Nobody is above the law: Maharashtra CM

MUMBAI: Rejecting that charge that Maharashtra government acted under pressure to arrest MNS chief Raj Thackeray, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh
today said nobody was above the law and warned that anyone indulging in violence will be dealt with sternly.

"There has been no pressure on the government to arrest Raj Thackeray. No one is above the law. Do you want the government to be a spectator?" he asked.

Noting that many MNS activists have been arrested from across Maharashtra, Deshmukh said, "Once we decide to take action, some precautionary steps have to be taken by the police and they have been taken. There have been reports of minor incidents of violence. Those indulging in violence will be dealt with strictly".

Thackeray was arrested early today from Ratnagiri in connection with the attacks on north Indian candidates appearing for a railway recruitment examination on Sunday. The MNS has alleged that the Maharashtra government has acted at the behest of the Centre in arrested its leader.

"We have deployed SRP companies in various towns. So I don't think there is any problem," he said while asking Mumbaikars to go ahead with their routine life.

"It is no problem. There is no question of any fear," the chief minister said.

Source : Times Of India

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DMK's human chain protest on Tamils' plight today

CHENNAI: The ruling DMK wants its human chain agitation on Tuesday to highlight the plight of Tamil civilians in war-torn Sri Lanka to be a massiv
e event and is mobilising members of all its wings as well as various sections of society.

DMK president and chief minister M Karunanidhi has been issuing appeals to cadres through the party organ, 'Murasoli', for the last two days to participate in large numbers, and wrote again for the Tuesday edition.

In his missives, he has been highlighting the party's track record in taking up the cause of Tamils in Sri Lanka over the years.

On Monday, Karunanidhi sought to rebut criticism that the steps he had taken were mere gimmicks by underscoring the UPA regime's positive response to the all-party appeal to the Centre to intervene effectively in Sri Lanka to ensure cessation of hostilities there and commencement of fresh negotiations.

"While we have some detractors here, it is a big consolation for us that the regime in New Delhi is considering our demands sympathetically. The Prime Minister has spoken to the Sri Lankan president and the external affairs minister is due to visit Colombo shortly. A UN convoy carrying 750 tonnes of food could not be distributed in the north last week, but on the very day the Prime Minister spoke to the Sri Lankan leadership, the supplies were sent and distributed among 2,30,000 people," he said.

Source : Times Of India

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17 BJP MLAs rebel against Uttarakhand CM Khanduri

NEW DELHI: Just when it prepares for a crucial round of assembly polls, dissidence has once again wracked BJP in Uttarakhand with 17 party MLAs re
belling against chief minister Major General (retd) B C Khanduri.

Trivendra Singh Ravat, a minister in the Khanduri government, submitted the resignations to party chief Rajnath Singh here on Monday. Though the party chief, it is learnt, urged the MLAs not to precipitate matters ahead of the crucial assembly elections, the rebels were not ready to relent.

The tough posture underlines the challenge that the leadership has faced in the state since it prevailed over the MLAs to accept Khanduri in place of the the popular choice, former chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.

While Khanduri got the nod because of the impressive stint he had as the surface transport minister at the Centre under the NDA government, he has since failed to enhance his appeal among the MLAs who find him to be too bureaucratic in his approach.

Though Khanduri, thanks to goadings by the central leadership, tried to trim his style to suit the MLAs' tastes and restored the perks — ministerial ranks and other trappings of power such as red beacons — he had withdrawn after taking over, this has not helped matters.

Rather, it seems his new-found adaptability seems to have alerted them to the pragmatic streak in a chief minister who, to many, seemed to value his ability to brazen out controversies about his style of functioning.

Source : Times Of India

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Pranab Mukherjee likely to visit Sri Lanka

NEW DELHI: As Tamil parties continue to build pressure on the government over the Sri Lankan issue, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee is
likely to travel to the island nation to assess the situation and discuss the matter with the country's leadership.

Official sources here on Sunday said the visit is being considered in view of the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka.

Mukherjee is expected to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa and foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama.

However, no date has been fixed for the visit so far and it is being worked out, they said.

After a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Rajapaksa on Saturday, Bogollagama extended a formal invitation to Mukherjee to visit Sri Lanka to assess the situation.

The government's key ally DMK has been demanding India's intervention to stop Sri Lankan military offensive in north Sri Lanka. To build pressure, its ministers in the Union Cabinet and MPs have tendered their resignations to the party chief.

Mukherjee's visit is intended to enable India to get first-hand account of the situation, particularly the condition of ethnic Tamils there.

During the telephonic talk with Rajapaksa, Singh said the Sri Lankan government should ensure that the rights and safety of Tamils are protected and that they don't get "enmeshed" in the conflict with LTTE.

The Sri Lankan president, on his part, assured Singh that his government is ensuring safety and security of the Tamils.

Singh has also asked Rajapaksa to look for a political settlement to the ethnic problem, insisting that there could be no military solution to it.

