Mega BJP rally to affect traffic

BANGALORE: The big BJP bash, part of its national executive meeting in Bangalore, is all set to throw traffic out of gear around the National College grounds in Basavanagudi on Saturday evening. The international airport road is also likely to be jammed, as most BJP stalwarts will fly back late in the evening.

The BJP rally will start at 6 pm at the National College grounds. Over 1 lakh people are expected to participate in the event where many national leaders will speak.

VVIP movement from Residency Road, where the national executive is being held, will start at about the same time. This will have an impact on traffic movement on St Mark's Road, Kasturba Road, Rajaram Mohan Roy Road, Lalbagh Road and KR Road between 5 pm and 6 pm.

Heavy vehicular movement and parking problems are likely on KR Road, Bull Temple Road and Gandhi Bazaar from 2 pm once party workers begin streaming to the rally venue.

When the rally ends at about 8 pm, VVIP movement will start again. This time, traffic will be disrupted on KR Road, JC Road, Dr Ambedkar Road and Raj Bhavan Road.

While some VVIPs will head directly to the Bengaluru International Airport, others will leave by 9 pm. Traffic will be disrupted on the airport road between 8.30 pm and 10.30 pm.

Source : Times Of India

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Om Prakash Mathur heads BJP poll panel

JAIPUR: The BJP on Friday announced its state election committee for the forthcoming Assembly elections. The committee, which would be presided over by party's state chief Om Prakash Mathur, consists of 17 members.

Chief minister Vasundhara Raje, MP Ramdas Agarwal, cabinet ministers Gulab Chand Kataria, Ghanshyam Tiwari, Nathu Singh Gujjar, Rajendra Singh Rathod and party's Mahila Morcha president Suman Sharma are among its members.

The committee is expected to take the final call on the list of candidates for the elections soon. Senior party members have received more than 20,000 applications for tickets, of which several are women.

The party has already announced that only 'performing' MLAs would be allotted tickets. Party leaders, including Mathur and Raje, are following the 'report card' method, maintaining records of work done by sitting MLAs after approaching the people from their respective constituencies.

Meanwhile, after issuing orders for reconstruction of all roads in the city last week, the chief minister has now issued orders for repair of all the roads across the state.

On Raje's directive, a special committee to monitor the repair of roads, which are damaged in the monsoon, was formed on Friday. The repair work has to be completed by September 30.

Source : Times Of India

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Now, Maya gets a chance to have a go at Mulayam in SC

NEW DELHI: If the bonhomie between Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party and the UPA government was followed by a CBI affidavit in the Supreme Court threatening to chargesheet Mayawati in the DA case, then on Thursday the UP chief minister and BSP supremo had enough reasons to smile.

For the Mayawati government got a chance to get even with her political rival in a case relating to alleged diversion of huge amounts from the CM's contingency funds by then chief minister Yadav for his brother Shivpal Yadav's Rs 100 crore Chaudhury Charan Singh Degree College at Etawah.

A petition alleging diversion of Rs 80 crore from the contingency funds by Yadav for the college was opposed by then state government in a 2006 affidavit saying there was no truth in the allegation. The apex court had also sought responses of then CM Mulayam Singh Yadav and his brother, but both did not even bother to enter appearance or file any affidavit.

Seeking early disposal of the petition filed by Mahendra Nath Rai questioning the diversion of funds, counsel D K Garg cleverly argued before a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam that as there had been a regime change since the last affidavit by the state government, the new dispensation should be asked to file a fresh one stating whether it stood by its earlier stand.

Immediately after the CBI had filed the affidavit expressing its readiness with evidence to chargesheet her, a combative Mayawati had held a series of perss conferences alleging that this decision was taken by the Centre at the behest of Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which closed ranks with the UPA government after its divorce from the Left Front.

Thursday's order of the Supreme Court directing the matter to be posted for final hearing and allowing parties to file their responses, if any, would present an opportunity to Mayawati to dig up government records pertaining to alleged diversion of funds for the Yadav family-owned educational set up at Etawah.

This order could also force both Mulayam and his brother to file their responses to the charges levelled in the petition, which was filed in the apex court three years ago.

dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com

Source : Times Of India

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Sonia bats for Bachchans after Raj remark

NEW DELHI: In the ongoing Raj Thackeray Vs Jaya Bachchan controversy, the Bachchans have got an unlikely supporter.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressed her concern over Raj Thackey's tirade against Big B and Jaya.

Margaret Alva, a senior Congress leader confirmed that the party's president is concerned and said, "I have told the Chief Minister that they are disturbing reports and that the government should really see that it does not escalate and threaten the lives and property of people in Mumbai from all parts of the country."

She added, "I met Congress President Sonia Gandhi today and I also briefed her on the situation and she will probably talk directly to the Chief Minister because she is also very concerned."

On Wednesday, super star Amitabh Bachchan apologised and sought "forgiveness" for certain remarks made by his wife Jaya, in an apparent bid to placate Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and his estranged nephew Raj Thackeray who attacked her for allegedly making anti-Marathi utterances.

"Everything that we possess today is what came to us from this great state and city. We never have and never can look at Maharashtra with disrespect. If inadvertently this is what has been construed, then we apologise and are sorry and seek forgiveness for any sentiments that have been hurt," he said.

Source : Times Of India

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MLA gets jail term for misbehaving with judge

PATNA: The Patna High Court on Wednesday awarded three months' simple imprisonment to suspended JD(U) MLA Sunil Pandey for appearing in a court in an inebriated condition and misbehaving with the judge.

Pandey, an MLA from Piro in Bhojpur district, has several criminal cases pending against him.

