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Congress attacks Subramanian Swamy’s cavalcade with eggs, ink

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subramanian swamy

Kanpur: Congress workers today tried to stop the cavalcade of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy here and allegedly threw eggs, tomatoes and ink on it.

Police used mild force to disperse the protesters in which some of them received minor injuries.

BJP district President Surendra Maithani said Swamy’s cavalcade was on its way to VSSD college from circuit house around 11 AM for a seminar on global terrorism when protesters threw eggs, tomatoes, ink and garbage on it at Narwana Chowk.

Congress district President Harprakash Agnihotri led the protest of his party workers.

Maithani alleged that police and the district administration were informed prior to Swamy’s visit but no security arrangements were made.

(Agencies)

JNU sedition row: Another student surrenders

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ashutoshkumar

New Delhi: Ashutosh Kumar, a student on the run in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sedition case has surrendred before the Delhi police on Saturday.

Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, two of the students wanted in the sedition case had earlier surrendered on Tuesday night. Ashutosh has been sent to police custody for questioning.

Anant Prakash and Rama Naga are two more of the JNU students who are wanted by police after being a part of the pro-Afzal Guru event in univeristy campus raising anti-India slogans.

Kanhaiya Kumar, the President of JNU students union was arrested on February 12 and since then is in police custody. He’s lodged in Tihar jail with top security after a group of lawyers beat him up while being produced at the court. Deputy superintendents are supposed meet Kumar twice a day with his food being checked by additional inspector-general (prisons) Mukesh Prasad.

(Agencies)

Shiv Sena activist assaults woman cop

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Shiv Sena

Mumbai: A Shiv Sena member who was found violating traffic rules by a woman traffic constable was arrested after he abused, slapped and punched her.

The incident reportedly happened in Mumbai’s Thane where the constable found Shashikant Kalgude talking on his phone while driving. She was on duty under the Eastern Express Highway flyover near Nitin Junction when she noticed Kalgude talking on the phone and driving. She gestured him to stop, but he tried to drive away. He stopped when she came in front of the SUV.

Sources say that passersby did not intervene. Finally, it was an advocate, Pratik Pawar who stopped Kalgude and took him to the Naupada police station where the constable, who was bleeding badly, registered a case and the accused was arrested.

Meanwhile, Aadithya Thackery, the President of Yuva Sena, Shiv Sena’s youth wing tweeted the party’s statement saying that the incident was highly disgraceful and the accused was not a current member of the party.

(Agencies)

Smriti Irani resorted to ‘blatant lies’ in Parliament, says Rohith Vemula’s mom

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Radhika Vemula

New Delhi: Dalit student Rohith Vemula’s mother on Friday launched a scathing attack on HRD minister Smriti Irani, accusing her of resorting to “blatant lies” while talking in Parliament about her son’s suicide and that “life imprisonment” will not be enough for her and others “responsible” for his death.

Radhika Vemula, flanked by her other son Raja, said BJP will be “decimated to the ground” if Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not take any action against Irani and her ministerial colleague Bandaru Dattatreya who had written multiple letters to her seeking action against Rohith, alleging anti-national activities.

“Irani, this is not a small screen to act, this is real life. Bring out the facts, don’t fabricate them. How many parents you would like to suffer. Irani has lied multiple times while speaking on the issue in Parliament. Why has action not been taken against her?” she said in a news conference.

Speaking in Parliament, Irani had on Wednesday tried to deflect criticism and mounted a strident attack on the opposition accusing it of “politicizing” the PhD scholar’s death.

She had said that the committee which acted against Rohith had a dalit representative and that doctors were not allowed to revive him after he was found hanging.

Rohith’s brother Raja dubbed Irani’s comments as “blatant lies”, saying he reached the campus by 8.30pm and saw police and doctors where his body was kept.

“Even life imprisonment will not be enough for the ministers, vice-chancellor and the ABVP activists who were responsible for my son’s death. BJP will be decimated to the ground if Modi does not address the issues. We demand formation of an SIT to probe the case,” Radhika said.

