A Studs Viewpoint: AMU shut down indefinitely after violent clashes: "suchithkc Aligarh, Apr 30 : The Aligarh Muslim University was today shut down indefinitely following violent clashes between two rival gro..."
suchithkc
Saturday, April 30, 2011
AMU shut down indefinitely after violent clashes
suchithkc
Aligarh, Apr 30 : The Aligarh Muslim University was today shut down indefinitely following violent clashes between two rival groups of students that left around 12 of them injured.
One group belonging to Bihar and eastern UP and the other to western UP and some others parts opened fire and indulged in brick-batting in the university campus last night.
"The AMU has been closed sine die in the early hours of today following a faction feud between two groups," AMU spokesman Rahat Abrar said.
About half-a-dozen students belonging to two factions have been injured in incidents of firing and brick-batting between the rival groups, he said.
However, police sources said that around 12 have been injured in the clash and around six of them have received pellet injuries.
The trigger for the clashes was a scuffle between some students who had gone to the University Controller of Examinations on Thursday to point out some irregularities.
Prominent student leader Mushtaq Ahmed said, "The main clash took place last evening when a group of students had gone to the university proctor''s office to file a complaint regarding a clash between two rival factions near Zakaria market adjoining the university campus".
Mushtaq, who was the convenor of the student action committee which earlier played a key role in the restoration of the AMU students union, alleged that while one group of students was entering the proctor''s office unprovoked firing was triggered off by some unruly elements who were "present at the proctor''s office from before".
Abrar said orders have been issued to vacate all hostels within next 48 hours.
The decision to close the university was taken on the basis of a report by the district administration suggesting that the situation could worsen if strong precautionary measures are not taken, he said.
Demanding a probe into the incident, Mushtaq said all student leaders are trying their best to restore complete normalcy at the campus so that the entire exam schedule and academic calendar is not completely thrown out of gear. The main university exams are scheduled for next week.
Former secretary of the AMU teachers association Jamshed Siddiqi said, "Yesterday''s violence is a result of the complete moral failure of the entire university administration. He has demanded immediate action against those officials responsible for this incident".
Wasim Ahmed, former Rajya Sabha member and present member of the AMU court, has demanded the immediate removal of the present AMU administration including the vice chancellor blaming them for the present crisis.
Ahmed said yesterday''s incident marks a total breakdown of law and order at the campus and the central government should no longer remain a mute spectator to "wrong doings which have been going on at the campus since the last few years".
Aligarh, Apr 30 : The Aligarh Muslim University was today shut down indefinitely following violent clashes between two rival groups of students that left around 12 of them injured.
One group belonging to Bihar and eastern UP and the other to western UP and some others parts opened fire and indulged in brick-batting in the university campus last night.
"The AMU has been closed sine die in the early hours of today following a faction feud between two groups," AMU spokesman Rahat Abrar said.
About half-a-dozen students belonging to two factions have been injured in incidents of firing and brick-batting between the rival groups, he said.
However, police sources said that around 12 have been injured in the clash and around six of them have received pellet injuries.
The trigger for the clashes was a scuffle between some students who had gone to the University Controller of Examinations on Thursday to point out some irregularities.
Prominent student leader Mushtaq Ahmed said, "The main clash took place last evening when a group of students had gone to the university proctor''s office to file a complaint regarding a clash between two rival factions near Zakaria market adjoining the university campus".
Mushtaq, who was the convenor of the student action committee which earlier played a key role in the restoration of the AMU students union, alleged that while one group of students was entering the proctor''s office unprovoked firing was triggered off by some unruly elements who were "present at the proctor''s office from before".
Abrar said orders have been issued to vacate all hostels within next 48 hours.
The decision to close the university was taken on the basis of a report by the district administration suggesting that the situation could worsen if strong precautionary measures are not taken, he said.
Demanding a probe into the incident, Mushtaq said all student leaders are trying their best to restore complete normalcy at the campus so that the entire exam schedule and academic calendar is not completely thrown out of gear. The main university exams are scheduled for next week.
Former secretary of the AMU teachers association Jamshed Siddiqi said, "Yesterday''s violence is a result of the complete moral failure of the entire university administration. He has demanded immediate action against those officials responsible for this incident".
Wasim Ahmed, former Rajya Sabha member and present member of the AMU court, has demanded the immediate removal of the present AMU administration including the vice chancellor blaming them for the present crisis.
Ahmed said yesterday''s incident marks a total breakdown of law and order at the campus and the central government should no longer remain a mute spectator to "wrong doings which have been going on at the campus since the last few years".
Where Have All the Myths Gone?
suchithkc
Abandoned children, scorned suitors, valiant women and men struggling against fate, shape-shifting tricksters, Pyrrhic victories and rites of passage. All this and more, one would imagine, is rich fodder for the novelist. However, mythology and its tropes -- "public dreams", as Joseph Campbell once called them -- seem to be all but absent from the contemporary novel.
Exceptions do exist, of course, the most famous being Joyce's Ulysses, patterned on the events of The Odyssey. More recently, Salman Rushdie used the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice to underpin his "rock'n'roll novel", The Ground Beneath Her Feet. His earlier Midnight's Children, too, played with Indian myth, especially when it came to the characters of Major Shiva and Parvati-the-witch. Magic realism as a genre is especially suited to the recreation and subversion of myth, but it's not the only way to do it: see Zachary Mason's The Lost Books of the Odyssey, full of delicious re-imaginings and inversions of Odysseus' return to Ithaca.
Such examples, though, are few and far between, barring work set in ancient times — such as the novels of Mary Renault — or those working in fantasy and science fiction who use myth to give resonance to otherworldly settings. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, for instance, was supposed to be inspired in part by Nordic sagas. Young adult fiction, too, makes rich use of myths: take Rick Riordan's The Lightening Thief, not to mention the exploits of a certain bespectacled young wizard.
Some of the titles from British publisher Canongate's Myths series are instructive in what they reveal about the way we look at ancient myths today. Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad, re-tells The Odyssey from the point of view of a self-conscious Penelope and her serving maids. Jeannette Winterson's The Weight presents Atlas as a hero pondering over fate and responsibility. Alessandro Barricco's An Iliad removes references to the gods and their actions on the battlefield. (Wolfgang Peterson's Hollywood epic, Troy, did the same thing. Both works suffer as a consequence.)
This really is at the heart of the modern novelist's discomfort with myth. In our post-Enlightenment age, it's secular verities that are supposed to prevail, not religious ones. Free will — and the free market — is the presiding deity. Thus, the gods, when they do appear in fiction, are treated with dark irony, as with John Banville's The Infinities, or for comic effect, as with Marie Philips' Gods Behaving Badly.
However, to think of the appearance and actions of divinities in ancient epics as exclusively religious and sacred would be a mistake. Those who inhabit Mount Olympus are an egoistic, quarrelsome lot, not to mention endowed with boundless libido. Many Indian counterparts are no better.
In recent times, myths seem to have vanished from Indian writing in English, too. Raja Rao made use of Puranic parallels in The Snake and the Rope; Shashi Tharoor had a great premise — which suffered a bit in the telling — in grafting The Mahabharata onto Indian politics with The Great Indian Novel; Vikram Chandra's first, Red Earth and Pouring Rain played with folklore. After that, however, we've only had to contend with Manil Suri's somewhat tepid The Death of Vishnu and The Age of Shiva. The exception, again, is genre and fantasy: Ashok Banker's retellings of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, for example, or Amish Tripathi's The Immortals of Meluha.
It's not that one doesn't come across fictional versions of heroic journeys and quests nowadays; it's simply that they ring hollow, being unwittingly unmoored from their origins. Myths are timeless for a reason: they represent what is unchanging about, and fascinating to, the human race. In the introductory volume of the Canongate series referred to earlier, Karen Armstrong writes, "Like a novel, opera or ballet, myth is make-believe; it is a game that transfigures our fragmented, tragic world, and helps us to glimpse new possibilities by asking 'what if?' " Reason enough for more writers to take a dip in the River Styx.
Abandoned children, scorned suitors, valiant women and men struggling against fate, shape-shifting tricksters, Pyrrhic victories and rites of passage. All this and more, one would imagine, is rich fodder for the novelist. However, mythology and its tropes -- "public dreams", as Joseph Campbell once called them -- seem to be all but absent from the contemporary novel.
Exceptions do exist, of course, the most famous being Joyce's Ulysses, patterned on the events of The Odyssey. More recently, Salman Rushdie used the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice to underpin his "rock'n'roll novel", The Ground Beneath Her Feet. His earlier Midnight's Children, too, played with Indian myth, especially when it came to the characters of Major Shiva and Parvati-the-witch. Magic realism as a genre is especially suited to the recreation and subversion of myth, but it's not the only way to do it: see Zachary Mason's The Lost Books of the Odyssey, full of delicious re-imaginings and inversions of Odysseus' return to Ithaca.
Such examples, though, are few and far between, barring work set in ancient times — such as the novels of Mary Renault — or those working in fantasy and science fiction who use myth to give resonance to otherworldly settings. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, for instance, was supposed to be inspired in part by Nordic sagas. Young adult fiction, too, makes rich use of myths: take Rick Riordan's The Lightening Thief, not to mention the exploits of a certain bespectacled young wizard.
Some of the titles from British publisher Canongate's Myths series are instructive in what they reveal about the way we look at ancient myths today. Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad, re-tells The Odyssey from the point of view of a self-conscious Penelope and her serving maids. Jeannette Winterson's The Weight presents Atlas as a hero pondering over fate and responsibility. Alessandro Barricco's An Iliad removes references to the gods and their actions on the battlefield. (Wolfgang Peterson's Hollywood epic, Troy, did the same thing. Both works suffer as a consequence.)
This really is at the heart of the modern novelist's discomfort with myth. In our post-Enlightenment age, it's secular verities that are supposed to prevail, not religious ones. Free will — and the free market — is the presiding deity. Thus, the gods, when they do appear in fiction, are treated with dark irony, as with John Banville's The Infinities, or for comic effect, as with Marie Philips' Gods Behaving Badly.
However, to think of the appearance and actions of divinities in ancient epics as exclusively religious and sacred would be a mistake. Those who inhabit Mount Olympus are an egoistic, quarrelsome lot, not to mention endowed with boundless libido. Many Indian counterparts are no better.
In recent times, myths seem to have vanished from Indian writing in English, too. Raja Rao made use of Puranic parallels in The Snake and the Rope; Shashi Tharoor had a great premise — which suffered a bit in the telling — in grafting The Mahabharata onto Indian politics with The Great Indian Novel; Vikram Chandra's first, Red Earth and Pouring Rain played with folklore. After that, however, we've only had to contend with Manil Suri's somewhat tepid The Death of Vishnu and The Age of Shiva. The exception, again, is genre and fantasy: Ashok Banker's retellings of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, for example, or Amish Tripathi's The Immortals of Meluha.
It's not that one doesn't come across fictional versions of heroic journeys and quests nowadays; it's simply that they ring hollow, being unwittingly unmoored from their origins. Myths are timeless for a reason: they represent what is unchanging about, and fascinating to, the human race. In the introductory volume of the Canongate series referred to earlier, Karen Armstrong writes, "Like a novel, opera or ballet, myth is make-believe; it is a game that transfigures our fragmented, tragic world, and helps us to glimpse new possibilities by asking 'what if?' " Reason enough for more writers to take a dip in the River Styx.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Will quit as Sena chief if bribery charge proved: Thackeray
suchithkc
Mumbai, Apr 29 : Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray today said he would quit as chief of the party he founded four decades ago, if Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane''s charge that the Sena was approached by 11 corporate houses with an offer of Rs 500 crore to scuttle the Jaitapur Nuclear Power project is proved.
"I will quit as Sena chief if the allegations are proved," 83-year old Thackeray said in a statement released by Sena mouthpiece ''Saamana'' here.
"If the allegations cannot be substantiated, Rane should quit the ministry," he said.
The Sena chief also came down heavily on Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan over the latter''s tacit support to Rane on the issue.
"Chavan is the most ''brainless'' and inefficient chief minister so far," Thackeray said.
The Sena chief''s son and party executive president Uddhav Thackeray also joined in, saying Chavan is the "weakest CM so far and one who tells blatant lies."
Recently, Bal Thackeray had flayed Rane, saying "Was Rane counting the money that the Sena was offered Rs 500 crore to oppose the Jaitapur (nuclear) power plant?"
"People who know Rane, won''t find the allegations surprising. The same person had alleged that some Congress leaders had a connection with Pakistani terrorists after 26/11 Mumbai attacks," Thackeray had said in an editorial of the party mouthpiece Saamna. .
Mumbai, Apr 29 : Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray today said he would quit as chief of the party he founded four decades ago, if Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane''s charge that the Sena was approached by 11 corporate houses with an offer of Rs 500 crore to scuttle the Jaitapur Nuclear Power project is proved.
"I will quit as Sena chief if the allegations are proved," 83-year old Thackeray said in a statement released by Sena mouthpiece ''Saamana'' here.
"If the allegations cannot be substantiated, Rane should quit the ministry," he said.
The Sena chief also came down heavily on Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan over the latter''s tacit support to Rane on the issue.
"Chavan is the most ''brainless'' and inefficient chief minister so far," Thackeray said.
The Sena chief''s son and party executive president Uddhav Thackeray also joined in, saying Chavan is the "weakest CM so far and one who tells blatant lies."
Recently, Bal Thackeray had flayed Rane, saying "Was Rane counting the money that the Sena was offered Rs 500 crore to oppose the Jaitapur (nuclear) power plant?"
"People who know Rane, won''t find the allegations surprising. The same person had alleged that some Congress leaders had a connection with Pakistani terrorists after 26/11 Mumbai attacks," Thackeray had said in an editorial of the party mouthpiece Saamna. .
HC asks Hasan Ali Khan to move special court for bail
suchithkc
Mumbai, Apr 29 : Refusing to grant bail to Pune-based stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan, accused of stashing away billions of dollars in overseas accounts, the Bombay High Court today asked him to approach the special court handling Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases.
Disposing of Khan''s bail application, Justice R C Chavan told his lawyer that "why have you come here directly instead of moving the special court as directed by the Supreme Court?"
The apex court, while cancelling the bail granted to Khan by the special court initially, had asked him to approach the same court afresh for bail.
But Khan''s counsel, advocate I P Bagadia, today said his client had withdrawn the bail application in the special court because there were no prosecutors there. "In the absence of prosecutors, how can I argue?" he said.
However, the Judge remarked "in the case of this nature, the prosecuting agency will not allow its case to go by default. Moreover, it is for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to decide the issue".
Khan, who was arrested in the first week of March by ED, is currently in judicial custody on charges of massive money laundering, tax evasion and stashing away huge amounts in foreign banks.
Opposing Khan''s bail plea, Additional Solicitor General, Darius Khambata, submitted ED was going to file chargesheet in the next few days and needed Khan''s custody again for three days.
Khan is suspected to have stashed away USD eight billion US abroad, he said.
Investigations had reached a very crucial stage and granting him bail at this juncture would jeopardise the case as he was an influential person with wide contacts inside the country and abroad, Khambata argued.
Mumbai, Apr 29 : Refusing to grant bail to Pune-based stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan, accused of stashing away billions of dollars in overseas accounts, the Bombay High Court today asked him to approach the special court handling Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases.
Disposing of Khan''s bail application, Justice R C Chavan told his lawyer that "why have you come here directly instead of moving the special court as directed by the Supreme Court?"
The apex court, while cancelling the bail granted to Khan by the special court initially, had asked him to approach the same court afresh for bail.
But Khan''s counsel, advocate I P Bagadia, today said his client had withdrawn the bail application in the special court because there were no prosecutors there. "In the absence of prosecutors, how can I argue?" he said.
However, the Judge remarked "in the case of this nature, the prosecuting agency will not allow its case to go by default. Moreover, it is for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to decide the issue".
Khan, who was arrested in the first week of March by ED, is currently in judicial custody on charges of massive money laundering, tax evasion and stashing away huge amounts in foreign banks.
Opposing Khan''s bail plea, Additional Solicitor General, Darius Khambata, submitted ED was going to file chargesheet in the next few days and needed Khan''s custody again for three days.
Khan is suspected to have stashed away USD eight billion US abroad, he said.
Investigations had reached a very crucial stage and granting him bail at this juncture would jeopardise the case as he was an influential person with wide contacts inside the country and abroad, Khambata argued.
Kanimozhi actively participated in Kalaignar TV management
suchithkc
New Delhi, Apr 29 : DMK MP Kanimozhi, named in the chargesheet in 2G spectrum case, has been actively involved in the day-to-day affairs of Kalaignar TV channel, said one of the directors of the channel.
P Amirtham, Director of Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd, who is one of the witnesses in the case, told CBI that Kanimozhi, who had only 20 per cent share in the firm, was actively involved in its day-to-day affair.
CBI has alleged that money associated with the 2G scam reached the Kalaignar TV through a circuitous route in which the companies having stake of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa played a major role. Balwa had allegedly pumped Rs 200 crore.
"On being asked, I state that Kanimozhi Karunanidhi was a founder director of Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd, Chennai. However, she resigned on June 20, 2007 from the board as Director because the necessary clearances from the Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi, were delayed.
"Nevertheless, she used to take keen interest in day-to- day affairs of the company," Amirtham, lined up as 132nd witness, said.
He said Kalaignar TV has taken an unsecured loan of Rs 200 crores from Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd at a lower interest rate and the latter was "pressing hard" for refund of the loan amount
New Delhi, Apr 29 : DMK MP Kanimozhi, named in the chargesheet in 2G spectrum case, has been actively involved in the day-to-day affairs of Kalaignar TV channel, said one of the directors of the channel.
P Amirtham, Director of Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd, who is one of the witnesses in the case, told CBI that Kanimozhi, who had only 20 per cent share in the firm, was actively involved in its day-to-day affair.
CBI has alleged that money associated with the 2G scam reached the Kalaignar TV through a circuitous route in which the companies having stake of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa played a major role. Balwa had allegedly pumped Rs 200 crore.
"On being asked, I state that Kanimozhi Karunanidhi was a founder director of Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd, Chennai. However, she resigned on June 20, 2007 from the board as Director because the necessary clearances from the Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi, were delayed.
"Nevertheless, she used to take keen interest in day-to- day affairs of the company," Amirtham, lined up as 132nd witness, said.
He said Kalaignar TV has taken an unsecured loan of Rs 200 crores from Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd at a lower interest rate and the latter was "pressing hard" for refund of the loan amount
Will quit as Sena chief if bribery charge proved: Thackeray
suchithkc
Mumbai, Apr 29 :) Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray today said he would quit as chief of the party he founded four decades ago, if Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane''s charge that the Sena was approached by 11 corporate houses with an offer of Rs 500 crore to scuttle the Jaitapur Nuclear Power project is proved.
"I will quit as Sena chief if the allegations are proved," 83-year old Thackeray said in a statement released by Sena mouthpiece ''Saamana'' here.
"If the allegations cannot be substantiated, Rane should quit the ministry," he said.
