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Kejriwal, 5 others gave false statements against me: Jaitley

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arun jaitley

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today recorded his statement in a Delhi court in a criminal defamation complaint filed by him against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders, accusing them of making false statements against him and his family members.

During the recording of his statement, Jaitley told Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Khanagwal that Kejriwal and these five persons had given “false” and “defamatory” statements against him and his family members.

Jaitley, who appeared before the court amidst tight security, also said that statements have been made to deflect attention from CBI probe against a particular person who is working with Kejriwal, court sources said.

The security personnel did not allow any mediaperson to enter the court room and only the advocates have been allowed to attend the closed-door proceedings.

Jaitley had on December 21 filed criminal defamation case against Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders — Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpai — for allegedly defaming him and sought their prosecution for offences that entail a punishment of upto two years in jail.

The complaint was filed under various sections of the IPC including 499 (defamation), 500 (punishment), 501 and 502 (printing and sale of defamatory matter).

In his complaint, Jaitley had said that the CM and other AAP leaders, with common intention, have from December 15 undertaken “a false, malicious and defamatory campaign against him and his family members for political mileage causing irreversible damage to him.”

The complaint referred to some of the allegations made by AAP leaders in press conferences, including one that claimed that the CBI raided the office of Delhi government official looking for Jaitley’s “tax scam files” and that there was corruption worth several hundred crores under Jaitley’s tenure and that he had shielded DDCA for over 15 years.

Jaitley had said such statements have been made orally and through Twitter handle of the AAP leaders which have been carried by electronic and print media from December 15 to December 20.

(Agencies)

Operation enters third day, more forces rushed to Pathankot air base

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Pathankot

Pathankot: The operation against militants holed up at Pathankot air base entered the third day today after explosions and firing continued intermittently overnight.

Security forces had yesterday killed one of the at least two terrorists on the second day of the attack in which seven security personnel lost their lives including a Lieutenant Colonel of the NSG. Four terrorists were eliminated on Saturday when they had struck at the air base.

The operation stretched through the night with sounds of gunfire and explosions continuing till around 10 AM today after which they have ceased. Attack helicopters were still flying over the area.

More quick response teams have been rushed to the site.

Defence sources had last night said that one more terrorist was killed while another was injured.

The holed up militants were discovered in the forested area on the backside of the air base from where they are reported to have entered.

Air Commodore JS Dhamoon, Air Officer Commanding at the base, had said seven security men–one Garud commando, one NSG officer and five personnel of Defence Security Corps(DSC) have been martyred inthe operation. Seventeen security personnel were also injured till now.

Lt Col E K Niranjan, a member of the NSG’s Bomb Disposal Squad and a Kerala resident, died after he succumbed to injuries which he sustained while he was trying to retrieve a live grenade from the body of a dead terrorist. Four other security men were also injured in this explosion.

Three Defence Security Corps (DSC) personnel also succumbed to injuries at the hospital here during the intervening night of January 2 and 3. Garud commando Gurusewak Singh and two members of the DSC were killed in the gunbattle on Saturday at the air base, located barely 35 km from the Indo-Pak border.

“We are sure that still there are at least two more terrorists as firing have come from two different places. But we are not sure whether there are some more. We will come to know the number of terrorists only after the completion of the operation and body count,” Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi had told a press conference in Delhi on Sunday.

(PTI)

Five die as quake hits north-east, West Bengal

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Imphal: An earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale jolted north-eastern states and West Bengal early on Monday, killing five people in Manipur and injuring more than 60 across the region.

Those killed included four women, Manipur’s Inspector General of Police Clay Khongsai told IANS. Rescuers worked furiously to rescue those trapped under mounds of debris.

Khongsai said several multi-storey buildings in Imphal collapsed while many vehicles were damaged. The death toll is expected to rise, an officer said in Imphal.

The quake had its epicentre in Manipur’s Tamenglong district and occurred at 4.35 a.m., snapping power supply across the state.

