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Kiran Bedi blames 'fatwa' for her defeat in Krishna Nagar

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File Photo.

File Photo.

New Delhi: Kiran Bedi today appeared to blame a “fatwa” by Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari, appealing Muslims to support AAP, for her defeat in BJP’s traditional stronghold of Krishna Nagar in East Delhi and sought a probe into it by the Election Commission.

She said the Election Commission should inquire the issue to know whether the Shahi Imam’s appeal to Muslims a day before the polls had any impact on the electoral outcome.

“I want the Election Commission to inquire this. (Then only) it will be clearly known whether fatwa had an impact on the voters or not,” she said.

Bedi claimed that though she was leading in the vote count, her vote share started dropping when counting of votes in a Muslim-dominated area of her constituency was taken up.

“I was told that during the vote count in Krishna Nagar, I was leading but when the counting of votes of the area, where fatwa might have an impact, was carried out, it started to drop,” Bedi said, adding “I lost by 2000 votes when the counting reached that area.”

A day ahead of the polls on February 7, Bukhari appealed to Muslims to vote for AAP but the party promptly rejected the offer.

Though it was an appeal by Bukhari, several BJP leaders called it “fatwa”.
Bedi said a “complete study” should be done whether there was an impact of the “fatwa” on the freedom of choice in voting.

“Fatwa means a diktat, a directive, it also means a hukumnama in a way. EC should examine whether fatwas issued last minute before the elections are good for democratic process or not,” added Bedi.

AAP’s S K Bagga defeated Bedi by a margin of 2,277 votes in Krishna Nagar which had stood by BJP even during the 15 years of Congress rule under Sheila Dikshit.

(PTI)

Spurred by Delhi success, AAP eyes Bengaluru civic polls

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Photo: TCN

Photo: TCN

Bengaluru: After its overwhelming victory in Delhi Assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party is eyeing to make its mark in the country’s IT capital through city civic polls.

“Yes we are preparing for BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) elections. We will be contesting all the seats,” AAP’s senior functionary V Balakrishnan told PTI.

He said “planning is already on. Through ‘Bombat Bangalore’ similar to ‘Delhi Dialogue’ that we had in Delhi we will be interacting with people in all the wards. Based on the interactions we will be preparing agenda for each of the wards.”

There is uncertainty about BBMP elections that is slated for April as the government is mulling about bifurcation of the civic body.

Stating that there is a string of similarity between Bengaluru and Delhi, Balakrishnan said “whether it is bad governance, garbage issues, power problem, water and road related issues, the issues are similar. So I think there will be greater acceptance for AAP as an alternative in Bangalore.”

Halting the Modi juggernaut, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had yesterday scored a landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly election by winning 67 of the 70 seats after steamrolling BJP leaving it with only three seats and decimating Congress which drew a blank.

Balakrishnan, former CFO of IT major Infosys, was also coordinator of a group called “Well wishers of AAP” that had organised Rs 20,000-per person fund-raising dinner with Kejriwal in the city before Lok Sabha polls.

AAP that made its political debut in Karnataka aiming big has performed very dismally with its vote count in the state lesser than NOTA and votes secured here lesser than its membership base in the city.

Among different states, Karnataka had raised the maximum funds for the party during the Lok Sabha polls and the state stood third in the funds collected for the last Delhi polls.

Kejriwal was in the city for a fund raising event on January 11 as part of the preparations for the recent Delhi polls.

Balakrishnan also said that the city should have a CEO like full-term Mayor for the city.

“I think what Bengaluru needs is a directly elected Mayor, right now the the Mayors’ tenure is just one year. This has led to a situation where a single person won’t have control over the affairs of BBMP as it keeps on changing,” he said.

“Five years tenure for a Mayor is the way to go and he should function as a CEO of the city,” he added.

(PTI)

Kejriwal discusses Delhi's statehood with Rajnath; AAP receives IT notice

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Delhi CM designate Arvind Kejriwal meets Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Delhi CM designate Arvind Kejriwal meets Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Photo: ANI

New Delhi: A day after registering a landslide victory in the Delhi assembly election, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday discussed the issue of full statehood for Delhi with Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Kejriwal, accompanied by party leader Manish Sisodia, had about an half-hour meeting with the home minister at the latter’s official residence.