The Sena chief also came down heavily on Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan over the latter''s tacit support to Rane on the issue.
"Chavan is the most ''brainless'' and inefficient chief minister so far," Thackeray said.
The Sena chief''s son and party executive president Uddhav Thackeray also joined in, saying Chavan is the "weakest CM so far and one who tells blatant lies."
Recently, Bal Thackeray had flayed Rane, saying "Was Rane counting the money that the Sena was offered Rs 500 crore to oppose the Jaitapur (nuclear) power plant?"
"People who know Rane, won''t find the allegations surprising. The same person had alleged that some Congress leaders had a connection with Pakistani terrorists after 26/11 Mumbai attacks," Thackeray had said in an editorial of the party mouthpiece Saamna. .
Mumbai, Apr 29 :) Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray today said he would quit as chief of the party he founded four decades ago, if Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane''s charge that the Sena was approached by 11 corporate houses with an offer of Rs 500 crore to scuttle the Jaitapur Nuclear Power project is proved.
"I will quit as Sena chief if the allegations are proved," 83-year old Thackeray said in a statement released by Sena mouthpiece ''Saamana'' here.
"If the allegations cannot be substantiated, Rane should quit the ministry," he said.
The Sena chief also came down heavily on Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan over the latter''s tacit support to Rane on the issue.
"Chavan is the most ''brainless'' and inefficient chief minister so far," Thackeray said.
The Sena chief''s son and party executive president Uddhav Thackeray also joined in, saying Chavan is the "weakest CM so far and one who tells blatant lies."
Recently, Bal Thackeray had flayed Rane, saying "Was Rane counting the money that the Sena was offered Rs 500 crore to oppose the Jaitapur (nuclear) power plant?"
"People who know Rane, won''t find the allegations surprising. The same person had alleged that some Congress leaders had a connection with Pakistani terrorists after 26/11 Mumbai attacks," Thackeray had said in an editorial of the party mouthpiece Saamna. .
''Rural households paid over Rs 470cr bribe for basic services''
suchithkc
New Delhi, Apr 29 : Ranging from Re one to Rs 950, rural households in the country could have paid a whopping Rs 471.8 crore last year as bribe to avail basic facilities such as ration, health, education and water supply, says a study.
The ''India Corruption Study: 2010'' report prepared by Centre for Media Studies (CMS), a survey of 9,960 households in 12 states, says on an average a rural household could have paid Rs 164 as bribe for availing these facilities in a year.
The study said the total amount of Rs 471.8 crore is "equal or less" than the total expenditure made under MNREGA during 2010-11 in states like Assam, Gujarat, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra.
"The estimation of bribe amount paid by the rural households brings out an amount of Rs 471.8 crore...The percentage of rural households that paid bribe during the last year was relatively higher in PDS (11.5
per cent), followed by hospitals (9), schools (5.8), water (4.3)," the study said.
It claimed that the socio-economically weaker sections were most affected by corrupt practices in public services.
More than 40 per cent of rural households belonging to OBC and SCs felt that the level of corruption has increased in public services during the last one year while 28 per cent each opined that the level of corruption has remained the same, it said.
An analysis by income level indicated that three out of four rural households which had to pay bribe in any of the public services have monthly household income of Rs 5,000 or less, indicating the high dependence of the economically poor households on these public services.
"As reported by rural households, they had to pay even Rs one-two to get a family member examined as an out-patient, mostly to get the registration or OPD card and as high as Rs 900 to avail diagnostic services such as X-ray, blood or urine tests at a public health facility," the study said.
A rural household had to pay Rs five as bribe to get an application form for ration card while they had to pay as high as Rs 800 for getting a BPL card without documents, it said, adding, for getting admission form, rural households had to shell out Rs ten as bribe while some paid Rs 700-800 to get scholarship or admission in schools.
"For proper water supply, the bribe paid by households for various services ranged between Rs 15 and Rs 950. The wide gap between minimum and maximum amount paid as bribe for the same purpose indicate that even submission of a request requires paying bribe apart from paying bribe to get water at the right time to irrigate the agricultural field," it said.
The study said Rs 156.8 crore might have been given as bribe in PDS while for water supply services, rural households could have paid Rs 83.3 crore. Another Rs 130 crore have been paid to avail hospital services.
New Delhi, Apr 29 : Ranging from Re one to Rs 950, rural households in the country could have paid a whopping Rs 471.8 crore last year as bribe to avail basic facilities such as ration, health, education and water supply, says a study.
The ''India Corruption Study: 2010'' report prepared by Centre for Media Studies (CMS), a survey of 9,960 households in 12 states, says on an average a rural household could have paid Rs 164 as bribe for availing these facilities in a year.
The study said the total amount of Rs 471.8 crore is "equal or less" than the total expenditure made under MNREGA during 2010-11 in states like Assam, Gujarat, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra.
"The estimation of bribe amount paid by the rural households brings out an amount of Rs 471.8 crore...The percentage of rural households that paid bribe during the last year was relatively higher in PDS (11.5
per cent), followed by hospitals (9), schools (5.8), water (4.3)," the study said.
It claimed that the socio-economically weaker sections were most affected by corrupt practices in public services.
More than 40 per cent of rural households belonging to OBC and SCs felt that the level of corruption has increased in public services during the last one year while 28 per cent each opined that the level of corruption has remained the same, it said.
An analysis by income level indicated that three out of four rural households which had to pay bribe in any of the public services have monthly household income of Rs 5,000 or less, indicating the high dependence of the economically poor households on these public services.
"As reported by rural households, they had to pay even Rs one-two to get a family member examined as an out-patient, mostly to get the registration or OPD card and as high as Rs 900 to avail diagnostic services such as X-ray, blood or urine tests at a public health facility," the study said.
A rural household had to pay Rs five as bribe to get an application form for ration card while they had to pay as high as Rs 800 for getting a BPL card without documents, it said, adding, for getting admission form, rural households had to shell out Rs ten as bribe while some paid Rs 700-800 to get scholarship or admission in schools.
"For proper water supply, the bribe paid by households for various services ranged between Rs 15 and Rs 950. The wide gap between minimum and maximum amount paid as bribe for the same purpose indicate that even submission of a request requires paying bribe apart from paying bribe to get water at the right time to irrigate the agricultural field," it said.
The study said Rs 156.8 crore might have been given as bribe in PDS while for water supply services, rural households could have paid Rs 83.3 crore. Another Rs 130 crore have been paid to avail hospital services.
Striking Air India pilots remain defiant; ready to go to jail
suchithkc
Mumbai, Apr 29 : Despite the Delhi High Court ordering the striking Air India pilots to get back to work and the airline management threatening stern action and declaring a lock-out, the 850-plus agitating pilots today said they will go ahead with the stir and are willing to go the jail.
"We are more than willing to go jail. Nearly 31,000 Air India employees will also be ready to court arrest because we are serious about saving the national carrier from ruin," Rishab Kapur, General Secretary of the banned Indian Commercial Pilot Associations (ICPA), told reporters here this evening. The strike entered its third day today.
He demanded a CBI probe into "corruption" in the airline under the leadership of Managing Director Arvind Jadhav.
"We are willing to get back to work provided the Government assures that they will look into the corruption issue raised by us and order a CBI enquiry."
Kapur also demanded to make public portion of the Niira Radia tape that allegedly speaks about the hidden agenda of the Air India management to sell the Government-run airline to a private party.
Mumbai, Apr 29 : Despite the Delhi High Court ordering the striking Air India pilots to get back to work and the airline management threatening stern action and declaring a lock-out, the 850-plus agitating pilots today said they will go ahead with the stir and are willing to go the jail.
"We are more than willing to go jail. Nearly 31,000 Air India employees will also be ready to court arrest because we are serious about saving the national carrier from ruin," Rishab Kapur, General Secretary of the banned Indian Commercial Pilot Associations (ICPA), told reporters here this evening. The strike entered its third day today.
He demanded a CBI probe into "corruption" in the airline under the leadership of Managing Director Arvind Jadhav.
"We are willing to get back to work provided the Government assures that they will look into the corruption issue raised by us and order a CBI enquiry."
Kapur also demanded to make public portion of the Niira Radia tape that allegedly speaks about the hidden agenda of the Air India management to sell the Government-run airline to a private party.
Pilots strike: Additional Rajdhani type train for tomorrow
suchithkc
Kolkata, Apr 29 : To clear the extra rush of passengers in view of non-availability of Air India services, Eastern Railway will run an additional Rajdhani type superfast special train from Sealdah to New Delhi tomorrow.
The special train will start from Sealdah at 6.40 pm and reach New Delhi at 11.00 am on Sunday, an Eastern Railway release said here today.
Rajdhani fare will be charged for the journey and reservation will be available from all computerised railway reservation counters.
The train will stop at Dhanbad, Mughalsarai, Kanpur Central and New Delhi.
Kolkata, Apr 29 : To clear the extra rush of passengers in view of non-availability of Air India services, Eastern Railway will run an additional Rajdhani type superfast special train from Sealdah to New Delhi tomorrow.
The special train will start from Sealdah at 6.40 pm and reach New Delhi at 11.00 am on Sunday, an Eastern Railway release said here today.
Rajdhani fare will be charged for the journey and reservation will be available from all computerised railway reservation counters.
The train will stop at Dhanbad, Mughalsarai, Kanpur Central and New Delhi.
BJP to take strong action against Swiss bank deposits
suchithkc
Jamshedpur, Apr 29 : BJP would take strong action against "huge" black money deposited in Swiss banks, party National President Nitin Gadkari today said.
The issues of black money and series of scams including 2G spectrum, CWG etc had created an atmosphere in favour of BJP, "which will take a strong action against the defaulters, if voted to power", Gadkari, who made an unscheduled landing here following bad weather condition in Purulia in adjoining West Bengal to campaign for the party in the ensuing assembly election, said here.
Lakhs of crores
were involved in these scams and black money but the Congress-led UPA government was reluctant to take action against the culprits on the pretext of national interest, Gadkari told newsmen during his brief halt at the Sonari Aerodrum.
The BJP president said several countries have ratified to bring back the black money from Swiss Banks but the Congress government was yet to take a concrete action in this regard.
Gadkari said a strong resentment was prevailing among the general masses over these scams and black money and this was the reason that the recent Anna Hazare organized dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi drew massive support across the country.
Referring to the development at the Public Account Committee meeting yesterday, he said the real character of Congress was exposed.
Asked about the political turmoil in Jharkhand over the eviction drive leading in the death of four persons in Dhanbad recently, Gadkari said Arjun Munda-led government was following the Jharkhand High Court directive and there was no contradiction within BJP on this issue.
Claiming that performance of Munda-government was good, Gadkari gave a clean chit to the state government, saying there was no threat to it.
"I have been keeping an eye on the GDP, agriculture growth rate as well as per capita income of the people of Jharkhand and I am happy that Munda government is performing well", he said.
Gadkari expressed hope that Jharkhand would catch up the growth rate of developed states of the country in the coming days.
BJP president suggested Congress not to politicize the eviction drive.
In fact, Congress has lost its ground in Jharkhand and picked up path of agitations in desperation, he alleged.
Gadkari, who made an unscheduled landing here, was to address press conference at 5.30 PM but left for Mumbai via Ranchi after the weather was clear.
Jamshedpur, Apr 29 : BJP would take strong action against "huge" black money deposited in Swiss banks, party National President Nitin Gadkari today said.
The issues of black money and series of scams including 2G spectrum, CWG etc had created an atmosphere in favour of BJP, "which will take a strong action against the defaulters, if voted to power", Gadkari, who made an unscheduled landing here following bad weather condition in Purulia in adjoining West Bengal to campaign for the party in the ensuing assembly election, said here.
Lakhs of crores
were involved in these scams and black money but the Congress-led UPA government was reluctant to take action against the culprits on the pretext of national interest, Gadkari told newsmen during his brief halt at the Sonari Aerodrum.
The BJP president said several countries have ratified to bring back the black money from Swiss Banks but the Congress government was yet to take a concrete action in this regard.
Gadkari said a strong resentment was prevailing among the general masses over these scams and black money and this was the reason that the recent Anna Hazare organized dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi drew massive support across the country.
Referring to the development at the Public Account Committee meeting yesterday, he said the real character of Congress was exposed.
Asked about the political turmoil in Jharkhand over the eviction drive leading in the death of four persons in Dhanbad recently, Gadkari said Arjun Munda-led government was following the Jharkhand High Court directive and there was no contradiction within BJP on this issue.
Claiming that performance of Munda-government was good, Gadkari gave a clean chit to the state government, saying there was no threat to it.
"I have been keeping an eye on the GDP, agriculture growth rate as well as per capita income of the people of Jharkhand and I am happy that Munda government is performing well", he said.
Gadkari expressed hope that Jharkhand would catch up the growth rate of developed states of the country in the coming days.
BJP president suggested Congress not to politicize the eviction drive.
In fact, Congress has lost its ground in Jharkhand and picked up path of agitations in desperation, he alleged.
Gadkari, who made an unscheduled landing here, was to address press conference at 5.30 PM but left for Mumbai via Ranchi after the weather was clear.
Radia link to the Air India strike???
suchithkc
"We are more than willing to go jail. Nearly 31,000 Air India employees will also be ready to court arrest because we are serious about saving the national carrier from ruin," Rishab Kapur, General Secretary of the banned Indian Commercial Pilot Associations (ICPA), told reporters here this evening. The strike entered its third day today.
He demanded a CBI probe into "corruption" in the airline under the leadership of Managing Director Arvind Jadhav.
"We are willing to get back to work provided the Government assures that they will look into the corruption issue raised by us and order a CBI enquiry."
Kapur also demanded to make public portion of the Niira Radia tape that allegedly speaks about the hidden agenda of the Air India management to sell the Government-run airline to a private party.
However, when the media insisted on revealing the name of the private company, Kapur declined to do so and merely said "listen the Niira Radia tape".
"The scam in Air India under the present management is bigger than the 2G scam. We want a CBI probe and sacking of the dictatorial Chairman," he said.
On the AI management's threat to slap ESMA (Essential Service Management Act) and declare a lock out at the company if the pilots do not call off the strike by 5 pm today, Kapur said it seems that the management is "completely confused about how to treat the issues we have raised".
ESMA can only be invoked by the government not a company, he said. Also, since over half a dozen airlines are operating in the country, how can Air India's services be considered as an essential service, he asked.
Asked about pilots disobeying the court order and inviting contempt proceedings, Kapur said he will be present in the Delhi High Court on Monday.
On May 2, the court is scheduled to hear the Air India management's petition seeking contempt of court proceedings against the striking pilots.
Passengers stranded, AI warns of sacking striking pilots
Thousands of passengers were stranded today as striking Air India pilots refused to return to work for the third day ignoring stern warning of sacking by the management and the Delhi High Court's decision to initiate contempt proceedings against them.
The AI management ordered the pilots to report for duty failing which it said the airline "is at liberty to take any action as deemed fit including termination of services".
"This is without prejudice to any further action management may take under any other law of the land," a notice by the management to the agitators said. The deadline for pilots to resume duty expired at 5 PM today.
Tougher options of clamping Essential Services Maintenance Act and a lockout were also being mulled, official sources said. The management has so far terminated the services of seven pilots and suspended six others.
Taking strong exception to the agitating pilots defying its order to resume work immediately, the Delhi High Court decided to initiate contempt proceedings against them.
Ignoring the threat, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) leaders said they would continue their strike till the management gave an assurance that they were willing to resolve the issues in a time-bound manner.
"We are more than willing to call off the strike if the government is ready to look into the issues we have raised," ICPA General Secretary Rishabh Kapur said in Mumbai.
The strike, which began on Tuesday midnight, has forced the cancellation of about 300 flights and led to an estimated operational loss of Rs 26.5 crore, an AI official said.
Air India operated only 50 of its 320 daily flights, though some large, wide-body planes like jumbo Boeing 747 and Boeing 777s were used to carry more passengers.
The sources said the airline could consider taking pilots from other Indian carriers "on loan" to meet the crisis.
"We are looking at getting at least 20 sets (a total of 40) pilots". The pilots from other airlines would have to be trained to operate same type of Airbus A-320 aircraft as Air India has for domestic operations. In this context, Air India could make a request to its competitors like Kingfisher and IndiGo which fly mostly similar planes, the sources said.
The contempt proceedings in the High Court were taken up suo motu by Justice Geeta Mittal that despite its order the pilots have not called off the strike and the passengers were hard pressed.
"It is clearly evident that the conduct of pilots is brazen and wilful and smacks of sheer arrogance ...There is complete lack of respect for the court orders", she said.
"We are more than willing to go jail. Nearly 31,000 Air India employees will also be ready to court arrest because we are serious about saving the national carrier from ruin," Rishab Kapur, General Secretary of the banned Indian Commercial Pilot Associations (ICPA), told reporters here this evening. The strike entered its third day today.
He demanded a CBI probe into "corruption" in the airline under the leadership of Managing Director Arvind Jadhav.
"We are willing to get back to work provided the Government assures that they will look into the corruption issue raised by us and order a CBI enquiry."
Kapur also demanded to make public portion of the Niira Radia tape that allegedly speaks about the hidden agenda of the Air India management to sell the Government-run airline to a private party.
However, when the media insisted on revealing the name of the private company, Kapur declined to do so and merely said "listen the Niira Radia tape".
"The scam in Air India under the present management is bigger than the 2G scam. We want a CBI probe and sacking of the dictatorial Chairman," he said.
On the AI management's threat to slap ESMA (Essential Service Management Act) and declare a lock out at the company if the pilots do not call off the strike by 5 pm today, Kapur said it seems that the management is "completely confused about how to treat the issues we have raised".
ESMA can only be invoked by the government not a company, he said. Also, since over half a dozen airlines are operating in the country, how can Air India's services be considered as an essential service, he asked.
Asked about pilots disobeying the court order and inviting contempt proceedings, Kapur said he will be present in the Delhi High Court on Monday.
On May 2, the court is scheduled to hear the Air India management's petition seeking contempt of court proceedings against the striking pilots.
Passengers stranded, AI warns of sacking striking pilots
Thousands of passengers were stranded today as striking Air India pilots refused to return to work for the third day ignoring stern warning of sacking by the management and the Delhi High Court's decision to initiate contempt proceedings against them.
The AI management ordered the pilots to report for duty failing which it said the airline "is at liberty to take any action as deemed fit including termination of services".
"This is without prejudice to any further action management may take under any other law of the land," a notice by the management to the agitators said. The deadline for pilots to resume duty expired at 5 PM today.
Tougher options of clamping Essential Services Maintenance Act and a lockout were also being mulled, official sources said. The management has so far terminated the services of seven pilots and suspended six others.
Taking strong exception to the agitating pilots defying its order to resume work immediately, the Delhi High Court decided to initiate contempt proceedings against them.
Ignoring the threat, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) leaders said they would continue their strike till the management gave an assurance that they were willing to resolve the issues in a time-bound manner.
