Observer & Busness 3 Mar 2012 - Oman Daily Observer

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NEWS IN BRIEF Ratan Tata, Munda discuss Jharkhand development JHARKHAND Chief Minister Arjun Munda yesterday met Tata group chairperson Ratan Tata and his deputy Cyrus Mistry to discuss future plans for development in the state, including a knowledge city. "We want to be a partner of development in the state," Tata, who arrived here on a chartered plane with Mistry and met Munda at his official residence, told reporters. “We spoke about partnership in the Information Technology sector and developing a knowledge city in the state,” added Munda. After the meeting, Tata went to the steel city Jamshedpur to attend a programme of Tata Steel. Sources said the 12 million tonnecapacity greenfield steel plant, for which a memorandum of understanding was signed seven years ago, was also discussed. Karunanidhi’s security officials’ homes raided THE homes of three personal security officers (PSOs) of former chief minister M Karunanidhi were raided here on allegations that they had cheated the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB), the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti- Corruption (DVAC) said yesterday. The three officials — P Pandian, C Ganesan and C Vinothan — had provided false information to TNHB to get housing plots allotted under the government discretionary quota in 2008, DVAC said in a statement. The three officials using their official influence as security officers of the former chief minister obtained TNHB plots. Even before allotment of the land, the three entered into joint venture agreements with private parties. The officials paid the dues to TNHB from the money received from the private parties. "Further, all the three officers had sold their plots to the same private parties and obtained an undue pecuniary advantage of Rs 19 lakh each, after settling all payments to the TNHB," DVAC said. 'No, never again' in politics: Shekhar Suman POLITICS is a strict no-no for actor Shekhar Suman, who is coming back on the small screen with the new season of his popular satirical show "Movers and Shakers". His first guest on the show March 12 will be Anna Hazare. "No, never again," was Shekhar's response when reporters asked about his political plans. He was a Congress candidate from Patna in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls pitted against Shatrughan Sinha of the BJP. He had lost. Shekhar, 52, promises a "more refined, funnier 'Movers and Shakers'", which will now come on SAB TV. Court orders CID probe in CPM leaders’ killing THE Calcutta High Court yesterday order the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the killing of two Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) leaders, an incident the Left Front blames on the ruling Trinamool Congress. A division bench, observing that two rival political parties were involved in the matter, ordered the state government to hand over the investigation to the CID which will from time to time submit probe reports to the court. The bench, hearing a public interest litigation filed by former Kolkata mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya and others, ordered the CID to submit a preliminary investigation report by March 23. Youth's hands chopped off for not repaying loan A YOUNG man whose hands were chopped off after he failed to repay a loan languishes on the floor of a government hospital frightened and worried about his life ahead while police are yet to take action against his attackers more than a week after the incident. Twenty-year-old Ram Sagar Chandravanshi, belonging to an extreme backward caste, has not been even given a bed at the Patna Medical College and Hospital where he has been lying for the past many days. Narrating his tale of horror, Chandravanshi said he owed a Rs 300 debt to a powerful man in Kodra village in Bihar’s Arwal district, 70 km from Patna. US doesn’t favour NGOs opposing N-power projects WASHINGTON — The US has said it's strongly supportive of India's investment in civil nuclear power and its support to NGOs is for development and for democracy programmes and not for opposing projects like Kudankulam. Asked to comment on a reported remark of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that three US NGOs were funding a movement in Tamil Nadu state to oppose setting up of a nuclear power plant there, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said: "I'm not aware of that." "As you know, we are strongly supportive of India's investment in civil nuclear power," she said. "The NGOs that we fund in India are involved in the same kind of democratisation projects, et cetera." "We are supportive, as a government, of India's investment in civil nuclear power," she repeated in response to another question. "That's not what we support NGOs to do in India. Our NGO support goes for development and it goes for democracy programmes." Asked if the US was surprised at the Indian prime minister's statement and if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was aware of this, Nuland said: "I can't speak to that one way or the other." The government has put 77 foreign NGOs on its global watchlist, making it difficult for their