Month: April 2014

23 Delhi poll candidates have criminal cases against them

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At least 23 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi have criminal charges against them, says an Association of Democratic Reforms analysis released Wednesday.

Of these 23, thirteen have been charged with serious criminal cases, including kidnapping, criminal intimidation and extortion, among others.

Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate for East Delhi constituency Maheish Giri tops the list with four serious criminal cases.

Sitting Congress MP Mahabal Mishra who is seeking re-election in West Delhi has three serious cases against him.

Now, enjoy free impromptu workout in office, courtesy Fitmob

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A recently launched startup company is working on bringing fitness to so that they can help people find and try local workouts in their cities.

The ‘fitOffice’, which has been started by Fitmob, gets together a group of 10 to 15 employees to work out together at the office or in a nearby park with one of their trainers, TechCrunch reported.

Fitmob that focuses on strength, cardio and yoga fusion is also starting a contest that will bring fitOffice to five startups or companies in San Francisco, with four weeks of free workouts. (ANI)

Female TV host apologises for calling women ‘bunch of lardos, heifers’

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A Female TV presenter in New Zealand has drawn the ire of women all over the world after she was heard calling them a ‘ bunch of lardos’ and ‘heifers’ who weighed in at 72kg.

Although Newstalk ZB presenter Rachel Smalley apologised to women saying that her offensive comments were not meant to be heard because her microphone was supposed to be switched off, the damage was already done, Stuff.co.nz reported.

Smalley added in her apology that the audience had only heard one side of that conversation.

Nawaz govt rules out safe passage for Musharraf

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The Nawaz Government has ruled out a safe passage for former president General (rtrd) Pervez Musharraf from Pakistan.

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz decided to go by the book while dealing with the issue of deleting Musharraf’s name from the exit control list (ECL), the Nation reports.

According to the report, the meeting, which continued for over two hours with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the chair, concluded that any safe passage given to Musharraf at this juncture would cause an enormous damage to the future politics of the party.(ANI)

Yogendra Yadav gets show cause notice

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AAP’s Gurgaon candidate Yogendra Yadav was Wednesday served a show cause notice by the Election Commission for having political offices at two places without permission.

Assistant Returning Officer Vivek Kalia served the notice that said that Yadav’s offices were based at Sohna and Tauru, an official said.

Yadav has been asked to explain by 11.30 a.m. Friday why action should not be taken against him for violating the code of conduct.
(IANS)

‘Sorcar, Mandal cautioned against further model code violation’

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The EC Wednesday warned BJP candidate and magician P.C. Sorcar Junior and TMC leader Anubrata Mandal against further violations of the model code of conduct.

The caution is a result of the Election Commission’s (EC) “displeasure” with the “unsatisfactory reply” received from them in response to the showcause notices issued, said Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta.

“The reply is unsatisfactory and the commission has expressed displeasure on it. We have cautioned Sorcar not to violate the model code further,” Gupta told the media here.

Notification issued for polls in Andhra, Telangana

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The process for simultaneous elections to the assembly and Lok Sabha in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was set in motion with the Election Commission issuing a notification Wednesday.

Polling for 119 assembly seats and 17 Lok Sabha seats will be held April 30.

With the poll panel issuing the notification, the process for filing of nominations began Wednesday. Nominations will be accepted till April 9 while the last date for withdrawal is April 12.

AAP fields former judge Fakhruddin against Sonia in Rae Bareli

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Former judge Fakhruddin will be Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) candidate in Rae Bareli against Congress president Sonia Gandhi, while Lal Bahadur Shastri’s grandson Adarsh Shastri will contest from Allahabad, as the party today announced its 14th list of candidates for 19 Lok Sabha constituencies.

The party named 10 candidates in Uttar Pradesh, two each in Gujarat and Punjab, one each in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and three in Chhattisgarh.

Justice (rtd) Fakhruddin has served as judge in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh high courts.

