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PM asks Naxalites to shun violence
by Narendra

     Hyderabad/Medak: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has warned the Naxalites to shun violence and return to the mainstream, and seek redressal to their grievances through a dialogue. He told them that in a democracy, the right course was for solving issues through the ballot box and not by the gun. He said they should participate in the elections and enter the legislature to achieve their goals. Earlier this week, the State Government imposed a ban on the Naxalites following fresh outbreak of violence. The crackdown by the State resulted in the arrest of prominent Naxalite sympathizers like Varavara Rao, an eminent revolutionary poet and emissary. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who arrived today in Andhra on a one-day visit to the state, distributed land to the landless farmers under second phase of the land distribution programme organized by the State in the Medak district. He was accompanied by State Congress Party incharge, Divijay Singh, Union Minister of State for Coal, Dasari Narayan Rao and Union Minister of State for Health, Panabaka Lakshmi. Dr Singh inaugurated the second scheme by distributing one-lakh acres of land to the poor people. Under the first phase of the programme, about 1.5 lakh acres of land were distributed to the poor on January 26, during Republic Day. He also launched the online IT services in the rural areas under the "Rajiv" project in memory of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The project aims at setting up as many as 8,100 Internet kiosks across the state for providing broadband connectivity to every village and deliver citizen services online. Rajiv Gandhi introduced the computerization scheme in the country in the 1980's and his desire was that India should not miss the technological revolution taking place all over the world. He was the pioneer in bringing about a massive change in the country's IT and telecom sector, which has now fructified and India is recognized as a leading IT power. Earlier in the day, he was received by Governor Sushil Kumar Shinde, Chief Minister YS Rajshekhar Reddy and his cabinet colleagues. During his visit to Andhra Pradesh, the Prime Minister inaugurated a seminar on 'Press and the Nation'. He also unveiled a statue of former President N Sanjeeva Reddy near the Andhra Secretariat.

Sarabjit Singh's family members allege foul play (Go To Top)

      Bhikhiwind (Punjab): The family members of Sarabjit Singh, whose death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on charges of spying, has alleged that Pakistani lawyers have wrongly implicated him in place of Manjit Singh. Sarabjit Singh was earlier awarded a death sentence by the Pakistan's High Court, for being involved in five bomb blasts in Pakistan, and had named him as an agent of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). Sarabjit's family members have said that he was a resident of Bhikhiwind village, who had mistakenly crossed over to the Pakistani side from the Wagah border in an inebriated state in 1990. They have said that though the defence informed the Court that Singh's original name was Sarabjit Singh and he was at most, a smuggler of Indian liquor into Pakistan, Pakistani lawyers have wrongly implicated as Manjit Singh. An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan had on October 2, 1990 sentenced him to death, after which he had appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Dalbir Kaur, Singh's sister said that she had not lost hope and would appeal to Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf for her brother's release. "My brother had crossed the border in a drunken state. My brother appealed against the judgement by a special court in Lahore in 1991. The case was dismissed. He again appealed to the Supreme Court in Pakistan. There, one of the judges in the Supreme Court admitted that he is Sarbjit Singh and not Manjit Singh. But the other judge played foul and upheld the previous judgement by the apex court. But, we have time and I have not lost hope and I shall appeal to President Musharraf," she said. Sukhpreet Kaur, Singh's wife, said she had full faith that India would help them get out of this trouble. "He was awarded the death sentence and his bail application was rejected. I have great hopes on the government that they will be able to help us in his release," she said. Activists claim that hundreds of Indians, who were declared deserters, have either been taken prisoner or killed by Pakistani forces.

Vajpayee says Jinnah was secular in his youth (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Former Prime Minister and senior BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee said that the founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah was a secular leader in his youth. Vajpayee while releasing a book, "Aur Desh Bat Gaya", at the memorial service held in honour of senior RSS leader HV Sheshadri, said that Jinnah was never a fundamentalist and wanted Pakistan to be a secular state. Quoting excerpts from the book written by the late RSS leader, Vajpayee said that Jinnah in his youth was known as 'Jinnah Bhai' in typical Gujarati style. He said that HV Sheshadri had himself written that Jinnah was initially a secular leader and had no communal outlooks. He said that at the time of Partition Jinnah envisaged for a secular Pakistan, which started all the trouble later. Vajpayee also thanked Sheshadri for writing on such issues, adding, that it showed that veteran leaders like him had room for accepting Jinnah's thoughts. Vajpayees statements carry significance as BJP President Lal Krishna Advani had also during his visit to Pakistan, said that Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be a secular state. This statement by Advani created a sharp divide within the Sangh Parivar, leading the RSS and the VHP to demand his resignation as the BJP President. The BJP on the other hand spent a considerable amount of time in working out a face-saving solution for the party and the cadre. It is also to be noted that Vajpayee read out excerpts from Sheshadri's book in the presence of RSS chief KS Sudarshan.