Rohith’s friend Prashant, who was also expelled by the Hyderabad University, cited minutes of the executive council meeting of Hyderabad University, claiming that action was taken against them “in response” to communication from the HRD ministry to not allow the students to continue academic activities.

26-year-old Rohith was found hanging at a hostel room in the university on January 17, days after punitive action was taken against him and four other students for allegedly attacking an ABVP functionary.

Students and Rohith’s family have been alleging that Irani and Dattatreya had forced the university to take action against him and others.

The duty doctor at the University of Hyderabad on Thursday contradicted Irani’s claim that no doctor was allowed near the body to revive him.

Prashant said Irani must be punished for misleading the nation and giving a false statement in Parliament which is “an offence” under the Constitution.

(Agencies)

I was beaten up, injured in court before police, says Kanhaiya

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kanhaiya-kumar-jnu

New Delhi: JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar has told a Supreme Court-appointed lawyers’ probe panel that he was beaten up, pushed to the ground and injured by men in lawyers’ robes before the police, when he was brought to the Patiala House court premises on February 17.

“When the police brought me inside the court’s gate, a mob of men in lawyers’ robes attacked me. It appeared as if they were ready to attack and they were calling others also. I was assaulted.

“The police escorting me tried to save me but the police officials were also beaten up,” he said while narrating the sequence of events to the lawyers’ panel in a video shown on television channels today.

The panel of six advocates — Kapil Sibal, Rajeev Dhavan, Dushyant Dave, A D N Rao, Ajit Kumar Sinha and Haren Raval, had visited the Patiala House courts premises on February 17 after the apex court was informed that Kanhaiya was beaten up during his production before the magistrate.

In another instance when he was attacked, the police, who were there, did not do anything, he said.

After Kanhaiya narrated the incident to the panel inside the courtroom, Sibal called DCP Jatin Narwal and enquired from him about it.

“How did you allow the attack to take place inside court premises? Your men were there. What were they doing? How he (man who attacked Kanhaiya outside the gate of the courtroom) was allowed to come inside,” the panel members asked the DCP.

Responding to it, Narwal said, “he came with the escort party and entered the room adjacent to the courtroom.”

The panel members then called other police officials and asked them about the incident and they replied that the person who attacked Kanhaiya had claimed that he was his lawyer.

Kanhaiya told the panel that when he was assaulted, he fell down and sustained injuries and at that time he could not see what the police was doing.

To this, Sibal asked the DCP, “that means police was there and they did nothing.”

The student leader told the panel that the person, who had attacked him, had come to the adjacent courtroom and he had told his teacher about it.

“I told my teacher that this man was assaulting me and then the police asked that person    about his identity. He in turn questioned the policeman and asked him to show his I- card. That person left the place in front of the police and the police did nothing. He could have been apprehended there itself. I had told the police that this man had assaulted me,” he said.

On February 17, a bunch of rowdy lawyers had launched a brazen attack on Kanhaiya, journalists and others and also indulged in stone-pelting and hurling abuses on the panel of senior lawyers.

The panel members then asked Kanhaiya as to whether he could identify the policemen who were present there and the man who assaulted him.

He replied, “I can identify. I had told the police that this man had assaulted me and I want to file a complaint against him. He was the first person who had assaulted me at the gate.”

At this juncture, the panel members told the DCP, “His safety is your responsibility. Do not give excuses. This is unbelievable. You are now under Supreme Court’s order and not B S Bassi’s order.”

Kanhaiya told the panel that the persons who attacked him were “highly politically motivated persons.”

He said he had narrated the incident to the magistrate during the hearing.

“I told the judge that on the first day when I was brought to the court, there was no attack and everything was normal. I am a PhD student of JNU and I am being called a traitor…I have full faith in the Constitution of India,” he said.

His lawyers then told the panel members that magistrate had asked Kanhaiya to give a statement in writing.

