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- Political Parties encashing Singur Issue for vested Interests
- A R Rahman to perform at London Olympics Opening Ceremony
- Salman Khan launches Online for release of Sarabjit Singh from Pakistan
- Congress not happy Over Maoists Killing in Chattisgarh
- Tom Cruise not happy with his Divorce with Katie Holmes
- Kalam was ready to appoint Sonia as Prime Minister in 2004 reveals book
- Two Air India Pilots on Hunger Strike Hospitalized
- Mob assaults Rumi Nath, Assam MLA for converting to Islam and Marrying
- Neeraj Kumar takes over as new Delhi Police Commissioner
- Akshay Kumar unveils poster of his Divine Comedy Oh My God
| Political Parties encashing Singur Issue for vested Interests Posted: 30 Jun 2012 10:30 AM PDT The rural pocket of Singur that played a decisive role in shaping the big political change in West Bengal last year again seems headed towards becoming the epicentre of the political theatre following the recent court verdict cancelling the Singur land law as “unconstitutional”. The order by a Calcutta High Court division bench pronouncing as “void” the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, passed by the Mamata Banerjee government, has not only jolted the regime but also triggered a mad race among political parties to reach out to the aggrieved farmers of the area – particularly those who had not accepted the compensation cheques issued by the earlier government. While the ruling Trinamool Congress has mobilised its students’ wing to take out a rally Saturday in the area, a part of the Hooghly district and about 40 km from here, the Congress has asked its senior leaders to visit the belt and – strangely enough – some naxalite factions have teamed up with a disgruntled Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) peasant leader to woo the farmers. The target audience for the hectic political activity is the bunch popularly called ‘unwilling’ farmers – those from whom land was alleged to have been forcibly taken by the erstwhile Left Front government for setting up the Nano car factory of automobile giants Tata Motors in 2006. That the factory had to be shifted to Gujarat’s Sanand following an intense peasants’ movement spearheaded by then major opposition Trinamool Congress under Banerjee’s stewardship with the demand that 400 acres be returned to the unwilling farmers is all too well known. A similar oft-told story is how the movement reversed Trinamool’s electoral fortunes and dislodged the Left Front (LF) from power last year. Having enacted the Singur law to return land to the “unwilling farmers” soon after coming to power, the recent court verdict following an appeal by the automobile major against a lower court ruling upholding the act, has seemingly rattled Banerjee and her colleagues. Banerjee lost no time in announcing that the monthly allowance being paid to the Singur farmers would be doubled to Rs.2,000. But ruling circles fear the disenchantment among the farmers, whose shifting of support to the Trinamool largely led to the LF’s collapse, could grow with each passing day as the court fight stretches on. In fact, a section of the ‘unwilling’ farmers of Singur now strongly feel they have committed a blunder by not accepting the compensation cheques given by the LF government and instead hopping on to Banerjee’s bandwagon. In a damage control exercise a day after the court struck down the Singur Act, which had scrapped the land lease given to Tata Motors, the government activated a farmers’ committee that had been the pivot of the anti-farmland acquisition movement in the area. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and several of her cabinet colleagues and intellectuals attended the meeting of the now virtually defunct “Krishi Jami Jibon Jibika Rakha Committee” (Save Agricultural Land, life and Livelihood Committee) which took a decision to start afresh the movement for return of land to unwilling farmers. “Along with the legal battle the committee will start a movement with the A day later, the minister favoured an out-of-court settlement with the Tatas to protect the farmers’ interests. He only articulated one particular line of thought in the government. A second theory is to redraft the law which the court has annulled saying it had been But the hawks within the government are pitching for an appeal in the Supreme Court to get the division bench’s verdict overturned. The main opposition LF, gloating over the government’s discomfiture, has called for amending the law and pilloried the regime for hurrying through it without listening to the voices of reason. Former minister in the LF government Abdur Rezzak Mollah, who takes pride in calling himself “chashir byata” (son of a farmer) has announced an “Occupy Singur” movement from July 3 on the lines of the Occupy Wall Street agitation in the USA that started last September. Annoyed with his party CPI-M for not heeding his warnings on Singur when the LF was in power, and also lately for not including him in the state secretariat, Mollah has teamed up with some naxalite groups to carry forward his movement. |
