Month: April 2014

Rahul reaches out to people of Seemandhra

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Reaching out to voters of Andhra Pradesh post bifurcation, Rahul Gandhi today told the people of Seemandhra that it was Congress-led UPA government that ensured that their region got special status.

Addressing an election rally here, the Congress Vice President said party President Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and he himself had insisted that Seemandhra should get a special status.

“And we ensured that your state got special status,” he said here.

We wish to bounce back on home turf: Gayle

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After winning just two of the five matches played in the UAE, Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Chris Gayle is hoping for a turnaround of his team’s fortunes in the Indian leg of IPL-7.

Out of nine remaining matches, RCB will play five matches at Chinnaswamy stadium and are hoping to fare better on home turf.

“Hopefully we wish to bounce back as quickly as possible. We are back home now and know the conditions well here. Still a long way to go,” he told reporters at an event conducted by WHAM Infocom here.

Modi’s wife, mother exercise their franchise

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Even as BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi gears up for the big battle in Varanasi after his first Lok Sabha test in Vadodara, his wife Jasodaben and mother Hiraba Modi today exercised their franchise from Mehsana and Gandhinagar parliamentary constituencies.

A retired school teacher, Jashodaben cast her vote in Kot Kuva area of Unjha town in Mehsana district.

Modi for the first time publicly acknowledged Jashodaben as his wife in an affidavit filed by him from Vadodara Lok Sabha seat, which is one of the two constituencies from where he is running for Parliament.

EC orders Guj administration to file FIR/complaint against Modi

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Narendra Modi today landed in a soup with the Election Commission ordering the Gujarat administration to file a complaint or FIR against him for violating poll laws by displaying BJP’s election symbol ‘Lotus’ and making a speech after casting his vote in Gandhinagar.

“The Commission is of the view that by holding that meeting and also by addressing the same today when the polling is going on in the entire state of Gujarat and in different parts of the country, Narendra Modi has violated the provisions of Sections 126 (1)(a) and 126 (l)(b) of Representation of People Act, 1951.

Clashes between MIM and TDP, Feroz Khan vehicle attacked

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Reports of clashes took place in Nampally assembly constituency, TDP candidate’s vehicle attacked at various places.

Nampally witnessed a scuffle between activists of TDP and MIM. However, no one was seriously injured in the clash as police intervened to restore peace.

Clashes between TDP-MIM in old city

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There were reports of clashes between TDP and MIM workers at three places under Rajendernagar police station limits during voting which led to tension in the areas.
At least six persons were injured in the clashes.

MIM workers reportedly attacked TDP agent at Hussainnagar. Furious over the incident, TDP activists attacked MIM workers at Mailar Devpalli .

The second incident of clashes reported from Indiranagar where MIM supporters attacked TDP workers when they were distributing voter slips. (NSS)

TBSE withdraws book branding BJP communal party

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Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) today decided to withdraw a text book which branded BJP as a communal party.

“It has been decided to withdraw the book, because it was a mistake. We are going for a new syllabus, where the book will not be incorporated,” Amitava Debroy, president of TBSE told reporters here.

A chapter on “India’s party system” in the text book of political science for class XI, said one of the important characteristics of this system was the existence of communal parties.

Complaint filed against Ramdev for ‘anti-Dalit remarks’

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A complaint was today filed against yoga guru Ramdev in a local court here for his controversial remark that Rahul Gandhi visited Dalits’ homes for honeymoon at a poll meeting in Uttar Pradesh.

One Bharamal Ram Meghwal filed the complaint with the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, sources said.

The court would take up the complaint on May 5.

Ramdev, a supporter of BJP’s PM nominee Narendra Modi, made the remark in Lucknow on April 25 and has drawn flak from all quarters since then. He has been booked by Uttar Pradesh police in this regard.

Court to rule May 2 on ED chargesheet against Raja, Kanimozhi

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A court Wednesday reserved its order on taking cognizance of the chargesheet against former telecom minister A. Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and Dayalu Ammal, the wife of DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, among others for money laundering in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge O.P. Saini fixed May 2 for delivering his order on the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against 10 people and nine companies.

Man sentenced for assaulting Indian in UAE

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The Dubai Criminal Court has sentenced a man to a suspended six-month jail term for rendering permanently disabled a finger of an Indian expatriate, a media report said.

The Iraqi man, 24, identified only as OA, slammed a door on the hand of an Indian supervisor, 37, identified only as FA. He, however, denied assaulting and insulting the Indian, The National reported Tuesday.

“There is no reason that I assaulted him, no excuse, I did not do that,” OA, a computer engineer, said.

Modi not a good PM candidate: Amartya Sen

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Nobel laureate Amartya Sen came out against Narendra Modi today saying that he did not think he is a good prime ministerial candidate.

“My reaction on Modi is fairly well known. I don’t think he is a good prime ministerial candidate. Obviously he is very popular in some sections. He is very popular among the business community. That doesn’t mean he is my favourite candidate,” Sen told reporters here when asked about his view on the BJP prime ministerial candidate.

