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Shinde denies rift with Deshmukh

       New Delhi: Outgoing Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Saturday denied rumours of a rift between him and his successor Vilasrao Deshmukh for the post. "This is not true. I am a secular person and do not believe in caste politics. A person like me has won elections four times on a general seat. I do not think you can accuse me of such politics," Shinde told reporters. He said that the decision to put Deshmukh in the chair was one based on consensus. Deshmukh, currently in national capital New Delhi, called on party president Sonia Gandhi along with the other legislature party members. Deshmukh, 59, was chosen after a three-hour meeting of Congress legislators in the state capital Mumbai. Deshmukh was chief minister for three years from 1999 before being replaced by Sushil Kumar Shinde, a Dalit. Deshmukh, whio is also in the capital, is slated to meet Gandhi later in the day and then stake claim for the government formation at a meeting with the Maharashtra Governor. Maharashtra has been without an effective government since October 16 when the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance won elections defeating the opposition Hindu nationalists.

Shinde is new Andhra Governor (Go To Top)

         New Delhi/Hyderabad: President APJ Abdul Kalam on Saturday appointed former Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said that Shinde would replace Surjit Singh Barnala, who has been shifted to Tamil Nadu. Barnala succeeds P S Ramamohan Rao, who resigned on Friday. Meanwhile, the President has accepted the resignation of Punjab Governor O P Verma and has asked Haryana Governor A R Kidwai to discharge the former's functions. The resignation of Bihar Governor Rama Jois has also been accepted and Jharkhand Governor Ved Marwah has been given additional charge of Bihar.

Prakash Jha's movie on JP cleared (Go To Top)

        New Delhi: Director Prakash Jha's controversial film on Jaiprakash Narayan has been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification without any objection. The film has been passed with a U certificate. The film had run into rough weather with the Censor Board, which had asked Jha to justify the inclusion of scenes linked to the declaration of Emergency by the Indira Gandhi government in 1975. The board had also asked Jha to cut scenes showing anti-Indira protests.

Army confirms death of three officers (Go To Top)

        New Delhi: The Army on Saturday confirmed that Major General D P Singh, the General Officer Commanding of 6 Mountain Division and two pilots of the Indian Army have been killed after their helicopter crashed near the Indo-Tibetan border in Uttaranchal on Friday morning . "The charred bodies of Major General D P Singh and the two pilots have been found 8 km south of Mana Pass at 12:30 p. m. (IST) today," said Army Spokesperson Colonel S K Sakhuja. The Cheetah helicopter of the Army Aviation Corps that the three were flying in went off radio coverage after 9:40 a .m. (IST) on Friday. The helicopter was reportedly on a general reconnaissance mission in the Joshimath area.

Two die as Muslim sects clash in UP  (Go To Top)

        Orai (UP): Indefinite curfew has been imposed in the Uttar Pradesh town of Orai after two Muslim clerics were shot dead allegedly by members of rival sects of the same community over a land dispute. Paramilitary forces have reportedly been deployed in the area as tension runs high . Police said Hafiz Fahim, the chief cleric of the main mosque, was shot dead and two of his aides injured by some unidentified gunmen when they were returning home after morning prayers. As the news spread, an unruly crowd attacked the house of Bashir Ahmed Qadri, another chief cleric of another sect, and shot him dead. Police said the angry crowd also stoned the houses of two ruling Samajwadi Party politicians. So far, police have arrested one person.

Women gear up for Karva Chauth
by Rukmini Sah

       New Delhi: Blame it on Karan Johar or the Yash Chopra clan who have glamorised Karva Chauth to such an extent that it is no longer a simple tradition, but a grand event. Markets across the Indian capital are bustling with activity, as enthusiastic women are on a shopping spree, trying to find the right kind of clothes and accessories for the event that takes place on Sunday. And keeping up with the ladies shopping spirits, the city's shopping arcades have come out with several new offers and discounts to boot to woo discerning customers. Shopping centres like Lajpat Nagar's Central market are a ladies haven as far getting good Karva Chauth bargains, be it brightly coloured bangles or designer suits or sarees, almost everything is available.

