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Archives for August 2015

HC stays compulsory voting rule in Gujarat civic polls

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compulsory voting Gujarat

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court today stayed the implementation of a law that makes voting compulsory in the civic body elections in the state.

The ‘right to vote’ itself provides right to refrain from voting and it cannot be turned into ‘duty of voting’, the High Court said while acting on a petition challenging the Gujarat Local Authorities (Amendment) Act 2009, which makes voting mandatory in local body polls in the state.

The High Court division bench of acting Chief Justice Jayant Patel and Justice N V Anjariya stayed implementation of compulsory voting, admitting the plea filed by lawyer K R Koshti against the Act.

A Bill making voting compulsory for all the citizens in civic bodies, mooted by then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, was passed by the state Assembly in 2009 and became a law when present Governor O P Kohli signed it.

Earlier this month, the government had notified the law saying those who fail to vote will have to pay a fine of Rs 100.

Petitioner’s lawyer P S Champaneri submitted before the HC earlier today that right to vote is an expression of a citizen and whether to vote includes the right to not vote.

The right to vote cannot be termed as the duty by the state and therefore, the provision of compulsory voting Act is violative of fundamental rights given to any citizen under the Indian Constitution, Champanderi submitted.

He also argued that the state Legislatures does not have any legislative competence to enact a law regarding voting, as it comes under the purview of the Constitution and any such law can only be amended or enacted by Parliament.

The petitioner demanded in the plea to restrain the Gujarat government and the State Election Commission to implement the provisions of the Gujarat Local Authorities (Amendment) Act, 2009.

The Gujarat Local Authorities (Amendment) Bill was first introduced in the state Assembly in December 2009 and passed by a majority vote when Modi was Chief Minister.

It was, however, returned by the then Governor Dr Kamla Beniwal in April 2010 with remarks that “forcing voter to vote is against the principles of an individual liberty.”

Beniwal had returned the Bill to the government, with her comments, for reconsideration.
“The present Bill violates the freedom which a citizen is entitled to enjoy under Article 21 of the Constitution,” she had said in her letter asking the then state government to make amendments to the Bill.

However, ignoring her suggestions, the then state government had once again passed the Bill on December 28, 2011 by majority vote in the Gujarat Assembly which was sent to Beniwal to get the sanction.

In November 2014, after the change of government in Delhi, Gujarat Governor O P Kohli gave his approval to the Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (Amendment) Bill-2009, which has a controversial provision of penal action against citizens who fail to cast their franchise in local body polls.

Earlier this month, while forming the rules, the state government had declared that a registered voter who fails to vote in the local body polls in Gujarat without providing any valid reason will be fined Rs 100.

The local body polls in 253 municipalities, 208 taluka panchayats, 26 district panchayats and six municipal corporations are expected to be held in October this year.

(Agencies)

India bowled out for 393 against Sri Lanka

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Sri Lanka

Colombo: India were bowled out for 393 in their first innings against Sri Lanka in the post-lunch session of the second day in the second cricket Test at the P. Sara Oval here on Friday.

Indians were 386/8 at lunch. Wriddhiman Saha (56) and Ishant Sharma were (2) were the last two wickets to fall.

For Sri Lanka left-arm off-spinner Rangana Herath bagged 4-81, while Dhammika Prasad, skipper Angelo Mathews and Dushmantha Chameera picked two scalps each.

(Agencies)

Spelling mistakes spotted in Smriti Irani’s letter, inquiry ordered

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smriti-irani

New Delhi: After a teacher highlighted the spelling mistakes in the Education Minister’s letter, Smriti Irani has become a butt of jokes on social media platforms.

In the letter, which was sent to schoolteachers applauding them for the performance of their students, the words ‘Minister’ and ‘Sansadhan’ were spelt incorrectly.

Richa Kumar of Delhi Public School spotted the error and posted it on her Facebook page along with a note.

The post read as follows:

“Thank you for congratulating me on the excellence I exemplify. However, having been a teacher for the last twenty years, your official letter head is an affront to my sensibilities as a Language teacher. The attached photographs are self explanatory. Please ensure that at least the people who work for you, in your ministry, are well educated.”

On learning about it, Education Minister Smriti Irani has ordered an inquiry into the matter.

Clarifying that the mistake was not made by her, Irani posted on Twitter, “I would not misspell my own name in Hindi.”

