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BJP-SAD alliance sweeps Chandigarh MC poll

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Chandigarh: The BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal alliance today attained clear majority in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls winning 20 out of the 26 wards.

BJP won in 20 wards, rival Congress 4 and Independent one, an election office spokesman said here.

Prominent among those who won were BJP Mayor Arun Sood, and Congress stalwart Devinder Singh Babla.

The overall polling percentage in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation election was 59.54 per cent.

Election to 26 wards of the Municipal Corporation were seen as a litmus test for BJP and Congress post demonetisation.

Total 122 candidates, including 67 Independents, contested the polls.The total number of voters were 5,07,627, including 2,37,374 women voters.

Both Congress and BJP contested all 26 wards, while BSP had also put up candidates in the fray from 17 wards.

The Municipal Corporation has 36 members, of which 26 are elected councillors, nine are nominated councillors and one is an MP (ex-officio member of the House).

In the last House, BJP has 15 councillors, Congress has nine, BSP has one and one is Independent.

Congress had made demonetisation a major issue in the polls, with its city unit leaders saying the move was implemented without any “application of mind” and had put the public to “great hardships”.

(PTI)

Demonetisation turned people into fakir: Mamata Banerjee

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Bankura: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said the Modi government did not understand the hardship faced by the people who were made “fakir” after demonetisation.

“Realising the people’s difficulties, Venezuala withdrew the decision on demonetisation, but the Modi government doesn’t listen to anyone. It is a deaf and dumb government,” she told a public meeting here.

“The common people understand the problem, but the Prime Minister does not. We don’t know when he will realise.

By that time the country will be in the grip of a femine,” she added.

“The people can’t withdraw their own money. We don’t know whether that is safe”, Banerjee said.

Slamming the Centre for promoting a digital economy, the TMC chief said, “they are saying buy this app, buy this mobile. Don’t listen to them. Else you will become fakir”.

She further hit out at Modi for dubbing himself a “fakir” and said that the Prime Minister used to describe himself as a “chaiwala” the before the Lok Sabha elections and claimed that now he has turned into a crorepati.

“What is the definition of fakir,” Banerjee asked.

“Money for the 100 days work should not be paid through Paytm in lieu of commission. From ATM to Paytm. Govt must stop taking commission. Centre cannot dictate people where to keep their money,” she said.

In an apparent reference to BJP, the chief minister alleged, “they are trying to divide the people in the name of religion when they cannot provide food to them. This will not be tolerated”.

She also instructed the state administration to deal with such attempts firmly.

“As long as I am alive, I’ll continue to work for the people. Political parties exist because of the people.

Without them we are nothing,” Banerjee said.

She said a water supply project “Jal Tirtha” worth Rs 1,100 crore had been taken up to irrigate 32,000 hectares of farmland in the district.

“We started a university in Bankura. We have launched health centres, polytechnic colleges and Karma Tirthas here,” she added.

(Agencies)

Government faces flak over new army chief, defends decision

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New Delhi: The appointment of Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat as the next Army Chief came under attack on Sunday with the opposition parties criticising the move for the generally followed seniority norm having been ignored while the government defended the decision, saying he was “best suited” for the job.

The Congress and the CPI questioned Rawat’s appointment and termed it “unprecedented”.

“We would like to ask the Prime Minister what was the compelling reason why this supersession has taken place. Why the principle of seniority, which has held now for almost two decades, was not respected,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told a press conference here.

“Is it that these officers who have been superseded were unqualified in any manner or is it whimsical cherry-picking which has been done by the BJP-led government,” he asked.

The government, however, insisted that Rawat was “best suited” for the job.

“He was found the best suited among the Lt. Generals, to deal with emerging challenges, including a reorganised and restructured military force in the north, continuing terrorism and proxy war from the west, and the situation in the northeast,” a source in the Defence Ministry said.

The appointment of Lt. Gen. Rawat has ignored the seniority of Eastern Army Commander Lt. Gen. Praveen Bakshi and Southern Army Commander Lt. Gen. P.M. Hariz who have spent longer years in service.

Tewari said: “Not only is this supersession unprecedented, probably this has happened for the first time that three senior Generals (Commanding different armies) have been superseded”.