"We are more than willing to call off the strike if the government is ready to look into the issues we have raised," ICPA General Secretary Rishabh Kapur said in Mumbai.
The strike, which began on Tuesday midnight, has forced the cancellation of about 300 flights and led to an estimated operational loss of Rs 26.5 crore, an AI official said.
Air India operated only 50 of its 320 daily flights, though some large, wide-body planes like jumbo Boeing 747 and Boeing 777s were used to carry more passengers.
The sources said the airline could consider taking pilots from other Indian carriers "on loan" to meet the crisis.
"We are looking at getting at least 20 sets (a total of 40) pilots". The pilots from other airlines would have to be trained to operate same type of Airbus A-320 aircraft as Air India has for domestic operations. In this context, Air India could make a request to its competitors like Kingfisher and IndiGo which fly mostly similar planes, the sources said.
The contempt proceedings in the High Court were taken up suo motu by Justice Geeta Mittal that despite its order the pilots have not called off the strike and the passengers were hard pressed.
"It is clearly evident that the conduct of pilots is brazen and wilful and smacks of sheer arrogance ...There is complete lack of respect for the court orders", she said.
Diana's funeral hymn to be first sung at royal wedding
suchithkc
London, April 29 : Prince William and Kate Middleton have decided to pay a moving tribute to the prince's late mother Princess Diana by including a hymn which was sung at her funeral.
The couple has chosen the final hymn at her funeral to be the first one to be sung at their wedding ceremony on Friday.
The couple have included "Guide me, O thou great redeemer" as a tribute to the Prince's mom, late Princess of Wales. The hymn was sung at her funeral in 1997.
It was also played at a memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of her death.
A St James' Palace spokesman said Prince Charles was instrumental in helping the couple choose the music for their service.
"Catherine is very familiar with classical music. She had a lot of input from the Prince of Wales. They spent a lot of time listening to the music together on iPods," the Daily Mail quoted the spokesman as saying.
"The theme of the whole wedding is Britishness, accentuating traditional forms and crafts.
"Catherine was very keen to include Greensleeves because it's such a famous piece of English music. A lot of these pieces have been chosen for their theatre.
"They are stunning pieces of music that fill the Abbey and give a sense of grandeur to the occasion," the spokesman added.
The Prince and his fiancee also chose to include 'Farewell to Stromness' by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies in their service because it featured in the Prince and the Duchess's wedding blessing.
London, April 29 : Prince William and Kate Middleton have decided to pay a moving tribute to the prince's late mother Princess Diana by including a hymn which was sung at her funeral.
The couple has chosen the final hymn at her funeral to be the first one to be sung at their wedding ceremony on Friday.
The couple have included "Guide me, O thou great redeemer" as a tribute to the Prince's mom, late Princess of Wales. The hymn was sung at her funeral in 1997.
It was also played at a memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of her death.
A St James' Palace spokesman said Prince Charles was instrumental in helping the couple choose the music for their service.
"Catherine is very familiar with classical music. She had a lot of input from the Prince of Wales. They spent a lot of time listening to the music together on iPods," the Daily Mail quoted the spokesman as saying.
"The theme of the whole wedding is Britishness, accentuating traditional forms and crafts.
"Catherine was very keen to include Greensleeves because it's such a famous piece of English music. A lot of these pieces have been chosen for their theatre.
"They are stunning pieces of music that fill the Abbey and give a sense of grandeur to the occasion," the spokesman added.
The Prince and his fiancee also chose to include 'Farewell to Stromness' by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies in their service because it featured in the Prince and the Duchess's wedding blessing.
Air India lost Rs.27 crore due to pilots' strike
suchithkc
Mumbai, April 29 :) Air India Friday said it had suffered a revenue loss of nearly Rs.27 crore in the past three days since a section of its pilots went on a strike.
In a statement, the national carrier said that on the first day of the strike Wednesday, out of its regular total 320 flights, it operated 44 flights of Alliance Air, 70 of Air India Express and 53 of Air India.
The strike by pilots owing allegiance to Indian Commercial Pilots Association of the erstwhile Indian Airlines hit the domestic operations badly, leading to cancellation of 57 flights as 69 executive pilots reported sick.
The revenue loss on the first day of the strike is estimated at Rs.4.5 crore.
On Thursday, the second day of the strike, the operations of Alliance Air and Air India Express were normal. The operations of Air India wide body were near normal as only a couple of its flights were cancelled.
However, despite the number of domestic flights being curtailed by 45, the sector saw cancellation of 51 flights, affecting a total of 96 flights and leading to revenue loss of Rs.10 crore.
On Friday, the third day of the strike, Alliance Air, Air India Express and Air India wide body continued to maintain normal services.
Air India Express managed to operate two additional flights to Dubai and Sharjah to clear the rush of passengers of the past three days, the statement said.
However, the domestic sector suffered with the cancellation of 126 flights so far and operating 39 flights on its network.
The airline attributed this to the decision not to make fresh booking for the next five days till the strike situation becomes clear.
The third day saw the revenue loss soar to Rs.12 crore for the cash-strapped flag-carrier. The total loss for the three days is pegged at nearly Rs.27 crore.
Mumbai, April 29 :) Air India Friday said it had suffered a revenue loss of nearly Rs.27 crore in the past three days since a section of its pilots went on a strike.
In a statement, the national carrier said that on the first day of the strike Wednesday, out of its regular total 320 flights, it operated 44 flights of Alliance Air, 70 of Air India Express and 53 of Air India.
The strike by pilots owing allegiance to Indian Commercial Pilots Association of the erstwhile Indian Airlines hit the domestic operations badly, leading to cancellation of 57 flights as 69 executive pilots reported sick.
The revenue loss on the first day of the strike is estimated at Rs.4.5 crore.
On Thursday, the second day of the strike, the operations of Alliance Air and Air India Express were normal. The operations of Air India wide body were near normal as only a couple of its flights were cancelled.
However, despite the number of domestic flights being curtailed by 45, the sector saw cancellation of 51 flights, affecting a total of 96 flights and leading to revenue loss of Rs.10 crore.
On Friday, the third day of the strike, Alliance Air, Air India Express and Air India wide body continued to maintain normal services.
Air India Express managed to operate two additional flights to Dubai and Sharjah to clear the rush of passengers of the past three days, the statement said.
However, the domestic sector suffered with the cancellation of 126 flights so far and operating 39 flights on its network.
The airline attributed this to the decision not to make fresh booking for the next five days till the strike situation becomes clear.
The third day saw the revenue loss soar to Rs.12 crore for the cash-strapped flag-carrier. The total loss for the three days is pegged at nearly Rs.27 crore.
Best Bakery:Yasmeen moves HC; says she was misguided by Teesta
suchithkc
Mumbai, Apr 29 : Shaikh Yasmeen Bano, a key prosecution witness in the 2002 Best Bakery case, has moved the Bombay High Court alleging that she was "lured and misguided" by a social activist into giving false testimony against 17 accused persons, of which nine were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Yasmeen filed the petition earlier this week, after no action was taken on her letter dated June 17, 2010 addressed to the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.
"Yasmeen gave false deposition against the accused and identified them falsely at the behest and advice of Teesta Setalvad only in the false hope that she (Teesta) would help her financially," the petition states.
It further claims that Setalvad had made Yasmeen an instrument to achieve the ulterior goal. "Yasmeen was obsessed with the idea of getting money from Teesta and hence she did not think much about the repercussion of her false deposition against innocent persons. She is however repenting now," the petition states.
Yasmeen has sought that her evidence be recorded afresh by the High Court while hearing the appeal filed by the nine convicted accused challenging the trial court''s order.
Yasmeen was the only prosecution witness from the Shaikh family who stood by the police''s case against the 17 accused. Rest of the family, including prime witness and Yasmeen''s sister-in-law Zaheera Shaikh, had turned hostile, alleging that they were forced by Setalvad to lie.
Mumbai, Apr 29 : Shaikh Yasmeen Bano, a key prosecution witness in the 2002 Best Bakery case, has moved the Bombay High Court alleging that she was "lured and misguided" by a social activist into giving false testimony against 17 accused persons, of which nine were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Yasmeen filed the petition earlier this week, after no action was taken on her letter dated June 17, 2010 addressed to the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.
"Yasmeen gave false deposition against the accused and identified them falsely at the behest and advice of Teesta Setalvad only in the false hope that she (Teesta) would help her financially," the petition states.
It further claims that Setalvad had made Yasmeen an instrument to achieve the ulterior goal. "Yasmeen was obsessed with the idea of getting money from Teesta and hence she did not think much about the repercussion of her false deposition against innocent persons. She is however repenting now," the petition states.
Yasmeen has sought that her evidence be recorded afresh by the High Court while hearing the appeal filed by the nine convicted accused challenging the trial court''s order.
Yasmeen was the only prosecution witness from the Shaikh family who stood by the police''s case against the 17 accused. Rest of the family, including prime witness and Yasmeen''s sister-in-law Zaheera Shaikh, had turned hostile, alleging that they were forced by Setalvad to lie.
Ajith dismantles his Fan Clubs!
suchithkc
Though May 1 is known all over India for being Labour’s Day, fans across Tamil Nadu associate it with the birthday of actor Ajith. Come Sunday and ‘thala’ will be celebrating his 40th birthday. Just a couple of days ahead of his birthday the actor has opened his heart out for all his fans.
Here is what the actor had to say to his fans right ahead of his birthday:
Ajith started his acting career with ‘Amaravathi’ and ‘Mankatha,’ that is shortly scheduled for a release, will mark his 50th film in the industry. At this juncture the actor thanks the people who were with him; his co actors, actresses, his directors, technicians, his friends, fans and family who have been there as a source of constant support in this journey of his. But of late, there has been something that has been occupying Ajith’s mind and the actor felt this as the right time to unleash his thoughts to his fans.
Ajith claims that he has never used his fans as a tool for any personal gains nor has he used them as a shield for his likes and dislikes in the industry, and also would never use them for such purposes. The fans have the right to support him if his films do well and criticize him if his films don’t do so well. He has also revealed that he fully understands that people in his fan club as well as the others who don’t belong to his fan club enjoy his films equally, and there is no difference between the two as far as Ajith is concerned. Ajith has also made it very clear, time and again that no one’s family should suffer due to his working for the fan club.
But there are certain unpleasant things that have been happening recently in the fan club. At certain places there is rivalry being propagated, some people have begun to act individually without following orders passed by the general body, and some fans are not heeding to their rules; some people are also using the fan club for political purposes and all these acts have come down heavily upon the actor’s faith in the smooth running of his fan club.
So just a couple of days ahead of his birthday the actor has come up with a decision which might come a shock and surprise to many in the industry. Ajith has decided that the Ajith Fan Club which has been functioning under his name would be dissolved from May 1st. The actor is of view that to do good one needs a good heart. Not only that, the actor, through his note has also revealed that with the changing times the temperament of the people has also changed. They are very receptive to the things happening around them and only an actor who is genuine can be a star. Only such a star would earn dignity, a good name and fame from the people.
Ajith signs off saying that only that dignity and the support of his fans in this decision of his would be his best birthday gift.
Come on… Let us know if you support this decision taken by Ajith to dissolve his fan club!
Though May 1 is known all over India for being Labour’s Day, fans across Tamil Nadu associate it with the birthday of actor Ajith. Come Sunday and ‘thala’ will be celebrating his 40th birthday. Just a couple of days ahead of his birthday the actor has opened his heart out for all his fans.
Here is what the actor had to say to his fans right ahead of his birthday:
Ajith started his acting career with ‘Amaravathi’ and ‘Mankatha,’ that is shortly scheduled for a release, will mark his 50th film in the industry. At this juncture the actor thanks the people who were with him; his co actors, actresses, his directors, technicians, his friends, fans and family who have been there as a source of constant support in this journey of his. But of late, there has been something that has been occupying Ajith’s mind and the actor felt this as the right time to unleash his thoughts to his fans.
Ajith claims that he has never used his fans as a tool for any personal gains nor has he used them as a shield for his likes and dislikes in the industry, and also would never use them for such purposes. The fans have the right to support him if his films do well and criticize him if his films don’t do so well. He has also revealed that he fully understands that people in his fan club as well as the others who don’t belong to his fan club enjoy his films equally, and there is no difference between the two as far as Ajith is concerned. Ajith has also made it very clear, time and again that no one’s family should suffer due to his working for the fan club.
But there are certain unpleasant things that have been happening recently in the fan club. At certain places there is rivalry being propagated, some people have begun to act individually without following orders passed by the general body, and some fans are not heeding to their rules; some people are also using the fan club for political purposes and all these acts have come down heavily upon the actor’s faith in the smooth running of his fan club.
So just a couple of days ahead of his birthday the actor has come up with a decision which might come a shock and surprise to many in the industry. Ajith has decided that the Ajith Fan Club which has been functioning under his name would be dissolved from May 1st. The actor is of view that to do good one needs a good heart. Not only that, the actor, through his note has also revealed that with the changing times the temperament of the people has also changed. They are very receptive to the things happening around them and only an actor who is genuine can be a star. Only such a star would earn dignity, a good name and fame from the people.
Ajith signs off saying that only that dignity and the support of his fans in this decision of his would be his best birthday gift.
Come on… Let us know if you support this decision taken by Ajith to dissolve his fan club!
A Studs Viewpoint: Real Time India.....
A Studs Viewpoint: Real Time India.....: "suchithkc India is a country on the go; at any given moment in time, there is much happening in the fields of politics and governance, of..."
suchithkc
suchithkc
Real Time India.....
suchithkc
India is a country on the go; at any given moment in time, there is much happening in the fields of politics and governance, of finance, of development; there is constant churning in society, considerable activity in sports and in the arts... It's almost too much to keep track of. And hence, this effort: a real-time, constantly updated look at the events that matter.
Also, if you have any stories, videos/photos or even suggestions that you'd like to share, you can get in touch with us at suchith2010@yahoo.com
3: 54 pm: Rural households in the country could have paid a whopping Rs 471.8 crore last year as bribe to avail basic facilities. More
3:51 pm: BJP leader L K Advani is in Karnataka, and is advising members of his party not to be corrupt. The state is described by many as India's most corrupt, with neighbouring Tamil Nadu being a strong contender for the dubious distinction. Karnataka's chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and his cabinet colleagues, many of whom face corruption charges, listened quietly as Advani told cadres that the BJP was an "extraordinary party" with no room for the tainted. Deccan Herald reports that Advani advised party leaders not to let the opposition point fingers at them.
3: 23 pm: Kate and her father are making their to the Abbey. Bridesmaid and Kate's sister Pippa has arrived just ahead of them.
3: 20 pm: An alert has been sounded across airports for a Canadian Chinese man who escaped police custody from Vadodara. He's wanted in connection with an international drug trafficking racket.
2: 49 pm: Prince William, accompanied by brother and best man Harry, arrives at the Westminster Abbey.
2:40 pm: SC denies bail to Vikas Yadav to attend his brother's wedding. Justices V S Sirpurkar and T S Thakur dismissed the plea saying "It is your brother's marriage, not your marriage." Son of former MP DP Yadav, Vikas is serving a life sentence for killing his sister's friend Nitish Katara in 2002.
2: 19 pm: If you haven't had enough already of the royal wedding, here are some more:
Facts about Kate Middleton
Facts about Prince William
Royal wedding takes place at Westminster Abbey
Timings for Britain's royal wedding
2:09 pm: Y! India columnist Sanjay Sipahimalani rues the lack of mythology in contemporary novels and looks back fondly at certain epics. Read the full column here
1: 57 pm: A journalist covering Sathya Sai Baba over the years reports what devotees did to ensure a good press, and how some tried to browbeat him when it looked like he might write a 'negative' story.
1: 51 pm: Life has come to a standstill in Kerala today. The ruling Left Front government has called a bandh demanding a ban on endosulfan, a pesticide that has reportedly left 500 people dead. The central government, led by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, has refused to ban endosulfan. Maximum damage from the pesticide is in evidence in Kasargod area, bordering Karnataka.
1: 48 pm: Shaikh Yasmeen Bano, a key prosecution witness in the 2002 Best Bakery case, has alleges that she was "lured and misguided" by social activist Teesta Setalvad into giving false testimony against 17 accused persons. Her testimony led to nine accused receiving life imprisonment.
1: 34 pm: Pakistan has successfully test fired the Hatf-VIII Cruise Missile, which is capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads-ANI.
12: 43 pm: The Supreme Court stayed the pre-impeachment probe into allegations of judicial misconduct by Justice PD Dinakaran. The judgement was passed upon a plea by Justice Dinakaran, expressing apprehension of biased probe against him.
12: 34 pm: Former British PM Tony Blair said he's not disappointed over not receiving an invite to the royal wedding which takes place later today. More
12: 30 pm: The SC rejects a petition filed by advocate Sirajin Basha challenging the Karnataka HC's ordering staying criminal proceedings against CM Yeddyurappa in the land grab controversy. However, the SC did ask the lower court to "decide the matter within six weeks".
11: 48 am: Match-fixing in Sri Lanka: Former Sri Lanka skipper Hashan Tillakaratne has claimed that match-fixing is common in his country since 1992. "I can tell this in agreement with my conscience. Match fixing is not something that started happening yesterday or today. According to my knowledge, it happened since 1992. I say this with great responsibility," Tillakaratne, who led Lanka between April 2003 and March 2004, said. "There were threats of this issue being exposed during various times. But it was pushed down by giving money to various people. If the people who were responsible for that are listening to this, I state this today with great responsibility, I will shortly reveal the names of those responsible."
11: 08 am: A total of 95 flights, including 33 flights, ten of them international, from Mumbai. Thus far today, AI has managed to operate four flights -- two of them to Delhi, and one each to Hyderabad and Nagpur.
11: 03 am: JKLF chairman Yasin Malik was detained with his three aides for demonstrating against the arrest of a youth in Srinagar.
India is a country on the go; at any given moment in time, there is much happening in the fields of politics and governance, of finance, of development; there is constant churning in society, considerable activity in sports and in the arts... It's almost too much to keep track of. And hence, this effort: a real-time, constantly updated look at the events that matter.
Also, if you have any stories, videos/photos or even suggestions that you'd like to share, you can get in touch with us at suchith2010@yahoo.com
3: 54 pm: Rural households in the country could have paid a whopping Rs 471.8 crore last year as bribe to avail basic facilities. More
3:51 pm: BJP leader L K Advani is in Karnataka, and is advising members of his party not to be corrupt. The state is described by many as India's most corrupt, with neighbouring Tamil Nadu being a strong contender for the dubious distinction. Karnataka's chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and his cabinet colleagues, many of whom face corruption charges, listened quietly as Advani told cadres that the BJP was an "extraordinary party" with no room for the tainted. Deccan Herald reports that Advani advised party leaders not to let the opposition point fingers at them.
3: 23 pm: Kate and her father are making their to the Abbey. Bridesmaid and Kate's sister Pippa has arrived just ahead of them.
3: 20 pm: An alert has been sounded across airports for a Canadian Chinese man who escaped police custody from Vadodara. He's wanted in connection with an international drug trafficking racket.
