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Heavy rain disrupts normal life again in Tamil Nadu & Puducherry

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Heavy rain Tamil Nadu

Chennai: Heavy rainfall inundated parts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, and Puducherry on Tuesday, severely affecting daily life. The weather office also forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall for Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and neighbouring Puducherry on Wednesday, reported PTI.

A holiday has been declared on Tuesday for educational institutions in these districts as well as in Puducherry. In Chennai, the rain resulted in water-logging in several areas, while flight operations were also hit due to the inclement weather conditions.

Chennai Collector E Sundaravalli said there was a possibility of increasing discharge of excess water from Chembarambakkam lake, a key reservoir which provides drinking water to the city, into Adyar river. With the discharge likely to go up, the collector asked residents living along the banks of Adyar river to move to safer areas.

(Agencies)

Malicious onslaught launched by govt, says Chidambaram after raid on son’s firms

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Chidambaram-karthi

New Delhi: Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday accused the government of a “malicious onslaught” launched by it against his family and said if it wants to target him it should do so directly and not harass friends of his son Karti.

“If the government wishes to target me, they should do so directly, not harass friends of my son who carry on their own businesses and have nothing to do with politics,” he said in a statement shortly after reports of Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate searches on some premises connected with Karti’s friends.

“My family and I are quite prepared to face the malicious onslaught launched by the government,” Chidambaram said.

The senior Congress leader said he was travelling and he had been informed about searches conducted on certain firms in Chennai allegedly linked to his son. “We have made it clear, repeatedly, that no member of my family has any equity or economic interest in any of the firms that are being targetted.

“They are companies that are professionally managed and are capable of answering any questions that may be put to them by the authorities. I condemn the attempt to link them to my son and harass them on that ground,” he said.

Chidambaram alleged that the agenda of the government was being implemented by an officer of the Enforcement Directorate who has a pending dispute with the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

“Orders in his case were apparently passed during the term of my predecessor. He met me and wanted me to intervene in his favour. I declined and I told him that I cannot reverse orders that were issued during the term of my predecessor.

“The change of government has given him an opportunity to misuse his powers to harass my son and his friends,” he said.

(Agencies)

Will step in if Centre obstructs Delhi Janlokpal Bill: Anna Hazare

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Anna-Hazare

Ralegan Siddhi: Social activist Anna Hazare today said he will step in if the NDA government at the Centre puts obstructions in the way of Janlokpal Bill, introduced in Delhi Assembly by the AAP government.

The anti-corruption crusader was talking to reporters after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Kumar Vishwas and Sanjay Singh met him at his native Ralegan Siddhi village in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district to brief him on the salient features of the Janlokpal Bill, tabled in Delhi Assembly by the Arvind Kejriwal government yesterday.

Hazare said that during his discussions with the AAP leaders, he expressed apprehension that the Centre may pose obstructions as the legislation provides for probing corruption in Delhi, where the central government offices are located.

“If that is the case then I assured them of my full support. I told them I am with them,” Hazare said when asked if he would launch an agitation on the issue.

He said the central government lacks the will to fight corruption and there should be no “parochial attitude” on the issue of dealing with graft.

Hazare and some top activists of his team had in 2012 parted ways with the Kejriwal-led group, opposing their plans to form a political party, after a roller-coaster ride of 18 months in which they came together to run a high-steam anti-graft movement. One of its prominent poll promises, the AAP emphasised that the Bill is similar to its original 2011 version.

It will empower the proposed ombudsman to act against any public servant in the national capital, including those of the Centre.

While the draft bill of 2015 states that no prosecution or legal proceedings can be initiated against the Janlokpal or any staff member of the Janlokpal office, AAP leaders said the process of impeachment will be applied for removal of any member of the Lokpal.

The Bill has to be cleared by the Lieutenant Governor before it becomes a law.

Mining baron Janardhana Reddy gets bail

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Janardhan Reddy

Bengaluru: Mining baron and former BJP minister G Janardhan Reddy was granted bail by the Lokayukta Special Court on Monday in connection with an illegal mining case.