It also shook Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura and West Bengal, an official of the seismological centre in Meghalaya said. It was also felt in adjoining Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Imphal later felt an aftershock measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale.

Khongsai said the Emma market – the day market for women in Manipur – was badly damaged and cordoned off. “We are not allowing anyone to enter the market to prevent any loss of life.

“So far five deaths and 33 injuries have been reported from Imphal. Damages to a few buildings, residential units and government offices have been reported, including damage to a six-storey building,” a home ministry statement said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh on phone. Ibobi Singh convened a cabinet meeting to review the situation.

Modi also asked Home Minister Rajnath Singh to oversee the situation.

In Guwahati, Rajnath Singh said all central assistance would be extended to the north-eastern states.

“The prime minister has asked me to coordinate with all the chief ministers in the region. I have spoken to almost all of them though I could not contact the Manipur chief minister.

“Manipur’s chief secretary told me the damage is more in the state. The centre will extend all required assistance to the north-eastern states to deal with the crisis.

“I have also spoken to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoiji,” said Rajnath Singh, on a two-day visit to Assam since Sunday.

A Guwahati report said at least 20 people suffered minor injuries as some buildings across Assam developed cracks due to the temblor.

Chief Executive Officer of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) P.K. Tiwary said: “There are reports pouring in from different parts of the state about minor damage to buildings and houses. We are trying to verify the reports.”

He said there was no major damage or any causality in Assam.

The earthquake jolted the northern parts of West Bengal, particularly the districts of Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, leaving at least a dozen people injured.

In Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, at least two people were killed and 100 others injured. Many people rushed out of their homes in panic.

The home ministry said the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was coordinating with north-eastern states for rescue and relief.

“The NDMA has begun coordinating with the state governments, ministries of home affairs, defence, telecom, National Disaster Response Force, and government departments and agencies,” a statement said.

India’s north-east region is considered the sixth major earthquake-prone belt in the world. In September 2011, Sikkim suffered heavy damage following a quake.

(IANS)

Lodha panel recommends separate BCCI, IPL governing bodies

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New Delhi: The Justice R.M. Lodha Committee on Monday proposed separate governing bodies for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian Premier League (IPL) in a bid to partially segregate their functioning, while also suggesting a one-state-one-member pattern for the board.

Submitting its report to the Supreme Court, the three-member committee comprising its former chief justice, Justice Lodha, as also Justice Ashok Bhan and Justice R.V. Raveendran – former judges of the apex court – suggested reforms in the Indian cricket board and announced a slew of measures, among them that the IPL governing body should be of nine members with the secretary and the treasurer of the BCCI as its ex-officio members.

Two other members of the IPL governing council will be nominated or elected by the full members. Of the remaining five, two will be the nominees of franchises, one will be a representative of the players association (that is to be formed) and one will a nominee of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

Among other key recommendations, the panel stressed that one representation for one state is a fair idea and one association of each state will be a full member of the BCCI and have a right to vote. Other members from a state, or those without territory or competitive presence — Services, Railways, CCI, NCC — were relegated to associate status without voting rights in the BCCI.

The Lodha panel also recommended the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to manage the day-to-day affairs of the BCCI. The CEO will be assisted by six professional managers. The Lodha panel said the CEO and his managers will be responsible to an apex council that will be comprised of nine members — five elected, two representatives of players association, and one woman.

The Lodha committee has also sought to put some restrictions on the BCCI office-bearers: they should not be aged more than 70, should not be ministers or government servants – and cannot hold office for more than three terms, with a a “cooling-off” period between terms.

Lodha reckoned that a robust agent registration system would safeguard players. There will be a steering committee to include former star all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath, former India women’s captain Diana Eduljee, and legendary leg-spinner and former Test skipper Anil Kumble. They will take up matter with BCCI for formation of players’ association in light of suggestions from the report.

Lodha said the panel prepared an extensive questionnaire and interviewed several BCCI office bearers, stakeholders in Indian cricket, former national captains, including Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Kumble to finalise its report.