On being asked by the panel as to whether he was attacked inside the courtroom where the hearing took place, the student leader said “No. Not inside the courtroom.”

The team of senior advocates, after taking stock of the situation at Patiala House Court, informed the apex court that there was serious threat to safety of Kanhaiya who was beaten and pushed by unknown persons in the court.

Kanhaiya is arrested in a sedition case for allegedly raising anti-India slogans inside the JNU campus of February 9.

(Agencies)

Siddaramaiah to declare luxury watch as state asset

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Siddaramaiah-watch

Bengaluru: Under attack from the Opposition over his luxurious watch, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddarmaiah on Thursday said he would declare it as a state asset and hand it over to the government.

“About the expensive watch I was wearing, which has been discussed almost everyday and reported in the media, I have this much to say that I will be declaring it as a state asset and deposit it with state secretariat,” he told reporters here.

(Agencies)

Railway blankets washed once in two months: Minister

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Railways

New Delhi: Ever wondered why the blankets provided by the Indian railways during train journey stink at times? It may be because these are washed only once every two months.

Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha told the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour today that while bedsheets, bed roll and pillow covers are washed every day, the blankets are washed every two months.

His reply came to questions raised by various members of the Upper House regarding the quality and hygiene of laundry and linen supplied by the Indian Railways on trains.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari quipped that the earlier system of passengers bringing their own linen and pillows for train journeys seems to be better.

He was supported by a Congress MP who asked the Minister if this would be allowed.

In response, Sinha said it was a “good advice” and the Railways will not have a problem if passengers want to adopt the earlier practice.

The Minister pointed out that while they have 41 mechanised laundries, plans are underway to increase their number by 25 more in the next two years so that these can serve about 85 percent of the passengers who use Railway linen and bed sheets.

He pointed out that in places which are not covered by the mechanised laundries, the job has been outsourced.

(PTI)

Rohith Vemula death case: Doctor exposes Smriti Irani’s lie

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rohith-vemula

Hyderabad: The duty doctor at the University of Hyderabad health centre today appeared to contradict the claim of HRD Minister Smriti Irani that no doctor was allowed near the body of research scholar Rohith Vemula on the day he had died either to revive him or remove him to hospital.

Dr M Rajshree, the doctor on duty that fateful day when Rohith had allegedly committed suicide on Jan 17, said today she was the one who examined the body and had declared him dead.

She said the body of Rohit was lying on a cot and police had reached 15 minutes after she had gone to the hostel room on the day he had died after she got information at around 7.20 PM that one of the students had attempted suicide.

During a debate in the Lok Sabha yesterday on the controversies surrounding the Hyderabad University and the JNU, Irani had said nobody allowed a doctor near Rohith either to revive him or take him to the hospital.

“Nobody allowed a doctor near him. The police has reported that no one attempt was made to revive this child, not one attempt was made to take him to a doctor. Instead what was done was that his body was used as a political tool, hidden. No police was allowed till 6.30, the next morning. It is not me the Telangana police is saying this,” she had said.

Narrating the sequence of events today, Dr Jajshree said she rushed to NRS Hostel after she got information at around 7.20 pm on January 17 that one of the students attempted suicide in one of the rooms.

“The body was rigid and cold. I did the examination of the body. I found the body on a cot. The body with protruding tongue was rigid and cold. I checked for BP, for heartbeat. Then I came to the conclusion that he was dead. His body was cold. “It took 10 to 15 minutes. Then I declared him dead and informed the security officer. I saw police personnel 10 or 15 minutes after I reached the spot ” Rajshree told PTI.

She also said she was not prevented from examining the body by anyone.
Rohit Vemula’s suicide triggered a massive outrage and opposition parties launched a scathing attack on the Central Government and demanded action against Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, whose letters to Irani, were blamed for Rohith’s suicide, and Irani herself. The HRD Ministry appointed a judicial commission to look into the issue.

