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Archives for April 2017

TN’s bypoll campaigning sees new low: Jaya’s dummy body paraded in coffin

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Jayalalithaa

Chennai: The fight for the legacy of the late Chief Minister and AIADMK General Secretary J.Jayalalithaa reached a new low on Thursday with the O. Panneerselvam faction seeking votes for their candidate with the dummy body of Jayalalithaa laid inside a coffin.

The coffin was covered with the National Flag.

Though it is said former Minister for Eduction P. Pandiarajan was against such a campaign, he nevertheless was seen standing with folded hands in a vehicle in which the dummy body and the coffin were kept.

The police removed the dummy body and the coffin and warned the party workers against such future moves.

Even members of Panneerselvam faction were opposed to such a stunt and termed it as a result of over-enthusiastic cadres.

The bypoll was necessitated by the death of Jayalalithaa last December.

(IANS)

Parliament passes four bill to pave way for GST rollout

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Lok Sabha

New Delhi: Parliament today passed four legislations to pave the way for roll out of the historic Goods and Services Tax (GST) from the target date of July 1.

The Central GST Bill, 2017; The Integrated GST Bill, 2017; The GST (Compensation to States) Bill, 2017; and The Union Territory GST Bill, 2017 were returned by the Rajya Sabha after negation of a host of amendments moved by the opposition parties.

The Lok Sabha had passed these bills on March 29.

All the states will now have to pass the States GST Bill after which the new indirect tax regime can be rolled out.

Replying to about 8-hour-long debate, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley insisted that the GST, which will usher in a uniform indirect tax regime in the country, will not lead to inflation as apprehended by some sections.

The rates are to be discussed by the GST Council on May 18-19.

Jaitley said once the new regime is implemented, the harassment of businesses by different authorities will end and India will be have one rate for one commodity throughout the country.

The powerful GST Council, comprising Centre and states, has recommended a four-tier tax structure — 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. On top of the highest slab, a cess will be imposed on luxury and demerit goods to compensate the states for revenue loss in the first five years of GST implementation.

Jaitley said the successive governments have contributed towards the GST and no one person can take credit for it.

“This Bill, I have no hesitation in conceding, is a collective property,” he said.

With implementation of the GST, revenue of the Centre, the states and the industry and trade must benefit, he added.

 (Agencies)

SC seeks reply from 6 states on plea to ban cow vigilantes

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gau

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today sought response of six states, including Rajasthan, on a plea seeking a ban on cow vigilante groups there. A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and A M Khanwilkar issued notices to Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh and asked them to file their reply within three weeks.

The bench has fixed the matter for hearing on May 3. During the brief hearing, the counsel appearing for the petitioner referred to the recent incident at Alwar in Rajasthan where a man was killed allegedly by a mob of cow vigilante group. The counsel claimed that the ground-level situation in these states was worrisome as the cow vigilante groups were resorting to violence there.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that formal notices were not issued to the states on the plea after which the apex court sought response from these six states. The Supreme Court had on October 21, last year agreed to examine the plea which sought action against cow vigilantes who were allegedly indulging in violence and committing atrocities against Dalits and minorities.

Activist Tehseen S Poonawalla, in his plea, said violence committed by these ‘Gau Raksha’ groups have reached to such proportions that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared them as people who are “destroying the society”. The plea also alleged that these groups were committing atrocities against Dalits and minorities in the name of protection of cows and other bovines and they needed to be “regulated and banned in the interest of social harmony, public morality and law and order in the country”.

“The menace caused by the so-called cow protection groups is spreading fast to every nook and corner of the country and is creating disharmony among various communities and castes,” the petition said. The plea sought to declare as “unconstitutional” section 12 of the Gujarat Animal Prevention Act, 1954, Section 13 of Maharashtra Animal Prevention Act, 1976, and Section 15 of Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964, which provide for protection of persons acting in good faith under the Act or rules.

“These laws and the protection granted there with act as a catalyst to violence perpetrated by these vigilante groups,” it said. Seeking action against the vigilantes, the petition said the atrocities committed by them were punishable under various provisions of IPC and under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of atrocities) Act, 1989.

(Agencies)

 

Charges against Advani, 13 others in Babri case must be revived: CBI to SC

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L K Advani Murli Manohar Joshi

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the Supreme Court on Thursday that conspiracy charges against BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and others in the Babri Masjid demolition case must be revived.