2: 49 pm: Prince William, accompanied by brother and best man Harry, arrives at the Westminster Abbey.
2:40 pm: SC denies bail to Vikas Yadav to attend his brother's wedding. Justices V S Sirpurkar and T S Thakur dismissed the plea saying "It is your brother's marriage, not your marriage." Son of former MP DP Yadav, Vikas is serving a life sentence for killing his sister's friend Nitish Katara in 2002.
2: 19 pm: If you haven't had enough already of the royal wedding, here are some more:
Facts about Kate Middleton
Facts about Prince William
Royal wedding takes place at Westminster Abbey
Timings for Britain's royal wedding
2:09 pm: Y! India columnist Sanjay Sipahimalani rues the lack of mythology in contemporary novels and looks back fondly at certain epics. Read the full column here
1: 57 pm: A journalist covering Sathya Sai Baba over the years reports what devotees did to ensure a good press, and how some tried to browbeat him when it looked like he might write a 'negative' story.
1: 51 pm: Life has come to a standstill in Kerala today. The ruling Left Front government has called a bandh demanding a ban on endosulfan, a pesticide that has reportedly left 500 people dead. The central government, led by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, has refused to ban endosulfan. Maximum damage from the pesticide is in evidence in Kasargod area, bordering Karnataka.
1: 48 pm: Shaikh Yasmeen Bano, a key prosecution witness in the 2002 Best Bakery case, has alleges that she was "lured and misguided" by social activist Teesta Setalvad into giving false testimony against 17 accused persons. Her testimony led to nine accused receiving life imprisonment.
1: 34 pm: Pakistan has successfully test fired the Hatf-VIII Cruise Missile, which is capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads-ANI.
12: 43 pm: The Supreme Court stayed the pre-impeachment probe into allegations of judicial misconduct by Justice PD Dinakaran. The judgement was passed upon a plea by Justice Dinakaran, expressing apprehension of biased probe against him.
12: 34 pm: Former British PM Tony Blair said he's not disappointed over not receiving an invite to the royal wedding which takes place later today. More
12: 30 pm: The SC rejects a petition filed by advocate Sirajin Basha challenging the Karnataka HC's ordering staying criminal proceedings against CM Yeddyurappa in the land grab controversy. However, the SC did ask the lower court to "decide the matter within six weeks".
11: 48 am: Match-fixing in Sri Lanka: Former Sri Lanka skipper Hashan Tillakaratne has claimed that match-fixing is common in his country since 1992. "I can tell this in agreement with my conscience. Match fixing is not something that started happening yesterday or today. According to my knowledge, it happened since 1992. I say this with great responsibility," Tillakaratne, who led Lanka between April 2003 and March 2004, said. "There were threats of this issue being exposed during various times. But it was pushed down by giving money to various people. If the people who were responsible for that are listening to this, I state this today with great responsibility, I will shortly reveal the names of those responsible."
11: 08 am: A total of 95 flights, including 33 flights, ten of them international, from Mumbai. Thus far today, AI has managed to operate four flights -- two of them to Delhi, and one each to Hyderabad and Nagpur.
11: 03 am: JKLF chairman Yasin Malik was detained with his three aides for demonstrating against the arrest of a youth in Srinagar.
Prince William marries Kate Middleton in glittering ceremony
suchithkc
LONDON - Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton married at Westminster Abbey on Friday in a royal occasion of dazzling pomp and pageantry that has attracted a huge global audience and injected new life into the monarchy.
Before the vows, a veiled Middleton, the first "commoner" to marry a prince in close proximity to the throne in more than 350 years, walked slowly through the 1,900-strong congregation to the swirling strains of Charles Parry's "I Was Glad."
As they met at the altar William whispered to her, prompting a smile at the start of the ceremony. The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams declared the couple married with the words: "I pronounce that they be man and wife together."
Middleton's dress, the subject of fevered speculation for months in the fashion press, was a traditional ivory silk and satin outfit with a lace applique and long train.
She wore a tiara loaned by the queen and the diamond and sapphire engagement ring that once belonged to William's mother Princess Diana, who was divorced from Prince Charles in 1996, a year before her death in a car crash in Paris aged just 36.
Bells pealed loudly and trumpets blared as 1,900 guests earlier poured into the historic abbey, coronation site for the monarchy since William the Conqueror was crowned in 1066.
Queen Elizabeth, other royals, David and Victoria Beckham, the footballer-pop star couple, singer Elton John and Prime Minister David Cameron were among famous guests at the abbey.
They joined 50 heads of state as well as charity workers and war veterans who know the prince from his military training.
HUGE CROWDS
Thousands of people from around the world were outside the abbey, many of them camping overnight for the best view of the future king and queen and fuelling the feel-good factor that has briefly lifted Britain from its economic gloom.
"People watching this at home must think we're completely mad, but there's just no comparison," said 58-year-old Denise Mill from southern England. "I just had to be here."
The crowd entered into the festive spirit on a chilly day by wearing national flags and even fake wedding dresses and tiaras. Hundreds of police officers, some armed, dotted the royal routes in a major security operation.
Tens of thousands more people crammed the flag-lined streets of London to catch a glimpse of marching military bands in black bearskin hats, cavalrymen in shining breastplates and ornate carriages that will carry royal figures from the service.
A large gathering is expected outside the queen's London residence, Buckingham Palace, to cheer on the married couple as they appear on the balcony for a much-anticipated public kiss.
For some, however, the biggest royal wedding since Diana married Prince Charles in 1981 was an event to avoid, reflecting divided opinion about the monarchy.
"It's just a wedding," said 25-year-old Ivan Smith. "Everyone is going mad about it. I couldn't care less."
LONDON - Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton married at Westminster Abbey on Friday in a royal occasion of dazzling pomp and pageantry that has attracted a huge global audience and injected new life into the monarchy.
Before the vows, a veiled Middleton, the first "commoner" to marry a prince in close proximity to the throne in more than 350 years, walked slowly through the 1,900-strong congregation to the swirling strains of Charles Parry's "I Was Glad."
As they met at the altar William whispered to her, prompting a smile at the start of the ceremony. The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams declared the couple married with the words: "I pronounce that they be man and wife together."
Middleton's dress, the subject of fevered speculation for months in the fashion press, was a traditional ivory silk and satin outfit with a lace applique and long train.
She wore a tiara loaned by the queen and the diamond and sapphire engagement ring that once belonged to William's mother Princess Diana, who was divorced from Prince Charles in 1996, a year before her death in a car crash in Paris aged just 36.
Bells pealed loudly and trumpets blared as 1,900 guests earlier poured into the historic abbey, coronation site for the monarchy since William the Conqueror was crowned in 1066.
Queen Elizabeth, other royals, David and Victoria Beckham, the footballer-pop star couple, singer Elton John and Prime Minister David Cameron were among famous guests at the abbey.
They joined 50 heads of state as well as charity workers and war veterans who know the prince from his military training.
HUGE CROWDS
Thousands of people from around the world were outside the abbey, many of them camping overnight for the best view of the future king and queen and fuelling the feel-good factor that has briefly lifted Britain from its economic gloom.
"People watching this at home must think we're completely mad, but there's just no comparison," said 58-year-old Denise Mill from southern England. "I just had to be here."
The crowd entered into the festive spirit on a chilly day by wearing national flags and even fake wedding dresses and tiaras. Hundreds of police officers, some armed, dotted the royal routes in a major security operation.
Tens of thousands more people crammed the flag-lined streets of London to catch a glimpse of marching military bands in black bearskin hats, cavalrymen in shining breastplates and ornate carriages that will carry royal figures from the service.
A large gathering is expected outside the queen's London residence, Buckingham Palace, to cheer on the married couple as they appear on the balcony for a much-anticipated public kiss.
For some, however, the biggest royal wedding since Diana married Prince Charles in 1981 was an event to avoid, reflecting divided opinion about the monarchy.
"It's just a wedding," said 25-year-old Ivan Smith. "Everyone is going mad about it. I couldn't care less."
AI operating only 50 out of 320 flights today
suchithkc
New Delhi, Apr 29 : As the strike by Air India pilots entered the third day today, the national carrier drastically reduced its operation to 50 flights across its network against the regular 320 as all executive pilots joined the stir.
"Under the contingency plan, we are operating 50 flights across the network today," an Air India official said.
From Delhi, the national carrier will be operating just 10 flights and almost an equal number from Mumbai to metro cities.
In Mumbai, the airline has decided to use three wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft on the Bombay-Delhi-Ahmedabad- Bombay and Bombay-Ahmedabad-Bombay sector to accommodate more passengers, the official said.
AI has decided to operate four special services using Air India Express from Mumbai flying Boeing 737 on Bombay-Abu Dhabi-Bombay, Chennai-Singapore-Chennai, Cochin-Calicut-Cochin and Calicut-Dubai-Calicut routes.
Additionally, a jumbo service will operate between Bombay-Dubai-Delhi-Bombay, the spokesperson said.
With both pilots and management refusing to budge from their position, passengers continued to bear the brunt of the agitation. Most of the flyers have cancelled their tickets on Air India while some others were being accommodated in other airlines.
According to Air India spokesperson, the cash strapped national carrier is losing Rs four crore per day due to the strike. However, sources said, this figure might be more as the airline has liabilities towards payment of instalments of new and leased aircraft and the salary of its employees.
Executive pilots also joined the agitation yesterday and started to report sick. The management has terminated the services of seven pilots and suspended six others.
"We are extending our 100 per cent support to our agitating younger brothers in the ICPA, over 300 executive pilots have reported sick and now it is up management to take action against all 800 pilots," said a senior pilot.
Out of 69 executive pilots, 68 had yesterday reported sick in Delhi and at other bases.
Yesterday, the management initiated contempt of court proceedings against the pilots in the Delhi High Court but the pilots remained unfazed. Also, the conciliation talks between the management and the agitating pilots also ended in failure as both were not ready to budge from their position.
Around 800 pilots, of erstwhile Indian Airlines, associated with Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) are on strike since Tuesday midnight demanding fixed salary, removal of AI CMD and CBI probe into alleged mismanagement.
New Delhi, Apr 29 : As the strike by Air India pilots entered the third day today, the national carrier drastically reduced its operation to 50 flights across its network against the regular 320 as all executive pilots joined the stir.
"Under the contingency plan, we are operating 50 flights across the network today," an Air India official said.
From Delhi, the national carrier will be operating just 10 flights and almost an equal number from Mumbai to metro cities.
In Mumbai, the airline has decided to use three wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft on the Bombay-Delhi-Ahmedabad- Bombay and Bombay-Ahmedabad-Bombay sector to accommodate more passengers, the official said.
AI has decided to operate four special services using Air India Express from Mumbai flying Boeing 737 on Bombay-Abu Dhabi-Bombay, Chennai-Singapore-Chennai, Cochin-Calicut-Cochin and Calicut-Dubai-Calicut routes.
Additionally, a jumbo service will operate between Bombay-Dubai-Delhi-Bombay, the spokesperson said.
With both pilots and management refusing to budge from their position, passengers continued to bear the brunt of the agitation. Most of the flyers have cancelled their tickets on Air India while some others were being accommodated in other airlines.
According to Air India spokesperson, the cash strapped national carrier is losing Rs four crore per day due to the strike. However, sources said, this figure might be more as the airline has liabilities towards payment of instalments of new and leased aircraft and the salary of its employees.
Executive pilots also joined the agitation yesterday and started to report sick. The management has terminated the services of seven pilots and suspended six others.
"We are extending our 100 per cent support to our agitating younger brothers in the ICPA, over 300 executive pilots have reported sick and now it is up management to take action against all 800 pilots," said a senior pilot.
Out of 69 executive pilots, 68 had yesterday reported sick in Delhi and at other bases.
Yesterday, the management initiated contempt of court proceedings against the pilots in the Delhi High Court but the pilots remained unfazed. Also, the conciliation talks between the management and the agitating pilots also ended in failure as both were not ready to budge from their position.
Around 800 pilots, of erstwhile Indian Airlines, associated with Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) are on strike since Tuesday midnight demanding fixed salary, removal of AI CMD and CBI probe into alleged mismanagement.
Where Have All the Myths Gone?
suchithkc
Abandoned children, scorned suitors, valiant women and men struggling against fate, shape-shifting tricksters, Pyrrhic victories and rites of passage. All this and more, one would imagine, is rich fodder for the novelist. However, mythology and its tropes -- "public dreams", as Joseph Campbell once called them -- seem to be all but absent from the contemporary novel.
Exceptions do exist, of course, the most famous being Joyce's Ulysses, patterned on the events of The Odyssey. More recently, Salman Rushdie used the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice to underpin his "rock'n'roll novel", The Ground Beneath Her Feet. His earlier Midnight's Children, too, played with Indian myth, especially when it came to the characters of Major Shiva and Parvati-the-witch. Magic realism as a genre is especially suited to the recreation and subversion of myth, but it's not the only way to do it: see Zachary Mason's The Lost Books of the Odyssey, full of delicious re-imaginings and inversions of Odysseus' return to Ithaca.
Such examples, though, are few and far between, barring work set in ancient times — such as the novels of Mary Renault — or those working in fantasy and science fiction who use myth to give resonance to otherworldly settings. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, for instance, was supposed to be inspired in part by Nordic sagas. Young adult fiction, too, makes rich use of myths: take Rick Riordan's The Lightening Thief, not to mention the exploits of a certain bespectacled young wizard.
Some of the titles from British publisher Canongate's Myths series are instructive in what they reveal about the way we look at ancient myths today. Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad, re-tells The Odyssey from the point of view of a self-conscious Penelope and her serving maids. Jeannette Winterson's The Weight presents Atlas as a hero pondering over fate and responsibility. Alessandro Barricco's An Iliad removes references to the gods and their actions on the battlefield. (Wolfgang Peterson's Hollywood epic, Troy, did the same thing. Both works suffer as a consequence.)
This really is at the heart of the modern novelist's discomfort with myth. In our post-Enlightenment age, it's secular verities that are supposed to prevail, not religious ones. Free will — and the free market — is the presiding deity. Thus, the gods, when they do appear in fiction, are treated with dark irony, as with John Banville's The Infinities, or for comic effect, as with Marie Philips' Gods Behaving Badly.
However, to think of the appearance and actions of divinities in ancient epics as exclusively religious and sacred would be a mistake. Those who inhabit Mount Olympus are an egoistic, quarrelsome lot, not to mention endowed with boundless libido. Many Indian counterparts are no better.
In recent times, myths seem to have vanished from Indian writing in English, too. Raja Rao made use of Puranic parallels in The Snake and the Rope; Shashi Tharoor had a great premise — which suffered a bit in the telling — in grafting The Mahabharata onto Indian politics with The Great Indian Novel; Vikram Chandra's first, Red Earth and Pouring Rain played with folklore. After that, however, we've only had to contend with Manil Suri's somewhat tepid The Death of Vishnu and The Age of Shiva. The exception, again, is genre and fantasy: Ashok Banker's retellings of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, for example, or Amish Tripathi's The Immortals of Meluha.
It's not that one doesn't come across fictional versions of heroic journeys and quests nowadays; it's simply that they ring hollow, being unwittingly unmoored from their origins. Myths are timeless for a reason: they represent what is unchanging about, and fascinating to, the human race. In the introductory volume of the Canongate series referred to earlier, Karen Armstrong writes, "Like a novel, opera or ballet, myth is make-believe; it is a game that transfigures our fragmented, tragic world, and helps us to glimpse new possibilities by asking 'what if?' " Reason enough for more writers to take a dip in the River Styx.
Abandoned children, scorned suitors, valiant women and men struggling against fate, shape-shifting tricksters, Pyrrhic victories and rites of passage. All this and more, one would imagine, is rich fodder for the novelist. However, mythology and its tropes -- "public dreams", as Joseph Campbell once called them -- seem to be all but absent from the contemporary novel.
Exceptions do exist, of course, the most famous being Joyce's Ulysses, patterned on the events of The Odyssey. More recently, Salman Rushdie used the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice to underpin his "rock'n'roll novel", The Ground Beneath Her Feet. His earlier Midnight's Children, too, played with Indian myth, especially when it came to the characters of Major Shiva and Parvati-the-witch. Magic realism as a genre is especially suited to the recreation and subversion of myth, but it's not the only way to do it: see Zachary Mason's The Lost Books of the Odyssey, full of delicious re-imaginings and inversions of Odysseus' return to Ithaca.
Such examples, though, are few and far between, barring work set in ancient times — such as the novels of Mary Renault — or those working in fantasy and science fiction who use myth to give resonance to otherworldly settings. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, for instance, was supposed to be inspired in part by Nordic sagas. Young adult fiction, too, makes rich use of myths: take Rick Riordan's The Lightening Thief, not to mention the exploits of a certain bespectacled young wizard.
Some of the titles from British publisher Canongate's Myths series are instructive in what they reveal about the way we look at ancient myths today. Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad, re-tells The Odyssey from the point of view of a self-conscious Penelope and her serving maids. Jeannette Winterson's The Weight presents Atlas as a hero pondering over fate and responsibility. Alessandro Barricco's An Iliad removes references to the gods and their actions on the battlefield. (Wolfgang Peterson's Hollywood epic, Troy, did the same thing. Both works suffer as a consequence.)
This really is at the heart of the modern novelist's discomfort with myth. In our post-Enlightenment age, it's secular verities that are supposed to prevail, not religious ones. Free will — and the free market — is the presiding deity. Thus, the gods, when they do appear in fiction, are treated with dark irony, as with John Banville's The Infinities, or for comic effect, as with Marie Philips' Gods Behaving Badly.
However, to think of the appearance and actions of divinities in ancient epics as exclusively religious and sacred would be a mistake. Those who inhabit Mount Olympus are an egoistic, quarrelsome lot, not to mention endowed with boundless libido. Many Indian counterparts are no better.
In recent times, myths seem to have vanished from Indian writing in English, too. Raja Rao made use of Puranic parallels in The Snake and the Rope; Shashi Tharoor had a great premise — which suffered a bit in the telling — in grafting The Mahabharata onto Indian politics with The Great Indian Novel; Vikram Chandra's first, Red Earth and Pouring Rain played with folklore. After that, however, we've only had to contend with Manil Suri's somewhat tepid The Death of Vishnu and The Age of Shiva. The exception, again, is genre and fantasy: Ashok Banker's retellings of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, for example, or Amish Tripathi's The Immortals of Meluha.
It's not that one doesn't come across fictional versions of heroic journeys and quests nowadays; it's simply that they ring hollow, being unwittingly unmoored from their origins. Myths are timeless for a reason: they represent what is unchanging about, and fascinating to, the human race. In the introductory volume of the Canongate series referred to earlier, Karen Armstrong writes, "Like a novel, opera or ballet, myth is make-believe; it is a game that transfigures our fragmented, tragic world, and helps us to glimpse new possibilities by asking 'what if?' " Reason enough for more writers to take a dip in the River Styx.