BSF, BDR hold flag meeting, say there is no tension (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The Border Security Force and Bangladesh Rifles today held a flag meeting to resolve the dispute over the river construction along the border, which led to heavy exchange of fire between the two sides. BSF officials said that things have been settled down in an amicable manner and there was no tension now between the two sides. "Things have been amicably settled and issues resolved. There is no tension now. We will continue with the construction, we are doing. We will co-ordinate with them so that there is no misunderstanding," said OP Gaur, a high ranking BSF official, at the end of the meeting between the two sides at the Rampara border post. His counterpart from Bangladesh was was Reza Sarvar, the sector commander of the BDR. Earlier on Friday, heavy exchange of fire took place between the BSF and the BDR at the Adampur and Muchia outposts in West Bengal's Malda district. The two sides exchanged about 500 rounds of fire for more than an hour after 10 am. Although there were no reports of casualties, people were evacuated to safer havens. The BSF had then deployed additional forces at the firing site. Malda District and security officials said that the firing was sparked off by a dispute over the ongoing river bank embankment work to stop large-scale erosion by the Mahananda river, which serves as a demarcating line between the two countries. Officials said that unprovoked firing by the BDR forced them to stop the work and retaliate. Heavy fighting again resumed on Saturday morning, at around 8 am between the BSF and the BDR at the Adampur and Muchia outposts in West Bengal's Malda District. Officials said that as many as 150 rounds were exchanged between the two sides, adding that the gunbattle ended at around midday.

Left calls for new law to secure SC/ST quota in pvt colleges (Go To Top)
by Vrishti Beniwal

     New Delhi: More than a week after the Supreme Court abolished SC/ST quota in private medical and engineering colleges, Left parties today called for a new law to be enacted by the Parliament to give reservation to the unprivileged section of the society in educational institutions. Addressing a rally organised by All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations and Indian Justice Party at Jantar Mantar here, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Nilotpal Basu said that there is a consensus among political parties on the issue and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has agreed to enact a new law in this regard. "The Prime Minister has assured us that the Centre could consider bringing in a law to amend the Constitution. An all-party meeting has been convened on August 23 to take a view on the issue," said Basu, adding that even developed countries like the US have reservations for the backwards, and the recent decision by the apex court would only serve the interests of the rich. Stressing that the order would lead to the commercialisation of education, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja said that his Party would fight for the rights of dalits and backwards. The rally was told that the Supreme Court has given clean chit to private educational institutions to make money by various methods like inflating expenditures or diverting funds. Janata Dal United (JDU) leader Sharad Yadav stressed that the issue has not created a situation of confrontation with the apex court, but the judgement went against the spirit of social justice, and therefore, there is a need to frame a new law. HRD minister Arjun Singh has already announced in Parliament that he would be convening a meeting of state education ministers on August 27 to debate on the need for such a law. On August 12, the Supreme Court had ruled that there could be no state quotas or reservations in unaided private professional institutions, whether minority or non-minority.

Advani supports Modi despite growing dissidence (Go To Top)

     Radhanpur (Gujarat)/ New Delhi: BJP president Lal Krishna Advani on Sunday openly defended Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, even as dissent against the latter grew within the party in the state. Crisis has gripped the BJP since early this month after an anti- Modi camp, led by former state chief minister Keshubhai Patel met the party's top brass in New Delhi demanding action against Modi's high-handedness and dictatorial style of functioning. "I have no words left to congratulate Narendra Modi and his team. The government of Gujarat has been able to show the entire nation a path. They have proved that one can follow this path and move towards development and prosperity," said Advani at a rally here. Advani, on a two-day visit to Gujarat, has also been accused by some leaders of favouring Modi. One of Modi's most bitter critics, Madan Lal Khurana, was earlier, on Saturday expelled from the party for indiscipline, following the coming out in the media, a letter he wrote to Advani seeking Modi's dismissal. Khurana had in his letter said, that Modi had looked the other way, while Gujarat burned. Khurana who is yet to reply to a show cause notice served to him said, that it saddened him that the party was leaving behind those, who helped establish it, for the likes of Modi. "It is a matter of great pain, like I have been saying from the very beginning, that the stalwarts, the people who helped establish the BJP...like you take the example of Gujarat, people like Modi are replacing them. I have mentioned this to Advani ji (Lal Krishna Advani)," Khurana told reporters on the sidelines of Sikh meeting in New Delhi.

