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Dadri mob killing: Owaisi attacks PM, says it was ‘planned murder’ over religion

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owaisi-in-dadri

Dadri: AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, who visited the family of the man killed here by a mob over rumours that they had consumed beef, today alleged that he was targeted for his religion and questioned the Prime Minister’s “silence”.

Owaisi, who heads the Muslim right wing All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), met the wife of deceased Iqlakh this morning and alleged that it was pre-planned murder.

“This wasn’t an attack over meat. It was murder over religion to spread politics of hatred of a party. This is a pre-planned, cold-blooded killing. It cannot be an accident.

“This is the thought which is against secularism, it is against the brotherhood of India. It sees Muslims with an eye of suspicion,” the Hyderabad MP said.

Owaisi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “silence” on the issue, saying he should have at least sent his condolences in a tweet if “he believes in pluralism and upholding of law”.

“… we were expecting the PM would have at lease sent condolences to Sartaj (victim’s son) and condemned it. We were expecting that the PM who says ‘sabka saath sabka vikaas’ should have condoled at least with a tweet.”

The AIMIM leader also hit out at Union Minister and local MP Mahesh Sharma who had termed the attack as an “accident”.

“Mahesh Sharma is the Culture Minister of the country and it is unfortunate that the minister who has taken oath on the Constitution doesn’t have the courage and intellectual honesty to condemn the incident unconditionally,” Owaisi said.

“He and his PM say ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas’, then such incidents happen. These words should be put into practice,” he said.

He also hit out at the Samajwadi government, saying instead of nabbing the attackers it was “conducting forensic test on a piece of meat and treating the victim as accused”.

“They have so much poison in their minds that a person who had died, rather than treating him as a victim, they are treating him as an accused,” he said.
Owaisi demanded that the accused be charged with IPC section related to murder and a time-bound trial be held.

He said that he feared that Samajwadi Party government will let the accused go scot-free “as had happened after Muzaffarnagar riots”.

Iqlakh was beaten to death and his 22-year-old son Danish was critically injured by a 200-strong mob which barged into their house on Monday night following rumours that the family had consumed beef. Cow slaughter is banned in Uttar Pradesh.

(PTI)

India pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi on 146th birth anniversary

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GANDHI_ANNIVERSARY

New Delhi: The nation today remembered Mahatma Gandhi on his 146th birth anniversary with President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi and other leaders paying floral tributes to him at his memorial here.

Vice President Hamid Ansari, Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu and Mahesh Sharma, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, BJP leader L K Advani and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad too joined in paying homage to the Father of the Nation.

Modi, who arrived at Rajghat at around 7:40 AM, offered rose petals to the ‘samadhi’, which attracts a large number of Gandhian followers and admirers today.

Clad in a khadi kurta and white pyjama, and a long traditional scarf, Modi, during his brief visit there, paid homage to the Mahatma by bowing his head at his memorial and performing a ‘parikrama’ (circumambulation) around it.

“Heartfelt homage to revered father of the nation (‘Poojya baapu ko shat shat naman’),” Modi wrote on Twitter today.

He also posted a sepia-toned picture of Gandhi, standing beside a broom, to emphasise the Gandhian vision-driven mission of ‘Swachh Bharat’.

Mahatma Gandhi, besides standing for liberty and freedom, also championed the cause of cleanliness, and Prime Minister’s ‘Clean India’ campaign which completed one year today is a tribute to his values.

“Cleanliness was very close to Mahatma Gandhi’s heart. Let us reaffirm our commitment for a Swachh Bharat & fulfil our beloved Bapu’s dream. A clean India will enhance our development journey & benefit the poor,” said Modi on the picture post.

President Mukherjee also paid floral tributes to the Mahatma at his memorial. An all-faith prayer ceremony was also held on the occasion at the memorial. Both Modi and Mukherjee attended the function during their brief visits.

Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who arrived along with Sonia Gandhi, also paid homage to the Mahatma on his birth anniversary.