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Raj Thackeray a mental case, ban MNS: Lalu

NEW DELHI: Condemning the attack on railway board examination centres in suburban Mumbai by MNS activists, railway minister Lalu Prasad on Sunday
demanded a ban on the outfit, saying its chief Raj Thackeray was a "mental case".

"I strongly condemn the incident. There should be an inquiry into the attack. There should be strong action against that party...MNS should be banned," the minister told reporters here.

His comments came as a response to the attack on 13 railway board examination centres in suburban Mumbai by MNS activists who protested "inadequate representation" to locals and chased away candidates from north India.

Prasad said the directions of the Supreme Court or any other courts did not have any impact on the MNS leader. "We can see such incidents when the elections are near," he said.

The minister said he had spoken to Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh who assured him of a proper inquiry into the incident.

Source : Times Of India

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Mayawati promises quota for upper caste poor

LUCKNOW: With the next Lok Sabha elections round the corner, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Sunday promised to provide reservation to th
e poor among the upper castes if her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) came to power at the national level.

"The reservation on the basis of economic and other parameters will enable the upper caste community members to address their problems, especially those related to poverty and unemployment," she said.

"I have already written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard."

Addressing a convention of upper castes here, Mayawati held the Congress Party "most responsible for the sorry status" of these communities.

Post-Independence, the Congress has ruled the country and this state most of the time, but it never thought seriously of addressing the problems of upper castes, she said.

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of misguiding the upper castes, Mayawati said: "The BJP projects itself as a custodian of upper caste rights. But during my three earlier stints (as chief minister) when BSP ruled with the support of BJP, the latter always pressurised us to drop the welfare schemes for the upper caste community members."

Mayawati called upon the upper castes to join hands with Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes "in order to get the key to the central and the state governments".

"With this master key, all communities will be able to get rid of their problems themselves by involving themselves in policy-making," she said.

Talking about the representation of various upper castes in the Lok Sabha and the assembly, Mayawati said: "The BSP ticket will be given only to those who can solicit full support of their community members."

This was why more Brahmin candidates than those from other upper castes were fielded in the last assembly elections, said Mayawati.

The chief minister also accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of not taking adequate steps for the all-round development of the state.

"For undertaking welfare schemes for upper caste sections and other communities, I have written several letters to the central government, but it has not replied to any of the letters," she said.

"Had the central government released funds for the Rs.80,000 crore (Rs.800 billion) package we sought, the development scene of the state would have been altogether different."

The chief minister said the BSP was the sole political outfit that can work for an-all round development of all communities.

"BSP has no vested interests - unlike other political outfits, which have become a puppet in the hands of industrialists and multinational companies," Mayawati told the gathering.

Source : Times Of India

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Mamata joins Amar in fuelling Jamia doubts

NEW DELHI: The competition to tap into Muslim unease over the Batla House encounter intensified considerably on Friday when SP general secretary A
mar Singh, along with his new-found ally Mamata Banerjeej, stepped up his attack on the police, calling the two terror suspects killed in the shootout `martyrs'.

Singh, who claimed that one of the Delhi blasts suspects killed in the encounter was a `gold medalist', said a probe was needed to establish whether the decorated inspector, Mohan Chand Sharma, who died in the encounter, was killed by bullets fired by his own men.

Addressing a crowd of about 10,000 at Okhla bus stand in Jamia Nagar, close to Batla House, he asked: "Should we believe that someone who always wore a bullet-proof vest while going for an encounter chose to be without the protective gear on that particular day because he wished to commit suicide?'' Singh's party is having to ward off a determined bid by key political foe, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, to poach Muslim vote in UP.

Singh's rhetoric was fully matched by Mamata Banerjee who said she was convinced that the police had staged a fake encounter and that the two terror suspects were targeted because of their faith. Setting a deadline of 72 hours for the government to order a judicial probe, the Trinamool leader made the boastful assertion that she was not known for quitting before accomplishing what she wanted to achieve. "Ratan Tata realised this in Singur,'' she said, claiming that she was committed to protect the interest of farmers and Muslims.

The crowd listened to angry speeches from SP MP Abu Azmi who disagreed with the demand for a judicial probe. "A judicial probe will not bring out the truth. Only an inquiry by a panel which has one-fourth of its members drawn from the minority community will do justice,'' he said.

Another speaker said that Y S Dadwal, police commissioner, and Karnail Singh, head of special cell, were criminals.

The aggressive postures will put the Congress under greater pressure as its rivals like BSP, as well as partners like SP, try to exploit the doubts among Muslims about the encounter to attack its `secular' credentials.

On Thursday, Amar Singh, along with SP boss Mulayam Singh Yadav, had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to ask for a judicial probe.

Source : Times Of India

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Gloomy picture for Cong in NE seats

NEW DELHI: The Congress may view "regularisation'' of unauthorised colonies as a potent poll weapon, but going by an internal survey this is not h
elping it overcome traditional incumbency factors like infighting and non-performance of sitting MLAs in the 10 assembly segments in the north-east parliamentary constituency.

