Month: June 2012

CBI grills Jagan for more than 6 hours

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On the second day of the five-day interrogation permitted by the Andhra Pradesh High Court, a team of Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) officials today questioned YSR Congress Party President Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy for more than six hours in the disproportionate assets case slapped against him. Earlier, the CBI took Mr Jagan to its office at Koti and questioned him in presence of his lawyers till 1700 hours. Later, he was taken back to Chanchalguda Jail as per the court orders.

Dhoni meets troops in Srinagar, visits hospital

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Indian cricket captain and the goodwill ambassador of the Indian Army Mahendra Singh Dhoni spent his second day in Kashmir interacting with patients, officers and troops in Srinagar today. He also met the new General Officer Commanding (GOC) designate, Chinar Corps, Lieutenant General Om Prakash. Lieutenant Colonel (Honorary) Dhoni, on the second day of his tour, met Lieutenant General Prakash, who is scheduled to take over the reins on June 9, 2012, in the presence of the Chief of Staff, Major General Rajesh Arya.

YSR Congress buying MLAs: Chandrababu

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Telugu Desam Party President and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today alleged the YSR Congress Party was indulging in horse trading of MLAs and MPs offering packages.

Speaking to newspersons here, he said, this, however, would not affect the TDP and even if one or two MLAs leave much importance would not be attached to it. Such defectors would go down as betrayers in history and were bound to disappear into political oblivion,’ he alleged.

Man held for trying to sell minor girl in Delhi

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A minor girl from Bihar who came to Delhi a month ago in search of job was rescued when she was about to be sold for trafficking, a Delhi Police official said Monday.

Rishi Pal, 32, hailing from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested Sunday from the capital’s G.B. Road before he could sell the girl, allegedly for Rs.50,000.

Pal met the girl a week ago at Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad railway station, said the police official.

The girl overheard the man talking to another person on phone that he had brought a girl and would sell her for Rs.50,000.

PM hits out at Team Anna, Ramdev

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today rejected the charges of Team Anna that the government had “swindled unbelievable amounts” of money and hit out at yoga guru Ramdev for claiming that “astronomical” sums of black money can be brought back from other countries in one stroke.

Addressing the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting here, he said “canards and falsehood” were being spread by “disparate” and “desparate” elements and asked the party cadres to effectively tackle the “misinformation”.

Congress Govt has failed on all fronts, alleges Naidu

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Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday accused the Congress Government of having failed on all fronts.

Addressing a press conference at Kakinada, Naidu said that the administration has come to a halt at all levels and all systems need to be resorted. He said while the corruption was at its peak, the leaders of ruling party were found involved in many irregularities. He also accused the Congress and YSR Congress of indulging in ‘match fixing’ to stage a political drama in order to shield their leaders from corruption charges.

Azad rules out mid-term polls in the State

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Union Health Minister and In-charge of AP Congress affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad has ruled out the possibilities of mid-terms polls in the State after by-elections.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Azad said that the results of by-elections would not impact the State Government. He hoped that the Congress party would win all the seats where by-elections would be held on June 12. He described YSR Congress party president Jaganmohan Reddy as an inexperienced politician who lacks eligibility criteria to become a Chief Minister.

CM to tour Kurnool district on Tuesday

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Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will tour the Kurnool district on Tuesday.

According to a press release by the Chief Minister’s Office, Kiran Kumar Reddy will will reach Chagalamarri village of Kurnool district from Kadapa by helicopter at 10.10 am on Tuesday. He will later arrive at Allagadda and will participate in the locally arranged programmes there from 11.30 am to 12.30 pm.

Two Congress MLAs submit resignations to Speaker

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Two Congress MLAs on Monday submitted resignations from their posts and announced that they were officially joining the YSR Congress party.

The MLAs – Venkata Sujoy Krishna Ranga Rao Rau of Bobbili constituency in Vizianagaram district and Alle Kali Krishna Srinivas alias Alla Nani of Eluru segment in West Godavari district submitted their resignations to Speaker Nadendla Manohar at latter’s chambers in the assembly premises.

Congress ridicules Vijayamma’s claim on Jagan’s assets

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Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson B Kamalakar Rao on Monday described YSR Congress honorary president Vijayamma as a political mature personality and alleged that she too might have played a role in helping her son Jaganmohan Reddy accumulate illegal wealth.

Dance film was my Dream : Remo D’Souza

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Choreographer-turned-director Remo D’Souza, who has finished shooting his 3D film “ABCD” (Any Body Can Dance), says he always wanted to make a dance movie.

“This is my second film. I always wanted to make a dance film first. It didn’t happen. But now it has happened thanks to UTV so I am very happy about it,” D’Souza said Monday at the wrap up party of “ABCD”.

The film stars renowned directors and choreographers like Prabhu Deva and Ganesh Acharya. But even with two other directors on board, D’Souza did not have any difficulties shooting the film.

CBI summons another Andhra minister in Jagan case

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Ten days after the arrest of a cabinet minister in Andhra Pradesh in YSR Congress party leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s illegal assets case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned another minister for questioning.

