Mohammed Wajihuddin

Mohammed Wajihuddin, a senior journalist, is associated with The Times of India, Mumbai. This piece has been picked up from his blog

Bachelor lured, forcibly sterilized in Madhya Pradesh

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Bhopal Singh, a bachelor from Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district, got forcibly sterilized after getting lured for the Indira Awas Yojana, officials said Friday.

“A few days ago, my cousin was told by some health staff that he would be eligible for the Indira Awas Yojana and would get money too if he visited the hospital. But later, he was sterilized. After the operation, they put Rs. 200 in his pocket,” Gowardhan Singh, cousin of Bhopal Singh told reporters.

Ministers behind crackdown on Ramdev: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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A day after the Supreme Court slammed the Delhi Police for its handling of Baba Ramdev’s Ramlila ground protest in June last year, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Friday squarely put the blame for the midnight crackdown on the UPA government and its ministers.

Inaugurating a two-day seminar on Indian diaspora human rights issues, Ravi Shankar said the Delhi Police were only following the orders of the political masters and called for “more work” to be done so such swoop downs are not repeated.

Three Nigerian footballers arrested for ‘sex racket’

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Three Nigerian footballers, one of whom has turned out in the first division of the I-League, were arrested Friday alongwith a woman from an apartment in Garfa of south eastern Kolkata for allegedly running a sex racket, police said.

The arrested players are Adeola Hassan of Mohammedan Sporting and Michael Tayo and Wahid Abdullah of Kalighat Milan Sangha. The woman is alleged to be a sex worker.

All four were produced before the Alipore court, which remanded them to judical custody till March 9.

Rahul: Mulayam was keen on alliance

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Star campaigner Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the Samajwadi Party was keen on forging an alliance with the Congress for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll but his party had rejected it.

Mulayam Singh Yadav was eager for an electoral tie up with the Congress which was rejected by my party,” he told a rally in Moradabad.

“Our alliance is only with the people,” the Gandhi scion said.At an election rally in Aligarh, the Congress general secretary accused Mulayam of making promises to Muslims on job quota which he could not fulfil.

Mahesh Bhatt and RGV fight over Sunny Leone

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Sunny Leonethe famous Indo – Canadian porn artist, whose claim to fame in India was Big Boss 5, is now very much a part of our Bollywood fraternity. Mahesh Bhatt, known for his keen eye for fresh faces, noticed Sunny on the show, and now the sensuous artist will be making her Bollywood debut in Mahesh Bhatt’s JISM 2.

Groom stands by raped bride

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A village wedding in Madhya Pradesh stood out for one reason on Tuesday: the groom had chosen to go ahead with the marriage after learning the bride had been raped two days earlier.

The groom, a Class XII dropout and farmer, that it was his duty to stand by the bride and fight her battle for justice together.

“It is a testing time for her for no fault of hers. I have married her and will fight for justice,” Achchhe Lal said.

CPI backs formation of seperate state

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Communist Party of India (CPI) supports bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, announced party general secretary A B Bardhan. He said his party would not hesitate to fully support the bill on formation of separate Telangana state if it is introduced in Parliament.

IAS officers shuffled

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The state government on Tuesday posted senior IAS officer Chaya Ratan as special chief secretary, home department, and in her place posted Nilam Sawhney as principal secretary of women and children, disabled and senior citizen department. D Sambasiva Rao was transferred from secondary education and posted as principal secretary of finance in place of Ranjeev Acharya who has gone on leave.

Indian economy may grow at 8 percent in 2012-13: Rangarajan

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India’s economy may grow at 7.1 percent this financial year and inch up to 8 percent next fiscal if the global environment turns favourable, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council C. Rangarajan said Wednesday.

“We might be able to achieve 8 percent growth on our esteem, if the world environment is favourable,” Rangarajan told reporters here after releasing the Review of the Economy 2011-12.

“Manmohan a Man of Peace” – Gilani

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Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Wednesday praised his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh as a “sincere” person who desired peace between the two countries.

Gilani was Wednesday speaking to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who is leading a parliamentary delegation to Pakistan.

“The prime minister of Pakistan recalled his meetings with the prime minister of India and said he regarded him as a sincere person who desired friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries,” a statement from the speaker’s office said.

Jayant, Rahul woo first-time voters, Gen Next

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Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Jayant Chaudhary and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi joined hands Wednesday in this newly-formed district headquarters to woo first-time voters and youth ahead of the penultimate round of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.

The young leaders, Chaudhary, 33, grandson of former prime minister Charan Singh and Gandhi, 41, grandson of late prime minister Indira Gandhi and son of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, are prominent youth leaders of their parties, which have tied-up for the state polls.

Two Bengal CPI-M leaders killed, Mamata terms it infighting

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Two Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leaders, including a former legislator, were killed in a clash in West Bengal Wednesday which the Left Front blamed on the ruling Trinamool Congress. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee linked the deaths to infighting within the CPI-M.

Pradip Tah, who earlier represented Burdwan North in the assembly, and the party’s district committee member Kamal Gayen were lynched in the clash in Dewandighi in Burdwan district.