Justice V.G. Bopaiah accepted the bail plea on the condition that Reddy would give two sureties and a bond for Rs. 5 lakh.

The court last week sent Reddy to judicial custody till December 3, when he was produced before it by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Reddy was arrested on November 20 under the Provisions of Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988 and the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act of 1957.

A CBI team in 2011 had arrested the former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy in Bellary, on charges of illegal mining operations in the Reddys’ Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) in Andhra Pradesh. He had secured anticipatory bail in 13 cases.

After spending three years and four months in Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara Prison, Reddy was granted conditional bail by the Supreme Court in January 2015.

(Agencies)

Petrol cheaper by 58 paise, diesel 25 paise

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petrol-price

New Delhi: The price of petrol was today cut by 58 paise per litre and that of diesel by 25 paise, reversing the trend of increasing rates, on global cues.

Petrol will cost Rs 60.48 per litre from mid-night tonight in Delhi as against Rs 60.70 a litre currently.

A litre of diesel will cost Rs 46.55 from tomorrow compared with the Rs 46.80 now, said Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation’s biggest fuel retailer.

The price cut more than reverses the hike of 36 paise a litre in petrol rates effected on November 16, the first increase in five months. Similarly, in the case of diesel, it reverses the three rounds of hikes since October — the last being 87 paise a litre on November 16.

“The current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and rupee-dollar exchange rate warrants a decrease in prices, the impact of which is being passed on to consumers with this price revision,” IOC said in a statement here.

Prior to the November 16 hike, petrol price had been slashed on four occasions — by Rs 2.43 on August 1, Rs 1.27 on August 16, Rs 2 on September 1 and 50 paise on November 1.

Diesel rates were not changed on November 1, but hiked by 95 paise on October 16 and 50 paise on October 1. Rates of diesel were last cut by 50 paise on September 1.

State-owned fuel retailers — IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) — revise petrol and diesel prices on 1st and 16th of every month based on average imported cost and rupee-dollar exchange rate in the previous fortnight.

“The movement of prices in the international oil market and INR-USD exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes,” the IOC statement added.

(PTI)

BJP MPs asked to avoid making provocative statements

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Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

New Delhi: BJP MPs were today asked to avoid making provocative statements amid the debate in Parliament over the issue of intolerance where controversial comments by some party leaders, including ministers, have come in handy for the opposition in its attack on the government.

In the first parliamentary party meeting during the Winter session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told the members that provocative statements are being used by the anti-BJP forces to deflect the attention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development agenda.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said members were also briefed about the recent elections, including one in Bihar where BJP suffered a big defeat, and the need to work to spread the party ideology was stressed.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the meeting that the economic growth of 7.4 per cent in the last quarter was a positive sign for the country and will help the government take development to the poor.

“MPs were told to speak with understanding and decorum. There is a need to avoid controversy… At a time when the Prime Minister is pushing ahead with his development agenda, many people are unable to digest it and any misstep will allow anti-BJP forces to work it to their benefit. We should avoid making provocative statements,” Naqvi said, quoting Naidu.

He said the debate on the issue of intolerance was “unmasking” those who were misleading the country and added that the party MPs were told that communal riots were controlled under the BJP-led NDA government and there was social harmony everywhere.

The “constructive discussion” between Modi and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also flagged in the meeting. We have all hopes that developmental issues will be discussed and passed, Naqvi said, apparently referring to the GST bill.

Naqvi said the parliamentary party, which includes MPs of both the Houses, expressed happiness over BJP’s success in local elections in a number of states.

Asked about Bihar results, he said the party had tried hard. “We respect the people’s mandate. But no mandate is final.”

Speaking on the briefing in the meeting over intolerance debate, he said sarcastically that those protesting over the issue include many “great intellectuals” who had issued an appeal to the people to vote against Modi during the Lok Sabha poll.

People rejected their appeal but they have not able to get over it, he said.

Jaitley told the members that the economic growth at a good rate in India was a happy development at a time when it was weakening across the world.