Air India sets 5 p.m deadline for striking pilots
suchithkc
New Delhi, April 29 : National carrier Air India set a Friday 5 p.m. deadline for its striking pilots to return to work or provide a valid reason for leave without which they would face sacking.
'Either the pilots come back to work and get themselves rostered-in as per the High Courts judgment yesterday (Thursday) or give a valid reason for leave,' a senior Air India official told IANS.
According to the official, the pilots have time till 5 p.m. Friday to get back to the management with their replies.
'They have till 5 p.m.,' the official said adding: 'If they are ill and not well we have also provided doctors to check them, that too free of cost, which is a norm in our company.'
Several pilots had called in sick Thursday and Friday.
Air India has had to cancel and re-schedule around 210 flights since Tuesday midnight, when the strike started.
Meanwhile, pilots of Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) said they were ready to return to work only if written assurances are given that their demands of pay parity, better working conditions and reinstatement of sacked pilots are met.
'We are ready to go back to work. No one wants to trouble the passengers, but we want written assurances from the government that our demands are met and our sacked pilots re-instated back immediately,' said A.S. Bhinder, central president, ICPA.
Members of the ICPA, who were on the rolls of the erstwhile Indian Airlines before it merged with Air India, struck work, demanding parity in pay with their counterparts in Air India and other issues related to work conditions.
They also want the airline to reinstate the six pilots sacked during the strike, as well as four others who were suspended.
Besides, they want the union to be recognised again and Arvind Jadhav ousted as chairman and managing director.
The airline's toughening of stand came after the strike entered its third day.
The flag carrier were forced to operate a minuscule number of flights out of its 320 daily national flights operations.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court Wednesday had stayed the strike, but the pilots union disregarded the judgment and has been on strike ever since.
'Think properly about what is going on,' Justice Gita Mittal said, pulling up the pilots after the Air India moved a contempt petition against the union.
'What is your defence with regard to non-compliance of yesterday's order to call off the strike,' he asked.
The government has so far decided to fully back the airline management.
Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said Thursday that the 1,600 pilots of Air India get a total pay of about Rs.800 crore annually, an amount equal to the annual emoluments of the remaining 28,000 employees of the airline.
New Delhi, April 29 : National carrier Air India set a Friday 5 p.m. deadline for its striking pilots to return to work or provide a valid reason for leave without which they would face sacking.
'Either the pilots come back to work and get themselves rostered-in as per the High Courts judgment yesterday (Thursday) or give a valid reason for leave,' a senior Air India official told IANS.
According to the official, the pilots have time till 5 p.m. Friday to get back to the management with their replies.
'They have till 5 p.m.,' the official said adding: 'If they are ill and not well we have also provided doctors to check them, that too free of cost, which is a norm in our company.'
Several pilots had called in sick Thursday and Friday.
Air India has had to cancel and re-schedule around 210 flights since Tuesday midnight, when the strike started.
Meanwhile, pilots of Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) said they were ready to return to work only if written assurances are given that their demands of pay parity, better working conditions and reinstatement of sacked pilots are met.
'We are ready to go back to work. No one wants to trouble the passengers, but we want written assurances from the government that our demands are met and our sacked pilots re-instated back immediately,' said A.S. Bhinder, central president, ICPA.
Members of the ICPA, who were on the rolls of the erstwhile Indian Airlines before it merged with Air India, struck work, demanding parity in pay with their counterparts in Air India and other issues related to work conditions.
They also want the airline to reinstate the six pilots sacked during the strike, as well as four others who were suspended.
Besides, they want the union to be recognised again and Arvind Jadhav ousted as chairman and managing director.
The airline's toughening of stand came after the strike entered its third day.
The flag carrier were forced to operate a minuscule number of flights out of its 320 daily national flights operations.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court Wednesday had stayed the strike, but the pilots union disregarded the judgment and has been on strike ever since.
'Think properly about what is going on,' Justice Gita Mittal said, pulling up the pilots after the Air India moved a contempt petition against the union.
'What is your defence with regard to non-compliance of yesterday's order to call off the strike,' he asked.
The government has so far decided to fully back the airline management.
Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said Thursday that the 1,600 pilots of Air India get a total pay of about Rs.800 crore annually, an amount equal to the annual emoluments of the remaining 28,000 employees of the airline.
Airfares soar as Air India pilots' strike enters third day
suchithkc
New Delhi, April 29 : Despite contempt notices by the Delhi High Court, the strike by some 600 Air India pilots entered the third day Friday, forcing at least 95 flights to be cancelled, even as grounded fliers faced steep fare hikes by other airlines.
With both the management and the agitating union members hardening their positions, the airline has suspended bookings on domestic and regional international destinations till Sunday. 'Fresh bookings will only start May 4,' an Air India spokesperson said.
The Delhi High Court had Thursday asked the pilots to immediately end their agitation, while initiating contempt proceedings and threatening to attach the properties of the their union if they failed to do.
But passengers, who were stranded after their Air India flights were cancelled, started facing another dilemma -- that of shelling out between 50 percent and 75 percent more money on bookings with other airlines.
Passengers were complaining that the base fare on a Delhi-Mumbai flight, which goes up to Rs.2,400-Rs.3,000 for last-minute bookings had gone up to as much as Rs.7,500 on some airlines -- resulting in a total one-way cost of Rs.11,500 including various levies.
Members of the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), once on the rolls of the erstwhile Indian Airlines, had struck work since midnight Tuesday, demanding parity in pay with their counterparts in Air India and other issues related to work conditions.
They also want the airline to re-instate the six pilots who have been sacked since the day the strike began apart from four others who were suspended and want the union to be recognised again. They also want chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav ousted.
But the government has so far decided to fully back the airline management. 'We cannot hold any talks with pilots till they return to their duties,' said Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi, who had briefed the federal cabinet Thursday.
Overall, the carrier has 1,600 pilots on its rolls, including those who were co-opted from the erstwhile Indian airlines, which was merged with Air India in 2007. Under normal operations, the carrier runs 320 scheduled flights daily.
The airline also made arrangements to lessen the impact of the strike by rolling in some 150 of its management pilots -- senior executives with wings who have now been given administrative duties. The striking pilots said some 70 of them had reported sick.
One of the executive pilots Capt. V.K. Bhalla has been sacked.
New Delhi, April 29 : Despite contempt notices by the Delhi High Court, the strike by some 600 Air India pilots entered the third day Friday, forcing at least 95 flights to be cancelled, even as grounded fliers faced steep fare hikes by other airlines.
With both the management and the agitating union members hardening their positions, the airline has suspended bookings on domestic and regional international destinations till Sunday. 'Fresh bookings will only start May 4,' an Air India spokesperson said.
The Delhi High Court had Thursday asked the pilots to immediately end their agitation, while initiating contempt proceedings and threatening to attach the properties of the their union if they failed to do.
But passengers, who were stranded after their Air India flights were cancelled, started facing another dilemma -- that of shelling out between 50 percent and 75 percent more money on bookings with other airlines.
Passengers were complaining that the base fare on a Delhi-Mumbai flight, which goes up to Rs.2,400-Rs.3,000 for last-minute bookings had gone up to as much as Rs.7,500 on some airlines -- resulting in a total one-way cost of Rs.11,500 including various levies.
Members of the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), once on the rolls of the erstwhile Indian Airlines, had struck work since midnight Tuesday, demanding parity in pay with their counterparts in Air India and other issues related to work conditions.
They also want the airline to re-instate the six pilots who have been sacked since the day the strike began apart from four others who were suspended and want the union to be recognised again. They also want chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav ousted.
But the government has so far decided to fully back the airline management. 'We cannot hold any talks with pilots till they return to their duties,' said Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi, who had briefed the federal cabinet Thursday.
Overall, the carrier has 1,600 pilots on its rolls, including those who were co-opted from the erstwhile Indian airlines, which was merged with Air India in 2007. Under normal operations, the carrier runs 320 scheduled flights daily.
The airline also made arrangements to lessen the impact of the strike by rolling in some 150 of its management pilots -- senior executives with wings who have now been given administrative duties. The striking pilots said some 70 of them had reported sick.
One of the executive pilots Capt. V.K. Bhalla has been sacked.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Storms leave nearly 300 as dead in southern US
suchithkc
New York, April 29 : Severe storms that have been heavily hitting southern US since last week have left nearly 300 people as dead in six states, devastating entire neighbourhoods and crippling towns, CNN reported.
The grim toll continued to rise across the region, with 283 counted in six states.
The vast majority of fatalities occurred in Alabama, where at least 194 people perished, Gov. Robert Bentley said.
Public and private assistance -- in the form of food, tarps and hugs -- began arriving Thursday in storm-battered southern communities that saw once-familiar neighbourhoods reduced to piles of debris.
The worst-hit Alabama is followed by Mississippi.
A tornado left a trail of destruction in Tuscaloosa - a city of 90,000 people in Alabama - Wednesday afternoon, Xinhua reported citing local daily Birmingham News.
Emergencies were declared by the governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee, and the toll was expected to rise, Daily Telegraph reported.
According to the National Weather Service, it had received 137 tornado reports Wednesday, bringing to 300 the total number counted in the region since Friday, the report added.
The highest toll was in Franklin county in the northwest, where 18 people died, the Alabama Emergency Management Agency said.
US President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in Alabama, authorising the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate immediate disaster relief efforts, the White House said in a statement.
New York, April 29 : Severe storms that have been heavily hitting southern US since last week have left nearly 300 people as dead in six states, devastating entire neighbourhoods and crippling towns, CNN reported.
The grim toll continued to rise across the region, with 283 counted in six states.
The vast majority of fatalities occurred in Alabama, where at least 194 people perished, Gov. Robert Bentley said.
Public and private assistance -- in the form of food, tarps and hugs -- began arriving Thursday in storm-battered southern communities that saw once-familiar neighbourhoods reduced to piles of debris.
The worst-hit Alabama is followed by Mississippi.
A tornado left a trail of destruction in Tuscaloosa - a city of 90,000 people in Alabama - Wednesday afternoon, Xinhua reported citing local daily Birmingham News.
Emergencies were declared by the governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee, and the toll was expected to rise, Daily Telegraph reported.
According to the National Weather Service, it had received 137 tornado reports Wednesday, bringing to 300 the total number counted in the region since Friday, the report added.
The highest toll was in Franklin county in the northwest, where 18 people died, the Alabama Emergency Management Agency said.
US President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in Alabama, authorising the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate immediate disaster relief efforts, the White House said in a statement.
Ten killed in Delhi factory fire, Dikshit orders probe
suchithkc
New Delhi, April 28 (IANS) Ten workers were charred to death in a massive fire at a shoe factory in west Delhi's Peeragarhi industrial area, officials said Thursday. Around 80 people were working in the three-storey building, whose door was said to be locked when the fire broke out, and many more casualties are feared.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has ordered a probe into the incident and a case has been registered by police.
The factory is in Udyog Nagar in Peeragarhi area in west Delhi. The fire broke out at 7.10 p.m. Wednesday and smoke was still billowing out of the building as of 10.30 p.m. Thursday. A portion of the building had also collapsed.
'Ten bodies have been pulled out of the debris so far. We fear there will be many more people buried under the debris,' a fire brigade official told IANS.
'It took almost 12 hours for firefighters to douse the flames. Twenty-five fire tenders were rushed to douse the flames. The fire was brought under control this morning, at around 7.50 a.m.,' said the official.
However, fire brigade officials had to wait for the blazing hot debris to cool before they could begin rescue operations. They began rescue work at 2 p.m. Thursday.
'We have registered a case and are investigating whose negligence it was. We have a list of ten missing persons and ten bodies have been recovered so far which have been sent to the hospital. However, it is still not clear whether they are the same people as on the list,' Additional Commissioner of Police V. Renganathan said late Thursday evening.
'We will interrogate all concerned and take the statement of the workers. Investigation is on. The fire brigade team is still there,' he added.
Most of the workers were migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Peeragarhi is a residential-cum-indutrial area, with several factories and also some residential houses.
The missing persons are Rajkumar, Bittoo, Manoj, Ajay, Ravi, Mohammad Faizad, Mohammad Sattar, Sunil, Chandrashekhar and Anil, officials said.
According to officials, the fire began on the third floor of the building, which was an open space, before it spread. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. However, local residents said the fire broke out on the ground floor.
According to the local people, they had attempted to break down the locked main door of the factory when the fire broke out but were unable to due to the immense amount of smoke.
There were 60-80 people working in the factory, of whom 22 were on the rolls while the rest were employed through contractors on daily wage basis. The factory owner has been identified as Narender Singla, said police.
According to fire officials, the factory had not obtained a No-objection Certificate (NOC).
'Prima facie it appears that the building stored too many cartons and all the exits and escape routes were blocked as a result. There is a wire mesh on the walls that did not allow those trapped inside to jump out. The windows were also blocked. The cause of fire can only be ascertained after the rescue operation is over,' Director of Delhi Fire Service A.K. Sharma said.
'There should have been a few more openings of the factory. The fire fighting equipment seems to have been in place but was dysfunctional,' a senior fire department official working on the spot said.
The chief minister has meanwhile directed Deputy Commissioner G.S. Meena to conduct an enquiry into the incident and submit his report within 15 days.
A grieving relative of one of the victims blamed the authorities for delay in the rescue operation. 'The rescue work began very late. We had suggested that they should break the wall to rescue those trapped but the authorities took a long to take a decision and by that time it was too late,' she cried.
'Five of my friends were working there, all are missing. The police are not letting us in, I don't know what to do,' 42-year old Ravikant Rajput said.
Rajput, who worked in the factory a few years back said the building had small gates. He also said that fire incidents had occurred in the factory several times earlier, but no one died. A local resident said there had been a fire every year in the factory in the last four years.
Ram Nath, another witness, said he saw only one boy escaping.
'I was here till 1.30 a.m. and saw only one boy escaping, I don't know what happened to the others,' he said.
This is the fourth incident of fire in Peeragarhi in three months. On Feb 15, 2011, a polyvinyl chloride factory caught fire but no one died in the incident. Just ten days later on Feb 26 another fire broke out in a shoe factory, killing four including a child. On March 13, a fire was reported yet again from another shoe factory but no loss of life was reported.
New Delhi, April 28 (IANS) Ten workers were charred to death in a massive fire at a shoe factory in west Delhi's Peeragarhi industrial area, officials said Thursday. Around 80 people were working in the three-storey building, whose door was said to be locked when the fire broke out, and many more casualties are feared.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has ordered a probe into the incident and a case has been registered by police.
The factory is in Udyog Nagar in Peeragarhi area in west Delhi. The fire broke out at 7.10 p.m. Wednesday and smoke was still billowing out of the building as of 10.30 p.m. Thursday. A portion of the building had also collapsed.
'Ten bodies have been pulled out of the debris so far. We fear there will be many more people buried under the debris,' a fire brigade official told IANS.
'It took almost 12 hours for firefighters to douse the flames. Twenty-five fire tenders were rushed to douse the flames. The fire was brought under control this morning, at around 7.50 a.m.,' said the official.
However, fire brigade officials had to wait for the blazing hot debris to cool before they could begin rescue operations. They began rescue work at 2 p.m. Thursday.
'We have registered a case and are investigating whose negligence it was. We have a list of ten missing persons and ten bodies have been recovered so far which have been sent to the hospital. However, it is still not clear whether they are the same people as on the list,' Additional Commissioner of Police V. Renganathan said late Thursday evening.
'We will interrogate all concerned and take the statement of the workers. Investigation is on. The fire brigade team is still there,' he added.
Most of the workers were migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Peeragarhi is a residential-cum-indutrial area, with several factories and also some residential houses.
The missing persons are Rajkumar, Bittoo, Manoj, Ajay, Ravi, Mohammad Faizad, Mohammad Sattar, Sunil, Chandrashekhar and Anil, officials said.
According to officials, the fire began on the third floor of the building, which was an open space, before it spread. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. However, local residents said the fire broke out on the ground floor.
According to the local people, they had attempted to break down the locked main door of the factory when the fire broke out but were unable to due to the immense amount of smoke.
There were 60-80 people working in the factory, of whom 22 were on the rolls while the rest were employed through contractors on daily wage basis. The factory owner has been identified as Narender Singla, said police.
According to fire officials, the factory had not obtained a No-objection Certificate (NOC).
'Prima facie it appears that the building stored too many cartons and all the exits and escape routes were blocked as a result. There is a wire mesh on the walls that did not allow those trapped inside to jump out. The windows were also blocked. The cause of fire can only be ascertained after the rescue operation is over,' Director of Delhi Fire Service A.K. Sharma said.
'There should have been a few more openings of the factory. The fire fighting equipment seems to have been in place but was dysfunctional,' a senior fire department official working on the spot said.
The chief minister has meanwhile directed Deputy Commissioner G.S. Meena to conduct an enquiry into the incident and submit his report within 15 days.
A grieving relative of one of the victims blamed the authorities for delay in the rescue operation. 'The rescue work began very late. We had suggested that they should break the wall to rescue those trapped but the authorities took a long to take a decision and by that time it was too late,' she cried.
'Five of my friends were working there, all are missing. The police are not letting us in, I don't know what to do,' 42-year old Ravikant Rajput said.
Rajput, who worked in the factory a few years back said the building had small gates. He also said that fire incidents had occurred in the factory several times earlier, but no one died. A local resident said there had been a fire every year in the factory in the last four years.
Ram Nath, another witness, said he saw only one boy escaping.
'I was here till 1.30 a.m. and saw only one boy escaping, I don't know what happened to the others,' he said.
This is the fourth incident of fire in Peeragarhi in three months. On Feb 15, 2011, a polyvinyl chloride factory caught fire but no one died in the incident. Just ten days later on Feb 26 another fire broke out in a shoe factory, killing four including a child. On March 13, a fire was reported yet again from another shoe factory but no loss of life was reported.
Two Supreme Court judges withdraw from Dinakaran case
suchithkc
New Delhi, April 28 (: The hearing on a petition by Sikkim High Court Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran, facing an impeachment motion, was deferred Thursday as two Supreme Court judges withdrew themselves from the matter.
Justice D.K. Jain and Justice H.L. Dattu of the two-member apex court bench withdrew from the hearing on Justice Dinakaran's plea seeking a stay on the inquiry proceedings against him under the impeachment motion and removal of counsel P.P. Rao from a committee probing charges of misconduct against him.
Justice Dinakaran has sought the removal of Rao on the grounds that he was prejudiced against him as he (Rao) was one of the several people who had pleaded with the then chief justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan against his elevation to the apex court.
Justice Dinakaran, facing charges of corruption, land-grab and abuse of judicial office, sought the stay of the Judges Inquiry Committee's (JIC) proceedings till his petition seeking the removal of Rao from it was decided by the apex court.
The three-member (JIC) was set up by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari after a motion seeking the initiation of impeachment proceedings and removal of Justice Dinakaran was moved Dec 14, 2009.
The panel includes Justice Aftab Alam of apex court, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Justice J.S. Khehar and Rao. Inquiry proceedings are related to the impeachment motion moved in the Rajya Sabha.
