responding to the apex court's
directive to provide nutrition to poor children under the
Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). A two-judge
bench comprising Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice Tarun
Chatterjee expressed their dismay over the lack of response
and firmly told the central government's counsel to respond
to their query within a fortnight. The bench further said
that the number of Anganwadi centres (AWC) providing nourishment
to children in the age group of 0-6 years should have been
14 lakh, and wnated to know why it was being pegged at only
six lakh such centres, many of which were non- operational.
On April 29 this year, the Supreme Court had directed the
Centre to file an affidavit within three months stating
the time to be taken by it to set up remaining eight lakh
AWCs. It had also directed the Government to consider revising
the norm of supply of nutrition food worth to the children
from Re one to Rs 2. The anguished bench rejected Additional
Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran's request for more time,
saying that it had already given the government six months
to do the needful.
Hindus
seek salvation for dead relatives with mourning ritual (Go
To Top)
Kolkata:
Thousands of people in Kolkata today prayed at the banks
of the holy Ganga and tonsured their heads marking the end
of a fortnight-long mourning ritual, which Hindus believe,
is essential for the ultimate salvation of their forefathers.
Devotees bathed in the holy river and offered "pinds" or
rice balls each representing a dead relative to priests.
The ritual literally means that departed souls are relieved
of all sins and given to divine care, priests being the
representatives of God on earth. Heavy police deployment
has been made to control the massive crowds and lifeguards
have been posted at vantage points to avoid any mishap.
"We have come here to pray for our forefathers. At the end
of the 15-day mounring it is customary for us to do the
ritual and give donations so that they can rest in peace,"
said Krishna Thakur, a devotee. "It is for the peace of
the departed soul of our forefathers, so that they reach
heaven," added Mahendra Mishra, a priest. Hindus believe
in reincarnation or in the cycle of birth, its fundamental
principle being that though the body changes with every
birth, the soul remains the same.
76
Rajasthan villages inundated (Go
To Top)
Bilaspur:
Around 76 villages in Rajasthan have been submerged
as the Bisalpur dam overflooded. Heavy rainfall in August
flooded several areas in Bhilwara, Kota towns alongwith
a few villages in Tonk district. It is the first time in
the district's history that such a flooding has occurred
in the area which is drought-prone. Thousands of villagers
have migrated to safer places and are at present camping
in makeshift shelters. "It has been one and half months
since water has been water overflowing from the dam and
76 villages have been drowned. This year there has been
huge loss. The government has not done anything," said Jagdish,
a villager. Villagers said that their entire yield worth
hundreds and thousands of rupees of sorghum and barley have
been damaged due to the sudden water flow. Residents in
the region now fear that more villages may be engulfed in
the flood waters. "At least 200 villages will be drowned.
TIll now 76 have been submerged. Temples as well as crops
have been destroyed," said Ram Dayal. Jaipur, will also
get drinking water supply from the dam on Banas river. The
Bisalpur project comprises two phases involving transmission
of water from the dam to a pumping station situated about
25 km from Jaipur and its distribution to the city.
Apang
front-runner for Arunachal CM's post (Go
To Top)
Itanagar:
All the 13 elected Independents in Arunachal Pradesh,
who are part of the newly formed Arunachal Democratic Legislators'
Forum, have decided to support Gegong Apang, tipped to be
the state's next chief minister. The Independents urged
the Congress High Command to treat the forum as a partner
in the government formation and said that they will help
form a stable government. The forum will call on AICC observer
Oscar Fernandes, who will oversee the election of CLP leader,
and convey its decision to him. The new chief minister will
be decided today when newly elected MLAs of the Congress,
which won an outright majority in the Assembly elections,
meet in Itanagar to choose their leader.
APHC
favours Irish model for Kashmir (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi: The Maulvi Abbas Ansari-led faction of the All-Parties
Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has said that the resolution
of the Kashmir dispute can be achieved if the Irish model
is applied. Talking to the Daily Times, the former chairman
of a moderate faction of the APHC said there was no harm
in seeing the Irish model as a viable option, claiming also
that it was an idea once supported by former US President
Bill Clinton and it was now being backed by a couple of
Indian leaders. "We feel that among other options it can
become the basis for talks aimed at resolving the Kashmir
dispute," the paper quoted him as saying. "Kashmiris are
the main party to the dispute," he added. But Ansari said
any model for the resolution of the dispute must be adopted
after considering the pros and cons of that idea. No idea
can work if we pick the plus points and ignore the minus,"
he said. He said the Irish model must be adopted as a whole
and that Pakistan-occupied Kahsmir should not be excluded
from the solution to the dispute.
Pak
asks India to remove restrictions on APHC, others (Go
To Top)
Islamabad:
Pakistan has asked India to remove all restrictions
on the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and other
Kashmiri leaders as part of the confidence-building measures
between the two countries. "India's decision to restrain
prominent Kashmiri leaders from politics was unnecessary
and does not augur well for the ongoing peace process,"
Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said.
Kerry
vows to crack down on Pak's cross-border terror in Kashmir
(Go
To Top)
Washington:
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has said
that he would ask Pakistan in no uncertain terms to end
cross-border terrorism, if he wins the November US presidential
elections. He also expressed willingness in stregthening
ties with India. "Cross-border terrorism must stop. The
support Pakistan has given to terrorist actions in Kashmir
official or non-official must cease," The News quoted Kerry
as saying in an interview with a Washington-based weekly.
Kerry further said that he would like to visit India if
he assumes the post. He said he would work to strengthen
cooperation with India in all vital aspects on non-proliferation.
"India and US have a very similar view of the need to implement
a comprehensive international approach to prevent transfer
of nuclear materials and knowhow to irresponsible governments
and terrorists," he added. "I will recognise the vital global
role India will play in the 21st century. I will work closely
with New Delhi - and with members of the Indian-American
community - to strengthen relationship built on shared values
and interests," Kerry said. Kerry also said that he would
treat both India and Pakistan `differently' as per demands
of bilateral relationships with each of the two. The Democract
candadate said: "The time is long overdue for the US to
distinguish once and for all, between India and Pakistan
and to treat each differently and according to the demands
of those bilateral relationships."
Kaif
may replace Chopra in the second Test (Go
To Top)
Chennai:
India may opt for a few changes in their batting line
up in the second test which starts tomorrow in Chennai.
While Mohammad Kaif may find a place in the playing eleven,
Akash Chopra who could not find the rythm in the last test
may be rested. Captain Saurav Ganguly hinted that Yuvraj
Singh may even open the innings. India team, after miserably
going down in the first test in Bangalore, may effect some
changes in its batting order. Reeling under bad form of
its top order and absence of batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar
due to elbow injury, the team is not leaving anything to
chance. Captain Ganguly while interacting with the media
said that Mohammad Kaif may be included in the playing eleven
in place of Delhi batsman Akash Chopra. He added that the
selectors will have a final look at the playing eleven before
the match. " I am looking at giving Kaif a go. That I will
have to speak to the selectors and get a firmer say. Yes
he will bat in the middle order," said Ganguly.