The lawyer appearing for CBI said that 195 witnesses had already been examined in the Lucknow trial court, and 300 more were to be examined.

The CBI further said that in Rai Bareilly court, 57 witnesses had already been examined and 100 or more are likely to be examined.

The CBI further said that the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad HC had upheld the lower court’s order in the case, and that criminal conspiracy charges were dropped against 21 accused, including several BJP leaders only on technical grounds.

The apex court had last month said that it would determine on April 6 whether conspiracy charges could be framed against Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and 13 other BJP and VHP leaders.

The arguments are currently on in the Supreme Court.

(Agencies)

Autopsy ‘shows chemical weapons used in Syria attack’

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Turkey says autopsies were carried out on three bodies that were brought across the border after Idlib attack.

The Syrian government has denied it was behind the attack. (Edlib Media Center, via AP)

The Syrian government has denied it was behind the attack. (Edlib Media Center, via AP)

by Al Jazeera

Autopsy results have revealed that chemical weapons were used in an attack which killed more than 80 people in Syria’s Idlib province, according to Turkey’s justice minister.

Thirty-two victims of Tuesday’s attack were brought to Turkey where three subsequently died.

“Autopsies were carried out on three of the bodies after they were brought from Idlib. The results of the autopsy confirms that chemical weapons were used,” Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said, quoted by state-run Anadolu news agency.

“This scientific investigation also confirms that Assad used chemical weapons,” Bozdag added, without giving further details.

The attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun drew widespread international condemnation and public revulsion, prompting the United Nations to pledge it would investigate it as a possible war crime.

The Syrian govenment denied carrying out the raid. Russia, a key military ally of the Bashar al-Assad government, has blamed the opposition, saying a government shell hit a building where rebels were producing chemical weapons. The rebels deny this.

Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem called the accusations in a press conference on Thursday an unjust campaign against Syria.

“The campaign (chemical attack) was launched at 6:00 in the morning while the first air raid carried out by Syrian jet fighters was at 11.30 in the morning. It was targeting a weapons and ammunitions depot belonging to al-Nusra Front which happened to contain chemical weapons,” Moallem said.

The World Health Organization has also said some survivors had symptoms consistent with exposure to a category of chemicals that includes nerve agents.

The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), which runs several field hospitals in Idlib, said doctors on the ground said the attack caused people to vomit and foam at the mouth. Others lost consciousness and suffered muscle spasms.

The group said the symptoms, which also included constricted pupils and slow heart rates, were indicative of an organo-phosphorus compounds agent.

The apparent chemical attack is the deadliest such incident since sarin gas killed hundreds of civilians in Ghouta near the capital in August 2013.

Assault goes on

The government assault on Idlib province has continued, a monitoring group said on Thursday, with air raids killing at least 27 people – including 13 children – in the rebel-held town of Salqin on Wednesday.

Air raids also targeted Jisr al-Shughour, a northern town in Idlib province, killing at least two people and wounding six others, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Elsewhere in Syria, the Observatory said government air raids killed at least 18 people, including nine children, in Saqba city in the Damascus suburbs on Wednesday.

In other parts of the suburbs, ten people were killed on Wednesday in air raids that targeted Douma, Hamouriah and Jesrin in Eastern Ghouta.

Dominant Sunrisers outclass RCB by 35 runs in IPL opener

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Yuvraj Singh

Hyderabad: Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad made a perfect start to their Indian Premier League campaign crushing a depleted Royal Challengers Banaglore by 35 runs in the opening encounter, here Wednesday night.

Veteran Yuvraj Singh’s blazing blade (62 off 27 balls) and unheralded Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan Arman (2/36 in 4 overs)’s crucial breakthroughs enabled Sunrisers to outwit a Virat Kohli-less RCB in all departments.

A challenging target of 208 was achievable on a placid track but RCB could only manage 172 in 19.4 overs losing wickets at regular intervals. This was the first time after 23 IPL matches that RCB were all-out.

RCB’s top four — Chris Gayle (32), Mandeep Singh (24), Travis Head (30) and Kedar Jadhav (31) were all set before getting out. Kedar’s dismissal was the turning point as RCB were never in the match after that.