officials to get visas to India. The step comes within days of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh complaining that foreign NGOs were trying to influence Indian policies and projects. The home ministry put together the list based on information from intelligence agencies and the suspicious conduct of representatives of these NGOs in the past. Top government sources said the watchlist had been circulated to all In- dian missions and posts with an advice to “monitor” visa requests from the NGOs — a euphemism for putting the applications through greater scrutiny that would lead to delays or rejection. Officials refused to name the NGOs, insisting this would have serious diplomatic repercussions. But one of them confirmed that most were from the US and European Union. In 2010, US-based NGOs accounted for one-third of the foreign funds worth Rs 9,000 crore to Indian NGOs. In an interview to Science magazine, the PM had blamed NGOs funded by US and Scandinavian countries for campaigning against the Kudankulam nuclear project and use of biotechnology. Recently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has blamed American and Scandivanian NGOs for fuelling protests at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu government last week set up a four-member expert panel, which includes former Atomic Energy Commission chief M R Srinivasan, to submit a report on the fears and concerns of local people over the Kudankulam nuclear power project. Earlier, chief minister J Jayalalithaa had announced in the state assembly that a panel would be formed to look into the concerns of the locals over the KNPP project. The proposed panel would submit its report soon and the government’s further action on the issue would be based on that report, she had said. The Indo-Russian joint venture at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district has run into rough weather following continued protests from locals, spearheaded by the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy, citing safety reasons. A Centre-appointed Expert Committee had held consultations at different points of time with the protesters and wrapped up the talks on January 31. PRONAB Sen, principal adviser to India’s Planning Commission, speaks during an interview in New Delhi yesterday. The government is likely to raise taxes on a number of manufactured items and expand the tax net in its budget to rein in its deficit and give space for the RBI to cut interest rates to support growth, Sen said yesterday. — Reuters IAF rescues 61 in Ladakh SRINAGAR — The Indian Air Force (IAF) has rescued 61 people trapped in a partially frozen river in the cold desert Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir yesterday. Amir Ali, officer on special duty at the divisional headquarters and in charge of the disaster management cell, said: "The divisional administration requested help from the IAF to rescue 61 persons who were travelling from Leh town to Zanskar." The travelers normally travel over NEW DELHI — The government yesterday vehemently denied that Defence Minister A K Antony's office was "bugged", but clarified that routine security sweeps were done at his office and nothing was found during such checks. "Reports of ‘bugging’ in the South Block in a section of the media is, hereby, denied," defence ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said in an official statement here. "Routine checks are conducted in the offices of the defence minister and other officers in South Block. Nothing has been found in these checks," Kar said. Reports had suggested that on February 16, during a routine check by military intelligence personnel at Antony's office in Room number 104 on the frozen Chadder river between Leh and Zanskar (around 70 km which takes one and a half days on foot) this time of the year as extreme cold keeps all water bodies frozen rock solid during the winter months. "Unfortunately, portions of the river melted after the travelers had covered some 30 km on foot," he said. "Two IAF helicopters were pressed into service to rescue the 61 people. The IAF personnel used ropes etc. to rescue the trapped persons. Ministry denies reports of bugging in Antony’s office the first floor of South Block, "a discrepancy" was found. This resulted in the defence ministry officials asking the military intelligence men to vacate the room and home ministry's help was sought to carry out a counter-sweep of the room. It was suggested that the Intelligence Bureau men were called to conduct the counter-checks. The report had also claimed that the "needle of suspicion pointed at the army" for the bugging. This prompted the army headquarters to term the report "totally false" and "fictitious". The army, in an SMS, said: "The report that has appeared regarding the bug in the defence minister's office is totally false. The article is fictitious." — IANS 10 INDIA OMAN DAILY Observer SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012 BENGALURU — A group of lawyers here yesterday took law into their hands and thrashed media persons, stoned their vehicles, police and college students at a court complex injuring 30 policemen and 10 others from the media. Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda condemned the violence and announced a judicial probe into the incident. Troubled erupted when a large number of journalists had gone to the complex to cover the court appearance of former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy in an illegal mining case. At least two cameramen of two Kannada channels suf- A LAWYER is restrained from throwing a projectile towards media representatives outside The City Civil Court in Bangalore yesterday. — AFP Lawyers assault mediapersons, police, students in Bengaluru NEW DELHI — Water levels of a major river flowing through India's northeast are "normal," an Indian government official said yesterday, denying claims a dam in neighbouring China had caused them to plunge. The senior official in India's Ministry of Water Resources in New Delhi said there had been "no reduction in the flow" of water in the Brahmaputra River which has its source in China's southwestern Tibet region. The Indian Central Water Commission, which measures the river, has found the levels are "normal," the official said. "There have been no sudden changes in the river's flow and there is no need for India to worry or press the panic button," he said. KOLKATA — The central government yesterday said it will solve "most of the issues" raised by the states on the National Food Security Bill, which is currently before a parliamentary standing committee. "The state governments have raised about ten points regarding the food security bill and many of them can be discussed and solved. The stand- fered bleeding head injuries while Deputy Commissioner of Police G Ramesh was hit on the head by a stone thrown by lawyers. One policeman suffered serious injuries, Bangalore Police Commissioner B G Jyothiprakash Mirji told reporters here. He said seven lawyers were injured in the scuffle with police. The ugly display of anger by the lawyers was apparently over media coverage of their January protest that had gridlocked traffic for seven hours in the city’s central business district. The lawyers' assault was strongly denounced by Press The official's statements came as China earlier yesterday denied allegations that a dam it was building on the river had affected the lower reaches of the waterway in northeastern India. "Our projects have not affected the lower stream regions, including those in India," China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters in Beijing. China pays attention to the impact on the lower stream regions when developing its water resources, Hong said. Tako Dabi, a lawmaker in India's Arunachal Pradesh state, triggered concern on Thursday about water levels by claiming that they had dropped and accusing China of diverting the river water on its ing committee is now discussing the issue with the states," union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution K V Thomas said on the sidelines of a programme here organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). "The first (issue) is that there should be flexibility in the distribution of food grains Council of India chairman Markandey Katju, retired Supreme Court judge, former Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde, political parties and media organisations. Gowda told reporters after meeting Home Minister R Ashoka and senior officials that “no mercy will be shown to the guilty whoever they may be”. He said he was ordering a judicial probe by a retired judge of the high court “as we are committed to bring out the truth. Have faith in us”. Prohibitory orders banning assembly of five or more people have been clamped here and will be in force till today, side. Likar Angu, chief engineer of the Arunachal Pradesh state water resources department, said that "one can see a few dry patches" in the Brahmaputra River but the river level was higher than last year. "This is a lean period and obviously the water discharge is lower, but compared to last year on this day, the water level is 80 centimetres more," Angu said. The Brahmaputra River is known in China's Tibet region as the Yarlung Tsangpo and it enters India in Arunachal Pradesh, where it is called the Siang. The 2,900-kilometre river then descends into the plains of adjoining Asom state and ends in Bangladesh in the Bay under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) on a weekly and monthly basis, for which we have no objections. And the issue of cost should be prescribed in consultation with the states," the minister said. The final shape of the bill will come up after consultation with the states, Thomas said adding that the states might have to bear some cost after the implementation of the bill, the chief minister said. He denied that some people had died in the incident. Gowda said the government would bear the expenses for the treatment of the injured. It would consider compensating damage to cameras and vehicles of media people. The trouble started when a few advocates objected to TV crew and photographers trying to film Reddy coming out of the vehicle to proceed to the court. With media persons asserting their right to carry out their work, lawyers pounced on them. They turned their ire on police personnel who intervened. — IANS Brahmaputra levels ‘normal’ of Bengal, along the way supplying water to hundreds of