Indian arrested in Nepal for human trafficking

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An Indian man was arrested Wednesday in Nepal for his alleged involvement in human trafficking in the Himalayan Kingdom.

Ram Krishna Mehta, who runs an inn in Saptari district in eastern Nepal, has been charged with trafficking a 22-year-old woman in Lalpati village development committee (VDC) of the same district, the Republica reported Wednesday.

The woman, hailing from Hetauda town of Makawanpur district in central Nepal, was rescued by the police Sunday, while she was being taken by Mehta to India.

Three IGNOU students injured in campus clash

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Three students of the Indira Gandhi National Open University here were injured Wednesday when they clashed with the varsity security staff.

About 100 students of IGNOU came to meet the vice chancellor at Maidan Garhi area in south Delhi to demand release of online results which were delayed due to some reason, police said.

The students gathered since the morning in the varsity premises and raised slogans against the vice chancellor. When members of the security staff intervened, it led to a clash.

Three students received injuries and were admitted to a hospital.

US Congress to hold hearing on religious minorities in India

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Ahead of India’s general election, an influential US Congressional committee has called for a hearing on the state of religious minorities in the country.

“The hearing will focus on the human rights situation for religious minorities in India. In addition, the witnesses will provide recommendations for US foreign policy in relation to India,” said the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the US Congress in its announcement of the congressional hearing on April 4.

Villages welcome AAP candidate who walks 50 km

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AAP’s Lok Sabha candidate here, Ansari N. Ahmed, Wednesday completed 42 km of his 50-km walkathon to file his nomination papers Thursday, an aide said.

The band of around 150 Aam Aadmi Party volunteers was armed with brooms, the party’s election symbol, as they trekked from Malegaon to Dhule in Maharashtra.

“This walkathon has been a humbling experience and brought me close to the masses,” a weary but cheerful Ahmed told IANS while walking through the dry region in 40 degrees plus temperature.

“People have responded very enthusiastically, beyond my expectations,” Ahmed added.

Powell retired not resigned: US

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Notwithstanding reports that its Ambassador to India Nancy Powell resigned due to recent tensions in bilateral ties, the US has insisted that she “retired” to take “much needed rest” after 37 years of illustrious Foreign Service.

“Retirement. It’s an important distinction,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters at her daily news conference for the second consecutive day when asked about 66-year-old Powell’s resignation.

Chaurasia quits UP ministry, challenges Modi to do the same

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Kailash Chaurasia, who was chosen by SP to contest Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, today quit from the Uttar Pradesh ministry and challenged BJP’s prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to do the same.

Saying he wanted to contest as an ordinary candidate, Chaurasia resigned as minister of state for basic education and food and child nutrition from the Akhilesh Yadav government.

Britain closes military headquarters in Afghanistan

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Britain’s military headquarters in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan has been disbanded after eight years of frontline operations, the British defence ministry announced Wednesday.

As the latest move to withdraw British operations in Afghanistan, the functions of the British-led military headquarters Task Force Helmand have been subsumed into the wider US-led Regional Command (South West), Xinhua reported citing a ministry statement.

IM men were planning to carry out terror strike in Delhi: Cops

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Top Indian Mujahideen operative Tehseen Akhtar was planning to carry out a terror strike in the national capital with the help of other members of the banned outfit, Delhi Police today told a court here today.

“After arrest, accused Tehseen Akhtar alias Monu has disclosed that he is a member of IM and has been involved in many terrorist activities in Delhi and other states of India and presently he was planning a terrorist strike in Delhi along with the other members of IM,” the Special Cell of Delhi Police said.

Pakistan rejects Musharraf’s application to lift travel ban

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Pakistan government today rejected the application of former dictator Pervez Musharraf, indicted for treason, seeking to lift travel ban on him so that he could go abroad for treatment and meet his ailing mother.

The Interior Ministry has formally notified 70-year-old former military ruler of its decision.

The government said the application cannot be accepted in public interest as a number of cases are pending against him in various courts.