The India international was looking dangerous during his 16-ball stay and was run-out when Ben Cutting’s direct throw from the deep found him short by a metre.

On a belter where pacers became easy prey for the batsmen, Sunrisers skipper David Warner rotated his spinners well trying to take the pace off the deliveries.

Young Rashid, who created history by being the first Afghan to play an IPL match got Mandeep with a fuller delivery that didn’t turn.

The batsman trying to cut got an inside edge onto the stumps. The celebration was atypical Shahid Afridi just like his style of fastish leg-breaks. Rashid also got Travis Head when the batsmen tried to play a slog sweep.

But Deepak Hooda got the most important wicket when he got Gayle trying to hit him over long-off for a second six only to be caught by Warner. Th wickets fell at regular intervals and there was no pressure on Sunrisers as they coasted to victory. Ashish Nehra (2/42) also gota couple of wickets to reach a personal milestone of 100 IPL victims.

Earlier, a vintage Yuvraj hammered RCB bowlers to submission as Sunrisers Hyderabad posted a commendable 207 for 4 put into bat by Shane Watson.

On a batting beauty, Yuvraj smashed the RCB bowlers to cleaners after Srinath Aravind dropped a dolly at deep square leg boundary. Yuvraj was on 26 then and the let-off allowed him to score his fastest IPL half-century off 23 balls.

Moises Henriques’ 52 off 37 balls also went a long way in contributing to Sunrisers’ total. The Yuvraj-Henriques pair added 58 runs runs in only 4.5 overs after Shikhar Dhawan (40) was involved in a 74-run stand for the second wicket.

Yuvraj’s innings had seven fours and three sixes while Henriques’ innings had three fours and two sixes.

Skipper David Warner started with a couple of boundaries and huge six over long-on off left-arm seamer Aniket Chaudhary but was gone when his slash was taken by a leaping Mandeep Singh at backward point.

Dhawan banged rival skipper Shane Watson for four boundaries in the final Powerplay over to set the tone.

Henriques at the other end chanced his arms to hit a six over long-on off Travis Head. Once Dhawan was caught in the deep off Stuart Binny’s delivery, Yuvraj came in and started taking on the bowlers.

Rajasthan’s Chaudhary, who has been with the India camp came in for special treatment including a lofted extra cover drive for a six apart fom two fours in a single over.

Aravind, who dropped him bowled a back of the hand slower that was dispatched into mid-wicket stands.

A widish delivery from Chaudhary was slashed past point to reach his half-century.

IPL’s million dollar boy Tymal Mills was flicked past short fine leg and once again picked the slower delivery into the deep square leg stands before becoming his first victim.

India’s T2- specialist Yuzvendra Chahal (1/22 in 4 overs) held his own without conceding a single boundary while Mills 1/31 in 4 overs bowled the maximum (11) dot balls.

(PTI)

Sena leaders heckle aviation minister in LS, Rajnath comes to rescue

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Ravindra Gaikwad

New Delhi: Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed utter chaos as Shiv Sena members, including Union Minister Anant Geete, surrounded Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju after he refused to heed to their demand for revoking the flying ban on their colleague Ravindra Gaikwad.

BJP members, including several union ministers, watched in shock as their allies hit Raju’s bench in anger and did not let him leave.

Soon thereafter several leaders, including Home Minister Rajnath Singh, tried to placate Geete and his colleagues while Raju was ushered out.

The incident occurred soon after the House was adjourned as Sena members created a ruckus, protesting Raju’s response to Gaikwad’s statement. Gaikwad attended the House for the first time after the incident.

They were upset with Raju’s brief but pointed remarks following Gaikwad’s statement in which the Sena MP denied any wrongdoing on his part and instead accused Air India officials of misbehaving with him and sought action against them, especially the airline’s CMD.

He tendered an apology to Parliament but insisted that he owed no apology to the airline officials as he sought removal of the ban imposed on him by domestic airlines after he allegedly beat up an Air India officer with slippers.

Raju said it was up to Gaikwad to decide if he wanted to defuse the matter or aggravate it, asserting that what has happened is as per the law which will take its own course.

Refusing any preferential treatment to the Sena member, he said the matter was not about an MP but a passenger. “Aircraft is a machine where people fly. Safety is important. Safety cannot be compromised,” Raju said, apparently justifying the ban on Gaikwad.