millions of farmers and residents. "To satisfy the needs the Tibet Autonomous Region, China has begun to build the hydroelectric power station of Zangmu in the middle part of Yarlung Tsangpo River," China's spokesman Hong said yesterday. "It does not have a big capacity and does not retain an excessive amount of water. It will not affect the downstream water regulation and environment." Beijing has regularly faced complaints over its water usage from Southeast Asian nations for damming the Mekong and Salween rivers, both of which originate in China. — AFP Food security bill ‘issues’ to be solved STUDENTS celebrate Holi at a college in Chandigarh yesterday. The traditional event heralds the beginning of spring and will be celebrated on March 8. — Reuters aiming at enhancing food security provisions. He said the citizens will get a legal entitlement when the bill comes out and it could be implemented with full cooperation of the states. The minister said West Bengal had asked for a Rs 10 billion assistance for food grain procurement and that the Centre was holding talks with the state to work it out. Railways faces resource crunch MUMBAI — Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi yesterday underlined that enormous resources would be required to meet the objectives of safety, development and modernisation of the Indian Railways. "The Indian Railways are facing a severe resource crunch and are in need of allround support," Trivedi told reporters here after his meetings with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and parliamentarians. Trivedi said that safety was high on the agenda of his ministry and admitted that the number of deaths on railway tracks had gone up in recent years. He said: "There is a need to evolve long-term strategy rather than coming out quick-fix solutions."
NEWS IN BRIEF I am ready for an inquiry: Nair FORMER ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair reiterated yesterday that he had done no wrong in the controversial Antrix deal and was ready to face an inquiry. “I have done no wrong. If an inquiry is ordered, I will come out clean. But the inquiry should be done by technical people and also those in the know of government procedures,” Nair told reporters. This was his first meeting with the media here since the government in January barred him and three other space scientists from holding official posts. “I have not been heard,” he said. Antrix, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, was to provide spectrum by leasing out transponders of two satellites to be built mainly for Devas, which is into multimedia services. Nair and three others have been accused of wrongdoing in the deal. Krishna begans Egypt visit with Syria on agenda EXTERNAL Affairs Minister S M Krishna yesterday left for Egypt on a three-day visit during which he is expected to forge relations with the new dispensation in North Africa’s most influential country and discuss the Syrian crisis with the Arab League in Cairo. This is the first high-profile visit from India in the aftermath of the changes in Egypt’s political landscape. Ahead of talks with the new Egyptian leadership, Krishna also will meet Nabil El Araby, Secretary-General of the Arab League and its troika of representatives Qatar, Libya and Iraq in Cairo. With the crisis in Syria worsening, India is expected to lend diplomatic support to the Arab League’s initiative to handle the Syria crisis. GNLA guerrillas, forces exchange fire THERE was fierce exchange of fire yesterday between security forces and the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) that ended in the guerrillas retreating into the forests in Meghalaya’s East Garo Hills district, police said. The gunfight lasted for about an hour. Though there were no casualties on the security forces’ side, police are yet to confirm if any of the rebels were injured. The exchange of fire took place at 6.30 am in Arengdo village bordering Assam’s Goalpara district when security forces came under fire from GNLA rebels in hiding. “The encounter lasted for an hour and the militants retreated back to the jungles after intensive firing from security forces,” J F K Marak, district police chief of East Garo Hills, said. Acting on a tip-off, security forces had launched a combing operation in the area. Tripura to put all officials under Lokayukta THE Left Front government in Tripura would soon amend the necessary law to bring government employees of all levels under the Lokayukta (ombudsman) to curb corruption, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar announced yesterday. Sarkar, who also holds the law department, replying to a query of opposition Congress legislator Sudip Roy Barman, told the assembly: “The Lokayukta act would soon be amended to bring all levels of government employees and officials under its jurisdiction.” The chief minister said the state government recently suspended eight senior civil service officials on corruption charges. Sarkar said: “The anti-corruption authority would inquire into any accusation and charges against public functionaries from the level of village head to chief minister.” Mamata’s nephew granted bail WEST Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Akash Banerjee and three others, arrested