Ambassadors of France, Japan, among other dignitaries also attended the function.

A large number of school children also gathered at the venue to pay homage to the father of the nation.

The nation also remembered former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 111th birth anniversary with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the nation in paying homage to the leader, who gave the slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’, at his memorial at Vijay Ghat.

“Salutation on the anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri ji (Lal Bahadur Shastri ji ki jayanti par mera pranam,” Modi tweeted.

In his message, he also posted a picture, saying, “I bow to the proud son of India Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri on his birth anniversary”.

(Agencies)

Sania-Martina in doubles semis of Wuhan Open

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mirza-hingisWuhan: Leading women’s doubles pair Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis entered the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open tennis tournament here on Thursday.

The top seed duo defeated fifth seeded American pair of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears 6-2, 6-2 in the last eight stage in only 58 minutes.

Sania and Hingis earlier beat Polish-Australian pair of Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Anastasia Rodionova 6-3, 6-2 in the second round.

The Indo-Swiss pair recently won the Guangzhou Open. They have won an impressive six titles together including triumphs at Wimbledon and US Open.

(IANS)

Trump: I would send Syrian refugees home

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Republican Donald Trump vows to send home all Syrian refugee if he is elected, saying they could be ISIL members.

Trump questioned why Syrians were fleeing their country instead of staying and fighting [Reuters]

Trump questioned why Syrians were fleeing their country instead of staying and fighting [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has said he would send back Syrian refugees taken in by the US if he is elected president.

Trump said during a rally in New Hampshire on Wednesday that he was worried the refugees could be disguised members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

“I am putting the people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration, that if I win, if I win, they are going back, they are going back, I am telling you, they are going back,” Trump said.

His remarks came the same day Russian warplanes began air raids in Syria’s centre and north – their first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979.

“Look, if Russia wants to go in there, [it] would have been nice if we went in as a unified front, to be honest. But if Russia wants to go in there and knock out ISIS (ISIL) and maybe stabilise, this big migration with 200,000 people into the United States…” Trump later reiterated to CNN.

“If I win, I’m going to say it right now and I’ll say it to you, those 200,000 people – they have to know this and the world will hear it – are going back.

“We’re not going to accept 200,000 people that may be ISIS. We have no idea who they are. And I’m telling you now, they may come in through the weakness of (President Barack) Obama,” but would return to their homeland if Trump makes it to the White House, he said.

Millions of Syrians have been fleeing a civil war that has killed more than 250,000 people since March 2011.

But Trump questioned why Syrians were fleeing their country instead of staying and fighting.

Secretary of State John Kerry announced earlier this month that the US would significantly increase the number of refugees it takes in over the next two years.

So far this year it has taken in about 1,500 Syrian refugees.

Kerry said the US will increase the number of refugees it takes in by 15,000 over each of the next two years, bringing the total to 100,000 in 2017.

The US will accept 85,000 refugees from around the world next year, up from 70,000, he said. Many of them will be Syrians.

Black money: Government collects Rs 3,770 cr from 638 people

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Black money

New Delhi: Nearly 638 people have come out in open and have used a one-time compliance window for disclosing black money. An amount summing to Rs 3,770 crore has been declared, according to CBDT Chairman Anita Kapur on Thursday.

Kapur said that those who have declared have until December 31st, 2015 for payment of taxes and penalty.

The rush of black money declarants peaked at the Income Tax office in Delhi on Wednesday as the deadline for disclosure of wealth stashed abroad expired on September 30.

It added that tax at the rate of 30 per cent and penalty at the rate of 30 percent is to be paid by December 31, 2015.

The window, created under the new anti-Black money Act, saw a hectic rush on the last day yesterday as declarants made a beeline to meet the deadline at the only I-T office designated here for the task.

“Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 (the Act) has been enacted to deal with the menace of black money stashed abroad.

“The Act also provided for a compliance window for a limited period to persons who have undisclosed foreign assets which they had not disclosed for the purposes of Income-tax so far,” the statement added.