“It is not the first time this government has done this. The appointment or the non-appointment of a full-time Enforcement Director, the ad-hoc appointment in the CBI, which has been questioned by the Supreme Court, is an extremely serious matter which shows this government has scant regard for institutional integrity,” the Congress leader said.

“Why is there a delay in the notification for the next Chief Justice of India,” he asked.

Chief Justice T.S. Thakur is retiring on January 3. The government is yet to announce the next Chief Justice.

Similarly, the Communist Party of India also accused the Narendra Modi government of creating controversies over appointments on the top posts and advised that army should not be dragged into “controversies”.

“This has become controversial and all these are in public domain… it is unfortunate. The Army should not be drawn into controversy,” party leader D. Raja told IANS.

The Bharatiya Janata Party hit back at the Congress and the CPI for questioning the appointment, saying armed forces should not be dragged into political debate for political gains.

“We condemn the Congress’s repeated attempts at dragging the armed forces into political debate to suit its narrow political ends,” BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narsimha Rao told IANS.

“There are some red lines that Congress and Left parties should not cross in national interest which is supreme. But the Congress has been guilty of doing it repeatedly for political purposes,” he said.

Lt. Gen. Rawat was commissioned in the Fifth Battalion of the 11 Gorkha Rifles in December 1978 from the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, where he was awarded the ‘Sword of Honour’.

He has commanded an infantry battalion along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a Rashtriya Rifles Sector and an infantry division in the Kashmir Valley.

He also has vast experience in high altitude warfare and counter-insurgency operations.

(IANS)

Hyderabad blasts: 5 IM operatives including Yasin Bhatkal sentenced to death

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Hyderabad: Five senior operatives of banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen were today awarded death penalty by a special NIA court here in the February 2013 Hyderabad blasts case.

This is the first case that any operative of the IM has been convicted.

On December 13, the court convicted the five members, including IM co-founder Mohd Ahmed Sidibapa alias Yasin Bhatkal, Pakistani national Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Tahaseen Akhtar alias Monu and Ajaz Shaikh, who are at present in judicial custody and lodged in the Cherlapally Central Prison here.

Eighteen people were killed and 131 injured in two deadly explosions in Dilsukhnagar, a crowded shopping area in the city, on February 21, 2013.

On November 7, the final arguments had concluded in the case before the NIA special court.

Since IM founder Riyaz Bhatkal, the prime accused in the case, is absconding, the trial was split up against him.

The court convicted Yasin Bhatkal and others under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The NIA special court, after hearing the defence and prosecution’s arguments, pronounced the quantum of sentence.

According to NIA, Riyaz Bhatkal arranged for explosive substances and directed Asadullah Akhtar and Zia-ur-Rahman at Mangalore to receive the same.

After receiving the explosive materials and the money sent by Riyaz through hawala and money transfer channels, Asadullah Akhtar and Waqas reached Hyderabad and joined Tahseen Akhtar, who was already hiding there, it had said.

Together they prepared two IEDs after procuring the other required materials as well as two cycles for mounting the IEDs from Hyderabad, the agency had said.

After preparation of the IEDs on February 21, 2013, the accused mounted two bombs on two bicycles. They had planted them in two separate places in Dilsukhnagar which resulted in powerful explosions, it had said.

(PTI)

Drought in Karnataka: Loss estimated at Rs 25,000 crore

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Bengaluru: Karnataka has incurred an estimated loss of Rs 25,000 crore this year due to severe drought, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said here today.

“According to rules, we can seek relief of Rs 4,702 crore,” Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying in Mysuru by an official release.

“Also due to floods in certain parts, the loss is to the tune of Rs 386 crore. We have sought relief from the central government. Other than that, the state government has also released money for drought relief,” he said.

Karnataka is reeling under successive years of drought, and the state government has already declared 139 talukas in 29 districts as drought-hit.

Stating that several measures have been taken by the government to tackle the situation, Siddaramaiah said District Deputy Commissioners have been directed to take measures in providing drinking water, fodder for cattle and jobs for the needy.

He said that to monitor the measures being undertaken, four cabinet sub-committees had been constituted, which have been directed to visit every district.

The government had on December 6 formed four cabinet sub-committees to study and conduct review of relief works being undertaken in the drought-affected areas of the state.