(IANS)

No leads in Church Street blast, even a year later: NIA

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church street

Bengaluru: It has been a nearly a year since an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) killed a woman while three others were injured on the Church Street in the state capital; however the National Investigating Agency (NIA) has said that the Bengaluru police had not given them any clue that would help in getting a breakthrough in the case.

Reports have stated that there was no progress in investigations even though suspects were questioned.

The city police conducted initial investigations and handed over details to the NIA, but officials say that it was not enough; the CCTV footage recovered did not provide clear details on the suspects.

It was on December 28, 2014 that the IED explosion at Church Street resulted in the death of Bhavani Devi (38), native of Chennai and injured Karthik, Sandeep and Vinay.

Several officials were instructed to work on the case, but details of nearly a lakh calls over a period of five months did not yield any results.

Later, city Police Commissioner M N Reddi urged the government to hand over the case to the NIA as they felt there was a possible involvement of inter-state terror groups and on May 20, 2015, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recommended the same.

Though the NIA officials worked closely with the police, they met a dead end. An official said that it was not known which organization had carried out the attack and none had claimed responsibility.

(Agencies)

Ruckus in Lok Sabha as CPI-M nails Rajnath’s ‘first Hindu ruler after 800 years’ remark

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Rajnath-Salim

New Delhi: There was uproar in the Lok Sabha on Monday after CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim targetted Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for allegedly describing Prime Minister as India’s ‘first Hindu ruler after 800 years’.

“I was quoting from a magazine. If Rajnath Singh is denying it, then let him send a legal notice to the publication,” said Salim.

“Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that for first time in 800 years, a Hindu has become India’s PM,” he added.

Salim further quoted Rajnath Singh, as saying in that article, that “after Prithviraj Chauhan, we have a Hindu ruler after 800 years.”

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Saugata Roy said, “It is true that notice should be given. Outlook magazine is dated November 16, two weeks have passed. If it was not true, home minister should have taken note and issued a denial letter. Why did he not do it?

The Home Minister, on his part, expressed his disappointment over the CPI (M) leader’s remark, saying he has never been hurt as much as today in his entire parliamentary career.

“If a Home Minister gives such a statement, then, he should not be in such a position,” he added.

The Lok Sabha is presently holding a debate on the situation arising out of incidents of intolerance in the country under rule 193.

(Agencies)

Modi meets Sharif at CoP 21 in Paris

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Nawaz Sharif Narendra Modi

Paris: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif as world leaders converged here for the inauguration of the Conference of Parties (CoP) 21 climate summit.

“PM @narendramodi meets PM Nawaz Sharif at COP 21 in Paris,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted along with a picture of the two leaders shaking hands.

Earlier, French President Francois Hollande welcomed Modi at the summit venue here.

“On a chilly November morning, Modi is welcomed by President Hollande,” Swarup said in another tweet.

Modi will address the opening session of CoP 21 on Monday evening after inaugurating an Indian pavilion.

Modi, who arrived in Paris on Sunday, is also scheduled to hold several bilateral meetings, following the opening of the plenary session by Hollande.

Modi’s bilateral meetings include one with US President Barack Obama.

The Indian pavilion showcases the country’s harmony with nature, environment and commitment to mitigating climate change.

Modi is to launch a 122-country solar alliance with Hollande.

“President @fhollande and I will jointly host a meeting of International Solar Alliance,” Modi said ahead of his departure from New Delhi on Sunday.

Modi will also attend ‘Mission Innovation’ hosted by Obama.

(Agencies)

SC dismisses PIL on Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship row

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Rahul-Gandhi

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea seeking a direction to CBI to register a case against Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for allegedly declaring himself as a British national before company law authorities there.

A bench comprising Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justice Amitava Roy questioned the “authenticity of the document” attached with the PIL and the manner in which the papers were procured.

“Can we start making roving inquiries,” the bench asked while turning the petition as “frivolous”.

Earlier the apex court had refused urgent hearing on a plea filed by lawyer M L Sharma.

Recently, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has alleged that the Congress Vice President has claimed himself to be a British national before the authorities in connection with incorporation of a firm.

(PTI)

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