New Delhi, May 12, 2009
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Stage
set for fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections
New
Delhi: The stage is set for the fifth and last phase of Lok Sabha elections
in 86 constituencies in seven States and two Union Territories on Wednesday. In
this phase, polling will take place in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh
, Jammu and Kashmir , Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab; and two Union Territories
- Chandigarh , Puducherry. Elections will be held to four seats in Himachal Pradesh,
two in Jammu and Kashmir, nine in Punjab, 39 in Tamil Nadu, 14 in Uttar Pradesh,
11 in West Bengal, five in Uttarakhand, the lone one seat each in Chandigarh and
Puducherry. Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are the only states to have undergone
polls in all the five phases. The prominent contestants in the fray are Congress's
P. Chidambaram and Mohd. Azharuddin, BJP's Maneka Gandhi, Varun Gandhi, Mukhtar
Abbas Naqvi and Vinod Khanna, DMK's M K Azhagiri, Dayanidhi Maran, T R Baalu and
A Raja, MDMK's Vaiko, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party's
Jayaprada. The other important contestants in the fray are Mani Shankar Aiyar
, Navjot Singh Sidhu , Sajjad Gani Lone, and Tamil actor M Karthik. So far, elections
have been completed to 457 seats since the exercise began on April 16. On May
7, the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections held for 85 constituencies spread
across seven States had witnessed 57 per cent voting of the total 9.46 crore eligible
votes. The first, second and third phases of polling were held on April 16, 23
and 30 respectively. The counting of votes will take place on May 16. The 543-member
House will be constituted before June 2.
Jayaprada's
hotel room raided in Rampur Top
Rampur:
Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate from the Rampur Lok Sabha seat Jayaprada's
hotel room was raided by the police late on Monday night. Her supporters claim
that it was another attempt to harm Jayaprada. Earlier, she accused her fellow
SP leader Azam Khan of being involved in cheap campaigning against her, and added
that she would take the matter to the Election Commission. The actress-turned
politician further alleged that Khan and his supporters had released CDs and posters
that were not good in taste. Claiming that she considered Khan as her elder brother,
Jayaprada said the senior SP leader was hell-bent upon spoiling her image.
Separatists
force shutdown in Kashmir Top
Srinagar:
Hard line faction of separatist in Kashmir led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani has
called for a 50-hour shutdown to protest against polls in the valley. The Government
forces are patrolling street to prevent planned protests against elections. The
shops remained closed. Voting is scheduled in Baramulla district of the valley
on Wednesday. Movement was restricted and residents found it hard to venture out
of their homes for getting daily supplies. The loss occurred to their businesses
due to these frequent shutdowns has also generated anger amongst the people as
they realise the futility of these strikes. "We face lot of problems. The police
do not let us venture out of our homes. We cannot go to work. Instead of bringing
any good, this shutdown is causing loss," said Shafeeq Hussain , a resident. The
boycott call came suddenly before the polling day. The separatists had to suffer
a major setback after residents defied the boycott call given by the Hurriyat
during the State Assembly polls held in November 2008 and came out in large numbers
to cast their votes. A prominent Kashmiri separatist leader Sajjad Lone, who had
given a call for poll boycott during the state elections, has decided to contest
during these general elections and raise the voices of Kashmiris in the Parliament.
Besides the Congress party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the National
Conference (NC) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) are also contesting in
the elections.
UP
Govt challenges revocation of NSA on Varun Gandhi Top
New
Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Government on Tuesday filed a petition in the Supreme
Court, challenging the recent quashing of the National Security Act (NSA) on BJP
leader Varun Gandhi. In its petition, the government has argued that the Advisory
Board's decision was incorrect, as it had ignored several cogent evidences against
Varun. The imposition of NSA on Varun by Mayawati Government has been termed invalid
by the UP Advisory Board appointed by Allahabad High Court to go into the merits
of the case. Varun had submitted his representation before an Advisory Board in
the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on April 28 against slapping of
the NSA over his alleged hate speech in Pilibhit. As the ultimate statutory authority
on the NSA, the Advisory Board has the right to approve or revoke the government
order invoking the act against Varun. The verdict of the Advisory Board is final
and if it chooses to revoke the NSA, Varun would be set free with immediate effect.
The Supreme Court on May 2 had extended the interim bail of Varun till May 14.
Varun was charged for making highly inflammatory anti-Muslim utterances during
his poll campaign in Pilibhit.