His reply provoked the agitating Sena members who trooped out of their seats and surrounded Raju’s seat in the front row.

Before Raju spoke, Geete too joined his colleagues in condemning the action against Gaikwad and appeared to be taking a dig at the central government, saying it is a people’s government but the “one-sided decision” was “shameful and tragic”.

Raju sat quietly as the Sena members, including Geete, shouted at him in anger.

After several adjournments, the Home Minister sought to defuse the crisis by telling the House that the Civil Aviation Minister will talk to “all stakeholders to reach an amicable solution.”

(PTI)

Naqvi turns blind eye to Muslim man’s murder by cow vigilante terrorists, says no such thing happened

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Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

New Delhi: Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday informed Rajya Sabha that no incident, as reported in the media, took place in Alwar, Rajasthan. His statement triggered a howl of protests by the opposition members in parliament.

“No such incident, as being reported, has taken place on the ground. The state government has already condemned media reports, “he said. “It’s an emotional issue for crores of people. There should be no indication that we are backing those who are violent, ” he added.

A group of cow vigilantes in Rajasthan’s Alwar recently lynched Pehlu Khan, a 55-year-old Muslim dairy farmer to death and brutally attacked his aides too on the road. Police have reportedly arrested 10 persons in connection with the incident.

“I am so sorry to know that the minister is so ill-informed. Foreign media are covering the incident”, reacted Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Seeking a report from the government on Alwar attack case, Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurien said that there won’t be any discussion on this issue unless the Chair is convinced of what actually took place.

(Agencies)

Cow vigilante terrorism: Murdered Muslim man was a dairy farmer, not cattle smuggler

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pehlu khan

Mewat: When Pehlu Khan, 55, set out on the 240-km road trip from his home in Jaisinghpur village, in Nuh tehsil of Mewat, to Jaipur last Friday, he was planning to buy a milch buffalo. A dairy farmer, he was hoping to increase milk production during Ramzan.

But on Saturday, he decided to buy a milch cow instead, as the seller extracted 12 litres of milk in front of him and offered him a good deal. That decision cost him his life.

“That was the worst decision ever. It took my father’s life,” said his son Irshad, 24. He and his brother, Aarif, were with Khan when they were attacked by gau rakshaks in Behror area of Alwar, on National Highway 8, on Saturday evening. Khan succumbed to injuries on Monday.

“My father was in a pickup truck with a Rajasthan numberplate, along with Azmat, who is also from our village. There were two cows and two calves in the truck. Irshad, I and another villager were in the other pickup truck which had three cows and three calves,” said Aarif. He recounted how the gau rakshaks stopped their vehicles, dragged them out and assaulted them with sticks and belts. Stating that the police came about 20-30 minutes later, he said they were almost unconscious by then.

The gau rakshaks reportedly accused them of illegally smuggling cows for slaughter. The Rajasthan police have also registered an FIR against them for illegally transporting cattle for slaughter, based on a complaint filed by a person identified as Damodar Singh. The FIR states that Khan and the others did not have a purchase document or receipt.

But Irshad claimed they had receipts to show that they had purchased the cows. Showing the receipt, which has the stamp of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation (serial number 89942 dated April 1, 2017), he said: “I don’t know how an FIR was registered stating that that we had no purchase receipt. I bought the cows for Rs 45,000.”

The five men were also robbed of their wallets and cellphones. Irshad reportedly had about Rs 75,000 while another person lost about Rs 35,000.

While most of the villagers in Jaisinghpur are farmers, there are about 10 dairy farmers. Pehlu Khan was one of them. On Friday, four other dairy farmers from the village had also travelled to Jaipur to buy buffaloes and cows. Zakir Khan, the biggest dairy farmer in the village, was among them.

Zakir said he was carrying a cow, a calf and a buffalo in his pickup truck. He reached the spot where Pehlu Khan and the others were attacked about 45 minutes after the incident. “When I reached the spot, there were around 200 people along with the police. I saw Pehlu Khan’s vehicle and learnt that they had been beaten up. I escaped,” he said.

Zakir, who buys milk from the smaller dairy farmers in the village, confirmed that Pehlu Khan was one of his suppliers. He dug out his records to show that Irshad had been supplying milk to him for the last four years.