“We have discussed various issues with the home minister, including the issue of full statehood for Delhi,” Sisodia told reporters.

He also said that the union minister assured them of the central government’s full support, saying that “the party line would not come in between working of the two governments”.

Earlier in the day, the AAP leaders called on union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu at his office and discussed various issues concerning the national capital.

During this meeting, the issues related to granting of full statehood to Delhi and granting land by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for building schools, parking and play grounds were discussed.

The AAP leaders also spoke about regularisation of unauthorised colonies in the city.

Kejriwal, to be sworn in as chief minister Saturday at the Ramlila Ground for the second time, is scheduled to meet President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan later Wednesday.

Aam Aadmi Party, Congress served IT notice over funding

The Income Tax Department has served a notice on Aam Aadmi Party seeking an explanation on charges of receiving funds from dubious sources as alleged by a splinter group — a charge that had already been denied by the party.

A similar notice has also been served on the Congress, a party spokesperson said.

The department, that functions under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) of the ministry of finance, has asked the party to furnish its reply by Feb 16 — two days after Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to take oath as Delhi chief minister following a stunning win in the assembly polls.

In the run-up to the elections, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had alleged that the AAP was caught red-handed in receiving dubious funds from companies that did not have any business, and accused its leadership of adopting diversionary tactics to deflect attention.

He said such donations amounted to Rs.2 crore through cheques of Rs.50 lakh each from four firms.

The Aam Aadmi Party had protested such allegations. “Mr. Finance Minister. Stop throwing muck. Act. Arrest me if i am guilty,” Kejriwal tweeted. “Fin min (finance minister) says we took hawala money. Hawala money in cheques? I dare Fin min to arrest me if we took hawala money.”

He had also written to Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu and urged him to set up a special probe team to probe investigate not just his party, but also the BJP and the Congress for the Delhi elections.

The Congress party said it has also received a similar missive from the IT Department.

“Yes, we have been served a notice. It is clearly a sign of political vendetta. Let me ask: Why has a similar notice not been served on BJP? Why single us and the AAP out. BJP has also spent crores of rupees on elections,” a party spokesperson told IANS.

At a press conference here last week, the AAP Volunteer Action Manch (AVAM), a breakaway group of the party, had questioned the sources of funding for the Kejriwal-led party and alleged some of it could be sourced to what it described as “fraud” companies.

It said claimed the money donated on the midnight of April 15 last year.

(IANS)

President asks Governors to ensure communal harmony in states

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Governors Conference

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday warned that any deviation from the Constitutional principles and provisions would weaken the democratic fabric of the country and “jeopardise” social, economic and political well being of citizens.

In his opening remark at the 46th Governors Conference in Delhi, Mr. Mukherjee said Constitution was the only guiding document for providing framework for governance and asked Governors to ensure peace and communal harmony.

“Every Indian looks forward to the Constitution as the guarantor of liberties, freedom and equality. Any deviation from the principles and provisions embodied in the Constitution would weaken the democratic fabric of the country and jeopardise the social, economic and political well-being of our citizens,” he said.

The President said the Governors and Lt. Governors have the “primary responsibility” to ensure that the affairs of the States and Union Territories are conducted strictly in accordance with the letter and spirit of this hallowed document.

“Prevalence of peace and communal harmony must be ensured,” he said at the conference, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Ministers.

(Agencies)

USA: Three Muslim students murdered at North Carolina campus

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Police captures suspect after three Muslim Americans are shot dead at University of North Carolina campus.

Friends and family, and online community condemning the murder shared victims' photos online following the incident [Facebook]

Friends and family, and online community condemning the murder shared victims’ photos online following the incident [Facebook]

by Al Jazeera

Three American students have been shot dead at a residential complex of University of North Carolina and a suspect has been arrested over the incident, according to the local police.

Chapel Hill police told local news outlets that Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, was arrested and charged with killing the three Muslim students. He is being held at the Durham County Jail.

Police said they responded to a report of gunshots at around 5:15pm on Tuesday, and found three people who were pronounced dead at the scene.