       "Karva Chauth is a big thing now. It was not like this in the old days," claims Swadesh Kaur, a resident of Lajpat Nagar. "Earlier it was only a simple fast for one's husbands long life with celebrations at home but now it's a big event," she adds. The event also spells boom time for the 'mehendi wallah's', as women swarm to them for getting their hands decorated with beautiful designs, a row of women getting mehendi applied on their hands is a common sight. "Mehendi is important," says Dr Neera Tiwari who visited a particular 'mehendi wali', near the Hanuman temple in CP, on the recommendation of a friend. A casual walk down the market seems to fill one with a sense of colour and the excitement,of ladies buying all sorts of jewellery and dresses for the occasion, is almost infectious. Sweet shops laden with the traditional 'feni' and 'matthi' which are special sweets prepared for Karva Chauth look delightful.

        "I miss the way Karva Chauth is celebrated in India, with so much colour and life, " says Nillia, an Indian based in Canada. "We do celebrate Karva Chauth there but its not the same," she adds. The preparations for the big day on October 31st indeed reflects the kind of importance the fast holds for married women who along with praying for their husbands get an opportunity to indulge in their favourite time pass of shopping.

Curfew in one more Rajasthan town (Go To Top)

        Sriganganagar (Rajasthan): Police have imposed curfew in one more town of Sriganganagar district in Rajasthan as tension continued to prevail after the death of four farmers in police firing early this week. The incident took place on Wednesday (October 27) when police fired at an agitated mob of farmers who set afire a number of government buildings. The farmers had taken to the streets demanding the release of more water for irrigation. While the army remains deployed in the area, the provincial government is keen to placate angry farmers. A compensation of 500,000 rupees to the family members of the deceased has been promised by the provincial government apart from a job to one of the family members. Authorities have also hinted that the government has no plans to cut down the share of irrigation water for the region. Meanwhile, the dead farmers have been cremated in the presence of a police posse to prevent any untoward incidents. Despite the promises made by the government, angry farmers blocked traffic in many parts of Sriganganagar and schools in the district have been closed indefinitely. Farmers in the region have been on tenterhooks since Punjab unilaterally scrapped its water agreement with Rajasthan and Haryana. Faced with the prospect of a drought, the farmers have been protesting for the past one month.

`Darbar' shift begins in Kashmir (Go To Top)

       Srinagar: Government officials in Jammu and Kashmir began leaving Srinagar for the state's winter capital Jammu on Saturday. The bi-annual practice of the "Darbar" (secretariat) move between the two capital cities of the state, Srinagar and Jammu, has been inherited from the Dogra rule, dating back to the 19th century. The civil secretariat of the state government functions in the summer capital Srinagar for six months and moves to Jammu at the onset of winter. All the files and office equipment, packed in gunny bags and trunks, will be transported by trucks from Srinagar to Jammu, a distance of 270 km. The state road transport corporation has hired hundreds of lorries to complete the process. Shaukat Ahmed, a government official, said that the exercise helps reduce regional imbalances. "The shifting exercise helps in maintaining a healthy relationship between the people of the two regions of Jammu and Kashmir. And secondly, our state is the only one which has two capitals. For winter it is Jammu and Srinagar is for the summers," he said. Nearly 1,000 trucks of the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) have been pressed into service to carry official records and other material to the winter capital. It is estimated the whole exercise of relocating offices costs the government more than 520,000 dollars annually. Temperature in Srinagar, in the midst of a Himalayan valley, drops to minus 10 degrees Centigrade in winter months while Jammu, in the plains, is relatively warm.

Anantha Kumar new BJP Gen Sec, Uma out (Go To Top)

       New Delhi: BJP leader L.K. Advani announced his new team of office bearers here today. While former Union Minister Anantha Kumar has been appointed as party's General Secretary, all other previous General Secretaries, including Pramod Mahajan, Aruj Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Sanjay Josh, were retained by Advani. Surprisingly, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti couldn't make it to the new team. However, one General Secretary post has been kept vacant giving rise to speculations that it could be for her. "It is not a matter of refusing or accepting anyone. Everyone is working for the party. Some people have been given posts and some have not. But everyone will continue to work for the party," said BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Rajya Sabha member Najma Heptullah, Varun Gandhi, and former Lt. Governor of Delhi Vijay Kapur have been included in the National Executive.