The committees, one each for revenue divisions of Bengaluru, Kalburgi, Belagavi and Mysuru, has four to five ministers as its members and Secretaries or Principal Secretaries of Agriculture, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Water Resources and Revenue Department as coordination officers.

Through a memorandum, the state had requested the Centre to provide Rs 4,702.54 crore for drought relief measures, following which a team of officials had visited the affected areas.

The state government had earlier said that it released Rs 60 lakh each to drought-affected Assembly constituencies for immediate relief measures.

(Agencies)

Deposits of over Rs 5K in old notes allowed only once until Dec 30

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New Delhi: Old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in excess of Rs 5000 can be deposited only once per account until December 30th 2016, the Ministry of Finance has said.

RBI imposed stiff conditions on deposit of old notes exceeding Rs 5,000.

Credit of deposits in such cases will be accepted only after receiving a satisfactory explanation. The tenderer will be asked as to why this couldn’t be done earlier, according to reports.

(Agencies)

Pak infant cured of rare ailment at Bengaluru’s Narayana Health City

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Bengaluru: Two-and-a-half-year-old Pakistani infant, Zeenia underwent a successful transplant for Hemaphagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare disease in which bone marrow produces some abnormal cells which eat away the normal cells, resulting in high fever, low blood counts, liver and spleen enlargement at Bengaluru’s Narayana Health City hospital.

Meanwhile her eight-month-old brother, Rayan has become the youngest bone marrow donor in India by donating healthy bone marrow stem cells to his elder sister.

Calling it a potentially life threatening disorder, doctors said the only cure for this condition was bone marrow transplant. Zeenia was also diagnosed to have partial albinism since birth as well, they added.

“After we diagnosed the girl was suffering from HLH, we discovered that her brother was Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) match for her,” said Dr Sunil Bhat, Senior Consultant and Head of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant at Narayana Health City hospital.

“As the donor is just eight months old to collect the adequate dosage, he was required to undergo the donation process twice at a gap of only few weeks,” Dr Bhat said.

“By using small marrow extraction needles and with the assistance of a team of anesthetists and other members, we have successfully extracted enough marrow which helped cure Zeenia. Rayan has not only saved his sister, he also has the unique distinction of being the youngest marrow donor in India,” he added.

Doctors said the procedure was conducted in October and today Zeenia is cured of her “deadly disease” and ready to leave for Pakistan to lead a normal life. They have advised her parents about certain follow-ups that Zeenia needs to undergo after going back home.

The doctors also said Rayan was doing “exceptionally” well and fine.

Zeenia had earlier undergone treatment at an armed forces hospital in Rawalpindi.

Stating that there was “general fear factor” when they landed in India, Zeenia’s father Zia Ulla said his daughter was now fine and recovering.

“From the time we landed following immigration I would say it was a very pleasant surprise … everyone was very fine and friendly,” he said.

Expressing similar sentiments, Zeenia’s mother Farzeen said it was very difficult for them to decide on bone marrow donation from her eight-month old son. “Obviously both children are important for us. When we got to know that they are match siblings and it was a promising option, we decided to take risk,” she said.

(Agencies)

Narendra Modi snatched money from poor for rich: Rahul Gandhi

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Margao: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed to have “busted” the demonetization myth saying it was an ingenious “method” devised by the “super planner” Narendra Modi to “snatch money from the poor and channelize it to the super rich”.

Speaking at Fatorda at the concluding function of the Jan Jagruti Yatra organized by the state unit of the Congress party, Gandhi in his speech that lasted over 30 minutes dwelt largely on the demonetization issue terming it as an “attack” on the common man.

“This demonetization drama is not an exercise against black money. It’s an attack on 99% of honest Indians, an attack on the cash economy, an attack on powerless people of India,” Gandhi said.

Accusing the prime minister of not allowing him to speak in Parliament for nearly a month, Gandhi proffered to unravel the truth behind black money and demonetisation.

“All cash is not black money, and all black money is not cash,” Gandhi said, further explaining that black money is mostly in the hands of “those 50 families, those 1 percent of India’s population” and not with the rest 99 percent of Indians. Without naming the 50 families, Gandhi said “these are the people who fly to foreign land alongwith Modi and strike business deals.”