| A R Rahman to perform at London Olympics Opening Ceremony Posted: 30 Jun 2012 09:30 AM PDT A.R. Rahman is set to team up with Hollywood director Danny Boyle again – this time to compose a song for the London Olympics’ opening ceremony. The music maestro reveals it will be a Punjabi song celebrating Indian influence in Britain. “Clarifying the report on the Olympics track I am composing… It’s a track in Punjabi celebrating the Indian influence in the UK,” Rahman, who worked with Boyle in Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire” and “127 Hours”, posted on his Facebook page. “It’s a part of a medley in the Olympics opening ceremony, according to Danny Boyle’s creative wishes!” he added. It has also been reported that music composer Ilayaraja’s composition “Naanthaan ungappanda”, from Kamal Hassan’s 1980 film “Ram Lakshman” will be a part of the opening ceremony too. The 2012 London Olympics will be held July 27 to Aug 12. |
| Salman Khan launches Online for release of Sarabjit Singh from Pakistan Posted: 30 Jun 2012 08:31 AM PDT Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has launched an online petition seeking the release of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian on death row in Pakistan. “To people from all over the world. Thanx for your support. Sign the online petition in support of Sarabjit’s release…www.facebook.com/BeingHumanOnline,” tweeted Salman Saturday. On Friday, in an emotional tweet the actor had appealed to the people of Pakistan to support him in efforts to free Sarabjit. Pakistan on Thursday released Indian prisoner Surjeet Singh. Earlier, reports had said that Pakistan was to free Sarabjit Singh, but later Islamabad clarified that it was another Indian prisoner named Surjeet Singh. “Request the awam (people) of Pakistan, members of the press, Govt of Pakistan, President (Asif Ali Zardari) Zardari, a humble request. It would be the most amazing gesture to send Sarabjit back to his family after 30 years. Hope you support me like it’s your own cause,” tweeted Salman Friday. |
| Congress not happy Over Maoists Killing in Chattisgarh Posted: 30 Jun 2012 07:30 AM PDT The opposition Congress in Chhattisgarh Saturday formed a panel to probe Friday’s killing of 19 Maoist insurgents by security forces saying the presence of women and children among the dead and the “shabby way” the state government handled the issue gave rise to the suspicion they were killed in staged shootouts. “The presence of children and women among the dead and the shabby way the state government treated the issue gives rise to suspicion of security forces committing excesses on innocent tribal people and killing them in staged shootouts,” Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress President Nand Kumar Patel, who is in Jagdalpur along with other senior leaders attending the party’s two-day training camp, told IANS. To examine the facts, Patel has constituted an 11-member committee headed by the party’s state vice president and Konta MLA Kawasi Lakhma. The committee will start working from Saturday itself and submit its report within a week. Meanwhile, top police officials have brushed aside charges of killing innocent tribals and claimed that all the dead were either hardcore militants or members of Jan Militia, a frontal organisation of Maoists. Additional Director General of Police (Naxal Operations) Ram Niwas and IG (Intelligence) Mukesh Gupta told IANS that among the killed rebels, six were hardcore Maoists including the master mind of the Dantewada jailbreak Markam Suresh, whereas 11 were members of the Jan Militia. The six personnel of the CRPF’s KOBRA battalion – Wahidul Ishlam, Gyanendra Prakash Singh, Arunabh Ghosh, Krishna Kumar Kshatri, K. Rajan and radio operator S.S. Rana have been brought to Raipur and admitted to MMI Hospital. The condition of Wahidul and Gyanendra is said to be serious as they have received injuries in the chest and stomach. According to ADG Ram Niwas “Two seriously injured naxal cadres have also been brought to Raipur for treatment. However, one of the two ultras treated at Bijapur District Hospital later succumbed to injuries.” |
