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Uma launches Bharatiya Janashakti Party

      Ujjain: Expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharati formally launched her political party 'Bharatiya Janashakti Party' here on Sunday. Interestingly, Uma's party will also be known by the same acronym as her previous party, the BJP. Uma announced her party's name and its flag after seeking the blessings of Mahakal, the ruling deity of Ujjain on the banks of Shipra River. In the presence of over hundred founder members, the fire-brand leader said that she would adhere to the five principles -- Swabhiman, Suraksha, Swadeshi, Shuchita and Suraj. Erstwhile BJP leader Sanghpriya Gautam would be the party's national Vice President, while BJP Vice-President Raghunandan Sharma was named as the all India General Secretary and Anita Singh the treasurer. Uma was expelled for the BJP last year on the grounds of indiscipline following a public outrage on senior BJP leaders. Her expulsion from the party prompted her into launching two successive yatras or movements to win public support to her cause and ideals. In 2003, she led BJP to big win in MP state assembly elections and was elected from Bara Malehra and became state's first woman

Sikhs burn book for insulting gurus (Go To Top)

     Ludhiana: Hundreds of Sikhs took out a protest march in Ludhiana today burning copies of a history book for allegedly using derogatory language and facts about their Gurus. Protestors said that the book 'History of Punjab', authored by Md Latif, which was written over a hundred years ago, and translated into Punjabi by former VC of Punjab University Gurumukh Singh, allegedly contained objectionable facts about some of the revered Sikh gurus. People said the book described several Sikh gurus as thieves and bandits. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru was described as timid and a servant of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, while Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth Sikh guru was portrayed as a plunderer. "False things have been written about our Gurus in the book, which we will not tolerate. The book says that Guru Har Gobind Das was a dacoit and he was arrested for that crime. The book also says that Guru Teg Bahadur was beheaded in Delhi because he was a thief," said Dr. Balwant Singh, a protester. "According to the book Guru Gobind Singh got scared when he was asked to sacrifice the life of his sons. Not a single Hindu or Sikh in the country will tolerate this," he said. People burnt copies of the book and demanded that the government step in to stop the publication of the book. Protesters even demanded that the government take strict action against the publishers. "The government should impose a ban on this book. We request the Punjab Chief Minister to deal with the matter personally and impose a ban on this book," added Gurinder Pal Singh, another protester.

Pramod Mahajan's condition critical (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: Condition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Pramod Mahajan continues to be 'critical but stable' on Sunday, twenty-four hours after he underwent a surgical procedure. Doctors of the Hinduja Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment after being shot at by his younger brother Pravin Mahajan on last Saturday, said that the BJP leader continued to remain on ventilator support and dialysis. "He is stable following the operation carried out by Dr G B Davar and his team yesterday," Anupam Verma, Director (Administration), Hinduja Hospital said. Verma said that there was no significant change in Mahajan's health since the past one week. After the operation yesterday, Verma had informed the media- persons that the leader's "liver injury appeared contained, requiring no further intervention". Speaking on behalf of London-based liver transplant specialist Dr. Mohammad Rela, Dr. Verma had said that liver transplantation was never required nor considered as a treatment option for Mahajan. Mahajan had undergone a similar operation even earlier. The first surgery was conducted on the morning of April 22 after his brother Pravin shot him at point-blank range. The second surgery for removing the packs from the liver was carried out earlier on the evening of April 23. Three bullets, one in the muscle of the back (Left Para spinal muscle L2), second in the subcutaneous tissue of the back and the third one in the body of T12 vertebra are still present in Mahajan's body.

Quota issue to be resolved soon: Arjun (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Arjun Singh today said the Centre would soon take steps to resolve the reservation issue for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Singh said that the reservation issue was getting attention at all levels and he was hopeful that the issue would be resolved within next couple of months. "The issue of reservation is getting attention at all levels and I think by the next couple of months, when the new session will start, we will work on an action plan, which will help to overcome this issue," Singh said. Singh's statement comes three days after anti-reservation protest by medical students in New Delhi made headlines. Police resorted to firing teargas shells and using water cannons against the students to control the situation. Regarding the reservation issue in the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Singh said: "The minority status has been restored in the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Taking cognisance of the present circumstances, there is no point of reservation in AMU". The controversy surrounding the OBC reservation in the educational institutes came to fore when Arjun Singh earlier this month, announced the Centre's plan to reserve 27 percent seats for the OBC in all central universities. Twenty seven percent reservation for the OBCs, along with 22.5 percent reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, would take the total reservation to almost 50 percent in educational institutes in the country. Though the HRD Minister have cited the 93rd constitutional amendment passed unanimously by Parliament as a tool for bringing the quota for the OBC students, a great amount of criticism against the latest move has come not only from the students but also from some ministers in the cabinet like Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, who have openly criticised against the move. The Centre is likely to introduce a bill in Parliament in this regard during the coming session of Parliament, beginning May 10.

Subcontinent is 2011 World Cup host (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: After a gap of 15 years the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup is finally returning to the Subcontinent. The ICC Executive Board, which met in Dubai on Sunday, awarded the 2011 World Cup cricket hosting rights to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The decision came after hectic meetings, as the ICC earlier decided to postpone the decision for a later date. The four Asian countries, in spite of having a late bid, came out successfully by defeating contenders Australia and New Zealand by a huge margin. Among the thirteen member nations, 10 gave their vote in favour of Asia, with three others voting in favour of Australia and New Zealand. BCCI Vice President Lalit Modi said after the meeting: "We are looking forward to it. A lot of work has to go in. The four countries will jointly sit down along with ICC to chalk out plans for hosting the 2011 World Cup. ICC today also announced the host countries for 2015 and 2019 World Cup. Australia and New Zealand will jointly host the 2015 edition and England the 2019 World Cup. It was the financial might leveraged by India that led the ICC to award the 2011 hosting rights to Asia. At the presentation ceremony, India showed that compared to Australia and New Zealand the revenues coming to the ICC by hosting the 2011 World Cup on the Asian soil would it four times richer. With four out of the six official sponsors from India, the Asian bid faced little difficulty in pulling through the bidding process. Since 1975, when the World Cup came into existence, this will be third time that the Subcontinent would host the games after 1987 and 1996.