Free internet connectivity for RCB fans in home games

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Fans of Royal Challengers Bangalore will be provided with free Wi-Fi internet connectivity during all the home IPL games of the team at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

“RCB will be providing free Wi-Fi connectivity for all fans at Chinnaswamy Stadium on all days when the home team is playing in Bangalore,” said a media release from RCB.

“RCB becomes the first IPL team and the first cricket team in the world to offer free Wi-Fi connectivity for fans at a stadium using a customized network of specially laid fibre-optic cables.

Rahul a liberal, looks upon all as equals: Priyanka

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Hitting out at critics of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi today said her brother’s style of politics was “liberal” and not “opaque” and that he worked for the development of every section and looked upon all as equals.

During her marathon roadshow covering 130 kms in Amethi, which goes to polls in a week, Priyanka spoke to voters about the “relationship of love” they had with the Gandhis and cautioned them about the intentions of other candidates “who come only during elections”.

PM ‘certain’ of win as Iraqis vote despite dozens of attacks

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Iraqis today defied a rash of militant attacks to vote in the country’s first elections since US troops withdrew, with premier Nuri al-Maliki proclaiming “certain” victory as he cast his ballot.

Queues formed from early morning at tightly-guarded election centres despite a surge of violence targeting polling stations and campaign gatherings in the days leading up to the vote.

The stream of voters slowed later in the morning but the tempo was expected to pick up again in the afternoon before polls close at 6:00 pm (local time).

I learnt from my failures: Deepika Padukone

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Deepika Padukone has become one of the most sought after stars in the industry with her three back-to-back hits but the ‘Chennai Express’ star says she learnt to be a better actress from her past failures.

Deepika, 28, who will be seen sharing the screen space with superstar Rajinikanth in ‘Kochadaiiyaan’, says she now knows what films to do and what actors to work with.

Wave in favor of Third Front; SP to play major role: Akhilesh

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today claimed there was a popular wave in favor of a non-Congress and non-BJP government at the centre in which the Samajwadi Party would play a major role.

“There is no possibility of BJP forming the next government in the country… The public mood appears in favor of a non-Congress and non-BJP formation in which, obviously, Samajwadi Party will have a major role to play,” Yadav said.

He was addressing a rally in Sahson, 40 kms from here, campaigning for former MP Dharamraj Singh Patel from the Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency.

Chandrababu Naidu may see vote axed for not maintaining secrecy

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The election authorities have ordered a probe against TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, who did not maintain secrecy after casting his vote here Wednesday, and indicated the vote may be deleted.

Chief electoral officer Bhanwarlal said he had directed the returning officer of Khairatabad assembly constituency to submit a report.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief told reporters that he cast his vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

60 percent polling till 3 p.m. in Telangana’s first election

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About 60 percent polling was recorded till 3 p.m. for 17 Lok Sabha seats and 119 state assembly seats in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, officials said.

Barring minor incidents, balloting was on peacefully amid tight security at 30,574 polling booths across 10 districts of Telangana including Hyderabad.

While nine districts recorded heavy polling, the turnout was low in Hyderabad. Chief electoral officer Bhanwarlal said 51 percent votes were polled in the city. Highest turnout of 65 percent was recorded in Medak district.

Advani casts vote in Guj, parries queries on Modi

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BJP leader L K Advani today described this year’s Lok Sabha polls as the “most remarkable election ever held in the history of India” but parried queries on the prospects of Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister.

Advani, along with his son Jayant and daughter Pratibha Advani, cast his vote at a municipal school in Shahpur area in Ahmedabad west constituency, where BJP’s sitting MP Kirit Solanki is locked in a battle with Congress candidate Ishwar Chavda and AAP nominee J J Mewada.

Not unhappy with Cong leadership: ND Tiwari

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Congress veteran Narayan Dutt Tiwari today refuted media reports suggesting that he was unhappy with the party leadership for being denied a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls.

“Newspaper reports suggesting that I was unhappy with the party leadership for being denied a ticket are unfounded. The fact is that I did not want to contest the polls this time,” he said in a statement here.

“I have been a loyal soldier of the Congress party with great faith in its political ideology. So the question of my unhappiness with the party leadership does not arise,” he said.

UAE to host high-level meet ahead of UN climate summit

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The UAE will host a high-level meeting next month to generate momentum for the UN climate summit scheduled to be held on September 23 this year in New York.

The Abu Dhabi Ascent meeting will be held on May 4 and 5 and will explore areas for action that will have a high-impact in reducing emissions and building resilience, including adaptation, disaster risk reduction, agriculture, cities, climate finance, energy efficiency, forests, renewable energy, short-lived climate pollutants and transport.

Rape victim attempts suicide in Haryana

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A rape victim allegedly tried to end her life by consuming poison at her residence in Alewa village of the district.

The victim who was allegedly raped by two youths on April 26, said here Tuesday the police failed to take action against the accused.

Soon after consuming poison, the woman was admitted at a local hospital for treatment, police said today.

“Despite my complaint, police showed little interest in the case and took no action against the accused,” she told reporters here at the hospital yesterday, adding that she was forced to take the extreme step.