Justice Dinakaran's plea before the inquiry committee asking Rao to withdraw from the panel was rejected by it April 24.
The committee, while declining the plea by Justice Dinakaran, said that the objection should have been raised at the time of the constitution of the committee.
Justice Dinakaran contended that the decision of the inquiry committee to continue with the presence of Rao on the committee would be violative of the Article 14 of the constitution that guarantees equality before the law.
'If there is reasonable likelihood of bias, it is in accordance with natural justice and common sense that the judge likely to be so biased should be incapacitated from sitting. The basic principle underlying the rule is that justice must not only be done but must also appear to be done,' Justice Dinakaran said in his petition.
New Delhi, April 28 (: The hearing on a petition by Sikkim High Court Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran, facing an impeachment motion, was deferred Thursday as two Supreme Court judges withdrew themselves from the matter.
Justice D.K. Jain and Justice H.L. Dattu of the two-member apex court bench withdrew from the hearing on Justice Dinakaran's plea seeking a stay on the inquiry proceedings against him under the impeachment motion and removal of counsel P.P. Rao from a committee probing charges of misconduct against him.
Justice Dinakaran has sought the removal of Rao on the grounds that he was prejudiced against him as he (Rao) was one of the several people who had pleaded with the then chief justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan against his elevation to the apex court.
Justice Dinakaran, facing charges of corruption, land-grab and abuse of judicial office, sought the stay of the Judges Inquiry Committee's (JIC) proceedings till his petition seeking the removal of Rao from it was decided by the apex court.
The three-member (JIC) was set up by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari after a motion seeking the initiation of impeachment proceedings and removal of Justice Dinakaran was moved Dec 14, 2009.
The panel includes Justice Aftab Alam of apex court, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Justice J.S. Khehar and Rao. Inquiry proceedings are related to the impeachment motion moved in the Rajya Sabha.
Justice Dinakaran's plea before the inquiry committee asking Rao to withdraw from the panel was rejected by it April 24.
The committee, while declining the plea by Justice Dinakaran, said that the objection should have been raised at the time of the constitution of the committee.
Justice Dinakaran contended that the decision of the inquiry committee to continue with the presence of Rao on the committee would be violative of the Article 14 of the constitution that guarantees equality before the law.
'If there is reasonable likelihood of bias, it is in accordance with natural justice and common sense that the judge likely to be so biased should be incapacitated from sitting. The basic principle underlying the rule is that justice must not only be done but must also appear to be done,' Justice Dinakaran said in his petition.
33 militants killed in northwest Pakistan
suchithkc
Islamabad, April 28 : At least 33 militants were killed Thursday by security forces and pro-government militia in the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan, media reports said.
Six militants were killed in a clash with pro-government tribes in the Kurram agency, one of the seven tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, Xinhua reported citing local media.
After the clash, security forces launched an offensive on the militants in Kurram agency and neighbouring Orakzai agency.
Helicopters bombarded militant hideouts that led to the death of at least 27 people.
Security forces have intensified operation in the tribal areas in the last two months, officials said.
Islamabad, April 28 : At least 33 militants were killed Thursday by security forces and pro-government militia in the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan, media reports said.
Six militants were killed in a clash with pro-government tribes in the Kurram agency, one of the seven tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, Xinhua reported citing local media.
After the clash, security forces launched an offensive on the militants in Kurram agency and neighbouring Orakzai agency.
Helicopters bombarded militant hideouts that led to the death of at least 27 people.
Security forces have intensified operation in the tribal areas in the last two months, officials said.
Swami Agnivesh's assailant shot at by Maoists
suchithkc
Raipur, April 28 : Three Maoists Thursday shot at and seriously injured a Salwa Judum militia leader, who was also accused of leading an assault on social activist Swami Agnivesh during his visit last month, in Chhattisgarh's violence-hit Bastar region Thursday, police said.
'Three armed Maoists clad in school uniform opened fire in a full public view in Konta block at Vijay Kumar,' Additional Director General of Police Giridhari Nayak told IANS.
The attack site is located in Dantewada district, about 500 km south of Raipur.
Nayak added that Vijay, a teacher by profession, was hit by at least two bullets at close range and was rushed to a hospital at Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh, barely 40 km from the attack site. Vijay was reported to be critical when the last report came in around 10 p.m. Thursday.
Top official sources said that Maoists were desperately looking to kill Vijay after he was named in a police report for leading a group that assaulted Swami Agnivesh when he was on way to Tarmetla where policemen were accused by poor villagers of burning down their nearly 300 huts besides raping and torturing a few women in a rampage that went on for several days.
The protesters whom Agnivesh termed a bunch of Salwa Judum cadres and policemen, manhandled Agnivesh, removed his turban and threw eggs at him and forced him to return back without making on the spot visit to Tarmetla and two other nearby hamlets.
Raipur, April 28 : Three Maoists Thursday shot at and seriously injured a Salwa Judum militia leader, who was also accused of leading an assault on social activist Swami Agnivesh during his visit last month, in Chhattisgarh's violence-hit Bastar region Thursday, police said.
'Three armed Maoists clad in school uniform opened fire in a full public view in Konta block at Vijay Kumar,' Additional Director General of Police Giridhari Nayak told IANS.
The attack site is located in Dantewada district, about 500 km south of Raipur.
Nayak added that Vijay, a teacher by profession, was hit by at least two bullets at close range and was rushed to a hospital at Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh, barely 40 km from the attack site. Vijay was reported to be critical when the last report came in around 10 p.m. Thursday.
Top official sources said that Maoists were desperately looking to kill Vijay after he was named in a police report for leading a group that assaulted Swami Agnivesh when he was on way to Tarmetla where policemen were accused by poor villagers of burning down their nearly 300 huts besides raping and torturing a few women in a rampage that went on for several days.
The protesters whom Agnivesh termed a bunch of Salwa Judum cadres and policemen, manhandled Agnivesh, removed his turban and threw eggs at him and forced him to return back without making on the spot visit to Tarmetla and two other nearby hamlets.
AI to suspend bookings for five days as more pilots join stir
suchithkc
New Delhi, Apr 28: With more pilots joining the ongoing strike, Air India management has decided to suspend the bookings for the next five days in order to tackle the situation arising out of the stir.
About 200 executive pilots have also joined the strike by pilots associated with the Indian Commercial Pilots'' Association (ICPA). Taking this into account, the airline has decided to suspend the bookings for the next five days, a senior official said.
Earlier today, Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi met the Prime Minister to apprise him of the situation and later briefed the Cabinet.
Ravi is understood to have said that he had taken a firm view of the situation and fully supported the actions by the Air India management against the striking pilots.
He also apprised the Cabinet of festering issues that arose after the merger of erstwhile Indian Airlines with Air India and still remain unaddressed.
He informed the Cabinet that combined annual salary of 28,000 Air India staff equals the annual salary of 1,600 pilots, which comes to around Rs 800 crore.
The Minister also said that the talks between the Air India management and the striking pilots with the Chief Labour Commissioner N K Prasad ended without result.
"There was conciliation with CLC, he called for the meeting. Air India management attended and also the people from striking union were present. I was told that nothing has come out," Ravi said addressing the media later.
He also said that the CLC directed the pilots to withdraw their strike and continue the discussions with the management.
"But I don''t know the response, I believe and as per the reports received from my officers, the response was not positive," Ravi said.
Yesterday, Ravi had said that the demands of the pilots'' union could not be accepted.
He had also appealed to the striking pilots to cooperate and help the airline come out of its crisis.
The Civil Aviation Minister said that good sense should prevail upon the pilots and they should call off their strike.
There will be no talks with pilots until they withdraw their strike, he said.
New Delhi, Apr 28: With more pilots joining the ongoing strike, Air India management has decided to suspend the bookings for the next five days in order to tackle the situation arising out of the stir.
About 200 executive pilots have also joined the strike by pilots associated with the Indian Commercial Pilots'' Association (ICPA). Taking this into account, the airline has decided to suspend the bookings for the next five days, a senior official said.
Earlier today, Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi met the Prime Minister to apprise him of the situation and later briefed the Cabinet.
Ravi is understood to have said that he had taken a firm view of the situation and fully supported the actions by the Air India management against the striking pilots.
He also apprised the Cabinet of festering issues that arose after the merger of erstwhile Indian Airlines with Air India and still remain unaddressed.
He informed the Cabinet that combined annual salary of 28,000 Air India staff equals the annual salary of 1,600 pilots, which comes to around Rs 800 crore.
The Minister also said that the talks between the Air India management and the striking pilots with the Chief Labour Commissioner N K Prasad ended without result.
"There was conciliation with CLC, he called for the meeting. Air India management attended and also the people from striking union were present. I was told that nothing has come out," Ravi said addressing the media later.
He also said that the CLC directed the pilots to withdraw their strike and continue the discussions with the management.
"But I don''t know the response, I believe and as per the reports received from my officers, the response was not positive," Ravi said.
Yesterday, Ravi had said that the demands of the pilots'' union could not be accepted.
He had also appealed to the striking pilots to cooperate and help the airline come out of its crisis.
The Civil Aviation Minister said that good sense should prevail upon the pilots and they should call off their strike.
There will be no talks with pilots until they withdraw their strike, he said.
Explain role in Purulia arms drop: Left Front to UPA government
suchithkc
Kolkata, April 28: West Bengal's ruling Left Front Thursday asked the central government to explain why it remained inactive despite having advance information about the massive arms drop in Purulia in 1995.
'The latest revelations on the arms drop are further confirmation of the fact that there was a well planned conspiracy to use violence to destabilise the Left Front at that time,' LF chairman Biman Bose told mediapersons. He was reacting to an interview given by arms drop case prime accused Kim Davy who claimed the arms were dropped to 'destabilise' the state government and the then central government had played the role of a facilitator.
Bose described the arms drop as a 'serious assault on India's sovereignty' and a 'diabolical plot against the then Left front government'.
'Whatever has been said by Kim Davy, a prime accused in the case, and Peter Bleach, who was sentenced in the case, show that the arms drop for the Ananda Margis was planned through an international network and the target was the Left Front government.
'It was known at that time that the British intelligence had alerted the Indian government about the arms drop. Yet, the central government failed to inform the West Bengal government about the matter in time.
'The central government should explain why it failed to act on the information given by the British intelligence?'
Bose alleged 22 MPs had signed a letter seeking lowering of charges against the accused who included Peter Bleach and five Latvians. 'Four Congress MPs were signatories,' he claimed.
Bose, using the Davy interview transcript, accused Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's premier intelligence agency, of jeopardising the security of the country.
'Davy claims that the RAW had put off all radars for 48 hours to facilitate the arms drop. Can you imagine that? It is terrible. The time could have been used by international forces to attack our country.'
'This is an indication of a bigger conspiracy,' said Bose.
Davy in an interview to Times Now news channel Thursday made startling revelations about the controversy, claiming that the then central government and RAW facilitated the arms dropping as well as arranged for his disappearance from the country.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee asked the Congress why the central government, then run by the party, had allowed Davy to flee the country. 'Why did you allow him to escape? Why did they not try to stop him?' he asked while addressing a public meeting at Dankuni in Hooghly district.
Another Left Front partner, Communist Party of India, demanded that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government order a thorough probe into the whole issue.
'It is a shocking exposure of the Congress government at that point of time which worked with a sinister design to defame the Left Front government and to topple it by any means...The government must come clean in the matter'.
Kolkata, April 28: West Bengal's ruling Left Front Thursday asked the central government to explain why it remained inactive despite having advance information about the massive arms drop in Purulia in 1995.
'The latest revelations on the arms drop are further confirmation of the fact that there was a well planned conspiracy to use violence to destabilise the Left Front at that time,' LF chairman Biman Bose told mediapersons. He was reacting to an interview given by arms drop case prime accused Kim Davy who claimed the arms were dropped to 'destabilise' the state government and the then central government had played the role of a facilitator.
Bose described the arms drop as a 'serious assault on India's sovereignty' and a 'diabolical plot against the then Left front government'.
'Whatever has been said by Kim Davy, a prime accused in the case, and Peter Bleach, who was sentenced in the case, show that the arms drop for the Ananda Margis was planned through an international network and the target was the Left Front government.
'It was known at that time that the British intelligence had alerted the Indian government about the arms drop. Yet, the central government failed to inform the West Bengal government about the matter in time.
'The central government should explain why it failed to act on the information given by the British intelligence?'
Bose alleged 22 MPs had signed a letter seeking lowering of charges against the accused who included Peter Bleach and five Latvians. 'Four Congress MPs were signatories,' he claimed.
Bose, using the Davy interview transcript, accused Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's premier intelligence agency, of jeopardising the security of the country.
'Davy claims that the RAW had put off all radars for 48 hours to facilitate the arms drop. Can you imagine that? It is terrible. The time could have been used by international forces to attack our country.'
'This is an indication of a bigger conspiracy,' said Bose.
Davy in an interview to Times Now news channel Thursday made startling revelations about the controversy, claiming that the then central government and RAW facilitated the arms dropping as well as arranged for his disappearance from the country.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee asked the Congress why the central government, then run by the party, had allowed Davy to flee the country. 'Why did you allow him to escape? Why did they not try to stop him?' he asked while addressing a public meeting at Dankuni in Hooghly district.
Another Left Front partner, Communist Party of India, demanded that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government order a thorough probe into the whole issue.
'It is a shocking exposure of the Congress government at that point of time which worked with a sinister design to defame the Left Front government and to topple it by any means...The government must come clean in the matter'.
'PMO representative Jarnail Singh approved Swiss firm for TSR deal'
suchithkc
New Delhi, April 28 : Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC) CEO Jarnail Singh, appointed by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), is now being accused of approving a contract with a Swiss firm for the timing, scoring and result (TSR) system that led to the arrest of former OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi.
CNN-IBN reported Thursday that Singh, in a letter to the sports ministry, approved the Swiss Timing Ltd-Omega ahead of Spanish firm MSL Software, which had quoted a much lower price for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
In the letter, Singh said that Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Mike Fennell and chief executive Mike Hooper also approved the company.
The letter was a reply to sports ministry, which was, in fact, looking into a complaint on the deal forwarded to it by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
'We are not aware of a situation whereby MSL Software has provided the full TSR solution to a major multi-sport event such as the Olympic or Commonwealth Games, they certainly have provided elements of this e.g. some of the OVR at the last Commonwealth Games in Melbourne,' Singh wrote in his letter, which was made public by the TV channel.
'It would therefore seem that the only remaining respondent that fulfils your assessment against the RFP issued is Swiss Timing/Omega, as you will be aware they have had a long association with major multi-sport events including the last two Commonwealth Games in Manchester and Melbourne and as such we would if deemed appropriate by the Organising Committee, support their appointment as the TSR provider,' the letter added.
The TRS contract was finally awarded to Swiss Timing Ltd-Omega, at an inflated cost of Rs. 141 crore, causing a loss of Rs.95 crore to the exchequer. The deal has landed Kalmadi in jail as he was arrested Monday by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for awarding the Swiss firm.
Singh, however, defended his decision, saying the Swiss firm was given the contract after it went through the highest level of scrutiny.
'Selection of Swiss Timing was done by putting every stage through the highest level of scrutiny not only by the Organising Committee Finance Committee which has Sanjeev Mittal, Joint Secretary, Rahul Bhatnagar from the Ministry of Sports but also by the empowered finance sub-committee set up by the government, which is chaired by Secretary, Urban Development,' Singh was quoted as saying by the CNN-IBN.
'The deal was approved by senior IAS officers in the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee. The deal was also approved by the finance sub-committee set up by the Government. The Organising Committee even managed to get a discount of Rs 26.35 crore from Swiss Timing in the deal,' he said.
Hooper also said that Swiss Timing was the best choice.
'We went by the measures adopted by the Organising Committee for TSR deal. Swiss timing is second to none in TSR services,' said Hooper.
New Delhi, April 28 : Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC) CEO Jarnail Singh, appointed by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), is now being accused of approving a contract with a Swiss firm for the timing, scoring and result (TSR) system that led to the arrest of former OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi.
CNN-IBN reported Thursday that Singh, in a letter to the sports ministry, approved the Swiss Timing Ltd-Omega ahead of Spanish firm MSL Software, which had quoted a much lower price for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
In the letter, Singh said that Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Mike Fennell and chief executive Mike Hooper also approved the company.
The letter was a reply to sports ministry, which was, in fact, looking into a complaint on the deal forwarded to it by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
'We are not aware of a situation whereby MSL Software has provided the full TSR solution to a major multi-sport event such as the Olympic or Commonwealth Games, they certainly have provided elements of this e.g. some of the OVR at the last Commonwealth Games in Melbourne,' Singh wrote in his letter, which was made public by the TV channel.
'It would therefore seem that the only remaining respondent that fulfils your assessment against the RFP issued is Swiss Timing/Omega, as you will be aware they have had a long association with major multi-sport events including the last two Commonwealth Games in Manchester and Melbourne and as such we would if deemed appropriate by the Organising Committee, support their appointment as the TSR provider,' the letter added.
The TRS contract was finally awarded to Swiss Timing Ltd-Omega, at an inflated cost of Rs. 141 crore, causing a loss of Rs.95 crore to the exchequer. The deal has landed Kalmadi in jail as he was arrested Monday by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for awarding the Swiss firm.
Singh, however, defended his decision, saying the Swiss firm was given the contract after it went through the highest level of scrutiny.
'Selection of Swiss Timing was done by putting every stage through the highest level of scrutiny not only by the Organising Committee Finance Committee which has Sanjeev Mittal, Joint Secretary, Rahul Bhatnagar from the Ministry of Sports but also by the empowered finance sub-committee set up by the government, which is chaired by Secretary, Urban Development,' Singh was quoted as saying by the CNN-IBN.
'The deal was approved by senior IAS officers in the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee. The deal was also approved by the finance sub-committee set up by the Government. The Organising Committee even managed to get a discount of Rs 26.35 crore from Swiss Timing in the deal,' he said.
Hooper also said that Swiss Timing was the best choice.
'We went by the measures adopted by the Organising Committee for TSR deal. Swiss timing is second to none in TSR services,' said Hooper.
Yasin Malik, associate arrested for attacking police
suchithkc
Srinagar, Apr 28 : Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik and his associate Shoukat Bakshi were arrested today for allegedly ransacking a police station in Maisuma area here and attacking personnel.
"Malik along with his associates went inside police station Maisuma and intimidated and attacked the policemen besides ransacking some items of the office," a police spokesman said after the arrest of the JKLF chairman.
He said Malik and his associates disturbed the peace in the area and disrupted traffic near the Budshah Chowk.
"A case has been registered and Malik along with an associate (Bakshi) has been arrested," the spokesman said.
Earlier, Malik and his supporters tried to stage sit-in outside Maisuma police station protesting arrest of a youth, Ashiq Hussain Dar. The youth was arrested yesterday after he was found allegedly involved in beating up of another person.
Police later dispersed them using force and detained Malik and three of his associates, official sources said.