The party's survey on these assembly seats about 500 of the 1,600 colonies to be regularised are in this area indicates that Congress has a fight on its hands and that the regularisation mantra may not be good enough to deliver the boost it seeks.

Ironically, the survey shows that the only seat where the party can hope for a win is Rohtas Nagar, represented by Sheila Dikshit's bete noire, Ram Babu Sharma. Here, incidentally, all four Congress candidates for the MCD pollslast year had bitten the dust. Congress won in all but one of the 10 segments during the last assembly elections.

The only other sitting Congress MLA who seems reasonably popular is S S Bittu who won from Timarpur but here too the party lost in all the MCD wards. The survey notes that Bittu has "fallen out with Jagdish Tytler. He (Tytler) seems to be ensuring he does not get the ticket and could work against him in the eventuality of Bittu contesting.''

In Burari where the constituents are predominantly Poorvanchali, SC and Tyagis, the sitting MLA, Jile Singh Chauhan, is described in the survey as "thoroughly unpopular'' with a mere 17% approval and recommends that the Congress should either get a local Tyagi to contest or take on board Vinod Nagar of the Lok Janshakti Party of Ram Vilas Paswan.

In Ghonda, the survey says, sitting MLA Bhisham Sharma of Congress has become "increasingly unpopular'' and there is a risk of the BSP that came second in 2003 making substantial inroads with the help of the Gujjars who form 19% of the constituency's population. The party had won in last year's MCD elections. The survey has given the names of Nathu Singh, a Gujjar, Ramkrishna Sharma, a Brahmin, and Mahendra Jain, ex-MLA from Baghpat, as possible choices for Congress candidature.

In Seelampur there is severe anti-incumbency against sitting MLA Chaudhry Mateen according to the survey and the name of three-time councillor Razia Sultana has been proposed.

According to the survey, the Congress would ensure "definite loss'' if it fields sitting MLA Vinay Sharma from this seat. Sharma has an "approval rating of 11% among Muslims and 19% among Brahmins. The BJP had won in 1993 and 1998 due to division of Muslim votes. Among the three candidates whose names have been proferred in the survey, two are Muslims Tariq Siddiqui and Abdul Aziz Malik. The third possible candidate according to the survey is Deepak Gothi.

In Seemapuri, Congress MLA Veer Singh Dhingan has "anti-incumbency'' working against him but has a fairly decent approval rating of 50% and "may yet win''. The other candidates who the survey says "could be considered'' are Mohini Jeenwal and Kiranvati Tank. In Gokalpur on the other hand the survey clearly says that Baljor Singh of erstwhile Nandnagri should be denied ticket in favour of a "young Valmiki.''

There is more to Congress's woes in the area than this survey. In Karawal Nagar interestingly, where the sitting MLA is Mohan Singh Bisht of the BJP, there is already disgruntlement in the offing with the seat having been promised to Jage Ram Bhati, former state president of BSP who recently returned to Congress. The seat has been split into two during delimitation.

Source : Times Of India

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BJP will 'review' liquor licensing policy

NEW DELHI: It may be election rhetoric but for those fond of their evening tipple, the BJP chief ministerial prospect's claim that the party would
review the Congress government's licensing policy for wine shops could come as a shock.

V K Malhotra, who was speaking out against the opening of a wine shop in a locality in Mount Kailash area, added that the present government's policy of issuing licences would need to be reviewed and corrective action taken once the BJP came to power. The statement came in the wake of the recent opening of a wine shop in the area, which Malhotra claimed posed a serious security threat to the residential locality.

It wasn't just Malhotra questioning the Congress' policies on Friday as fellow BJP leader Dr Harshvardhan also attacked the government for its inability to act on the Afzal Guru matter. Said Harshvardhan, "The government by failing to clear the file on recommendation of the mercy petition of Guru is encouraging terrorism. It is trying to play vote politics by postponing a decision on the issue.''

That the city BJP is planning to tow the national party line by using terrorism as a significant poll plank was also made apparent as the party questioned the Congress on its stand in the Batla House encounter issue. "Why are Congress leaders terming the encounter as fake? It has raised doubts on the martyrdom of M C Sharma, and people are questioning the entire episode, which is only giving shelter to terrorists,'' added Harshvardhan. With the Congress seeming to distance itself from the Jamia Nagar encounter, sources say the BJP feels that its the right time to play up the terrorism angle, even as it attacks the government on its lack of focus on the security issue in the city.

Source : Times Of India

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SAD to seek seats in Delhi, Rajasthan from BJP: Badal

PATIALA: NDA alley Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will hold seat-sharing talks with BJP to get its share of seats in the assembly elections in New Delh
i and Rajasthan, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said on Friday.

"The SAD will seek its share of seats in Delhi and Rajasthan and will hold discussions with BJP," Badal told at Khanuri in Sangrur district.

Party President Sukhbir Singh Badal and Secretary General Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa will hold consultations with BJP high command in this regard, he added.

With regard to BJP's demand for four Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, he said "there was no such demand and if came to fore we will resolve it

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