| Tom Cruise not happy with his Divorce with Katie Holmes Posted: 30 Jun 2012 06:30 AM PDT Actor Tom Cruise is deeply saddened by the end of his five-year marriage to actress Katie Holmes, his representative says. “Kate has filed for divorce and Tom is deeply saddened and is concentrating on his three children…Please allow them their privacy,” usmagazine quoted Cruise’s representative as saying. “Katie’s primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter’s best interest. This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family,” usmagazine.com quoted Holmes attorney Jonathan Wolfe, as saying. The couple got married in 2006 and have a six-year-old daughter Suri Cruise. While this was the first marriage for Holmes, Cruise has been married twice before, to actress Mimi Rogers and actress Nicole Kidman. He had adopted two kids Isabella Jane and Connor Antony with Kidman. The couple have a six-year-old daughter Suri Cruise together. Holmes is reportedly seeking the sole custody of her daughter after filing for the divorce in New York. She has cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason behind the split. |
| Kalam was ready to appoint Sonia as Prime Minister in 2004 reveals book Posted: 30 Jun 2012 05:54 AM PDT
The former President says he was almost certain that Gandhi would head the UPA government but Rashtrapati Bhavan had to rework the appointment letter after the Congress chief nominated Singh as the Prime Minister. “During this time there were many political leaders who came to meet me to request me not to succumb to any pressure and appoint Mrs Gandhi as the Prime Minister, a request that would not have been constitutionally tenable. If she had made any claim for herself I would have had no option but to appoint her,” the book says. In his book, Kalam writes that after the Lok Sabha poll results were announced, no party or coalition came forward to form the government for three days. During his tenure, he says he had to take many tough decisions. “I had applied my mind totally in an unbiased manner after eliciting opinions from legal and constitutional experts. The primary aim of all the decisions was to protect and nurture the sanctity and robustness of our Constitution.” Describing the 2004 elections as an interesting event, he writes, “It was a cause of concern for me and I asked my secretaries and rushed a letter to the leader of the largest party – in this case the Congress – to come forward and stake the claim for forming the government. “I was told that Sonia Gandhi was meeting me at 12.15 in the afternoon of 18 May. She came in time but instead of coming alone she came with Dr Manmohan Singh and had a discussion with me. She said that she had the requisite numbers but she did not bring the letter of support signed by party functionaries. “She would come with the letters of support on the 19th, she said. I asked her why do you postpone. We can even finish it this afternoon. She went away. Later I received a message that she would meet me in the evening, at 8.15pm” While this communication was in progress, Kalam received a number of emails and letters from individuals, organizations and parties that he should not allow Gandhi to become the prime minister. And on May 19 at the allotted time, 8.15pm, Gandhi came to Rashtrapati Bhavan along with Singh. “In this meeting after exchanging pleasantries, she showed me the letters of support from various parties. Thereupon, I said that is welcome. The Rashtrapati Bhavan is ready for the swearing-in ceremony at the time of your choice. That is when she told me that she would like to nominate Dr Manmohan Singh, who was the architect of economic reforms in 1991 and a trusted lieutenant of the Congress party with an impeccable image, as the Prime Minister. “This was definitely a surprise to me and the Rashtrapati Bhavan secretariat had to rework the letter appointing Dr Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister and inviting him to form the government at the earliest,” Kalam writes in the book published by HarperCollins India and scheduled to be released next week. After the swearing-in ceremony on May 22 involving Singh and 67 ministers, Kalam “breathed a sigh of relief that this important task had finally been done”. |