“The police started Panchanama. They checked the laptop and phone and collected suicide note. Rigor mortis of a body starts only after two hours. That is the minimum time for a body to stiffen. That’s what I told the police that it the death occurred before two hours,” she said.

When contacted, Dr Ravindra Kumar, Chief Medical Officer, said the duty doctor submitted a report in which he was declared dead.

(Agencies)

Opposition seek Smriti Irani’s apology on ‘objectionable’ comments in RS

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smriti irani

New Delhi: Opposition parties today sought an apology from HRD minister Smriti Irani for reading out in Rajya Sabha “objectionable” comments made outside against a god, as she defended herself saying she was asked for proof of her statements against JNU students.

BJP members also hit back at the Congress saying the opposition party was raising the issue due to the criticism of its Vice President Rahul Gandhi over his visit to JNU.

As the House met for the day, Deputy Leader of Congress in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma raised a point of order saying the Constitution and rules do not permit anything to be raised in the House which is blasphemous and can hurt religious sentiments.

Irani, he said, had read out “insulting” comments made against Goddess Durga “verbatim” in the House hurting sentiments and sought a ruling from the Chair as to whether such comments made outside Parliament against any religious figure or a deity can be read out inside the House.

Members of other opposition parties also agreed with K C Tyagi of JD(U) demanding that Irani should unconditionally apologise for the comments read out by her.

Irani, however, remained unfazed by the criticism and asserted that she herself was a “practising hindu and a Durga worshipper”.

The HRD minister also insisted that she had read out the comments from authenticated documents from JNU as she was repeatedly being asked to explain what was the evidence against students accused of anti-national acts, which some parties were giving respectability to.

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad then said it is a “very serious issue” and the “minister should apologise for what she said yesterday.”

Azad said there were campaigns against many religious figures but all this cannot be raised in the House.

Coming to his colleague’s defence, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi attacked Congress and other opposition parties saying it had become a pattern for them to seek a Short Duration Discussion, a couple of Calling Attention Motions and an apology in every session while showing no interest in legislative business.

He also said that Congress was raising the issue as its Vice President was criticised for supporting those indulging in activities against the nation.

As the two sides indulged in heated exchanges, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said there has been a tradition that nothing blasphemous or anything against any community will be raised in the House. He assured members that he would go through the records and expunge anything blasphemous.

(Agencies)

There are doubts over Afzal Guru’s role in Parliament attack: Chidambaram

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P Chidambaram

New Delhi: Former Union Minister P Chidambaram who held the home and finance portfolios in the UPA government on Thursday sparked controversy that Afzal Guru’s role in 2001 Parliament attack was doubtful. Almost three years after Afzal Guru was hanged, Congress leader P Chidambaram is concerned to hold an ‘honest opinion’ and raised his doubts against the capital punishment of 2001 Parliament attack convict, report said.

Former Home Minister P Chidambaram was responding to a question on whether Afzal Guru’s execution ordered by the Supreme Court was appropriate. According to Chidambaram, Afzal Guru’s case was not correctly decided and there are possibility to hold an honest opinion in that matter. Chidambaram was quoted in an interview conducted by Economic Times.

Chidambaram was further quoted by ET where he said, “An independent person can hold an opinion that the case was not decided correctly”.

The comments of Chidambaram came in the backdrop of JNU incident in which three of its students are arrested on sedition charges and for commemorating Afzal Guru at the campus. Following the incident at JNU campus a nationwide debate is in motion. Those who hold a different opinion against the capital punishment of Afzal Guru are termed as anti-national.

However Chidambaram said that, “It is wrong to project anyone as an anti-national who holds that opinion”.

From 2008 to 2011 P Chidambaram, was home minister of India. In 2013 when Sushilkumar Shinde was home minister Afzal Guru was executed. Chidambaram raised doubt of extend of Afzal Guru’s involvement in 2001 Parliament Attack.

The Afzal Guru’s execution is a hot topic in India especially after JNU students were arrested on charges of sedition when the student union had organised a event on February 9, for commemorating Afzal Guru.

(Agencies)

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