“Only six percent of black money is in cash; 94 percent of black money is in real estate, gold, and in overseas banks. And Narendra Modi knows it too well. In the last election (campaign), Modi didn’t speak of black money. He had then said that most black money was stashed away in overseas banks, and that he would bring it back and deposit Rs 15 lakh in every Indian citizen’s account. I want to ask how many of you have got those promised Rs 15 lakhs?” Gandhi questioned.

He further dared Modi to place before Parliament the list of black money account holders provided by banks in Switzerland to the government of India. “Place the list of those ‘chors’ in Parliament,” he demanded.

Criticising Modi’s claims of demonetisation being a “surgical strike” on corruption and black money, Gandhi likened the move to “fire bombing” tactics deployed in the second world war.

“Modi’s fire bombing has destroyed India. He has set the homes of the poor on fire,” Gandhi said, adding that while fishing and tourism industry in Goa have been finished, similar was the fate of the automobile industry in Pune, cycle industry in Punjab, leather industry in Nagpur and carpet industry in Mirzapur.

And pray, why did you resort to this fire bombing? Gandhi asked before venturing to explain the reason.

“To save the eight lakh crores of rupees that is in the hands of super rich people,” Gandhi said referring to the bad loans marked as non performing assets by the banks.

“When a poor farmer is unable to repay his small loan, you take action against him to recover the money. And when these super rich people fail to repay the eight lakh crores, you call it NPAs and waive it off. Because of this, banks have crashed… So Modi came out with a novel idea to revive the banks. As you cannot recover the money from these super rich families, the best way is to snatch money from the poor and give it to the banks. Garibon se paisa khincho, amiron ko paisa sincho. That was the motive behind demonetisation,” Gandhi elaborated.

Picking holes in the cashless economy propounded by Modi, Gandhi said that 5-6 percent of the amount deducted in every digital transaction would again land in the hands of “those one percent of the people.” He demanded that cashless economy should not deal a blow to the common man.

(Agencies)

Spiked notes worth Rs 1.45 cr seized in Kolkata

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Kolkata: Demonetised notes worth Rs 1.45 crore were seized here on early Friday and three persons were arrested in this connection, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, police intercepted the three persons carrying demonetised notes when they were about to enter a building in the Mangoe Lane area of central Kolkata.

“The accused have revealed some names during interrogation and we are trying to identify those persons,” said Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime, Vishal Garg.

Meanwhile, running out of patience, angry customers in queues allegedly vandalised two banks in West Bengal’s Malda and North Dinajpur districts, police said.

(IANS)

Petrol price hiked by Rs 2.21/litre; diesel by Rs 1.79

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New Delhi: Petrol price was today hiked by Rs 2.21 a litre and diesel by Rs 1.79 per litre, excluding local levies.

The price revision was to come into effect yesterday, but was deferred possibly to save the demonetisation-battered government from any blushes in Parliament. The revised rates will be effective from midnight tonight.

This increase excludes local levies. The actual hike after considering VAT would be Rs 2.84 per litre in Delhi for petrol and Rs 2.11 for diesel.

After the hike, petrol in Delhi will cost Rs 68.94 per litre from midnight tonight as against Rs 66.10 currently, said Indian Oil Corp, the nation’s largest fuel retailer.Similarly, a litre of diesel will cost Rs 56.68 as compared to Rs 54.57 now.

IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) revise rates on 1st and 16th of every month based on average international price in the previous fortnight.

But an increase that was warranted because of a rise in international gasoline (petrol) price to USD 62.82 per barrel from USD 57.43 and that of diesel to USD 60.97 from USD 56.79 was not announced yesterday.

Industry sources said the deferment was because Parliament was in session and any hike would have added to the discomfort of the government, particularly when it is facing heat over hardships caused by currency demonetisation.

The Winter Session of Parliament ended this afternoon. Rates were last revised on December 1 when petrol price was hiked by a marginal 13 paise a litre, but diesel rates were cut by 12 paise.

Prior to the December 1 price change, rates were hiked by Rs 1.46 a litre in the case of petrol and Rs 1.53 per litre for diesel, excluding local levies, on November 16.

“The current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and Rupee-US Dollar exchange rate warrant increase in selling price of petrol and diesel, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision,” IOC said in a statement.

It said the movement of prices in the international oil market and foreign exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes.

(Agencies)

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