| Two Air India Pilots on Hunger Strike Hospitalized Posted: 30 Jun 2012 05:22 AM PDT The Air India strike continued for its 55th day Saturday, taking the national carrier’s revenue losses to an estimated Rs.605 crore, while two more of the agitating pilots on a hunger strike were hospitalised. “Two more pilots who are on hunger strike have been hospitalised. They (pilots) have been on an indefinite hunger strike since last Sunday,” Rohit Kapahi, committee member of the Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG), told IANS. “The doctors are monitoring the health of all the other pilots who are on hunger strike.” The pilots are demanding reinstatement of their 101 sacked colleagues and recognition of their union, IPG. However, the airline’s management has maintained that pilots must end their strike first and that the sacked pilots will be reinstated on a case-by-case basis. On Friday, two out of the 11 pilots who are on a hunger strike near the 18th century Jantar Mantar observatory in the city, were hospitalised. “We sincerely hope that the (civil aviation) Minister now understands that this is not a token hunger strike from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., as he had mockingly stated in television interviews. While the minister is on a vacation, the lives of these young pilots is at risk,” the IPG said. A senior airline official told IANS that Air India’s executive director, industrial relations Vinita Bhandari has directed the company’s doctors to monitor the health of pilots who are on the hunger strike venue. “We have directed the doctors to monitor the health of pilots, irrespective of them being sacked or not,” the official said. Around 440 pilots have struck work since May 8 against the management move to train pilots from the erstwhile Indian Airlines in the merged entity on the soon-to-be-inducted Boeing-787 Dreamliner. The airline said its estimated revenue loss due to the pilots’ strike is around Rs.605 crore and that traffic to east Asia and Middle East has been badly hit. Grounded fleet of Boeing 777s, unused manpower and absence from key routes has hit the airlines’ chances of a financial turnaround. “Current revenue losses are nearly Rs.605 crore on various accounts like ticket cancellation, unused labour and bulk of Boeing 777 fleet being grounded,” the Air India official said. “But the losses are less than Rs.5 crore a day,” he added. Currently, the airline is operating only 38 of its original 45 services. Among the seven axed international destinations are Hong Kong, Osaka, Seoul and Toronto. Trouble started for the airline May 8 when pilot-members of the IPG took mass sick leave, protesting the move to provide Boeing-787 Dreamliner training to pilots from the erstwhile Indian Airlines. Air India and Indian Airlines were merged in 2007 to form a single entity to overcome their sub-optimal performance and in the hope the step would result in Rs.1,000 crore profit in the first year itself. |
| Mob assaults Rumi Nath, Assam MLA for converting to Islam and Marrying Posted: 30 Jun 2012 03:31 AM PDT
Rumi Nath and her husband Jacky Jakir, who were badly injured, were being shifted to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital Saturday for treatment, police said. Sources close to the legislator said she was pregnant. Nath, who had won the Borkhola assembly seat in Assam’s Barak Valley on a BJP ticket in 2006, had defected later and joined the Congress. She contested the 2011 assembly elections on a Congress ticket and retained the seat. She married her friend and long time family acquaintance Jacky Jakir, a Muslim by faith, last month and it angered most of her supporters. She also converted to Islam before the marriage. She, however, did not divorce her first husband, Rakesh Kumar Singh and left the daughter from her first marriage in her parents’ house. After she revealed her second marriage, some of her supporters and social organisations in the Barak Valley warned her not to enter the area. The MLA had been out of the state with her second husband since then. “The couple came to Karimganj last evening and were staying for the night at the Hotel Nakshatra. Angry residents somehow came to about the presence of Rumi Nath and her second husband and physically assaulted the duo. Although she had body guards and police reached the spot immediately, it became difficult to control the huge mob,” Karimganj Superintendent of Police Pradip Pujari told IANS. “While we were able to rescue both of them, they have been seriously injured. Both the MLA and her husband Jacky Jakir are being shifted to Guwahati for better treatment Saturday morning,” Pujari said. “The situation has been contained as of now but we are keeping a close vigil so that it does not take any religious angle. Investigation is also on to find out the culprits involved in the incident on Friday night,” he said. |
