Kolkata, September 28: The intervention of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was today sought for taking up the issue of eight trekkers missing since September eight in Uttarakhand with the government there.
R Lakshmi, the wife of one of the trekkers, N P Rao, appealed to the chief minister through officials of his secretariat to help in tracing her husband and the others.
Washington, September 28: Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony Tuesday conveyed to the US “India’s commitment to add even greater substance” to their defence partnership in the years ahead, but as expected, no deals were announced.
At the conclusion of Antony’s two-day visit, during which he met US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Advisor General James Jones, Indian officials said he had expressed satisfaction “at the increasing range and depth of defence cooperation”.
Hyderabad, September 28: TRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao today hit out at TDP leaders for announcing that they will hold a sit-in in front of Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s residence in Delhi to push her towards taking steps for formation of separate Telangana.
“TDP leaders are enacting a drama. Why should they do that? It was after the meeting of the Congress Core Group, headed by Sonia Gandhi, that the Centre announced the decision to form separate Telangana.
Hyderabad, September 28: The Andhra Pradesh High Court today reserved its orders on a writ petition filed by an advocate objecting to withdrawal of resignation given by a sitting judge of the High Court.
Justice C V Nagarjuna Reddy resigned protesting against vandalism by Telangana lawyers in his court on September 16 and subsequently withdrew his resignation on September 18 following persuasion by Chief Justice Nisar Ahmed Kakru.
Ongole (AP), September 28: In an apparent dig at detractors like TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, Congress MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy today said attempts by certain quarters to “defame” his father and former chief minister late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy would not succeed.
“People have given a permanent place for Rajasekhara Reddy in their hearts. Out of zealously, some people are trying to defame him. Their attempts to defame a dead person shows the worst kind of politics. But they would not succeed.
Mumbai, September 28: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday urged the people to maintain peace and harmony after the Allahabad High Court delivers its verdict on Thursday in the 61-year-old Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute in Ayodhya.
Whatever be the nature of judgment, I think everyone should make every effort to maintain peace, harmony and tranquility in the country, Manmohan Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a book release function here on Tuesday.
He recalled that the appeal for peace had been mentioned in the resolution adopted by the union cabinet Sep 16.
New Delhi, September 28: BJP and JD(U) is said to announce the list of candidates for the up-coming State Assembly polls in Bihar on Tuesday.
JD(U) is to contest with 141 candidates and BJP with 102 seats-identical number of constituencies they contested separately in 2005-respectively in the October-November assembly polls. Bihar assembly has strength of 243.
Kolkata, September 28: Services in four government hospitals here were hit as strike by junior doctors entered the fourth day today, even as the government claimed that a section of the protestors had resumed duty in ‘some places’ and the agitation will be withdrawn soon.
We have information that a section of the striking junior doctors have already resumed duty in some places. We are hopeful that the strike will be formally withdrawn in a few hours, Director of Medical Education Soumendranath Banerjee told news agency.
Bihar, September 28: The CPI(ML) on Tuesday released the list of 48 candidates for the first three phases of Bihar assembly polls beginning from October 21 next.
While sitting MLA Amarnath Yadav has been renominated from Raghunathpur assembly seat, another sitting MLA Munnas Alam has been replaced by his brother and ex-MLA Mehboob Alam from Balrampur assembly constituency, CPI(ML) state committee secretary Nand Kishor Prasad told reporters here.
Another former MLA Satya Dev Ram has been given ticket from Darauli (SC) assembly seat.
Jhalawar, September 28: Bandh still affects normal life in the Manoharthana area of Jhalawar after tension prevailed for the third day even as administrative officials tried to pacify the members of Bhil community on Wednesday.
The Bandh was forced after two persons of the tribe were killed in a clash with the police on Monday, while one more person died on Tuesday, after a tribal woman was raped by three persons of a minority community. Around 25 policemen were also injured in the scuffle.
New Delhi, September 28: In a first of its kind, the Indira Gandhi International airport on Tuesday got an automatic ambient air monitoring station which will disseminate round-the-clock data regarding air quality.
Inaugurated by Delhi’s Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta, the air monitoring station at the airport is the first such at any airport in Southeast Asia.
“It will disseminate data on critical parameters to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) every 15 minutes. It will go a long way in formulation of policies of the government,” Mehta said.
–Agencies
Mumbai, September 28: Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Karthik will lead India Blue and India Red respectively, while India Green will be captained by Subramanium Badrinath when Airtel Challenger Series for NKP Salve Trophy commences in Indore from October 8-11.
Senior national selection committee led by Krishnamachari Srikkanth on Tuesday decided to give some of the tried and tested faces another lifeline as the senior national team will embark on a long international season with the focus on next year’s World Cup to be staged in the sub-continent.