“The difference in cost is at least Rs 20,000 when we buy cattle from Jaipur,” said Zakir, showing receipts to prove that he had bought cows and buffaloes from Jaipur several times in the past too. “I bought a cow last year,” he said.

Meanwhile, the police are yet to arrest the six named in the attack — Hukum Chand, Jagmal, Om Prakash, Sudheer, Rahul Saini and Navin Saini. According to the FIR, the accused told Pehlu Khan that “whoever passes Behror with a cow will be beaten up”.

(Agencies)

Idlib hospitals overwhelmed after suspected gas attack

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UN weighs possible war-crime probe as medical workers in rebel-held Idlib province struggle to cope with casualties.

This photo provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Edlib Media Center, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian doctor treating a child following a suspected chemical attack, at a makeshift hospital, in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, northern Idlib province, Syria. The suspected chemical attack killed dozens of people on Tuesday, Syrian opposition activists said, describing the attack as among the worst in the country's six-year civil war. (Edlib Media Center, via AP)

This photo provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Edlib Media Center, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian doctor treating a child following a suspected chemical attack, at a makeshift hospital, in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, northern Idlib province, Syria. The suspected chemical attack killed dozens of people on Tuesday, Syrian opposition activists said, describing the attack as among the worst in the country’s six-year civil war. (Edlib Media Center, via AP)

by Diana Al Rifai, Al Jazeera

Hospitals across Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province are overwhelmed with casualties from a suspected chemical attack that has killed scores of people and wounded hundreds more, a local health official has told Al Jazeera.

The attack in the early hours of Tuesday morning in Khan Sheikhoun drew widespread international condemnation, with the UN saying it would investigate the bombing raid as a possible war crime.

Air raids targeted Khan Sheikhoun again on Wednesday morning, Hamid, a local official of the Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue group that operates in rebel-held areas, told Al Jazeera.

Munzir Khalil, head of Idlib’s health directorate, said on Wednesday that medical workers were struggling to cope as the number of victims was expected to increase.

“We can confirm the names of 74 people killed,” he said, “but the hospitals expect the number to rise to 107 because many have gone missing and we suspect they have been killed in the attack.”

Khalil said at least 557 people were wounded in the attack and transferred to medical centres and field hospitals across Idlib, in Syria’s northwest.

“I can say almost all of Idlib’s medical facilities include victims of yesterday’s attack. Not to forget, air strikes destroyed a central hospital in Maaret al-Numaan on Monday, a facility that once took care of up to 30,000 patients a month.

“That hospital is now out of service and we are in a state of shock.”

Khalil said al-Rahma hospital in Khan Sheikhoun was also targeted by an air raid shortly after the suspected chemical attack.

The United Nations Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting later on Wednesday.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the monitoring organisation, on Wednesday put the death toll at 99 people, including 37 children.

The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), which runs several field hospitals in Idlib, had earlier said that at least 72 people, including 11 children, were killed in the attack.

SAMS doctors on the ground said the attack caused people to vomit and foam from the mouth. Others lost consciousness and suffered muscles spasms.

The group said the symptoms, which also included constricted pupils and slow heart rates, were indicative of an organo-phosphorus compounds agent – a category of toxic gases which includes sarin.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) also said some survivors had symptoms consistent with exposure to a category of chemicals that includes nerve agents.

“The images and reports coming from Idlib today leave me shocked, saddened and outraged. These types of weapons are banned by international law because they represent an intolerable barbarism,” Peter Salama, executive director of the UN agency’s Health Emergencies Program has said.

The Syrian National Coalition, an opposition group, said a gas similar to sarin was used in the attack, which it said was carried out by government fighter jets.

Syria’s military rejected the accusation, saying in a statement on Tuesday that the army “denies using any toxic or chemical agents in Khan Sheikhoun today, and it did not and never will use it anywhere”.

Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said on Wednesday that Syrian aircraft did carry out a raid, but the chemicals were part of a “terrorist” stockpile of “toxic substances” that had been struck on the ground.

The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Tuesday said that it was in the process of gathering and analysing information from all available sources.

If it is confirmed, it would be the deadliest chemical attack in Syria since sarin gas killed hundreds of civilians in Ghouta, just outside of the capital Damascus, in August 2013.

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