(Agencies)

Movie Review: Fantastic Four, topped with a lot of scientific mumbo jumbo mars the cine goers interest

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Fantastic Four

Producers: Simon Kinberg, Matthew Vaughn, Hutch Parker, Robert Kulzar & Gregory Goodman
Director: Josh Trank
Star Cast: Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell, Reg E. Cathey & Tim Blake Nelson
Genre: Sci – Fi Adventure
Verdict: Average

Director Josh Trank has helmed the latest offering Fantastic Four a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the 3rd theatrical Fantastic Four film and a reboot of the Fantastic Four film franchise.

Plot: So the plotted scenario of Fantastic Four recounts, a contemporary re – imagining of Marvel’s original & longest running superhero team. It centers on 4 young outsiders Reed Richards (Miles Teller), Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell), Sue Storm (Kate Mara) & Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan) who teleport to an alternate & dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team ultimately learns to harness their daunting new abilities & work together to save the Earth from a former friend turned enemy.

Aces: The only redeeming factor of Fantastic Four is the daringly adventurous act of its 5 main performers namely Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell & Toby Kebbell.

Minuses: An amatuerish effort topped with a lot of unfathomable & undeciferable scientific mumbo jumbo which mars the cine goers interest in the long run.

Last Word: A scientific theory gone awry, so guys skip it and don’t even think of undertaking the experimental journey to the cinema halls.

St. Joseph Indian High School wins St. Germain OBA Hockey tournament

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Bengaluru: The finals of St. Germain OBA Hockey tournament played at KSHA was a gala affair. The prestigious hockey annual tournament was conducted with great pomp and glitter.

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A one of a kind tournament where for the first time in India a school hockey tournament final was being played in floodlights.

A huge crowd of spectators and school children were seen cheering their respective schools.

St. Germain High School, known for its magnificent arrangement lived up to expectation.

There was a guard of honour for the chief guest of the day. Mr. Umakanta Bijapur general manager, Bank of Baroda and to the addition commissioner of police Chandra Shekhar who was the chief guest along with the pride of St. Germain High School and ex captain & coach of Indian hockey team and ex Olympian Jude Felix.

In a thrilling finals played by Rashtriya Military School vs. St. Joseph Indian High School for the juniors. Good display of stamina, skill and speed was displayed by both the teams and in a fast paced game.

RMS beat St. Joseph 2-1 in the last minute thriller through penalty corner.

St. Joseph Indian High School beat St. Joseph brand square 5-0 in a one sided final. St. Germain juniors were placed 3rd and St. Germain seniors were placed 4th.

The tournament was conducted by OBA and sponsored by Bank of Baroda which was a huge success. The credit of organizing the tournament goes to Sydney D’Silva and the OBA team.

The prizes were given by Jude Felix, Bank of Baroda Manager Umakant Bijapur and the principle of St. Germain.

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Hindus must become human bombs, invade Pakistan: Shiv Sena

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Defending the thoughts and ideology of Thackeray, the Sena said, “If his stand that Pakistani extremists should be responded in their own terms can be called as terrorism, then this kind of terrorism was in the national interest.”

Shiv-Sena

Mumbai: Shiv Sena on Tuesday defended its founder Bal Thackeray’s ideology saying he created “a fear of Hindus” solely in “national interest” and hit out at a weekly magazine for its article against the late party supremo.

The outfit said in a Saamana editorial, “Hindus should be able to live in this country with pride and his (a Hindu’s) voice should roar like that of a lion. If an answer has to be given to Pakistan extremists, Hindus will also have to become highly religious.”

“To answer Pakistan, Hindus need to become human bombs and invade their country,” it said in controversial remarks.

“People have lot of love and respect for Balasaheb Thackeray and feel proud of his nationalist ideals. He surely instilled the fear of Hindus among people,” an editorial in Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said, rubbishing the contents of an article published in the magazine.

Sena workers had on Monday staged protest at Nariman Point area in South Mumbai against the magazine, tearing and torching its copies. A case was also filed in adjoining Thane district in connection with the article.

Defending the thoughts and ideology of Thackeray, the Sena said, “If his stand that Pakistani extremists should be responded in their own terms can be called as terrorism, then this kind of terrorism was in the national interest.”

Thackeray considered all religions equal and so, after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984, he appealed for calm in the state, the party said.