The compliance window opened on 1st July, 2015 and was till 30th of September 2015.

A stream of declarants, including from far off places like Rajasthan and Karnataka, walked into the only designated office in Delhi to make declarations before the closure of the one-time black money ‘compliance window’.

Long queues were seen throughout the day of people, mainly those who appeared to be Chartered Accountants or representatives of those who have undisclosed money and wealth abroad.

(Agencies)

Palestinian flag raised at UN for first time

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Flag hoisted in New York in a historic step, despite prior condemnation from Israel and the US.

The flag was raised in the rose garden after President Abbas delivered a speech to the UN General Assembly [Brian Chacon/Al Jazeera]

The flag was raised in the rose garden after President Abbas delivered a speech to the UN General Assembly [Brian Chacon/Al Jazeera]

by Al Jazeera

The Palestinian flag has for the first time been raised at the United Nations following an address delivered by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the UN General Assembly.

The flag was raised in the rose garden at 1:00pm local time (6:00pm GMT) on Wednesday as a large crowd of diplomats and reporters watched on.

Speaking to the crowd, Abbas dedicated the ceremony to “the martyrs, the prisoners and the wounded, and to those who gave their lives while trying to raise this flag”.

Hundreds of Palestinians assembled in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, where they watched the flag-raising on a large screen set up in Yasser Arafat Square.

“The mood is festive,” reported Al Jazeera’s Imtiaz Tyab, adding that “families sang along to nationalistic songs and waved the Palestinian flag”.

Having been strongly criticised by Israel, the move was also opposed by the United States.

Palestinians celebrated in the West Bank city of Ramallah as the Palestinian flag was raised at the United Nations for the first time in history [EPA]

In an op-ed published at the Huffington Post, Abbas called the flag-raising a “moment of hope” and called on the international community to recognise “the independence of the state of Palestine, peacefully resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict”.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Palestine Liberation Organisation Central Council member Mustafa Barghouti described the move as “an important symbolic step”.

“In essence, it will honour the many Palestinians who were killed by Israel while trying to raise that flag in the occupied Palestinian territories,” he said earlier in the day.

The General Assembly approved the resolution to raise the flag with an overwhelming majority voting in favour of it on September 10.

The motion passed with 119 votes in favour, while 45 countries abstained and eight voted against, among them Israel, the US and Australia.

But Barghouti also called on the Palestinian leadership to take several steps in order to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Barghouti said the PA should “declare the end of negotiations with Israel because the negotiations have dragged on forever”, arguing that Israel has used the peace process as a smokescreen to expand its settlements in the occupied territory in order to “end the idea of a Palestinian state”.

After cancelling the Oslo Accords and terminating security cooperation with the Israeli military, the PLO member said that the Palestinian leadership should “support popular resistance” and “encourage a world embargo against Israel”.

In 2012, the UNGA recognised Palestine as a “non-member observer state”, a position also held by the Vatican. That followed a failed push for full member state status a year earlier.

Tholfikar Swairjo, the Gaza-based spokesman of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that “anything that shows the world that we exist and that we’re present” is a “positive development”.

But focusing solely on using only diplomatic tools to achieve statehood “will result only in more ink on paper”, Swairjo told Al Jazeera. “The struggle for a democratic, independent and secular Palestine will continue on the ground against the Zionist project”.

Palestinians watch PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech to the UNGA on a large screen in East Jerusalem, the site of several clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in recent weeks [EPA]

Senior Hamas leader Ghazi al-Hamad said the flag-raising is “a positive step”, but added that “it’s not enough”.

The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank has focused too much on “symbolic acts”, Hamad told Al Jazeera, adding that only with unity between the West Bank and Gaza can Palestinians “confront the Israeli occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state”.

Hamas also called for Abbas to call off all agreements with Israel during his UNGA speech on Wednesday.

Hamad said that Palestinians were in a “dire situation” as Israeli settlements continue to rapidly expand and tensions soar at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem, where clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli forces have occurred on a near-daily basis in recent weeks.