Mumbai, September 28: Congress and BJP on Tuesday welcome the Supreme Court order paving the way for the Allahabad High Court to pronounce its verdict in the 60-year-old Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit.
We welcome the order. The party has always held that the issue should either be resolved through mutual talks or the court order should be obeyed, AICC General Secretary Janaradhan Dwivedi said.
BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said that the Supreme Court decision had ended the uncertainty over the 60-year-old dispute.
New Delhi, September 28: Law Minister M Veerappa Moily on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court decision to dismiss a plea seeking the deferment of the Allahabad High Court judgement in the Ayodhya title suit and said the government has always taken a “secular and objective” stand on the issue.
“It is a welcome decision from the honourable Supreme Court. It is very precise, they have been very clear. They didn’t want this uncertainty to be prolonged. That is the
stand which we have been taking,” he told reporters in New Delhi.
Mumbai, September 28: The Union Home Ministry has put entire nation on high alert ahead of the Ayodhya verdict on September 30.
In an advisory to all the state, the home ministry has asked the security agency to be on high alert on September 30 due to possible backlash after the verdict.
The ministry has identified 16 places as hyper sensitive while 32 cities are sensitive.
Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are among the hyper sensitive.
The government has dispatched 52 battalions of paramilitary forces to the Uttar Pradesh.
Lucknow, September 28: With the Supreme Court clearing the way for the Allahabad High Court to deliver its verdict on Ayodhya title suits, the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh today directed officials to beef up security at both Allahabad and Lucknow benches of the Court.
It also directed district administrations to step up vigil around places of religious, public and historical importance, Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar said.
New York, September 28: Amid concerns over surge in terrorism and instability in Afghanistan, the US and India have agreed to “keep in close touch” about developments in the war-torn nation as Washington appreciated New Delhi’s efforts in the country’s development sector.
During a bilateral meeting between Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton here, India and US also agreed to embark on a road of “triangular cooperation” in Afghanistan.
Tehran, September 28: Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast warns Russia that siding with the US against Iran will harm Moscow’s long-term interests.
“Russia’s long-term interests will not be realized by getting engaged in US-sponsored games [against Iran],” Mehmanparast said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday, reacting to Russia’s unilateral termination of an arms deal with the Islamic Republic.
New Delhi, September 28: Against the backdrop of the impending verdict on the Ayodhya title suit, Congress leader Digvijay Singh today said the BJP should realise that 2010 was not 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished and asked the party to “restrain” its cadre.
“I hope BJP would realise that 2010 is not 1992…They should restrain their cadres from indulging in violence,” Singh, the AICC General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, told reporters here.
Chandigarh, September 28: Australia have great respect for Harbhajan Singh but it will be a “huge bonus” for the visitors in case he misses out in the first Test at Mohali in the wake of injury scare surrounding him, vice-captain Michael Clarke said today.
Clarke, however, he was confident that the Indian off-spinner will play at Mohali and they were preparing how to tackle him.
“I am very confident Harbhajan will play. I know how much he loves playing against Australia,” Clarke told reporters at a press conference here.
Kochi, September 28: Top police officials today evaluated security arrangements at the Jawaharlal Nehru International stadium at nearby Kaloor, venue of the first India-Australia ODI on October 17.
Headed by Kochi City Police Commissioner, Manoj Abraham, the team visited the stadium to discuss security-related issues for the ODI, a Kerala Cricket Association press release said.
They also visited various entry points and suggested various measures for smooth conduct of the match.
Bhubaneswar, September 28: Terming the Supreme Court order paving the way for a verdict on the Ayodhya title suit as a victory of judiciary, Bajrang Dal today said both parties should abide by the judgement of the Allahabad High Court.
It would have been a gross injustice to restrict a court to pronounce its judgement on any issue, Bajrang Dal national convener Subhash Chouhan told PTI.
“The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court was hearing the matter since 60 years. It would have been injustice to restrict the court from pronouncing the judgement,” he said.
Bangalore, September 28: A local court today extended the judicial custody of PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madani, one of the accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts case, to October 12.
All the 14 accused, who have been arrested in the case including Madani, were produced through video-conferencing before the First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Venkatesh Hulagi and he extended their judicial custody which ended today.
Srinagar, September 28: An unidentified militant was killed in an encounter with security forces near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesman said today. A search party of the army confronted militants late last night at Badi Behak in Nowgam sector, 120 kms from here, triggering a gunbattle, the spokesman said.
Chennai, September 28: The Tamil Nadu government Tuesday decided to hand over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) letters received by former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa threatening her with death.
The decision comes a day after a delegation of AIADMK leaders led by O. Pannerselvam met the chief secretary and home secretary and submitted a representation asking that the cases be transferred to the CBI.
The delegation expressed unhappiness at the way the cases were probed by the Tamil Nadu Police.