| Neeraj Kumar takes over as new Delhi Police Commissioner Posted: 30 Jun 2012 03:22 AM PDT Neeraj Kumar, a 1976 Batch IPS Officer took over as next chief of Delhi Police. He succeeded B K Gupta, who was Police Chief since November 2010. He is from the AGMUT (Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram, and other Union Territories) cadre. Outgoing police chief, B.K. Gupta, also from the same cadre, had taken charge from Y.S. Dadwal in November 2010 after the Commonwealth Games. On the Farewell Occasion , Outgoing Delhi Police commissioner B.K. Gupta said he was “satisfied with his tenure” as police chief and urged Delhiites to have consideration for the police as they work in tiring conditions to keep the city safe. Gupta also said that the denizens of the city should be more considerate towards the police personnel who work in tiring conditions. The outgoing police chief added that it was due to the hardworking police constabulary that the city had better law and order situation compared to other places. “Standing under the sun at 45 degrees for hours is a tough job… People should respect police,” Gupta told reporters here. Terrorism is the biggest challenge for Delhi Police, said new Delhi Police chief Neeraj Kumar Saturday and stressed on the need for better rapport between the police and public. “Terrorism is number one challenge for Delhi Police and the arrest of Abu Jindal does not mean that terror strikes in the capital would end. It is a dynamic situation,” Kumar said. “Our proximity and interface with public should improve but I am not saying it is poor. A better rapport is needed,” he added. Here is a short Biography / Profile of the next Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar Neeraj Kumar previously was the director general of Delhi prisons. Before joining the prisons department, Kumar was posted as Special Commissioner of Police (headquarters), Delhi Police, and was in charge of overall security arrangement for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. In February 2012, he was invited by the British government to share his experience of the CWG arrangement for the benefit of the British police who have to ensure security for the 2012 London Olympics. Kumar joined Delhi Police as probationer after completing his graduation and post-graduation from St Stephen’s College in 1973 and 1975 respectively. He first served as assistant commissioner of police for Chanakyapuri in 1979. Kumar also had a long stint in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), where he led the investigations in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. He headed the special cell of Delhi Police as joint commissioner in 2002. Kumar had received the President’s Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1992 and President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 1999. Kumar’s role in handling the 1984 riots was praised by various inquiry commissions appointed by the government to probe the role of the police during the fours days of violence. During his tenure in Traffic Police, he introduced several innovations like Pre-Paid Taxi Service at the airport (operational till date), free eye camp for truck drivers, and micro-processor based traffic signals. In 1992, he unearthed a state-run multi-crore lotteries scam and wrote a monograph titled ‘A Matter of Chance’. The government produced the document in the Supreme Court, which led to the banning of lotteries in the country. During his tenure as CBI chief, the serial train blast cases of 1994, which occurred on the first anniversary of Babri Maszid demolition, were cracked. His tenure in the investigative agency is also highlighted by the solving of the Meenakshi Amman Temple blast case of Madurai, the arrest and deportation of American Center attack mastermind Aftab Ansari from Dubai. His tenure also saw the arrest of an accused in the assassination of the then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. During his current tenure as a Director General (Prisons) more that four hundred inmates have been given jobs. He has also started a semi-open jail in Delhi. His latest initiative is ‘Sparsh’, a scheme for the welfare of nearly 2,500 inmates who do not get any visitors. |
| Akshay Kumar unveils poster of his Divine Comedy Oh My God Posted: 30 Jun 2012 01:30 AM PDT
After taking audiences on a laughter ride in “Hera Pheri”, Akshay has teamed up with Paresh Rawal in his production venture “Oh My God”. Two posters gives a sneak peak into film and the second one shows Paresh, who plays Kanahaiya, standing with a smile on his face and gods and goddesses surrounding him. Based on Umesh Shukla’s Gujrati play “Kanji Viruddh”, the “Oh My God” is about unconventional happenings in normal day to day lives. First time director Ashvini Yardi has wielded the megaphone for the film. It will release on Sep 28. |
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