Encephalitis toll in Uttar Pradesh raises to 129 (Go To Top)

     Gorakhpur: Health officials in Uttar Pradesh have said that the death toll in an encephalitis outbreak has gone up to 129. Most of the dead, officials said were children, adding that more than 170 were in hospital, with many of them in critical conditions. People are also worried that so many deaths have occurred and children were falling ill. Encephalitis, an acute form of brain fever, is caused by a virus spread by mosquitoes and proliferates in water-logged parts of India during the monsoon season. Last year, about 50 people died of the disease in Uttar Pradesh.

It's now puppies' turn to be hit by water-borne diseases (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: After taking its toll on human beings, it is now the turn of pets in Mumbai to be hit by diseases. Death toll of animals due to water-borne diseases in the country's financial capital has touched 210 with more and more cases being reported daily. In the past 15 days, the number of dogs brought with infections after the floods has gone up to 318. RD Velhankar, Assistant Professor, Bombay Veterinary College, said almost 90 per cent of the dogs were suffering from jaundice, three per cent from gastroenterititis, and others from viral infections. "After the heavy rains, that is, after 26th, along with the human beings, animals have also started falling sick. The trend has generally been seen in animals like dogs, where we encountered cases of jaundice, gastroenterititis, vomiting and the like. Due to change in diet, we normally get cases of diarrhoea as well, but this time we encountered as many as 30-40 cases, more than the usual numbers, we expect every year," said Velhankar. Velhankar said that that they have advised the dog owners to get their pets re- vaccinated as a precautionary measure. Rajesh Pillai, a resident, said his dog Tommy was admitted to the Bombay Veterinary hospital for the past three weeks after developing symptoms of diarrhoea. "His condition became really bad and he started vomiting blood and the stools were also bloody. I did not know what to do, and got him admitted," said Pillai. Environmentalists and social groups have termed the flooding in the city of 15 million as perhaps the world's biggest manmade disaster. Two days of incessant rain caused floods and landslides killing nearly 1,000 people, and rendering more than 94 people victim to water-borne diseases as the water receded.

Khurana remains defiant against Advani (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: A day after his suspension from the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on grounds of indiscipline, Madan Lal Khurana was today defiant and said that he always has been a disciplined member of the party. "The incident has not demoralised me. I have been associated with RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and later the BJP since my childhood. I have devoted my entire life serving the causes taken up by the Party. I'm hurt the way people are behaving, said Khurana, adding that he has not received any notice about his suspension so far. Madan Lal Khurana, believed to have the backing of the RSS, clearly indicated that he is not ready to give up the fight easily, and will put up stiff resistance. According to sources, Khurana has got support of a section within the Bharatiya Janata Party too, particularly those who are opposed to the Party President L K Advani, against whom he dared to raise his voice. Khurana's suspension episode, it is believed is not the end the controversy, but the beginning of another campaign against L. K. Advani who has been the centre of a controversy ever since he praised Mohammed Ali Jinnah during his recent visit to Pakistan.

India lift Commonwealth Boxing championship (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Indian boxers have added another glorious chapter in sports' history book by winning the Commonwealth Boxing Championship, claiming nine medals that include four gold in the fourth edition of the held at Glasglow in Scotland. Indians, who had already assured themselves for a top finish after seven of their boxers had entered into the final, also claimed three silver and two bronze medals to relegate England and hosts Scotland to the second and third position respectively. Som Bahadur Pun, who was declared the 'most courageous boxer of the championship', led the Indian gold rush beating Herbert Nkabiti in the 64 kg final. The Indian star boxer, Pun, won with 19:14 points. For Akhil Kumar it was a tough bout. He pipped Bongani Mahalangu of South Africa by a narrow margin, 18:17, for the yellow metal in the 54 kg final. Besides, the other two gold medalists were A L Lakra (57 kg) and Jitender Kumar (+91 kg). Lakra recorded an easy 12:5 win over Stephen Smith of England, while Kumar beat Greg Weenink of New Zealands 12:8, the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation said in a release here today. Balbir Singh, who was being viewed as a favourite to win a gold medal, had to contend with a silver medal after the junior national champion failed to live upto the expectations during his 12:25 loss against Mohammed Nazir of Wales in the 48 kg category final. Vijender (69kg) and Arun Singh (51kg) bagged silver medals after losing their respective finals against the Bongani Mwalase and Botswana boxers Lechedzani Luza on points.

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