“It was because of him that the Sikh community could live in peace in Mumbai and other parts of the state,” it said.

“Today, even if we don’t want a magazine to gain unnecessary publicity by publishing false information on Balasaheb, but if people’s anger rises then the already dead magazine will be further crushed by them in the market,” the Sena said.

(PTI)

SC verdict on Uphaar disappointing: Victims’ group convener

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Uphaar

New Delhi: Terming as “very disappointing” the Supreme Court’s Wednesday verdict of no jail for the Ansal brothers in the 1997 Uphaar fire case, the association of victims in the tragedy said the ruling “will send a wrong message to the world”.

“The verdict has been very disappointing. I did not expect this. The victims of Uphaar have been further victimised today and have not been given justice by the Supreme Court,” Neelam Krishnamurthy, convener of the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) who lost both her children in the fire that engulfed the theatre, told IANS.

Representing the victims and the families of those killed in the fire of June 13, 1997, Krishnamurthy said the apex court did not give them enough time to argue.

“The law of the land is different for people with money and for ordinary citizens. I spent 17 years with my daughter and 13 years with my son but I have spent 18 years trying to get justice which has been denied today.

“This will send a wrong message to the entire world. This judgment will be talked about in the world and I will make sure about it,” she said.

In a breather to real estate giants Ansal brothers Sushil and Gopal, accused in the case, the Supreme Court fined them Rs.30 crore each, refusing to send them to jail.

The court said the Ansals would deposit the fine in three months and this amount would be utilised by the Delhi government.

However, Krishnamurthy said the fine being deposited with the government will encourage bribery.

“This fine will go to the government and these are the governments which joined hands with the Ansals and gave them NOCs (no-objection certificates). You are encouraging bribery,” she said.

The Ansal brothers owned the Uphaar cinema in south Delhi’s Green Park area where 59 people died due to asphyxiation after a fire broke out in the transformer room, emitting toxic gases.

The deaths occurred as people could not escape as the exit doors were closed. There was only one operational exit door.

(IANS)

Pakistan kills 43 suspected Taliban members in airstrikes

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A Pakistani F-16 fighter jet performs in-flight maneuvers. (AFP/File)

A Pakistani F-16 fighter jet performs in-flight maneuvers. (AFP/File)

by Andolu Ajansi

Pakistan’s army has claimed to have killed 43 suspected Taliban fighters in the North Waziristan tribal area on Thursday.

The army’s media wing Inter Services Public Relations said air strikes hit the fighters in the Gharala Mae and Shawal valley areas near the Afghanistan border.

More than 160 fighters have been killed in five consecutive days of strikes by the army, which followed the killing of a provincial official in the northeastern Punjab province in a suicide attack on Sunday.

North Waziristan – one of the seven semi-autonomous tribal regions in Pakistan – has been a battleground between the army and the Taliban since June 2014 following a full-scale military onslaught that has killed around 3,000 suspected militants.

The figures cannot be independently verified as the army has declared the area off-limits to journalists.

Over 350 soldiers have also lost their lives in landmine blasts and clashes with the Taliban during this period and the military operation has displaced a million tribesmen from North Waziristan.

Fatal shooting of black teen in US city sparks protests

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Crowds come out on streets of St Luis in Missouri state against killing of 18-year-old teenager by white policeman.

Arrests were made during the protests that followed the fatal shooting [Reuters]

Arrests were made during the protests that followed the fatal shooting [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Police in the US state of Missouri have fatally shot a black teenager, who they say pointed a gun at them, and later faced angry crowds, reigniting racial tensions in the country.

Sam Dotson, the police chief of the city of St Louis, said the shooting took place on Wednesday when young black men ran out of the back door of a house where two officers were carrying out a search warrant.

Officers ordered the pair to stop in an alley behind the house. One suspect pointed a gun at officers who then fired four times, killing him, Dotson said.

“Detectives were looking for guns, looking for violent felons, looking for people that have been committing crimes in the neighbourhood,” he said.

Police identified the slain suspect as Mansur Ball-Bey, 18. The second teenager fled.

Both officers, who are white, were unharmed, police said, adding that they were on administrative leave.

Following the incident, crowds gathered at a nearby intersection shortly after the shooting and then again in the evening. Three people were arrested for blocking traffic, police said.

NBC television affiliate KSDK reported that some in the crowd threw rocks at officers, who responded with what appeared to be tear gas.