for assaulting a traffic police officer, were granted bail by a court yesterday. Alipore chief judicial magistrate S M Shahnawaz granted bail to them on a personal bond of Rs 1,000 each after they were produced in the court. The four were accused of assaulting traffic policeman, obstructing traffic and violating a traffic signal. India must show respect for our country: Italy ROME — India must show respect for Italy, Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paola yesterday said in an escalating row over two Italian soldiers facing murder charges for killing two Indian fishermen. “We have a lot of respect for India and for the Indian people but we are expecting equal respect to be shown for Italy, for legality and for international law by the Indian nation,” Di Paola told reporters in Rome. The two soldiers have been in custody since last month in the southern state of Kerala on charges of shooting dead the two fishermen who were mistaken for pirates trying to attack an oil tanker that the Italians were protecting. “The strength with which these two marines are facing up to this extremely difficult challenge should serve as an example and a stimulus for redoubled efforts to resolve this painful incident through international law,” he said. Italy says the men should be prosecuted in Italy and not in India, claiming the incident occurred in international waters on an Italian-flagged ship. India insists the soldiers should be dealt with under Indian law. “Our military must be prosecuted in Italy. They cannot be judged unilaterally, otherwise this would throw into question all our operational activities,” said Italian Navy Chief Admiral Luigi Binelli Mantelli. “Let’s try and shed light on this incident together but we will never leave our sailors alone, Italian military who were doing their duty and protecting not just the ship but also the 19 crew members on board,” he said. Italy has filed a petition in the Kerala state high court seeking instant dismissal of the murder case against Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone. Ships are increasingly employing armed guards for protection off the coast of Somalia and across the Indian Ocean as vessels of all sizes have been seized by pirates who often secure huge ransoms for crews’ safe release. Meanwhile in Kollam, the navy and coast guard continued to search for three missing fishermen yesterday, a day after a ship collided with their boat off the Kerala coast, claiming two lives. There is no clue of the erring vessel either. A top shipping official said the search operations would be on for some more time. “Since the accident took place, our officials have intercepted some ships to see if they had any role in it. These things have to be done in a manner that does not interfere with the rights of the ships. The vessels that ply on the waters have their privileges too as per international law,” said the official. A ship rammed into the fishing boat, Don 1, early Thursday, leaving two fishermen dead, three missing, while two escaped with injuries. The boat had gone for fishing activities from the Kollam harbour last week and dropped anchor in the deep sea. Navy divers are expected to reach the accident site. Locals feel the body of the missing fishermen could be trapped in the capsized boat. Anger is mounting in fishing community, which says that despite 15 similar accidents in the past three months, nothing has happened except assurances to increase coastal security. “Three high speed interceptor boats that cost more than Rs.4 crore have been lying idle near Alappuzha as there are no qualified drivers for them. Had such a boat been in service, the life of Xavier (who died an hour after he was rescued in Thursday’s incident) could have been saved,” said George, a trade union leader of the fishing community. — AFP HC quashes trial of Yahoo India NEW DELHI — The Delhi High Court yesterday set aside the summons issued to Yahoo India by a lower court for allegedly hosting objectionable content on its website. Quashing the criminal proceedings against Yahoo India for allegedly hosting objectionable content on its website, Justice Suresh Kait said: “There is no evidence on record against the petitioner.” The high court had earlier refused Yahoo India’s plea for staying a trial court’s proceedings against it. Yahoo India, among other social networking sites facing trial, has told a Delhi court that the suit against it was “motivated” and should be dismissed. The company said that there was neither any material on record nor any allegation in the complaint against it. The company also submitted that it could not be made a party in the case as the complainant did not disclose any cause of action against it. The metropolitan magistrate has summoned 21 websites, including Yahoo, Google and Facebook, to face trial for allegedly committing the offence punishable under Sections 292 (sale of obscene books) and 293 (sale of obscene objects to young person) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In another development, the Supreme Court yesterday dismissed as “irresponsible and scandalous” a petition by advocate M. . Sharma that alleged conflict of interest over the apex court’s verdict in the Rs 11,218 crore ($2.2 billion) tax