Sources said Musharraf will now approach the judiciary seeking removal of his name from the Interior Ministry’s Exit Control List (ECL).

I-League: Sporting Clube beat Rangdajied

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Rangdajied United FC went down 2-1 to Sporting Clube de Goa in an Airtel I-League football match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here Wednesday.

Sporting scored once in each half through Rowllin Borges and Cajetan Fernandes, and Ranti Martins pulled one back for Rangdajied in the 90th minute.

Rangdajied had won four of their last five contests prior to this game, including three at home, so the fans would have been expecting another solid performance from the Blues. However, they were treated to a rather listless display as the home team lacked bite until the dying minutes of the game.

Parrikar was in Ayodhya as ‘karsevak’ in 1992, says Congress

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The Goa unit of Congress today alleged that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was present in Ayodhya in 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished, while BJP termed the allegation as “a manufactured lie”.

Goa Congress spokesperson Vijay Bhike said here that there was enough evidence to prove that Parrikar was among the agitators (‘karsevaks’) who descended on Ayodhya in December 1992.

“I can produce so many people who went with him,” Bhike said, when asked if he could buttress the claim with evidence.

Lost jet: Passengers cleared of suspicion, search continues (Roundup)

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No sightings were reported at the conclusion of Wednesday’s search operation in the southern Indian Ocean for the “lost” Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 even as a senior Malaysian official said that all passengers on board the jet have been “cleared” in a criminal investigation that is being conducted.

On Wednesday, 10 aircraft and nine ships searched an area of about 237,000 sq km, about 1,500 km northwest of Perth, Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said in its latest update.

Himachal cricket body row: Nod to prosecute Dhumal

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In a setback to the opposition BJP in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress government Wednesday got sanction to initiate proceedings against opposition leader Prem Kumar Dhumal for alleged wrongdoing in allotment of land to the state cricket body led by his son.

The state got permission from Governor Urmila Singh to prosecute Dhumal, an official told IANS.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader, however, denied any wrongdoing in the allotment of land to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) when he was chief minister.

Jung checks healthcare facilities at Delhi hospital

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Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung Wednesday reviewed the healthcare facilities for women and children at a hospital here.

Jung who visited the Kasturba Gandhi Hospital in north Delhi gave suggestions for augmenting facilities for patients and directed authorities to concentrate on health awareness programmes.

“Part of healthcare is also to help raise awareness about new-age diseases, especially those related to lifestyle, so people can adopt corrective measures in their daily lives,” said Jung.

Balladeer Gadar meets AP Governor

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I am known to the people as a Revolutionary Balladeer and I have been consistently working for upholding the interests and rights of the poor people who are oppressed and suppressed continuously by various Regimes of various political parties in our country. While I am fighting for the people in my own personal level, no Government has ever done any justice to suppressed classes.

Production warrants against Bhatkal, three others

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A court here Wednesday issued a production warrant against Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and three others for planning terror strikes in India.

District Judge I.S. Mehta at the Patiala House court fixed April 15 for further hearing while issuing the warrant against Bhatkal, his associate Asadullah Akhtar and two more accused.

Bhatkal and Akhtar are at present in the custody of Maharashtra Police and being quizzed for their alleged role in a terror case there. A third accused, Obaid-ur-Rehman, is in the custody of Karnataka Police.

Over Rs.3 crore cash, valuables seized in Bengal

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The Income Tax (IT) department has seized over Rs.3 crore in unaccounted cash and valuables, including gold, in West Bengal, an Election Commission (EC) official said Wednesday.

Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta told reporters here that over Rs.3.8 crore has been seized since the March 5 announcement of the Lok Sabha election.

“The IT department has seized Rs.2.94 crore in unaccounted cash and Rs.92 lakh-worth of valuables, including gold,” he said.

The excise department confiscated 1,000 litres of illegal spirit from the Howrah district Tuesday and arrested two people.