Architect
of Indian Navy's 1971 victory Admiral Nanda dead Top
New
Delhi: Former Navy Chief Admiral Sardari Mathradas Nanda, who made the country
realise the full potential of the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pak war of 1971,
died in the capital after a prolonged illness. Admiral Nanda was 94 and died at
about 11 p.m. on Monday in Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj. He was cremated with
full honours at the Brar Square crematorium in Delhi Cantonment at about 4 p.m.
on Tuesday Condoling his death, Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said: "In his
passing, the nation has lost a hero and a visionary leader, who contributed significantly
to the growth of the modern Indian Navy." "He will always be remembered in the
most glowing terms for his leadership of the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pak Conflict
of 1971, in which the Indian Navy carved its name in golden letters in the annals
of history by its sterling offensive actions," he added. Admiral Nanda assumed
the charge of the Indian Navy as the sixth Chief of Naval Staff on February 28,
1970. Born in 1915, he joined the Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve in October
1941. Prior to his joining the RINVR, he had served with Port Trust in Karachi.
In 1948, Admiral Nanda joined the Navy's first cruiser INS Delhi in the United
Kingdom as her First Lieutenant. He later commanded the destroyer, INS Ranjit,
as well as a Frigate Squadron. In 1957, Admiral Nanda commissioned the cruiser
INS Mysore in the United Kingdom. He became the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff
(DCNS) in May 1962. Admiral Nanda was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM)
for the distinguished service of a very high order in 1966. He commanded the Indian
Navy during the 1971 Indo-Pak War and steered it to a resounding victory. The
Indian Navy humbled their Pakistani counterparts, gaining complete control over
the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea during the war. Admiral Nanda retired in
1973 after completing over 31 years of exceptional service.
DD
Lapang to be sworn in as Meghalaya CM Top
New
Delhi: The Congress party stitched an alliance with regional outfit UDP following
failure of talks with the NCP to form the government in Meghalaya. Senior Congress
leader DD Lapang will be sworn in on Wednesday as Chief Minister of Meghalaya.
Lapang, who arrived at Shillong from New Delhi on Tuesday morning, called on Governor
R S Mooshary and enclosed a letter of support from the UDP and independent MLA
Donkupar Massar, taking the tally of the alliance to 37 members in the 60-member
Assembly. The Meghalaya United Alliance (led by Congress) has got the majority
for formation and continuation of a viable government after coming of UDP to its
fold, Lapang said. "We have signed an agreement before the Governor pledging our
support to the Congress. The new government will be sworn in tomorrow. We have
been given two berths in the cabinet," UDP president and former Chief Minister
Donkupar Roy told reporters. As per the agreement the UDP will get a deputy chief
ministership and a cabinet berth. There was no official word from the Congress,
but party insiders said "unreasonable demands" by the NCP like five berths and
opposition from a good chunk of state Congress members prompted the party to align
with the UDP.
1.3
m refugees flee northwestern Pakistan to escape fighting Top
Mardan:
The number of refugees fleeing from the Sawt Valley in northwestern Pakistan lifted
to 1.3 million people after the Pakistani Army dropped commandos behind Taliban
lines to end their resistance. The army offensive has also unleashed a tide of
refugees, whose plight could sap public support for the kind of sustained action
against an increasingly interlinked array of Islamist extremists that the cash-strapped
Pakistan's Western backers want to see. Including some half-million who fled fighting
in the Bajur border region last year, an army officer said on Tuesday that the
total number displaced in the northwest had risen to 1.3 million, The News reported.
The UN has registered 360,000 refugees from the latest fighting. About 30,000
are living in hot, tented camps established just south of the war zone. Choppers
inserted troops into the remote Peochar area in the upper reaches of the Swat
Valley, a Pakistani Army statement said. Officials identified it as the rear-base
of an estimated 4,000 Taliban militants also entrenched in Swat's main towns.
It is seen as possible hiding place of Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah. A
military spokesman declined to give details of the Peochar assault, but a senior
government official expressed optimism that the battle for Swat might prove short.
"The way they (militants) are being beaten, the way their recruits are fleeing,
and the way the Pakistan army is using its strategy, God willing the operation
will be completed very soon," Interior Minister Rehman Malik said. Pakistani authorities
launched a full-scale assault on Swat and surrounding districts last week after
the Taliban pushed out from the valley on the back of a now-defunct peace deal
and extended their control to areas just 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the capital,
Islamabad. The military response has won praise from American officials, who insist
Islamabad must eliminate safe havens used by militants to undermine the pro-Western
governments in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Pakistan's
leadership on 'vacation' amid NWFP crisis Top
Lahore:
While Pakistan is facing one of its worst crises in history, top political leaders
of the country are planning on a 'vacation' abroad. President Asif Ali Zardari
is in the United States, and has extended his stay abroad. It is now learnt that
Zardari would also be visiting Britain and France before returning home. Former
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is in Dubai. He is scheduled to participate in a marriage
ceremony and is the guest of the royal family there, The Nation reports. Punjab
Governor Salman Taseer too is in Dubai on a private visit. Prime Minister Yousuf
Raza Gilani is in the country, but his presence is barely being felt during the
entire crisis.
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