Soon after the detention of Malik, markets in Maisuma and adjoining areas shut down, they said, adding additional police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order.
Meanwhile, a JKLF spokesman alleged that some of protesters suffered injuries when the police was dispersing them.
Srinagar, Apr 28 : Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik and his associate Shoukat Bakshi were arrested today for allegedly ransacking a police station in Maisuma area here and attacking personnel.
"Malik along with his associates went inside police station Maisuma and intimidated and attacked the policemen besides ransacking some items of the office," a police spokesman said after the arrest of the JKLF chairman.
He said Malik and his associates disturbed the peace in the area and disrupted traffic near the Budshah Chowk.
"A case has been registered and Malik along with an associate (Bakshi) has been arrested," the spokesman said.
Earlier, Malik and his supporters tried to stage sit-in outside Maisuma police station protesting arrest of a youth, Ashiq Hussain Dar. The youth was arrested yesterday after he was found allegedly involved in beating up of another person.
Police later dispersed them using force and detained Malik and three of his associates, official sources said.
Soon after the detention of Malik, markets in Maisuma and adjoining areas shut down, they said, adding additional police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order.
Meanwhile, a JKLF spokesman alleged that some of protesters suffered injuries when the police was dispersing them.
'India Against Corruption' rallies to be held in UP as scheduled
suchithkc
Lucknow, Apr 28 : Activists of the non-governmental organisation 'India Against Corruption', which is headed by veteran social activist Anna Hazare, on Thursday said all anti-corruption meetings and rallies would be held as scheduled, even if the Uttar Pradesh Government does not grant them permission.
"The rally will be organized. Whether the government permits it or not, the meeting will be held. All the meetings that are planned will be held. If they want to arrest us then they are welcome, whatever they want to do they are most welcome. Every sacrifice, every drop of blood will count in the protest," said Rajiv Aggarwal, who heads the NGO's Lucknow chapter
The Uttar Pradesh Government has put a curb on public functions and demonstrations, making it mandatory to take prior permission from the district administration.
Moreover, the Lucknow University, which had earlier given permission to Lucknow University Teachers Association (LUTA) for organising an interactive session of students and teachers with anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, later withdrew it citing local intelligence reports that the meeting may invite trouble.
According to reports, Hazare will not be able to attend the Uttar Pradesh leg of the nation-wide 'India Against Corruption' (IAC) rallies on health grounds, but will address them over the phone.
However, his associates, activists Arvind Kejriwal, Swami Agnivesh, P. D. Rajgopal, Kumar Vishwas, Prakash Singh and Jaspal Bhatti would attend all the anti-corruption events.
Meanwhile, Aggarwal said they have sought permission from the state administration for their rallies, and have provided all information regarding security arrangements.
"We have provided all the information to the administration regarding the security arrangements. All our events, like candle (candlelight) march and such events have been carried out peacefully and all these events that will be happening will also be peaceful. We have made a list of all the volunteers," said Aggarwal.
"Hundreds of our volunteers will keep a watch on the movement and will try to prevent and control any conflict or mishap that may happen. There is no problem related to security. Even the administration should also make all the security arrangements, keeping in mind the process of the rally," he added.
The anti-corruption rallies would be organised in Varanasi, Sultanpur and Lucknow on May 1.
Lucknow, Apr 28 : Activists of the non-governmental organisation 'India Against Corruption', which is headed by veteran social activist Anna Hazare, on Thursday said all anti-corruption meetings and rallies would be held as scheduled, even if the Uttar Pradesh Government does not grant them permission.
"The rally will be organized. Whether the government permits it or not, the meeting will be held. All the meetings that are planned will be held. If they want to arrest us then they are welcome, whatever they want to do they are most welcome. Every sacrifice, every drop of blood will count in the protest," said Rajiv Aggarwal, who heads the NGO's Lucknow chapter
The Uttar Pradesh Government has put a curb on public functions and demonstrations, making it mandatory to take prior permission from the district administration.
Moreover, the Lucknow University, which had earlier given permission to Lucknow University Teachers Association (LUTA) for organising an interactive session of students and teachers with anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, later withdrew it citing local intelligence reports that the meeting may invite trouble.
According to reports, Hazare will not be able to attend the Uttar Pradesh leg of the nation-wide 'India Against Corruption' (IAC) rallies on health grounds, but will address them over the phone.
However, his associates, activists Arvind Kejriwal, Swami Agnivesh, P. D. Rajgopal, Kumar Vishwas, Prakash Singh and Jaspal Bhatti would attend all the anti-corruption events.
Meanwhile, Aggarwal said they have sought permission from the state administration for their rallies, and have provided all information regarding security arrangements.
"We have provided all the information to the administration regarding the security arrangements. All our events, like candle (candlelight) march and such events have been carried out peacefully and all these events that will be happening will also be peaceful. We have made a list of all the volunteers," said Aggarwal.
"Hundreds of our volunteers will keep a watch on the movement and will try to prevent and control any conflict or mishap that may happen. There is no problem related to security. Even the administration should also make all the security arrangements, keeping in mind the process of the rally," he added.
The anti-corruption rallies would be organised in Varanasi, Sultanpur and Lucknow on May 1.
Unfriendly welcome for Fletcher in India
suchithkc
New Delhi, April 28 - India's newly appointed coach Duncan Fletcher on Thursday got a taste of the challenges he faces when two senior former players said a fellow countryman should have got the job instead.
Fletcher, a former Zimbabwean all-rounder who rose to prominence during his eight-year stint as England coach, was awarded a two-year contract Wednesday by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar, former Indian captains and influential voices in the cricket establishment, expressed displeasure over Fletcher's appointment.
"Who is Duncan Fletcher?" Dev told the Hindustan Times newspaper. "I would like to see Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh (former India players) as coaches of the Indian team. Not because they are Indians but because they did a great job at the T20 World Cup in 2007."
Gavaskar said former India all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath, who played a key role in guiding the team to their first World Cup win in 1983, should have been picked. "Someone like Amarnath would have been a better choice for the simple reason that the core of the Indian team today is from the Hindi-speaking belt," he told the NDTV news channel. "He would have got on brilliantly with this group as well as the seniors. It would have been a lot easier for Amarnath to understand and interact with the players.
"There is a perception and a wrong one that an Indian (coach) can be influenced and that he will get involved in politics. You are presuming that he cannot be a strong person."
New Delhi, April 28 - India's newly appointed coach Duncan Fletcher on Thursday got a taste of the challenges he faces when two senior former players said a fellow countryman should have got the job instead.
Fletcher, a former Zimbabwean all-rounder who rose to prominence during his eight-year stint as England coach, was awarded a two-year contract Wednesday by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar, former Indian captains and influential voices in the cricket establishment, expressed displeasure over Fletcher's appointment.
"Who is Duncan Fletcher?" Dev told the Hindustan Times newspaper. "I would like to see Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh (former India players) as coaches of the Indian team. Not because they are Indians but because they did a great job at the T20 World Cup in 2007."
Gavaskar said former India all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath, who played a key role in guiding the team to their first World Cup win in 1983, should have been picked. "Someone like Amarnath would have been a better choice for the simple reason that the core of the Indian team today is from the Hindi-speaking belt," he told the NDTV news channel. "He would have got on brilliantly with this group as well as the seniors. It would have been a lot easier for Amarnath to understand and interact with the players.
"There is a perception and a wrong one that an Indian (coach) can be influenced and that he will get involved in politics. You are presuming that he cannot be a strong person."
PAC divided on 2G report, Joshi walks out
suchithkc
New Delhi, April 28 :Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was Thursday split down the middle with panel chief Murli Manohar Joshi walking out in anger as the ruling combine rejected the draft report on the 2G spectrum case and the opposition vociferously backed it.
During the meeting at the Parliament House complex here, Congress and DMK members, supported by the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, moved a resolution that the draft report should be put to vote.
The ruling alliance members gave 11 votes in writing, exactly half of the 22-member panel.
At this, Joshi, who is a leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), got angry, abruptly adjourned the meeting and walked out. Joshi had support from members of the Shiv Sena, Janata Dal-United and the Biju Janata Dal.
Congress member Naveen Jindal said the chairman had not adjourned the meeting. The remaining 11 members then appointed Saifuddin Soz as the acting chairman to preside over the meeting.
Soz, in his capacity as the acting chairman, got a resolution passed rejecting the report, Jindal said.
Soz and the rest of the members then submitted the resolution rejecting the report and the written votes of 11 members to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
The BJP said that Joshi in his capacity as the chairman of the panel could still finalise the report and submit the report.
The draft 270-page report, which was circulated among members Wednesday, has criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for giving an 'indirect green signal' to former IT and communications minister A. Raja to execute his 'unfair and dubious designs' in selling scarce radio waves at throwaway prices.
The report does not hold Manmohan Singh directly responsible for the alleged losses the 2008 sale of telecom licences caused to the nation. However, the prime minister does face criticism in the report.
New Delhi, April 28 :Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was Thursday split down the middle with panel chief Murli Manohar Joshi walking out in anger as the ruling combine rejected the draft report on the 2G spectrum case and the opposition vociferously backed it.
During the meeting at the Parliament House complex here, Congress and DMK members, supported by the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, moved a resolution that the draft report should be put to vote.
The ruling alliance members gave 11 votes in writing, exactly half of the 22-member panel.
At this, Joshi, who is a leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), got angry, abruptly adjourned the meeting and walked out. Joshi had support from members of the Shiv Sena, Janata Dal-United and the Biju Janata Dal.
Congress member Naveen Jindal said the chairman had not adjourned the meeting. The remaining 11 members then appointed Saifuddin Soz as the acting chairman to preside over the meeting.
Soz, in his capacity as the acting chairman, got a resolution passed rejecting the report, Jindal said.
Soz and the rest of the members then submitted the resolution rejecting the report and the written votes of 11 members to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
The BJP said that Joshi in his capacity as the chairman of the panel could still finalise the report and submit the report.
The draft 270-page report, which was circulated among members Wednesday, has criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for giving an 'indirect green signal' to former IT and communications minister A. Raja to execute his 'unfair and dubious designs' in selling scarce radio waves at throwaway prices.
The report does not hold Manmohan Singh directly responsible for the alleged losses the 2008 sale of telecom licences caused to the nation. However, the prime minister does face criticism in the report.
Balwa retracts from plea seeking to make PM as witness in 2G
suchithkc
New Delhi, Apr 28 : Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa today retracted from his statement made in a Delhi court that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should have been made as a witness in the 2G spectrum case saying the media has reported it "out of context".
Balwa moved an application seeking a direction to restrain the media from "out-of-context reporting" claiming that the press has wrongly reported that he sought to bring the Prime Minister in the witness box.
"It is prayed that media personnel be directed to report the orders of this court and the proceedings with submissions made in writing and must restrain themselves from out-of- context reporting," advocate Vijay Agarwal, appearing for Balwa, said.
Special CBI Judge O P Saini, who is exclusively hearing the matters relating to the 2G case, posted the matter for May 2.
Balwa had yesterday submitted before the court that CBI should have named Prime Minister as one of the witnesses in the case.
"CBI is producing letters of A Raja and the Prime Minister as evidence. They (CBI) should have made the Prime Minister a witness in the case," advocate Majid Memon, appearing for Balwa, had said while arguing on the bail plea of his client.
Agrawal today said the media has "incorrectly" reported that they had submitted before the court that the Prime Minister should be called to the court in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
He said reporting should be "in respect of the final orders passed by the court or submissions made in writing."
New Delhi, Apr 28 : Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa today retracted from his statement made in a Delhi court that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should have been made as a witness in the 2G spectrum case saying the media has reported it "out of context".
Balwa moved an application seeking a direction to restrain the media from "out-of-context reporting" claiming that the press has wrongly reported that he sought to bring the Prime Minister in the witness box.
"It is prayed that media personnel be directed to report the orders of this court and the proceedings with submissions made in writing and must restrain themselves from out-of- context reporting," advocate Vijay Agarwal, appearing for Balwa, said.
Special CBI Judge O P Saini, who is exclusively hearing the matters relating to the 2G case, posted the matter for May 2.
Balwa had yesterday submitted before the court that CBI should have named Prime Minister as one of the witnesses in the case.
"CBI is producing letters of A Raja and the Prime Minister as evidence. They (CBI) should have made the Prime Minister a witness in the case," advocate Majid Memon, appearing for Balwa, had said while arguing on the bail plea of his client.
Agrawal today said the media has "incorrectly" reported that they had submitted before the court that the Prime Minister should be called to the court in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
He said reporting should be "in respect of the final orders passed by the court or submissions made in writing."
BJP backs Joshi, accuses govt of stalling probe into 2G scam
suchithkc
New Delhi, Apr 28 (: Standing firmly behind PAC Chairperson Murli Manohar Joshi against the onslaught by Congress and DMK members, the BJP today alleged that these were "calculated, deliberate and sponsored" attacks by the ruling coalition to stall the investigation into 2G scam.
"The BJP strongly condemns the attacks on the PAC chairperson. These are calculated, deliberate, concerted and sponsored attacks," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Joshi had faced stiff opposition from Congress and DMK members in the PAC meeting today, when they alleged that he was trying to destabilise the government. They opposed the draft report and said it had been outsourced.
Supporting its senior leader and former president against these barbs, the BJP alleged that when the probe reached the top levels of power like PMO and Finance Minister this "sponsored campaign" started.
"There is a design behind this attack," Prasad said, adding that the attempt was to forestall the report.
"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier said Joshi is a seasoned politician and a senior parliamentarian. He had also offered to appear before the PAC. The Congress members had also praised the PAC earlier," Prasad said.
He recalled that during the April 4 meeting of the PAC, the panel had unanimously decided that it should submit its report on 2G spectrum issue by April 30.
The BJP objected to the manner in which some Congress members of PAC commented in the press against Joshi.
"We want to ask the Congress a question that when the Prime Minister had praised Joshi how has he now been painted as a villian?" Prasad said.
The main opposition also charged the UPA government with attacking government institutions one by one.
"First Kapil Sibal attacked the CAG, then the others also attacked him. Then came the appointment of a person (with a tainted record) as CVC. Now a Parliamentary committee is being attacked," Prasad said.
The Rajya Sabha MP alleged that Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal had visited some PAC members from other parties to influence them.
"The government does not want the PAC report. It had no objection when industrialists or editors were called. The whole hungama started when officials from the PMO and the Attorney General were called," Prasad alleged.
"Regardless of repeated rebuffs from the media and the judiciary, the government has shown dogged determination to stall a fair investigation (into 2G scam)," Prasad said.
New Delhi, Apr 28 (: Standing firmly behind PAC Chairperson Murli Manohar Joshi against the onslaught by Congress and DMK members, the BJP today alleged that these were "calculated, deliberate and sponsored" attacks by the ruling coalition to stall the investigation into 2G scam.
"The BJP strongly condemns the attacks on the PAC chairperson. These are calculated, deliberate, concerted and sponsored attacks," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Joshi had faced stiff opposition from Congress and DMK members in the PAC meeting today, when they alleged that he was trying to destabilise the government. They opposed the draft report and said it had been outsourced.
Supporting its senior leader and former president against these barbs, the BJP alleged that when the probe reached the top levels of power like PMO and Finance Minister this "sponsored campaign" started.
"There is a design behind this attack," Prasad said, adding that the attempt was to forestall the report.
"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier said Joshi is a seasoned politician and a senior parliamentarian. He had also offered to appear before the PAC. The Congress members had also praised the PAC earlier," Prasad said.
He recalled that during the April 4 meeting of the PAC, the panel had unanimously decided that it should submit its report on 2G spectrum issue by April 30.
The BJP objected to the manner in which some Congress members of PAC commented in the press against Joshi.
"We want to ask the Congress a question that when the Prime Minister had praised Joshi how has he now been painted as a villian?" Prasad said.
The main opposition also charged the UPA government with attacking government institutions one by one.
"First Kapil Sibal attacked the CAG, then the others also attacked him. Then came the appointment of a person (with a tainted record) as CVC. Now a Parliamentary committee is being attacked," Prasad said.
The Rajya Sabha MP alleged that Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal had visited some PAC members from other parties to influence them.
"The government does not want the PAC report. It had no objection when industrialists or editors were called. The whole hungama started when officials from the PMO and the Attorney General were called," Prasad alleged.
"Regardless of repeated rebuffs from the media and the judiciary, the government has shown dogged determination to stall a fair investigation (into 2G scam)," Prasad said.
Unease in Congress over Rane''s role in Jaitapur project
suchithkc
Mumbai, Apr 28 (: With Shiv Sena lending political thrust to the campaign against Jaitapur nuclear project, there is a growing unease in the ruling Congress-NCP combine over the issue taking the form of ''Sena versus Rane'' conflict.
A large section in the Congress and also the NCP wants Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to be in complete charge of efforts to defuse the situation in Jaitapur after the April 18 police firing on protesters claimed one life and to dispel the impression that industries minister Rane was the party''s pointsman for the project.
Rane, a former Maharashtra Chief Minister, who quit the Sena in 2005 to join Congress, has been accused by the Opposition of "orchestrating atrocities" on the locals reluctant to part with their land for the project.
"Rane used the government machinery to put down popular protests against the project and orchestrated atrocities against those opposed to it," senior Sena leader and MLA Subhash Desai said.
"Locals were bound to get angry when those protesting against the project are threatened and their protests stifled with force," said Sanjay Raut, editor of party mouthpiece ''Saamna'' and Sena Rajya Sabha member.
The death in police firing followed by a successful bandh called by the Sena prompted Minister of Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh to issue a statement in which he said that public concern over Jaitapur was genuine and even suggested a "pause" to the project till a transparent atomic policy is formulated.
"We cannot abandon the project. But I am neither pleading reversal or fast progression as a pause is the best option till a transparent nuclear policy is formulated," Ramesh said.
Mumbai, Apr 28 (: With Shiv Sena lending political thrust to the campaign against Jaitapur nuclear project, there is a growing unease in the ruling Congress-NCP combine over the issue taking the form of ''Sena versus Rane'' conflict.
A large section in the Congress and also the NCP wants Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to be in complete charge of efforts to defuse the situation in Jaitapur after the April 18 police firing on protesters claimed one life and to dispel the impression that industries minister Rane was the party''s pointsman for the project.
Rane, a former Maharashtra Chief Minister, who quit the Sena in 2005 to join Congress, has been accused by the Opposition of "orchestrating atrocities" on the locals reluctant to part with their land for the project.
"Rane used the government machinery to put down popular protests against the project and orchestrated atrocities against those opposed to it," senior Sena leader and MLA Subhash Desai said.
"Locals were bound to get angry when those protesting against the project are threatened and their protests stifled with force," said Sanjay Raut, editor of party mouthpiece ''Saamna'' and Sena Rajya Sabha member.
The death in police firing followed by a successful bandh called by the Sena prompted Minister of Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh to issue a statement in which he said that public concern over Jaitapur was genuine and even suggested a "pause" to the project till a transparent atomic policy is formulated.