Unrest after shooting

St. Louis television station Fox 2 showed officers in riot gear lined up across a street, a burning mattress and clouds of smoke or tear gas.

St. Louis Alderman, Antonio French, posted on Twitter that a vacant house and a car were set on fire, and that firefighters were working under heavy police guard.

Dotson the police chief told reporters that Ball-Bey’s gun was stolen and said officers recovered crack cocaine at the scene.

The city police said the officers involved in the shooting were white, aged 33 and 29, each with about seven years on the force.

The shooting came 10 days after the city was flooded with protesters marking the anniversary of the killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer on August 9 last year in Ferguson, not far from St Louis.

Brown’s death helped spark a nationwide movement against what protesters say is police violence against minorities.

Wednesday’s shooting also came as activists were in the area to mark the anniversary of the police shooting of another black man in St. Louis, Kajieme Powell. Police say officers shot Powell when he approached them with a knife.

UN peacekeepers face new sex abuse allegations in CAR

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Three more accusations levelled against peacekeepers in CAR a week after Ban Ki-Moon asked UN head of mission to resign.

UN peacekeepers earlier had been accused of sexually abusing children in Bangui and in the eastern part of the country [AP]

UN peacekeepers earlier had been accused of sexually abusing children in Bangui and in the eastern part of the country [AP]

by Al Jazeera

Three young females, including a minor, have accused United Nations peacekeepers of raping them in the Central African Republic, the global body has announced, taking the number of allegations to 13 since the UN stationed troops in the country in September.

The announcement on Wednesday comes a week after Ban Ki-Moon, UN secretary-general, removed the head of the peacekeeping mission in CAR over the handling of a series of similar allegations in the conflict-wracked country.

Vannina Maestracci, spokesperson for the secretary general’s office, told reporters that families of the three young females made the allegations on August 12 and that the alleged rapes occurred in “recent weeks”.

Similarly, a statement from the peacekeeping mission said UN headquarters was “immediately informed” of the allegations and that it was collecting “all available evidence”.

The alleged rapes occurred in the city of Bambari, where peacekeepers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are stationed.

The CAR is still battling daily clashes between rival militias in the country’s hinterlands [Reuters]

Congo’s UN ambassador, Ignace Gata Mavita wa Lufuta, told The Associated Press news agency that three members of Congo’s military have been accused and that he had just met with UN officials about looking into the allegations.

He didn’t address the allegations but said it’s “not normal” that vulnerable people would be victims of those meant to protect them.

Congo’s troops serve in no other UN peacekeeping missions, and its nearly 900 troops were accepted into the mission in CAR at a time when few countries were volunteering people to serve in the chaotic country, which has been ripped by unprecedented violence between Christians and Muslims.

Last August, the New York-based Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict said Congo’s troops, which were already in the country as part of an African Union mission, should be excluded from the UN mission.

The advocacy network pointed out that Congo’s armed forces have been noted in Ban’s annual report on conflict-related sexual violence. They were included again this year.

Last week, following the removal of the head of the CAR peacekeeping mission, Ban met with the Security Council and the heads of all UN peacekeeping missions to discuss new measures to swiftly investigate alleged sexual assaults and hold peacekeepers accountable.

Ban’s actions came after Amnesty International accused UN peacekeepers in CAR’s capital this month of indiscriminately killing a 16-year-old boy and his father and, in a separate incident, of raping a 12-year-old girl.

UN peacekeepers earlier had been accused of sexually abusing children in Bangui and in the eastern part of the country.

The peacekeeping mission is also being investigated over how it handled child sexual abuse allegations against French troops last year, in which children as young as nine said they had traded sex for food.

Maestracci, the UN spokeswoman, said that so far, the peacekeeping mission has received 13 allegations of possible sexual abuse and exploitation since UN troops began arriving last year.

Under an agreement with the UN, countries have the sole responsibility to prosecute their troops taking part in peacekeeping missions, but if they take no action to investigate, the UN can step in. Even then, the UN only has the power to repatriate troops and suspend payments to countries for troops who are accused.

In at least one case of alleged sexual abuse or exploitation by a peacekeeper in CAR, a country repatriated its accused citizen, the UN said.

Around 2.7 million people, more than half the population, are still in need of aid, while 1.5 million people were affected by food insecurity [AFP]

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