The victims were identified as 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat, his 21-year-old wife Yusor Mohammad and 19-year-old Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, police said.

Police said the investigation was continuing.

Residents told local media that the complex was a peaceful place.

“It’s a very quiet community,” Bethany Boring, who lives in the complex, told television station WRAL.

“It’s a lot of graduate and professional students. You know, professionals’ families.”

Friends and family and the online community shared photos of the victims via social media after the incident.

The hashtag  went viral after the incident was reported, many of the tweets criticising the US and other Western media for not covering the shooting.

Facebook partners with Reliance Communications to launch Internet.org

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Internet.org

Mumbai: Reliance Communications, a part of the Anil Ambani-led group, Tuesday said it has been roped in by Facebook to offer free access to data and web sites to customers through the social networking site’s global digital inclusion initiative, Internet.org.

The Internet.org initiative will provide access to popular websites and services with zero data charge to make it easier for people to access the Internet across both the 2G and 3G platforms, Reliance executives said at a press conference here.

“Internet is the integral part of our well being. It is tool to transform lifestyle. Data is the raw material of the information age,” said Gurdeep Singh, chief executive officer, consumer business, Reliance Communications.

To start with these services will be available to Reliance customers in of Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The services will then be extended to the rest of the country in a phased manner with more services and websites.

The company is already live with the he services in all these circles by, said Singh: “We are committed to go online pan-India within 90 days.”

The companies declined to share who will bear the cost of such data. “If we do good to people they will come back to us,” Singh said.

“Today, we’re excited to make the Internet available to millions of people in India through the launch of Internet.org and free basic services with Reliance,” said Chris Daniels, the vice-president of Internet.org at Facebook.

“This is a big step forward in our efforts to connect everyone in India to the Internet, and to help people discover new tools and information that can create more jobs and opportunities.”

Reliance customers can now explore Internet and reap its benefit in daily life, without having to worry about data charges. These set of services also come with free Facebook access, Singh said.

“It is not restricted to any handset, irrespective of screen size or operating platform,” he said.

“Through this partnership, we aim to increase Internet inclusion and encourage more Indians to go online. This will not only accelerate net penetration in India, but also open new socio-economic opportunities to users in areas like education, information and commerce.”

Saying that future belongs to the people with access to internet, he said that people with no access to internet will be “less comparative and agile.

Daniels said Facebook has helped Reliance in the project with technology and users experience.

Reliance customers can access these websites with zero data charges at www.internet.org, or in the Internet.org Android app. Most of the services will be available in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati and Marathi, to begin with.

Reliance Communications, an integrated telecommunications service provider with a pan-India presence, has a customer base of over 110 million, including over 2.6 million individual overseas retail customers.

(IANS)

Underworld element Bannanje Raja arrested in Morocco: Sources

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Bannanje Raja

Bengaluru: Notorious underworld element Bannanje Raja has been arrested in Morocco, said sources.

Sources claimed that Raja was arrested in Casablanca on Tuesday February 10 by a special investigative team of India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Raja, who was understood to have been operating out of Morocco, was nabbed based on inputs by Karnataka police, it is learnt.

He is wanted in a number of cases, including murders, extortions, loot, kidnapping and so on in various places, particularly Mangaluru and Bengaluru. A red corner notice too had been issued against him, and the state police had taken the help of CBI to trace him. He was also known to have fled to Dubai and arrested from there in 2009.

Reports about him hiding in Morocco came to light after a hotelier refused to give into extortion threats and filed a complaint. During investigation, the intelligence agency officials learnt that he had gone underground in Morocco and taken the name of ‘Hegde’.

It is learnt that Raja is not involved in any crimes within Morocco. The local Moroccan police have given 48 hours to submit information about the cases registered against Raja, sources said. The Bengaluru police are expected to leave for Morocco soon.

(Agencies)

Patna High Court declares appointment of Nitish as JD(U) Legislative Party head illegal

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nitish-kumar

Patna/New Delhi: In a major setback to former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Patna High Court on Wednesday stayed his election as Janata Dal (United)’s state legislature party leader.

Kumar was elected the leader of the JDU’s legislature party leader on Monday and he had met Bihar Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to stake claim to form government.