Following the UNGA’s resolution to raise the flag earlier this month, Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, Ron Prosor, condemned the move as “a blatant attempt to hijack the UN”, calling for the resumption of direct negotiations between the PA and Israel.

State waives off interest on medium, long term loans of farmers

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H S Mahadeva Prasad

Bengaluru: The State government has waived the interest on medium and long-term loans borrowed by farmers from cooperative banks for the financial year 2015-16.

However, the government has rejected to waive off the loans amount itself.

Cooperation Minister H S Mahadeva Prasad on Wednesday in Bengaluru said that the government has also allowed farmers to defer for an year the repayment of loan installments for the said period.

The minister said the government has directed cooperative banks not to issue notices to farmers to repay loan installments and interest for the current year. The interest amount of Rs 296.52 crore is being borne by the government.

A total of 2.13 lakh farmers have obtained medium and long term loans to the tune of Rs 2,300 crore from cooperative institutions over the last few years and as many as 21 lakh farmers are paying zero interest to cooperative banks as they have raised loan only within Rs 3 lakh. Since 95 per cent of these farmers have repaid the loan, the Minister said that the question of waiving off interest did not arise.

(Agencies)

Hardik Patel announces formation of new group

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hardik-patel

New Delhi: Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader Hardik Patel on Wednesday announced the formation of a new group, Akhil Bhartiya Patel Navnirman Sena, with the aim to unite the Kurmi, Gujjar, Maratha and Patel communities.

Patel, who has been spearheading protests in Gujarat to demand reservations for the Patel community, said at a press conference here that the new organisation would try to mobilise support of these communities on the issue of reservation.

Akhilesh Katiyar will be the general secretary of ABPNS.

Katiyar was earlier with the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, which was led by Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha. The former was expelled from RLSP after he organised Patel’s first public meeting here.

Patel plans to organise a ‘Mahasabha’ (grand meeting) in the national capital next month to further his cause.

“The Akhil Bhartiya Patel Navnirman Sena will fight for the cause of farmers, labourers and youth of the country. We’ll organise a huge rally of all the communities from Delhi, Rajasthan and neighbouring states at Ramlila Maidan next month,” he said.

The Patel Navnirman Sena will organise a ‘Mahasammelan’ (grand conference) of five lakh women in Gujarat on October 4.

On October 11, another Mahasabha of 10 lakh Patidars will be organised in Madhya Pradesh.

Patel said he would fight for reservation in government jobs on the basis of castes.

Earlier, he had indicated that he would fight for reservation in jobs according to the economic condition of the candidate.

We are not breaking the unity of various communities, Patel said.

“We are working to unite people. Only the political parties think about fighting with each other. Patel community always thought about uniting everyone, including the Gujjars, Kurmis and other communities.”

(IANS)

India rejects Sharif’s ‘peace initiative’ to demilitarise Kashmir

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India-reject-kashmir-demeterialised

United Nations: India has rejected Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s “peace initiative” saying that de-terrorising Pakistan is the answer, not demilitarising Kashmir.

After raising the Kashmir issue at the General Assembly on Wednesday, Sharif proposed a four-point peace initiative for India that embraces demilitarising Kashmir, renouncing the use or threat of use of force, withdrawal from Siachen Glacier and formalising ceasefire along the Line of Control.

In a rapid response, External Affairs Ministry Spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted, “To de-militarise Kashmir is not the answer, to de-terrorise Pakistan is.”

“Peace can be achieved through dialogue, not disengagement,” Nawaz said in his address to the General Assembly. “Cooperation, not confrontation, should define our relationship.”

But before proposing the peace initiative, Nawaz made the acrimonious reference to Kashmir, equating it with Palestinian and portraying it as a religious issue.

“Muslims are suffering across the world: Palestinians and Kashmiris oppressed by foreign occupation,” he said.

“The international community must redress these injustices against the Muslim people.”