(IANS)

Karnataka: Highest sex ratio among Christians; Muslims overtake Hindus in literacy

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Bengaluru: Christians continued to record the highest sex ratio with the figure increasing from 1,030 in the 2001 Census to 1,049 in the 2011 Census. Although the child sex ratio was also high among Christians in the State, the growth was very marginal and it rose from 961 in 2001 census to 962 in 2011.

 

Economist Sangeeta Kattimani, who compiled these data from the two Census reports and the Religion Data of the Census 2011 released now, said that the lowest sex ratio of 739 was reported among Buddhists.

In fact, the sex ratio among Buddhists had seen a steep fall from 907 in the 2001 Census to 739 in the 2011 Census. The child sex ratio among Buddhists decreased from 953 in 2001 to 949 in 2011.

Prof. Kattimani said that the sex ratio of other major religious groups, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Jains, showed a marginal improvement when compared to the 2001 and 2011 census and same was the case under the child sex ratio head. While the sex ratio of Hindus rose from 966 in 2001 to 972 in 2011, the sex ratio of Muslims rose from 957 in 2001 to 969 in 2011.

There was a marked improvement in the sex ratio of Sikhs — from 739 in 2001 to 803 in 2011 census. The sex ratio of Jains rose from 926 in 2001 to 951 in 2011.

The child sex ratio of Hindus saw a marginal increase from 945 in 2001 to 947 in 2011. Among Muslims, it was 945 in 2001 and 947 in 2011.

The child sex ratio of Sikhs saw an increase from 882 in 2001 to 913 in 2011. Similarly, the child sex ratio of Jains rose from 882 in 2001 to 913 in 2011. Prof. Kattimani said that the latest figures released by the Registrar General of Census provided some interesting data of literacy levels of different religious groups. While the literacy rate of Christians and Jains, who always placed education as a priority in their life, was high, the literacy level of Muslims was higher than Hindus in the State.

As much as 90.80 per cent of Christians were literate and it was 88.32 per cent among Jains in the State.

Surprisingly, a higher number of Muslims were literate when compared to Hindus in the State. The literacy percentage of Hindus was 74.36 per cent as per the 2011 census figures while it was 78.89 per cent among Muslims in the State.

Prof. Kattimani said that the literacy rate of Buddhists saw a record increase from 53.16 per cent in 2001 census to 76.11 per cent.

(Agencies)

Now, RSS all set to launch its Christian wing

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New Delhi: As part of its plan to tighten its grip over Indian society, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is now mulling to launch its Christian wing.

 

The RSS has held meetings with Christian leaders as part of a plan to reach out to the community by setting up an organisation, according to a reliable report.

 

A senior RSS spokesperson confirmed the reports and said that efforts are on to reach out to the Christians and a meeting for the same was held on December 17, 2015.

The proposed Christain Wing will be on the lines of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch that RSS established over a decade ago.

“On December 17, 4-5 Archbishops, 40-50 Reverend Bishops from across 10 to 12 states met and it was decided to develop a movement. This is preparing the ground to lay the seeds for an organisation,” Indresh Kumar, member of RSS’ National Executive, said.

This is said to be the first such outreach to the clergy made through a Sangh-backed initiative.

The December 17 meeting, held in New Delhi, was presided over by Indresh Kumar. Chinmayananda Swami of Vishva Hindu Parishad was also present at the event, called the ‘Christmas Message for Love, Peace and Harmony from Indian Soil’.

It was attended, among others, by Archbishop Mar Kuriakose Bharanikulangara, Bishop Jacob Mar Barnabas of the Gurgaon diocese, Bishop Issac Osthatheous of the Delhi diocese and the general secretary of the Church of North India, Alwan Masih.

The development comes in the wake of an uproar over alleged increase in intolerance under the Bharatiya Janata Party government and political parties accusing the ruling party’s ideological mentor of instigating friction between communities.

(Agencies)

Mild tremors hit north India

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earthquake

New Delhi: An earthquake of 5.8 magnitude on the Richter Scale in Afghanistan sent tremors across North India on Saturday. Initial reports suggest epicentre of earthquake in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region.