The JDU had even expelled Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi from JDU with immediate effect on Monday itself before electing Kumar as the party’s legislature party leader.

Claiming the support of 130 MLAs, Kumar had even paraded them at Raj Bhavan. He had requested the Governor to invite him to prove his majority on the floor of the House.

Manjhi had also met the Governor on Monday and made a similar claim saying he be given an opportunity to prove majority on the floor of House.

While the Governor is yet to take a final decision in the matter, Kumar reached Delhi alongwith 130 MLAs on Tuesday in order to meet President Pranab Mukherjee.

(Agencies)

Putin, Sisi meet in bid to strengthen political, military ties

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd R) gives an AK47 rifle as a gift to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (L) during an informal dinner in honor of Putin at Cairo Tower on February 9, 2015. Anadolu.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd R) gives an AK47 rifle as a gift to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (L) during an informal dinner in honor of Putin at Cairo Tower on February 9, 2015. Anadolu.

President Vladimir Putin arrived on Monday in Egypt for a two-day visit as Russia seeks to expand its reach in the Arab world’s most populous country, amid continual domestic conflicts within the north African country.

The visit by Putin is the first to Egypt in a decade and comes after a 2011 popular uprising that ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak, whom Putin met during his previous trip in 2005.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi welcomed Putin on arrival at Cairo’s international airport where the two leaders held talks for half an hour, officials said.

From the airport they proceeded to Cairo Opera House in the capital’s central district of Zamalek for a cultural evening.

Experts say Putin’s visit is also aimed at showing that he is not isolated internationally, despite the crisis in Ukraine.

“The leaders will pay special attention to ramping up trade and economic ties between the two countries,” the Kremlin said ahead of the visit.

They will hold formal talks on Tuesday and are expected to sign agreements after which Putin and Sisi will hold a joint news conference, Sisi’s office announced.

They are also expected to discuss Iraq, Syria and Libya, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Russia had hosted Sisi’s predecessor Mursi during his one-year presidency, despite categorizing the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood as a “terrorist group” in 2003. In this context, Russia was also one of the first countries to endorse Sisi’s presidential bid last year.

Posters of Putin were put up on Cairo’s main roads greeting the Russian leader in Russian, Arabic and English.

Plans for a nuclear power plant, arms deals

In the same vein, Sisi said that Cairo and Moscow had agreed plans to jointly build Egypt’s first nuclear power plant.

A memorandum of understanding to build the facility was signed by Egyptian and Russian officials during Putin’s visit to the country.

Experts suggest during Putin’s visit military discussion and arms deal negotiations will take place by the two countries’ representatives.

The Soviet Union was the main supplier of arms to Egypt in the 1960s and early 1970s. Cooperation between the two sides dropped after Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty and Cairo began receiving generous US aid.

Sisi himself visited Russia when he was defense minister soon after ousting Mursi amid deteriorating relations with Washington, and followed it up with another trip in August 2014 as president.

At their meeting last summer at Putin’s holiday residence in Sochi, the two discussed Russia supplying weapons to Egypt.

Cairo also hosted the Russian defense and foreign ministers in November — the first such visit since the Soviet era — for discussions on an Egyptian arms purchase plan.

At the time, Russian media said the two sides were close to signing a $3-billion deal for Moscow to supply missiles and warplanes including MiG-29 fighters and attack helicopters.

However, in recent months Washington has warmed to Cairo again and resumed its annual $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt, also delivering Apache helicopter gunships to fight jihadists in Sinai.

Egypt’s military has been battling an insurgency in the region ever since it overthrew Mursi. The government declared a state of emergency in parts of North Sinai after an October 24 suicide attack near al-Arish killed 30 soldiers in the deadliest assault on security forces since Mursi’s ouster.

Militant groups claim their attacks are in retaliation for a government crackdown targeting Mursi’s supporters that has left hundreds dead and thousands jailed.

The Muslim Brotherhood says it is a peaceful movement but authorities accuse its members of being involved with a Sinai Peninsula-based Islamist insurgency that has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since Mursi’s overthrow.