dispute case of telecom firm Vodafone. “This is an irresponsible petition. We have grave reservations about it. We have bonafide doubts about... you want to destroy the institution,” the bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai said slamming Sharma. As Sharma contended that he wanted to save the institution, the court said that “as a member of the bar of this court, we expected better conduct from you”. Pulling up the petitioner while dismissing the petition, the court imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on him for filing “frivolous” and “scandalous” petition. Telling the counsel Sharma that he was wasting its time, the court said: “We have read your petition line by line and more we read it, more hurt we feel.” “We see the cavalier and irresponsible way the petition was filed.” Sharma had alleged in his petition filed last month that Chief Justice S H Kapadia had not disclosed that his son Hoshnar Kapadia worked with Ernst and Young, a consultant firm that had tendered advice to Vodafone on taxation issues. Cops raid Mumbai Cong ex-chief, seal property MUMBAI — The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police yesterday sealed a bungalow belonging to former city Congress chief Kripashankar Singh after conducting searches at his residences and office, officials said. The raids that started late on Thursday were conducted by a team of the EOW and a Special Investigating Team (SIT) at Singh’s residences and office at various locations, including Vile Parle and Bandra in northwest Mumbai. Official sources in the EOW said that Singh’s bungalow, named “Tarang” in upmarket Bandra, has been sealed off. The sources also stated that the EOW is likely to attach other properties owned by Singh by late Friday. The raids came barely 48 hours after Mumbai police registered a case against Singh and his family under the Prevention of Corruption Act and for other charges. The Bombay High Court last week ordered the cases to be filed after hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) of social activist Sanjay Tiwari. Following the court directions, the SIT lodged a First Information Report at Nirmal Nagar police station in Khar here on February 29. The SIT was directed to probe the assets accumulated by Singh and his family following the allegations in Tiwari’s PIL and the state Anti- Corruption Bureau’s report of March 30, 2011, detailing the assets accumulated by Singh and his family members. 11 INDIA OMAN DAILY Observer SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012 VISITORS browse through books on display at the New Delhi World Book Fair in New Delhi yesterday. The 20th edition of New Delhi World Book Fair is being held from February 25 to March 4. India is the third biggest market for English publications. — AFP Final phase of UP polls today LUCKNOW — Ten districts of Uttar Pradesh will go to the polls today in the seventh and last phase of balloting whose outcome is being keenly watched across India and even beyond. About 18.1 million voters spread over 60 constituencies will be eligible to exercise their franchise to pick from among 962 candidates in Lakhimpur Kheri, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Rampur, Badayun, Moradabad, Bijnor, Amroha, Bhimnagar and Pilibhit. The polling assumes significance as most of the seats have sizeable Muslim voters who could make or mar the prospects of key players that are vying for the community’s votes. This includes the ruling PANAJI — As Goa votes today, vying for the attention of over a million voters in 40 constituencies will be 215 candidates. The real faceoff will be between the ruling Congress-NCP alliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-MGP combine. The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, battling a strong anti-incumbency wave, are contesting 33 and seven seats respectively. The BJP and the Maharashtrwadi Gomantak Party are fighting for 28 and eight seats, and supporting key independents in the remaining four constituencies. The Trinamool Congress, a new entrant in Goa’s political canvas, has fielded 20 candidates. Other parties like the Samajwadi Party, the Samajwadi Janata Party, the Republican AGARTALA — The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has undertaken a plan to make the airport here an air hub to expand connectivity between India’s northeast and neighbouring countries, a Tripura minister said here yesterday. “The AAI has sought 300 acres of land to build a new terminal building, expand the runway and construct addition- Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Samajwadi Party and the Congress. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has harped on corruption. It has accused both the BSP and the Congress of being neck deep in corruption. This phase will test the waters for Congress leader and union minister Jatin Prasad (Shahjahanpur), BJP leader and former central minister Maneka Gandhi (Aonla), her son Varun Gandhi (Pilibhit), cricketer-turned-Congress MP Mohammed Azharuddin (Moradabad), Samajwadi Party general secretary Mohammed Azam Khan (Rampur) and Jaya Prada (Rampur). The BSP has a lot at stake as Jugul Kishore, the son of its Party of India and the Janata Dal-Secular are also contesting, albeit in a small way. Among the regional parties are the Goa Vikas Party and the United Goan Democratic party (UGDP), which have floated a loosely strung alliance. Some civil society groups have bandied together under the banner of Zagrut Goenkarancho Ekovtt (ZGE) and fielded 10 candidates, which includes a Catholic priest, whose unique campaigning style made waves in the state. The 215 candidates include nine women and 74 independents. Allegations of corruption and malgovernance against the government, including against Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, and the Congress decision al infrastructure at the Agartala airport to make it an air hub,” Transport Minister Manik Dey said quoting an AAI communiqué. “The air hub scheme was planned to improve connectivity among the northeastern states, the rest of India and adjacent countries.” Speaking in the assembly, he said: “The AAI has sought 300 acres of land from the state co-ordinator and close aide of Chief Minister Mayawati, is contesting from Kasta. A total of 12,907 polling stations have been set up for today. Authorities say that boundaries with Nepal and Uttarakhand have been sealed from Thursday evening. The deafening and highvoltage campaign in the state ended on Thursday evening. On the last day of campaigning all major political parties brought out their star campaigners to woo the voters. Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav held rallies at Shahjahanpur and Pilibhit, BJP president Nitin Gadkari addressed meetings at Rampur and Moradabad, BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Sushma to promote dynasty politics in Goa by allotting 12 out of 33 tickets to the kin of legislators have been the main poll plank of the BJP. The Congress-NCP alliance has been harping on stability as its USP, with Kamat achieving the rare distinction of being the first to last for full five years since Goa attained statehood in 1987. The BJP has seven Christians nominees among its 28 candidates. Two key regional issues which have remained imprinted on the public consciousness here over the last few years have been on the medium of instruction (MoI) and the Regional (development) Plan 2021. The MoI issue involves an intense debate about whether the government should give government free of cost. The state government has told the civil aviation ministry, AAI and others to acquire the land making necessary payments.” The Agartala airport or Singerbhil Airport, located 15 km southeast of Agartala, was built by Tripura’s last king Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur (1923-1947) in 1938-39. The AAI has begun prelimi- Swaraj toured Badayun, Bareilly and Shahjahanpur, and Congress leader and central minister Salman Khurshid was at Shahjahanpur and Bareilly. In the 2007 polls, the BSP had done fairly well in this region and had gained 27 seats. The Samajwadi Party was a distant second with 17 seats. The BJP was runners up in nine constituencies. The Congress got just two seats. The National Election Watch has named 95 of the 962 candidates as those with criminal cases against them. Of this 27 are from the Samajwadi Party, 20 from the BJP, 13 from the BSP, 14 from the Congress, four from the Rashtriya Lok Dal, 13 from Peace Party and four from the Janta Dal-United. — IANS Congress faces BJP charge in Goa grants to schools instructing in English. The BJP insists that children should be taught in their mother tongue. The second deals with the nature of a futuristic land use policy document called the Goa Regional Plan 2021. The Congress has been accused by the opposition and civil society of selling out to the land mafia and virtually opening up Goa to the ravages of high density real estate development. The manifestoes of the two principal parties are nearly identical vis-a-vis civic and social issues. Both have promised a quick solution to Goa’s garbage woes while both have also promised to safeguard the interests of the ‘legal’ mining industry. Agartala airport to be NE air hub OFFICIALS of the Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Private Ltd speak at a press conference for the national launch of Bharat Benz Trucks in Hyderabad. — AFP nary work to upgrade it to an international airport to boost connectivity with Southeast Asian countries. “AAI has taken up an ambitious Rs 80 crore project to gradually develop Agartala airport to international standards. Also, a modern Air Traffic Control tower is being set up at a cost of Rs 10 crore,” an AAI official said. Two govt officials shot dead in Bihar PATNA — Two government officials were shot dead and another was seriously injured yesterday by unidentified assailants in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district, police said. The victims were identified as officials of the Bihar State Bridge Construction Corporation Limited, a police official said. Project manager G B Singh and engineer Vikash Mishra died on the spot and site in-charge Ramdheen Pandey, seriously injured, was rushed to hospital in Muzaffarpur for treatment. Belsand police station in-charge, Santosh Sharma said unidentified assailants opened fire on the officials when they were going to a work site.
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