Swarup replied in a Tweet, “Pak(istan) PM gets foreign occupation right, occupier wrong. We urge early vacation of Pak(istan) occupied Kashmir.”

Just after trying to internationalise Kashmir, Nawaz tried to couch the peace proposal as a bilateral move since India’s condition is that the Kashmir dispute is a bilateral one and there should be no outside involvement. However, it did included a request to increase the UN Millitary Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).

Although, Nawaz tried to strike a conciliatory note with his proposal and its phrasing, he insisted elsewhere in his speech on “consultations with Kashmiris, who are an integral part of the dispute.”

New Delhi considers Kashmir an integral part of India and any such move an interference in internal affairs and counterproductive to a dialogue. Recent attempts at holding bilateral talks have been sabotaged by Pakistan bringing in the Kashmir question or engaging Kashmiri separatists.

Sharif referred to the recent ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and asserted, “Wisdom dictates that our immediate neighbour refrains from fomenting instability in Pakistan.”

He said that “the two countries should address and resolve the causes of tension and take all possible measures to avert further escalation” and for this he asserted he was making the peace initiative proposal.

These were the four points in his proposal:

– Pakistan and India formalise and respect the 2003 understanding for a complete ceasefire on the Line of Control in Kashmir with increased monitoring by the UNMOGIP

– Pakistan and India reaffirm that they will not resort to the use or the threat of use of force under any circumstances.

– Demilitarise Kashmir

– Unconditional mutual withdrawal from Siachen Glacier,

“An easing of threat perceptions through such peace efforts will make it possible for Pakistan and India to agree on a broad range of measures to address the peril posed by offensive and advanced weapons systems,” Sharif said.

However, beyond the international publicity that Nawaz hopes his announcement could generate for him, his initiative has internal contradictions.

As Swarup said in his tweet, demilitarising Kashmir would not be possible unless there was an end to terrorists backed by elements in the Pakistani government crossing over, which would be an unlikely development.

Similarly, the border tensions have been a result of cross-border terrorism.

Nawaz did not offer any credible solutions to terrorism directed against India, including a crackdown on anti-India terrorists or handing over to India those wanted for terror in India.

Swarup noted in a Tweet, “Pakistan’s instability arises from its breeding of terrorists. Blaming neighbors is not a solution.”

Nawaz tried to portray his country as “the primary victim of terrorism” and said, “We will fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, irrespective of who their sponsors are.” He referred to Operation Zarb-e-Azb, which, he said, “has made substantial progress in cleansing our country of all terrorists and will conclude only when our objective has been accomplished.”

On Monday, Afghanistan CEO Abdullah Abdullah, however, accused Pakistan on being a sanctuary for terrorists and of going back on its word to stop terrorism against his country.

Nawaz said Islamabad supported Security Council reforms. He did not make any direct mention of India’s quest for a permanent seat. But in a snide remark that can be interpreted as directed against India, he said what was wanted was “not a Council, which is an expanded club of the powerful and privileged.”

(IANS)

Muslim man “mistaken” for Pakistani terrorist lynched to death near temple

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kanpur mob lynching

New Delhi: In a shocking incident, an Muslim man was lynched to death in Kanpur’s Jana Village by a group of communal forces without any provocation and called him a ‘Pakistani terrorist’.

Few days ago, a man wearing a jeans a shirt was initially questioned by a group of men after they came to know that he was a Muslim.

The frenzied mob started beating him up because he didn’t utter a word and wasn’t able to explain his motive of being at the village.

The 42-year-old victim screamed “Allah, Allah”, while he was attacked by at least 15 people, following which one of the mob members said he could be a Pakistani terrorist trying to hide in the village.

The man was taken and assaulted mercilessly outside a temple. He was then dragged towards a bank of Ganga River and drowned to death.
Nine persons have been arrested by police for carrying out such a brutal act. However, a few locals allege the man was killed by neighbouring villagers and the ones held were innocent.

The incident comes amidst uproar over the killing of 50-year-old Muslim man by communal forces near Delhi over rumours that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home.

(Agencies)

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