(AFP, Al-Akhbar)

We dream about drones, said 13-year-old Yemeni boy before his death in a CIA strike

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Mohammed Tuaiman becomes the third member of his family to be killed by what he called ‘death machines’ in the sky months after Guardian interview

‘My father was martyred by a drone’: Yemeni teenager records life months before suffering a similar fate

‘My father was martyred by a drone’: Yemeni teenager records life months before suffering a similar fate

by Chavala Madlena, Hannah Patchett & Adel Shamsan, The Guardian

A 13-year-old boy killed in Yemen last month by a CIA drone strike had told the Guardian just months earlier that he lived in constant fear of the “death machines” in the sky that had already killed his father and brother.

“I see them every day and we are scared of them,” said Mohammed Tuaiman, speaking from al-Zur village in Marib province, where he died two weeks ago.

“A lot of the kids in this area wake up from sleeping because of nightmares from them and some now have mental problems. They turned our area into hell and continuous horror, day and night, we even dream of them in our sleep.”

Much of Mohammed’s life was spent living in fear of drone strikes. In 2011 an unmanned combat drone killed his father and teenage brother as they were out herding the family’s camels.

The drone that would kill Mohammed struck on 26 January in Hareeb, about an hour from his home. The drone hit the car carrying the teenager, his brother-in-law Abdullah Khalid al-Zindani and a third man.

“I saw all the bodies completely burned, like charcoal,” Mohammed’s older brother Maqded said. “When we arrived we couldn’t do anything. We couldn’t move the bodies so we just buried them there, near the car.”

Several anonymous US government officials told Reuters that the strike had been carried out by the CIA and had killed “three men believed to be al-Qaida militants”. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris last month.

Marib province has become a flashpoint in the struggle between the Houthi rebels –who have ousted the president after overrunning the capital – and the local tribes who reject the Shia group’s attempts to bring Marib under their control. Like the other families around al-Zur and throughout Marib province, the Tuaiman men have been involved in pushing back against the Houthis.

In a secretive programme carried out by the CIA in rural, isolated parts of Yemen, it is easy for confusion to surround the particulars of those killed in a drone strike. Affiliations with al-Qaida and anti-government tribal sympathies mesh and merge depending on who is attacking whom.

Maqdad said the family had been wrongly associated with al-Qaida, and family members strongly deny that Mohammed was involved in any al-Qaida or anti-Houthi fighting. “He wasn’t a member of al-Qaida. He was a kid.”

Speaking from al-Zur the day after his brother’s death, Meqdad said: “After our father died, al-Qaida came to us to offer support. But we are not with them. Al-Qaida may have claimed Mohammed now but we will do anything – go to court, whatever – in order to prove that he was not with al-Qaida.”

When the Guardian interviewed Mohammed last September, he spoke of his anger towards the US government for killing his father. “They tell us that these drones come from bases in Saudi Arabia and also from bases in the Yemeni seas and America sends them to kill terrorists, but they always kill innocent people. But we don’t know why they are killing us.

“In their eyes, we don’t deserve to live like people in the rest of the world and we don’t have feelings or emotions or cry or feel pain like all the other humans around the world.”

Mohammed’s father, Saleh Tuaiman, was killed in 2011 in a drone strike that also killed Mohammed’s teenage brother, Jalil. Saleh Tuaiman left behind three wives and 27 children.

The CIA and Pentagon were both asked to comment on whether the teenager had been confirmed as an al-Qaida militant. Both declined to comment.

Mohammed’s 27 siblings have now lost three family members in US drone strikes and may grow up with the same sense of confusion and injustice Mohammed expressed shortly before his death.

“The elders told us that it’s criminal to kill the civilians without distinguishing between terrorists and innocents and they kill just on suspicion, without hesitation.”

For Meqdad, Mohammed’s death has reignited his determination to seek out justice for his family. “We live in injustice and we want the United States to recognise these crimes against my father and my brothers. They were innocent people, we are weak, poor people, and we don’t have anything to do with this.”

However, he added: “Don’t blame us because we sympathise with al-Qaida, because they were the only people who showed their faces to us, the government ignored us, the US ignored us and didn’t compensate us. And we will go to court to prove this is wrong.”

Additional reporting by Iyad al-Qaisi in Jordan

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