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Join hands for a better tomorrow: President to Manipuri youth

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Asserting that societies flourish only in an “atmosphere free from violence”, President Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday asked the youth from Manipur to “join hands” with the rest of India in “forging the future of the nation”.

Speaking at the 14th convocation of Manipur University here, Mukherjee said India was proud of the achievements of the young men and women of Manipur.

However, people should realise that peace was important for development, he said.

Congress, BJP colluding on corruption: Kejriwal

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday claimed that both the Congress and the BJP are colluding on corruption, and also questioned as to why key leaders of both parties, such as Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, had opted not to address election rallies in contesting constituencies Varanasi, Vadodara, Rae Bareli and Amethi.

Addressing a news conference here, Kejriwal alleged that the leaderships of both parties have reached an understanding not to campaign in respective constituencies.

Top UP official attempting to influence polls, claims Shahnawaz Hussain

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Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shahnawaz Hussain on Tuesday alleged that a top official of the Uttar Pradesh Government is trying to influence the ongoing parliamentary polls in the state by ‘threatening’ officers on the election duty.

Urging the Election Commission to take cognisance of it, Hussain said the party is willing to disclose the name of the official.

10,000 staff to spend night inside polling stations in Srinagar

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More than 10,000 poll staff deployed at 1,546 polling stations in Srinagar Lok Sabha seat reached their places of duty and will spend the night there ahead of polling Wednesday while over 50 paramilitary troopers and local policemen each began securing the sites.

Due to security reasons, all the polling staff at polling stations set up at 968 places would spend the night there.

A total of 241 companies of central paramilitary forces and over 10,000 local policemen have been deployed for polling duties in Srinagar Lok Sabha seat.

HC rejects Abu Jundal’s plea to appear in courts

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The Bombay High Court today rejected the plea of Sayyed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, prime accused in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, to quash a Maharashtra Government Resolution (GR) which prohibited him from appearing in the courts as he had threat to his life.

Jundal’s lawyer Ejaz Naqvi prayed that his client had a right under the Constitution to appear before the courts in cases filed against him because he had to defend himself.

India win 7 medals in International gymnastics event in Perth

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Indian gymnasts returned with a rich haul of seven medals, including three golds, from the International Commonwealth Championships held at Perth, Australia from April 26 to 27.

According to a Sports Authority of India (SAI) statement, apart from three gold medals Indian gymnasts also bagged three silver and one bronze from the two-day event.

While 2010 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medallist Ashish Kumar won two gold medals for India, female gymnast Dipa Karmakar bagged the other yellow metal.

Modi’s campaign largest in electoral history: BJP

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By the time the Lok Sabha poll drums fall silent on May 10, Narendra Modi would have undertaken the largest mass outreach in India’s electoral history by travelling about 300,000 km for 437 public meetings in 25 states besides 1350 innovative 3D rallies.

The Modi juggernaut rolled out on September 15 last year with an ex-servicemen’s rally in Rewari in Haryana and would continue till the evening of May 10 when electioneering for the ninth and last phase of the polls in which votes will be cast on May 12.

YSR cong chief asks why TDP did not implement welfare schemes

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YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy questioned here today, about why Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president Chandrababu Naidu had not implemented welfare schemes he had promised.

Addressing a gathering at Gannavaram town near here as part of his election campaign in the Seemandhra region, he claimed that people never believed Chandrababu Naidu who scrapped all welfare schemes launched by his predecessor, the late Andhra Pradesh chief minister N T Rama Rao, who had also founded the TDP.

Mulayam will be PM if third front comes to power: Akhilesh

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today said SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav will become the Prime Minister if the third front forms the government at the Centre.

“In the Lok Sabha elections, SP will get maximum seats in UP and if the third front forms the government at the Centre, party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav will become the PM,” Akhilesh said while addressing an election rally here.

Purandeshwari holds road show

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As part of election campaign, Rajampet BJP candidate former union minister Daggupati Purundeshwari today participated in road shows in Rayachoti of Kadapa district.

Addressing gathering at the road shows, Purundeshwari said she was an adopted daughter of Rayalaseema and urged people to help her to win Rajampet Lok Sabha seat.

Earlier, she garlanded the statue of her father and TDP founder NTR and visited Venkateshwar swami temple in the village.(NSS)

TRS afraid of Increasing Support Modi: Javedkar

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The BJP national spokesperson Prakash Javadekar today said that TRS was afraid of tremendous support getting by party’s prime ministerial Narendra Modi.

Speaking to reporters here, Javedkar questioned as to why TRS is not talking against the Congress.

Criticizing anti-seemandhra attitude of TRS, he reminded that his party has strongly condemned the comment of TRS which described seemandhra people are “Rakshasulu” (devil).

Sonia Gandhi to address public meeting in Guntur on May 2

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AICC President Sonia Gandhi will participate in the election campaign in Seemandhra region.

According to party sources, Sonia Gandhi will address a public meeting in Guntur on May 2. Earlier, she was scheduled to address a public meeting in Visakhapatnam. However, the Vizag meeting has been cancelled and instead, she will address a meeting in Guntur at 4 PM on May 2. (INN)

PM can’t see anything except mother-son duo, says Modi at Solan rally

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh can’t look beyond the mother-son duo of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi, and therefore, was unable to see or accept that there is a Modi wave across the country.