Tremors were felt in Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Noida.

No damage to property or death has been reported so far.

(Agencies)

Karnataka: Milk prices to shoot up by Rs 4

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Nandini_Milk

Bengaluru: The state government announced the consent of the Chief Minister to hike the price of Nandini milk by Rs 4 per litre, it is learned.

The initial demand by milk federations was to up the prices by Rs 5 per litre, it is said. Minister for co-operation H S Mahadeva Prasad and minister for animal husbandry A Manju took the proposal to the chief minister and discussed it.

Now that the Chief Minister has given his nod, the announcement will follow shortly.

Presently, the milk price is Rs 29 per litre. With the price hike, it will be available at Rs 33.

It is expected that the KMF will make the announcement within a day and the price hike will come into effect from January 5.

Minister A Manju said that 75% of the money from the hike will go to the farmers while the remaining money will be spent for administrative expenses of the federations.

(Agencies)

Odd-even scheme starts in Delhi, overwhelmed by ‘success’, says Kejriwal

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New Delhi: Each time an even-numbered vehicle was flagged down here, the offending motorist was offered a rose — and some counselling about the rising pollution levels in the national capital.

The scene was a busy traffic intersection near Noida where a number of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) volunteers were assisting Delhi Police personnel in keeping a tab on vehicles following the launch on Friday of the odd-even scheme for restricting movement of cars.

There were no police barricades near the Delhi-Noida border in the morning and the volunteers tried to ensure a smooth flow of traffic on the road. The volunteers, however, flagged down a few even-numbered four-wheelers and went up to the driver to present a rose, reflecting a Gandhian spirit.

They also counselled the motorists to follow the Delhi government’s odd-even plan and asked them to return. While some vehicle owners followed the instructions, others gave their reasons for not being able to comply with the plan.

Shiv Kumar Sharma, a civil defence volunteer from Geeta Colony circle in east Delhi, said his group was able to persuade some motorists to turn back. “We are here since 7 a.m. We are giving roses to people and couselling them about the odd-even formula. So far, we have persuaded around a dozen people to turn back,” he said.

“Some people said they were going to hospital or there was an emergency. We did let them go.”

The roses were provided by the area district magistrate’s office.

Another civil defence volunteer, who did not wish to be named, said his group refrained from entering into any argument with the violators and requested them to comply with the rule.

“We cannot prosecute people. The police will do that,” he said, adding that the police were cooperating with them.

There were a few commuters who stopped by to cheer the volunteers. “This is a very good initiative. The volume of traffic has come down,” said Dinesh Singhal, a biker.

The odd-even scheme that allows odd- and even-numbered private vehicles to ply on the city roads on alternate days aims at reducing air pollution levels. The scheme started here on Friday on a trial basis and will end on January 15.

(IANS)

Terror attack in Punjab’s Pathankot; two militants killed

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Pathankot

Pathankot: A group of terrorists today struck at the Air Force base here in Punjab, triggering an encounter in which two attackers were killed, police said.

Firing is still on near the Air Force base Chakki river. The terrorists, believed to be 4-5 in number, launched the attack at the base in the wee hours.

Gun fire shots can be heard from the both sides, SSP R K Bakshi said, adding that two suspected militants were killed in the battle. Meanwhile, authorities said the helicopters and other equipment in the Air base was safe.

An unknown number of militants have launched an attack on the army and police personnel after a combing operation was launched yesterday in the area between installation and Chakki river, police said.

The entire area has been cordoned off, police said. The attackers, who had abducted an SP yesterday, had also made calls to Pakistan, police said.

The attack comes days after PM Narendra Modi’s unscheduled visit to Pakistan.

It is the second big terror attack in Punjab within less than a year as last year three militants stormed a police station in Diana Nagar before being eliminated after 12 hour gun battle.

Yesterday, five suspected militants abducted an SP and two others and thrashed them before dumping them from vehicle.

After the incident a combing operation was launched in the border areas of Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts.

(Agencies)

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