"We cannot abandon the project. But I am neither pleading reversal or fast progression as a pause is the best option till a transparent nuclear policy is formulated," Ramesh said.
Flyers left in the lurch due to AI pilots strike
suchithkc
New Delhi, Apr 28 (: Flyers today bore the brunt of the strike by Air India pilots with some complaining that they were not informed about the status of their flights and some coming to know about the cancelled flights only after reaching the airport.
Air India cancelled 60 flights this morning leaving many flyers stranded.
"Me and my family had to attend a marriage in Srinagar today and we had booked our tickets about a month ago, but now our plans are ruined as Air India has cancelled the flight and they don''t have the courtesy to inform us before hand," said Mohammed Sahil Sheikh, a businessman.
"We came to know about it only after we reached the airport, even their helpline could not give us correct information about the flight, this is how our national carrier works," he said angrily.
At the AI counters, passengers were seen enquiring about their flights and collect printed copies of their tickets but many had to return empty handed.
Many flyers had either postponed their travelling plans or cancelled their tickets. Some of the passengers were seen trying their luck at the counters of other airlines to get a seat in their flight.
"I had to reach Bangalore for a conference but my flight is cancelled and now they are showing their helplessness in accommodating me in other airlines, saying their seats are already full," complained K Krishna, a software professional.
"I am trying hard to get a ticket on any other airline but everyone is refusing saying they have no seats vacant," he said.
Demanding a fixed salary, removal of Air India CMD and a CBI enquiry into the alleged mismanagement, 800 pilots have gone on strike from Tuesday midnight.
New Delhi, Apr 28 (: Flyers today bore the brunt of the strike by Air India pilots with some complaining that they were not informed about the status of their flights and some coming to know about the cancelled flights only after reaching the airport.
Air India cancelled 60 flights this morning leaving many flyers stranded.
"Me and my family had to attend a marriage in Srinagar today and we had booked our tickets about a month ago, but now our plans are ruined as Air India has cancelled the flight and they don''t have the courtesy to inform us before hand," said Mohammed Sahil Sheikh, a businessman.
"We came to know about it only after we reached the airport, even their helpline could not give us correct information about the flight, this is how our national carrier works," he said angrily.
At the AI counters, passengers were seen enquiring about their flights and collect printed copies of their tickets but many had to return empty handed.
Many flyers had either postponed their travelling plans or cancelled their tickets. Some of the passengers were seen trying their luck at the counters of other airlines to get a seat in their flight.
"I had to reach Bangalore for a conference but my flight is cancelled and now they are showing their helplessness in accommodating me in other airlines, saying their seats are already full," complained K Krishna, a software professional.
"I am trying hard to get a ticket on any other airline but everyone is refusing saying they have no seats vacant," he said.
Demanding a fixed salary, removal of Air India CMD and a CBI enquiry into the alleged mismanagement, 800 pilots have gone on strike from Tuesday midnight.
Govt. will find out how PAC report was leaked: Ambika Soni
suchithkc
New Delhi, Apr 28 (): Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni on Thursday said the government will find out how the draft report of the Public Accounts Committee was leaked before it was discussed among its members.
"We will find out. The report of the PAC has reached some sections of the media. I have no answer as to how it reached them," said Soni.
"Until it is officially tabled, you cannot expect me to comment on that. I have no knowledge (of the report). Until all the members of the PAC agree with the report, it is not proper for a Union Minister to comment on it," she added.
Responding to questions on the differences between members of the ruling coalition and Opposition over the draft report, Ambika Soni said: "If there is any difference it will be discussed and it is the basic element of democracy. Earlier also, there were differences in committees. They were sorted out."
"Let the report come. We will talk about it," she added.
Charging PAC chairman Murli Manohar Joshi of having 'malafide intention' of destabilising the government, the Congress and DMK leaders of the panel had on Wednesday demanded his resignation over the draft report.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, which is probing the 2G spectrum scam, has in its report indicted former Telecom Minister A. Raja for misleading the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, in 2008.
New Delhi, Apr 28 (): Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni on Thursday said the government will find out how the draft report of the Public Accounts Committee was leaked before it was discussed among its members.
"We will find out. The report of the PAC has reached some sections of the media. I have no answer as to how it reached them," said Soni.
"Until it is officially tabled, you cannot expect me to comment on that. I have no knowledge (of the report). Until all the members of the PAC agree with the report, it is not proper for a Union Minister to comment on it," she added.
Responding to questions on the differences between members of the ruling coalition and Opposition over the draft report, Ambika Soni said: "If there is any difference it will be discussed and it is the basic element of democracy. Earlier also, there were differences in committees. They were sorted out."
"Let the report come. We will talk about it," she added.
Charging PAC chairman Murli Manohar Joshi of having 'malafide intention' of destabilising the government, the Congress and DMK leaders of the panel had on Wednesday demanded his resignation over the draft report.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, which is probing the 2G spectrum scam, has in its report indicted former Telecom Minister A. Raja for misleading the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, in 2008.
Satya Sai trustees say no difference of opinion among them
suchithkc
Puttaparthi, April 28 : Seeking to put up a united front, trustees of the Sri Satya Sai Central Trust today asserted there was no difference of opinion among them and said the new chairman of the Trust would be elected very soon.
"Election of chairman may happen next week when the Trustees and Council of Management will meet.There is no will of the Baba as far as we know nor did he have his successor in mind," the trustees said at their maiden press conference at the Satya Sai Indoor Stadium here this afternoon.
The trustees said there was no difference of opinion among them.
Speaking on behalf of the Trustees and the Council of Management, former chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry Venu Srinivasan said, "The traditions that Baba established in various practices have been crystalised. The glorious traditions...We will follow in letter and spirit and maintain the same values.
"Both the Central and the AP governments have assured that they would not interfere with the Trust activities," Srinivasan said.
Maintaining that the value of Trust properties was "hugely exaggerated" by the media, Srinivasan and another Trustee Naganand said the value was always subjective.
"The Trust properties are for a specific purpose. Every single piece of land owned by the Trust is for charitable purposes and the properties are not available for sale or commercial exploitation," they said.
Sathya Sai Baba died on Sunday morning after fighting illness for nearly a month caused by multi-organ failure.
Puttaparthi, April 28 : Seeking to put up a united front, trustees of the Sri Satya Sai Central Trust today asserted there was no difference of opinion among them and said the new chairman of the Trust would be elected very soon.
"Election of chairman may happen next week when the Trustees and Council of Management will meet.There is no will of the Baba as far as we know nor did he have his successor in mind," the trustees said at their maiden press conference at the Satya Sai Indoor Stadium here this afternoon.
The trustees said there was no difference of opinion among them.
Speaking on behalf of the Trustees and the Council of Management, former chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry Venu Srinivasan said, "The traditions that Baba established in various practices have been crystalised. The glorious traditions...We will follow in letter and spirit and maintain the same values.
"Both the Central and the AP governments have assured that they would not interfere with the Trust activities," Srinivasan said.
Maintaining that the value of Trust properties was "hugely exaggerated" by the media, Srinivasan and another Trustee Naganand said the value was always subjective.
"The Trust properties are for a specific purpose. Every single piece of land owned by the Trust is for charitable purposes and the properties are not available for sale or commercial exploitation," they said.
Sathya Sai Baba died on Sunday morning after fighting illness for nearly a month caused by multi-organ failure.
Hazare not to attend anti-corruption rallies in UP
suchithkc
Lucknow, Apr 28 :) Social activist Anna Hazare will not be able to attend the Uttar Pradesh leg of the nation-wide ''India Against Corruption'' rallies on health grounds, an IAC spokesperson said today.
"As the doctors have advised Anna Hazare to take rest for a week due to osteoarthritis, he will not be participating in the rallies scheduled in Varanasi, Sultanpur and Lucknow," spokesperson Vibhav told PTI over phone.
He, however, said Hazare would address the meetings over phone.
Personal assistant of the social activist Suresh Pathare also confirmed Hazare''s absence from the rallies and refuted reports that he will travel from Pune to Delhi to attend a meeting of Jan Lokpal Bill committee on May 2.
As per earlier schedule, the anti-corruption crusader was planned to address rallies in Varanasi (April 29) and Sultanpur (April 30) and Lucknow (May 1).
Vibhav, however, said Hazare''s absence would not affect the schedule of rallies and his associates Arvind Kejariwal, Swami Agnivesh, P D Rajgopal, Kumar Vishwas, Prakash Singh and Jaspal Bhatti would attend the programme.
Lucknow, Apr 28 :) Social activist Anna Hazare will not be able to attend the Uttar Pradesh leg of the nation-wide ''India Against Corruption'' rallies on health grounds, an IAC spokesperson said today.
"As the doctors have advised Anna Hazare to take rest for a week due to osteoarthritis, he will not be participating in the rallies scheduled in Varanasi, Sultanpur and Lucknow," spokesperson Vibhav told PTI over phone.
He, however, said Hazare would address the meetings over phone.
Personal assistant of the social activist Suresh Pathare also confirmed Hazare''s absence from the rallies and refuted reports that he will travel from Pune to Delhi to attend a meeting of Jan Lokpal Bill committee on May 2.
As per earlier schedule, the anti-corruption crusader was planned to address rallies in Varanasi (April 29) and Sultanpur (April 30) and Lucknow (May 1).
Vibhav, however, said Hazare''s absence would not affect the schedule of rallies and his associates Arvind Kejariwal, Swami Agnivesh, P D Rajgopal, Kumar Vishwas, Prakash Singh and Jaspal Bhatti would attend the programme.
11 MPs reject report; PAC meeting ends in pandemonium
suchithkc
New Delhi, Apr 28 : 11 MPs, including one each from SP and BSP, of the 21-member PAC today "rejected" the draft report on 2-G scam that indicted former Telecom Minister A Raja and made critical comments on the Prime Minister and the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
In unprecedented scenes at a stormy meeting of the committee, the ruling coalition MPs (7 Congress, 2 DMK), aided by SP and BSP, "elected" Congress member Saifuddin Soz as chairman who put the resolution for rejection of the report to vote.
The ''election'' took place once Joshi had left the meeting after Soz moved a resolution seeking a vote on the adoption of the draft report.
In the "vote" that took place after the nine members belonging to opposition parties (BJP, JD(U), BJD and AIDMK) had left, 11 members rejected the report, Soz claimed.
"I will now present the whole proceedings to the Speaker for her decision," he told reporters.
Soz said in a democracy when situations are created then such things (election) happen.
A Congress MP V Arun Kumar said the election of Soz was for this meeting, which was the second session of the proceedings convened by Joshi to discuss the draft report
New Delhi, Apr 28 : 11 MPs, including one each from SP and BSP, of the 21-member PAC today "rejected" the draft report on 2-G scam that indicted former Telecom Minister A Raja and made critical comments on the Prime Minister and the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
In unprecedented scenes at a stormy meeting of the committee, the ruling coalition MPs (7 Congress, 2 DMK), aided by SP and BSP, "elected" Congress member Saifuddin Soz as chairman who put the resolution for rejection of the report to vote.
The ''election'' took place once Joshi had left the meeting after Soz moved a resolution seeking a vote on the adoption of the draft report.
In the "vote" that took place after the nine members belonging to opposition parties (BJP, JD(U), BJD and AIDMK) had left, 11 members rejected the report, Soz claimed.
"I will now present the whole proceedings to the Speaker for her decision," he told reporters.
Soz said in a democracy when situations are created then such things (election) happen.
A Congress MP V Arun Kumar said the election of Soz was for this meeting, which was the second session of the proceedings convened by Joshi to discuss the draft report
Rajnikanth in and as Rana........!!!
suchithkc
Finally it’s here! The first glimpse of Superstar’s most awaited movie is out. Presenting the poster of Rajinikanth’s ‘Rana’….
With all the speculations around the mega-budget movie, the first look promises that there’s indeed something magnificent about this flick. The eyes, Rajini’s posture, the feel says it all….
Eros International Media Ltd (Eros International) announced the commencement of the shoot of Rajinikanth’s ‘Rana’ on 29 April 2011. Directed by K.S. Ravikumar, the film’s shoot will start with a puja by the superstar along with the cast and crew in Chennai to mark the auspicious occasion.
Announced earlier this year, ‘Rana’ will be a live action magnum opus with Rajinikanth playing triple role and will be released in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu. Along with Rajini, the film stars Deepika Padukone, Ileana D’Cruz and Sonu Sood.
Speaking on the project, director K.S Ravikumar said, “Rana has a strong story, a very interesting ensemble cast of actors coupled with super star Rajinikanth in a triple role and promises to have some stunning visual effects that will surely take Indian cinema to the next level.”
Sunil Lulla, Managing Director, Eros International Media Ltd added, “It is indeed a proud moment for us and we are very excited to be a part of this ambitious project with Rajinikanth, one of the most popular actors of all times. We are expecting this to be a landmark film for all those associated with this project.”
The music for the film is being scored by AR Rahman, director of photography Ratnavelu and editing would be done by Antony. The technical director is Soundarya Rajnikanth, of Ocher Visual effects UK (a subsidiary of Ocher Studios Pvt Limited). Charles Darby of Eyeqube Studios - renowned visual effects luminary and an Emmy award winner - is the creative and special effects director on the film.
‘Rana’ is scheduled to release in FY 2012.
Eros International along with NextGen Films, will produce the film through Rana Production Ltd., UK.
Come on, have your say; share your opinion about Rana’s poster by posting your comments here….
Finally it’s here! The first glimpse of Superstar’s most awaited movie is out. Presenting the poster of Rajinikanth’s ‘Rana’….
With all the speculations around the mega-budget movie, the first look promises that there’s indeed something magnificent about this flick. The eyes, Rajini’s posture, the feel says it all….
Eros International Media Ltd (Eros International) announced the commencement of the shoot of Rajinikanth’s ‘Rana’ on 29 April 2011. Directed by K.S. Ravikumar, the film’s shoot will start with a puja by the superstar along with the cast and crew in Chennai to mark the auspicious occasion.
Announced earlier this year, ‘Rana’ will be a live action magnum opus with Rajinikanth playing triple role and will be released in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu. Along with Rajini, the film stars Deepika Padukone, Ileana D’Cruz and Sonu Sood.
Speaking on the project, director K.S Ravikumar said, “Rana has a strong story, a very interesting ensemble cast of actors coupled with super star Rajinikanth in a triple role and promises to have some stunning visual effects that will surely take Indian cinema to the next level.”
Sunil Lulla, Managing Director, Eros International Media Ltd added, “It is indeed a proud moment for us and we are very excited to be a part of this ambitious project with Rajinikanth, one of the most popular actors of all times. We are expecting this to be a landmark film for all those associated with this project.”
The music for the film is being scored by AR Rahman, director of photography Ratnavelu and editing would be done by Antony. The technical director is Soundarya Rajnikanth, of Ocher Visual effects UK (a subsidiary of Ocher Studios Pvt Limited). Charles Darby of Eyeqube Studios - renowned visual effects luminary and an Emmy award winner - is the creative and special effects director on the film.
‘Rana’ is scheduled to release in FY 2012.
Eros International along with NextGen Films, will produce the film through Rana Production Ltd., UK.
Come on, have your say; share your opinion about Rana’s poster by posting your comments here….
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
What separates India from China ???
suchithkc
There is one thing that China and India have in common. Both are emerging economies which have been recording strong growth in GDP at a time when the West is reeling under recession. But both countries are different in many ways. For starters, China is an undisputed behemoth in manufacturing while India has a strong services sector. What is more, the events post the global financial crisis also paint a different picture.
For instance, Fitch Ratings has stated that India is better placed compared to China in regulating the flow of bank credit. Readers would do well to note that the RBI's regulations have ensured that flow of credit has been controlled. In fact, that was one of the primary reasons why Indian banks did not meet the same fate as that of their Western counterparts due to strict vigilance by the RBI. China's economy, by contrast, has expanded post the global crisis largely on account of expansion in bank credit. This money especially found its way into the Chinese real estate market, inflated prices and thereby raised fears of a bubble being formed there.
On the other hand, RBI regulated the credit flow to the local corporate sector with prudence. This helped the country's banks in managing their asset quality better during the recent global economic downturn.
Another contrasting feature found in both the economies is that while India's growth has been driven by domestic demand, China's has largely been fuelled by external demand. That is why India has the upper hand for the time being simply because even though the global economy has yet to recover, Indian companies can rely on domestic demand to spur growth. The same cannot be said for China, which has largely depended on the West to fuel its economy. But the crisis has meant that China is gradually looking to bolster domestic demand so that its dependence on exports going forward is reduced.
Both the countries, however, are trying to grapple with the problem of inflation in recent times. In China's case, increasing liquidity and an expansionary bank credit has led to prices rising as more money is chasing fewer goods. In India's case, problems have been on the supply side as food shortages have fueled food prices which in turn has caused inflation to remain at persistently higher levels. Both the central banks are dealing with the problem by raising interest rates to curb excess liquidity. That is why growth in both these economies could slow down a tad bit in the future if inflation is not brought under control. Despite these near term concerns though, both these economies seem poised to grow at a strong pace in the longer term, a feat which the developed world may find hard to replicate in the years to come.
There is one thing that China and India have in common. Both are emerging economies which have been recording strong growth in GDP at a time when the West is reeling under recession. But both countries are different in many ways. For starters, China is an undisputed behemoth in manufacturing while India has a strong services sector. What is more, the events post the global financial crisis also paint a different picture.
For instance, Fitch Ratings has stated that India is better placed compared to China in regulating the flow of bank credit. Readers would do well to note that the RBI's regulations have ensured that flow of credit has been controlled. In fact, that was one of the primary reasons why Indian banks did not meet the same fate as that of their Western counterparts due to strict vigilance by the RBI. China's economy, by contrast, has expanded post the global crisis largely on account of expansion in bank credit. This money especially found its way into the Chinese real estate market, inflated prices and thereby raised fears of a bubble being formed there.
On the other hand, RBI regulated the credit flow to the local corporate sector with prudence. This helped the country's banks in managing their asset quality better during the recent global economic downturn.
Another contrasting feature found in both the economies is that while India's growth has been driven by domestic demand, China's has largely been fuelled by external demand. That is why India has the upper hand for the time being simply because even though the global economy has yet to recover, Indian companies can rely on domestic demand to spur growth. The same cannot be said for China, which has largely depended on the West to fuel its economy. But the crisis has meant that China is gradually looking to bolster domestic demand so that its dependence on exports going forward is reduced.
Both the countries, however, are trying to grapple with the problem of inflation in recent times. In China's case, increasing liquidity and an expansionary bank credit has led to prices rising as more money is chasing fewer goods. In India's case, problems have been on the supply side as food shortages have fueled food prices which in turn has caused inflation to remain at persistently higher levels. Both the central banks are dealing with the problem by raising interest rates to curb excess liquidity. That is why growth in both these economies could slow down a tad bit in the future if inflation is not brought under control. Despite these near term concerns though, both these economies seem poised to grow at a strong pace in the longer term, a feat which the developed world may find hard to replicate in the years to come.
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