Over 90,000 cops deployed for Telangana polls

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The Andhra Pradesh Police is fully geared up for conducting the elections in 17 Parliamentary and 119 Assembly constituencies in Telangana on Wednesday.

According to DGP B Prasada Rao, police department has taken all measures for maintenance of law and order in the run-up to the first phase of General Elections on April 30 in 10 districts of Telangana, which also comprises of Hyderabad and Cyberabad Police Commissionerates.

Pak couple finally gets visa for their son born at Jaisalmer

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The Pakistani couple who was denied permission to board the Thar Express at Rajasthan’s Munabao railway station four days ago, finally got a visa for their 15-day-old son from the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi, the family sources said here.

Mai Fatima and her husband Meer Mohammed, after meeting the Pakistan High Commission officials, received the visa for their baby boy born in Jaisalmer on April 14, their relative Rasool Khan told PTI over phone.

Nizamabad set for high-stake Lok Sabha battle

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The entry of TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter Kavitha, the lone woman contestant in entire Telangana region, into the poll contest has upped the stakes in the battle for this Lok Sabha seat where Congress candidate and sitting MP Madhu Yashki Goud is eyeing a hat-trick.

Had Kavitha not entered the fray, the Lok Sabha polls here would not have attracted any special attention. But the post- graduate in engineering, who is making her political debut this time, is expected to give a tough competition to Goud, who is representing the seat in Parliament since 2004.

Ukrainian PM calls for autonomy to ease tensions

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Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk urged lawmakers Tuesday to amend the country’s constitution to grant more power to local governments in a bid to ease tensions in eastern regions.

“The excessive powers of the central government should be abolished, and a significant part of the political, economic, financial, social and human authorities must be transferred to the local communities,” Xinhua quoted Yatsenyuk as telling the parliament.

Yatsenyuk has called on all political parties to approve the constitutional amendments before the presidential election is held May 25.

‘Osama’s death didn’t quench Americans desire for revenge’

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The killing of Al Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden did not fully quench Americans’ desire for revenge. Instead, according to research, US citizens have a stronger desire to take further revenge against those who were responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

As the third anniversary of bin Laden’s death falls May 2, a team of social psychology researchers has questioned whether this instance of vicarious revenge led to feelings of satisfaction and re-established justice within the American public – including whether bin Laden’s assassination ignited craving for more revenge.

In Varanasi, AAP works door-to-door

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Dusk has begun to fall and a group of little urchins sporting saffron caps and wearing Narendra Modi masks play outside AAP’s central office here and hail BJP’s prime ministerial nominee with slogans they have picked up over the past few weeks.

North Korea halts live-fire drill near border

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North Korea halted its live-fire drill just 10 minutes after starting it Tuesday.

A South Korea’s defence ministry official earlier told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the North Korea set off its live-fire drill at 2 p.m. local time (0500 GMT) near the disputed inter-Korean border islands.

The Southwestern Command of the Korean People’s Army sent a fax to the South Korean Navy’s Second Fleet early Tuesday, which notified the live-fire drill near the Northern Limit Line (NLL).

London commuters face severe disruption due to Tube strike

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Commuters in London faced severe disruption as workers operating the city’s Tube network began their 48-hour strike today to protest the government’s plan to close all ticket offices, costing nearly 1,000 jobs.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union walked out for 48 hours at 8:00 pm last night over plans to close all ticket offices.

Transport for London said it hoped to run between 40-50 per cent of services.

There were almost 8,000 buses on the roads – the most ever operated in London – after an extra 266 were put into service.

Ahmed Patel confident Congress will do well

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Congress leader Ahmed Patel is unfazed by predictions of opinions polls and widespread perception that UPA III is not possible and dismisses as “hypothetical” questions whether the party will back any combination to stop Narendra Modi from coming to power.

Refusing to go into details of what will be the party’s strategy in case it is not able to come back to power, he says that in such a situation the Congress President will take a decision in consultation with the Working Committee.

Roland Garros to stage Davis Cup semi-final

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France is set to host September’s Davis Cup semi-final against the Czech Republic on the clay courts of Roland Garros, the French Tennis Federation announced on Monday.

It will be the first time since the 2002 semi-final that Roland Garros will host a Davis Cup. In 2002, France defeated the United States before they lost 3-2 to Russia in the final, also held in Paris, but in the indoors Bercy Stadium.

Alves gets support of Brazilian president

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Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has lent her support to Dani Alves, saying the Barcelona defender was “brave and strong” for eating a banana thrown at him by a fan.

Rousseff said Sunday’s incident reinforced the need to “champion the fight against racism in sport” during the World Cup, to be played in Brazil from June 12 to July 13, reports Xinhua.

“We are going to show that our strength in football, and in life, comes from our ethnic diversity and that we are proud of it,” Rousseff wrote on her official Twitter account Monday.

Modi, Naidu, Pavan to address poll campaign meetings in AP

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BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and Telugu actor-turned-politician Pavan Kalyan would address public meetings in Tirupati and five other towns of Seemandhra over the next two days.

Modi would address the first meeting in the temple town of Tirupati tomorrow, followed by election meetings at Madanapalle in Chittoor district, Nellore, Guntur, Bhimavaram and Visakhapatnam on May 1, BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.