News

Bhopal, September 20: Madhya Pradesh Government was duty-bound to ensure security to all sections of the society and any attempt to disrupt peace in the state in the wake of ensuing Ayodhya verdict would not be allowed to succeed, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said today. Officials at all levels have been asked to keep a watch on the law and order situation ahead of and after the verdict, which is likely to come on September 24, he told reporters in at his residence here.

Mumbai, September 20: The Bombay High Court Monday fixed Oct 18 for starting daily hearings to confirm the death sentence awarded to Mumbai attack convict and Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab.

A division bench of Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice Ranjit More also declined to entertain Kasab’s application seeking physical presence and ruled that he would remain present through video-conferencing, his lawyer Farhana Shah said.

Melbourne, September 20: Muslims, including women and children, in Australia have staged a march in Sydney to protest against a proposal to ban burqa in the country, condemning it as part of the West’s “war on Islam”.

Women with veils and placards rallied in hundreds showing “my burqa – conviction not coercion” and “leave my mum alone – we love niqab” yesterday in a park in Punchbowl, southwestern Sydney, according to media reports here.

New Delhi, September 20: The Centre has asked all states, particularly sensitive Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka, to give “top most priority” in beefing up security to deal with any law and order problem that may arise after the court verdict on Ayodhya title suits on Friday.

The Home Ministry has identified 32 sensitive locations across the country — four of them in Uttar Pradesh — where there is a potential to “evoke sharp reactions” following the verdict and asked concerned states to be fully alert there.

Bangalore, September 20: JDS today asked Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa either to strip Health Minister B Sreeramulu of his portfolio or seek his resignation holding him responsible for three deaths following administering of ”spurious” drugs to patients in Madikeri district. “Since the Chief Minister shifted D Sudhakara from Social Welfare Department to Muzrai after a spate of death of beggars in the city relief centre, the same yard stick should apply to Sreeramulu.

Patna, September 20: The RJD today received yet another blow ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar when party strongman and brother-in-law of former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad, Subhash Yadav, resigned from the party.

“RJD is a sinking boat and no one will like to ride this boat during the upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar. The captain of the RJD ship has lived his life and he is not in a position to navigate it to the jetty,” Yadav, who resigned from the primary membership of the party, told reporters here.

Mumbai, September 20: Making it clear that it could not further wait for Ajmal Kasab to file an appeal against the trial court’s order sentencing him to death for his role in the 26/11 terror attack, the Bombay High Court Monday said it would proceed with confirmation of death sentence from October 11 or 18.

Government lawyer Ujjwal Nikam said the Pakistani terrorist had a threat perception and bringing him to court would be a great risk, to which the court suggested that Kasab could appear through the medium of video conference.

Chennai,September 20: The AIADMK parliamentarians have urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death threats received by their party leader J.Jayalalithaa.

In their Sep 19 letter to the prime minister released to the media here Monday, the MPs cited their meeting with him Sep 7 and their representation for a free and fair investigation of the threats.

New Delhi, September 20: The National Skill Development Corporation, a joint venture between the government and industrial associations, targets to create 150 million skilled workforce in India by 2022 for sustaining high economic growth, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday.

“We have a challenging target of creating a skilled workforce of 150 million persons by 2022. We have to take action to achieve this target by ramping up the capability of the NSDC. The movement is in the right direction,” Mukherjee said at a meeting with top NSDC officials here.

New Delhi, September 20: Ammonium nitrate was used to trigger the car explosion near Jama Masjid which took place just hours after an attack there on a vehicle carrying foreign tourists, the police said on Monday.

They said no RDX or detonator was used to carry out the explosion.

The explosion had taken place on Sunday, some 50m away from Gate No 3 of Jama Masjid and near a police station just hours after two Taiwanese nationals were shot and injured outside the mosque.

New Delhi, September 20: With barely two weeks to go for the Commonwealth Games, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Monday reviewed the preparations and said the city was “now absolutely ready” and was aiming for “perfection” in various infrastructure and services.

Dikshit asked all the agencies involved in the Games-related project to constitute special teams to monitor the situation.

Kathlal, September 20: The victory of Bharatiya Janata Party in the Kathlal by-election in Gujarat has confirmed Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal in the state. Modi won in a traditional Congress bastion with a large Muslim population and the election result could redefine his political career.

Ayub Chauhan, 35, is one of the Muslim voters of Kathlal constituency in Central Gujarat who voted for the BJP. It’s for the first time BJP won the Assembly constituency and Chauhan does not want to be left out of Gujarat’s development story being scripted by Modi.