The high court found him guilty of misbehaving with the sub-divisional judicial magistrate of Bikramganj when he was taken to his court for production on April 10 last year.

The HC also awarded one month's simple imprisonment to sub-inspector Daroga Ram and seven days' sentence each to the five constables who escorted Pandey from the jail to the court.

A division bench comprising Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad and Justice Ravi Ranjan passed the order on a contempt petition initiated on an appeal of the Rohtas district and sessions judge. The order was passed under the provisions of Contempt of Court Act.

In course of inquiry conducted on the order of the high court, it was found that the MLA had not consumed liquor when he was taken out of Rohtas jail. It was on way to the court under police escort that liquor was made available to him.

The court acquitted the then jailer of the Rohtas jail of the charges of contempt of court.


Source : Times Of India

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President Zardari, PM Gilani agree to accept PML-N's resignations

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani have agreed to accept resignations of PML-N's ministers and expansion of federal cabinet.

The decision has been taken in a meeting between President Zardari and Premier Gilani in the President House Wednesday. Premier Gilani briefed the president on key issues faced by the government.

It was decided in the meeting that resignations of PML-N members of federal cabinet would be accepted soon.

Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) had resigned from federal cabinet in central executive committee meeting on May 12, 2008.

An expansion and reshuffling of the federal cabinet is on the cards for sometime this week. "The formal announcement (of the expansion) would be made within the next few days," said sources.

Speaking on the occasion, President Zardari said, “Immediate measures should be taken to provide relief to the people.”

The president further said he believed in supremacy of parliament and offered his full support for stabilizing the government.

Source : The News

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Punjab's ex-CM Amarinder expelled from Assembly for 3-5 yrs

CHANDIGARH: Beleaguered former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh has been expelled from the Assembly for the next three to five years over corruption charges.

He will be asked to vacate his MLA seat.

Vigilance Department has been asked to probe the corruption charges against him.

Amarinder Singh, who is facing graft charges, on Wednesday, said he feared arrest but will not seek anticipatory bail even as his party rival Rajinder Bhattal asked him to come clean on the allegations.

The Congress leader was indicted by a special committee of the Punjab Assembly for alleged irregularities in exempting 32.10 acres of land for private development in Amritsar during his tenure as chief minister.

"I am carrying anticipatory bail plea in my pocket... but I will not use it," Singh had said.

He had alleged that the Akali Dal-BJP combine government could take any decision against him but he would not leave unchallenged any move to disqualify him from the House.

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Bhattal, Singh's bete noire, had said the party stands by Singh but he should explain the allegations against him and let the truth come to fore.

Source : Times Of India

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Good news on Kashmir likely before LS polls in India: Zardari

ISLAMABAD: Suggesting that there could be forward movement on resolving the Kashmir issue soon, Pakistan's new President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said there will be "some good news" before the general elections in India slated for next year.

"Insha Allah, we will have some good news" on Kashmir before the general elections in India, Zardari said at a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai after being sworn-in as Pakistan's 12th President.

He said the PPP government will consult all political forces in Pakistan, both inside and outside Parliament, to forge some kind of a strategy to resolve the Kashmir issue.

This will be taken to the Kashmir Committee in Parliament, Zardari said, adding the work done through back-channel diplomacy will also be part of this.

Source : Times Of India

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Don't embarrass Big B: Sena to Jaya

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna has asked Samajwadi Party MP and actor Jaya Bachchan not to "vitiate' ' the social climate of Maharashtra by making anti-Marathi statements.

Stating that Mumbai has given a pan-Indian identity to the Bachchan clan, the newspaper-whose editor is Sena chief Bal Thackeraysaid Jaya's anti-Marathi diatribe at a recent film function amounted to confining Amitabh to Uttar Pradesh.

But political observers say the Saamna rhetoric has to be viewed against the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's on-going crusade for Marathi. "If the Sena doesn't raise its decibel level on the issue of Marathi, it risks losing its GenNext grassroots workers to the MNS in the run up to the legislative assembly elections,'' an expert said.

Incidentally, close on the heels of the MNS' campaign for Marathi signboards, senior Sena leader Manohar Joshi had held a press conference to reiterate that Marathi and Marathi 'manoos' constitute the party's agenda since its inception in the 1960s.

"Amitabh doesn't belong to a particular state or region . His art transcends barriers of caste, creed and language . However, Jaya has announced that she and her family belong to UP,'' said the Sena mouthpiece on Tuesday, adding, "Her utterances in the recent past have been a source of mental agony for Amitabh Bachchan.''

Incidentally, the saffron daily also came down heavily on Shahrukh Khan for publicly flaunting his Delhi credentials. "If he (SRK) loves Delhi then why did he come to Mumbai? These people come here, fill up their bellies and then burp in the name of their own states. However, if a Marathi reiterates his affection for Maharashtra , he is branded as parochial.'' Reference to Khan, say Sena watchers, is aimed at placating Bachchan, a close friend of Thackeray.


Source : Times Of India

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Asif Ali Zardari sworn in as president

ISLAMABAD: Asif Ali Zardari has been sworn in as 12th president of Pakistan at a ceremony in Islamabad here on Tuesday.

The oath-taking ceremony was broadcast live from the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad.

Abdul Hameed Dogar, the chief justice administered the oath to president Zardari.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari and Asifa Bhutto Zardari were also present in the ceremony.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, members of the federal cabinet, Chairman Senate, Speaker National Assembly, Army chief, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, three services chiefs, governors and chief ministers of four provinces, heads of political parties, members of parliament, foreign diplomats and civil and military bureaucrats attended the ceremony.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was also present on this occasion who was invited specially by Asif Ali Zardari.

PML-N president and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and other central leaders were also present on this occasion.


Source : The News

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