The investigating agency Monday issued notice to Information Technology Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah directing him to appear before it on June 7, CBI sources said.

The minister would be appearing before CBI on the day when five-day CBI custody of jailed MP Jaganmohan Reddy would come to an end.

Suicide bombing in Baghdad kills 26

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A suicide bomber detonated an explosive-packed car outside a Shia Muslim office in central Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 26 people and wounding more than 190 in an attack bearing the hallmarks of Iraq’s al Qaeda affiliate.

The bombing on a Shia religious office comes at a sensitive time, with the country’s fractious Shia, Sunni and Kurdish blocs locked in a crisis that threatens to unravel their power-sharing deal and spill into sectarian tensions.

Heat wave kills 22 in Andhra Pradesh

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Intense heat wave has taken a heavy toll in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district, where 22 people have died due to sunstroke since late last month, officials said.

Most of the victims were agricultural labourers. Twenty-two people have succumbed to sunstroke in various mandals of the district between May 24 and June 1, collector S A M Rizvee said, quoting reports reaching the district headquarter here, about 350km from Hyderabad.

Man held for trying to sell minor girl in Delhi

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A minor girl from Bihar who came to Delhi a month ago in search of job was rescued when she was about to be sold for trafficking, a Delhi Police official said Monday.

Rishi Pal, 32, hailing from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested Sunday from the capital’s G.B. Road before he could sell the girl, allegedly for Rs.50,000.

Pal met the girl a week ago at Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad railway station, said the police official.

The girl overheard the man talking to another person on phone that he had brought a girl and would sell her for Rs.50,000.

Police harass Vijayamma: YSRC

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The YSR Congress party on Monday alleged that the police was harassing Pulivendula MLA and YSR Congress honorary president Vijayamma on her by-polls campaign trail.

The YSRC, in a statement, alleged that police have checked the suitcases of Vijayamma all along her way to Narsapur in West Godavari district in a highly objectionable manner.

Comparison with 1990 situation not correct: Pranab

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Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today admitting the current economic condition in the country was “difficult” but rejected any comparison with the situation of 1990 when India had faced an external debt crisis.

During the CWC meeting, Mukherjee told reporters here that the current economic situation was also discussed. “I explained that an attempt is being made to make a comparison between 1990 and 2012. I think that comparison is not correct.”

NATO plans new Afghan mission after 2014

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Afghanistan and NATO have agreed to develop a plan for a new international peacekeeping mission in the country after 2014 when Afghan forces take full control of the security, NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday.

The NATO-led mission will offer training and other assistance to Afghan security forces, he said.

NATO will provide funding for the mission at an estimated $4.1 billion a year.

“On Afghanistan, we set out a clear path from now until 2014 and beyond. And we sent out a clear signal to the Afghan people and the region that we will stay committed,” he said.

Stop wasting time on factionalism: Sonia to partymen

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Mincing no words, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today asked partymen to stop wasting their energy on factionalism and petty issues and prepare themselves unitedly for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress chief’s firm message came at the day-long meeting of the CWC that saw Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda calling for a Kamraj Plan to revive the party ahead of the coming electoral challenges.

80 kg deer meat, hide and horn seized

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Police today seized 80 kg of cooked and raw meat of deer in Bihar’s East Champaran district and arrested one person in the case.

Acting on a tip off, police raided the Bhawanipur Kushwaha tola village and seized the haul of deer meat and hides and arrested Ramprit Mukhiya for illegal possession of the meat of a protected animal, Sangrampur police station’s Station House Officer (SHO) Manoj Kumar Singh said.

Raids were being carried out to recover horns and other body parts of the deer, he said.

Human trafficking racket busted; one girl rescued

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Delhi Police today claimed to have smashed a human trafficking racket after rescuing a minor girl and arresting of a 32-year-old man.

Rishi Pal was apprehended yesterday while allegedly selling the girl in the redlight area in central Delhi, police said.

“Police spotted a girl crying and questioned her. The girl said she had left her village about a month back and come to Delhi in search of a job. She could not get the job in Delhi and someone told her that she may get one in Ghaziabad.

22 sunstroke deaths in AP’s Krishna district

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Intense heat wave has taken a heavy toll in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district, where 22 people have died due to sunstroke since late last month, officials said today.

Most of the victims were agricultural labourers.

Twenty-two people have succumbed to sunstroke in various Mandals of the district between May 24 and June 1, Collector S A M Rizvee said, quoting reports reaching the district headquarter here, about 350km from Hyderabad.

Jayalalithaa seeks Rs.300 crore for housing in Kudankulam

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Monday urged New Delhi to provide Rs.300 crore separately to build basic infrastructure for people living around the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), stressing on her government’s efforts in ending the anti-plant protests.

“It will not be proper for the government to meet the commitment of Rs.300 crore towards this by adjusting the fund into the state’s already entitled resources. It should provide Rs.300 crore outside the plan exercise,” Jayalalithaa said.