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Women drivers, two-wheeler riders exempted: Kejriwal

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Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that women drivers and two-wheeler riders would be exempted from the odd-even transport formula to be implemented from January 1 here.

“Only women (drivers) or women with kids below 12 years will be exempted from the odd-even formula. Two-wheeler riders will also be exempted,” Kejriwal told the media.

He announced a fine of Rs.2,000 for not following the odd-even formula.

Kejriwal also said that the vehicles of the president, vice president, prime minister, speaker of Lok Sabha and deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha will be exempted.

Those who would be exempted also include Leaders of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, chief ministers of states except Delhi, judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court and the Lokayukta will be exempted from the odd-even formula.

“Deputy speaker of Lok Sabha, governors of states, Lt governor, chief justice of India and union ministers will also be exempted.”

He said those on way to hospital for medical emergency will also be exempted, if they carry proof.

He said that the emergency vehicles like ambulances, fire tenders, prison vans, hearses and enforcement vehicles will also exempted.

(Agencies)

Random arrests of innocent Muslim youths leading to radicalization: Telangana DGP

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Anurag-Sharma

Hyderabad: Telangana DGP Anurag Sharma has slammed the random arrests of innocent Muslim youths post bomb blasts in recent years.

In his presentation at a conference of Director Generals of Police (DGPs) in Bhuj, Sharma went on to claim that socio-economic exclusion of Muslims and random arrests of youths from the community in the aftermath of a terror attack are leading to radicalisation among the minorities.

While there were 10 presentations on various aspects of internal security at the annual meet organised by the Intelligence Bureau, the one on radicalisation, presented by Sharma, was the most critical in the context of threats from the Islamic State.

According to sources, Sharma said there was a sense of alienation among Muslims as “expected social and economic benefits” had not reached them. He highlighted how areas inhabited by minorities were generally bereft of civic amenities and dearth of economic opportunities. All this, he said, made the community vulnerable to radicalisation.

To illustrate how random arrests of Muslim youths has led to radicalisation, Sharma cited the 2007 Makkah Masjid blasts in Hyderabad. He pointed out how, immediately after the blasts, police arrested Muslim youths who were found to be innocent. The blasts were found to have been executed by Hindu outfits.

(Agencies)

 

Advani, other BJP veterans get into a huddle after Kirti Azad’s suspension

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kirti-azad

New Delhi: BJP veterans L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Shanta Kumar and Yashwant Sinha, who have been vocal against party leadership, today went into a huddle over developments in the party in the wake of MP Kirti Azad’s suspension after he attacked Arun Jaitley over DDCA issue.

Azad has sought intervention of the ‘margdarshak mandal’, comprising Advani, Joshi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, which was formed by BJP president Amit Shah after he took over the party reins.

Sources said Advani drove down to Joshi’s residence and Shanta Kumar and Sinha joined them at noon for a meeting that lasted about an hour. The four leaders, who had virtually revolted against the Modi-Shah team after BJP’s drubbing in Bihar Assembly election last month, are learnt to have discussed the situation arising out of Azad’s suspension.

They had made a strong public statement after the Bihar poll debacle, saying the party has been “emasculated” in the last one year and was being “forced to kow-tow to a handful”.

Cracking the whip yesterday, BJP suspended Azad, who has been leading a campaign against Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on alleged corruption in DDCA, charging him with anti-party activities and accusing him of “colluding” with Congress and AAP to bring it into “disrepute”.

The action of the BJP Parliamentary Board to suspend him from the party’s primary membership with immediate effect came three days after his press conference attacking Jaitley and subsequent acts of defiance both inside and outside Parliament.

(Agencies)

‘Invest Karnataka 2016:’ Seven countries to participate as global partners

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Invest Karnataka

Bengaluru: As the state is gearing up to host ‘Invest Karnataka’ scheduled for February 3-5, 2016, seven countries have decided to participate as global partners in the event.

An official release said that Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Sweden had come forward and agreed to participate as global partners for the meet.

A statement from the state government said, “Partner countries at ‘Invest Karnataka 2016’ are committed to making investments and providing technical support to the state.”

Organizers will provide every partner country with a session to highlight the trade and investment opportunities in their markets, along with exhibition space and sector specific seminars.

The state government has also appointed country specific nodal officers as points of contact for all global investments that would emanate during the summit.

The state has conducted several road shows, meetings and various events in several locations in the country and overseas, thus aiming for maximum investments in Karnataka from global investors.

(Agencies)

BJP suspends Kirti Azad for attacking finance minister Jaitley

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kirti-azad

New Delhi: Kirti Azad, lawmaker and former Test cricketer, has been suspended by his party the BJP for publicly targeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with allegations of corruption in Delhi’s cricket body DDCA.

In a one-line statement, the BJP said Mr Azad has been suspended for “anti party activities.”

The 56-year-old lawmaker from Darbhanga in Bihar, defied party chief Amit Shah’s whip and held a press conference on Sunday, all but naming the finance minster while alleging deep corruption in the Delhi and District Cricket Association or DDCA, which Arun Jaitley headed for 13 years.

Amit Shah, said party sources, had met Kirti Azad twice on Friday last and warned him against going public with his charges against Mr Jaitley, saying it would hurt the BJP and the government it leads.

In rebellion unprecedented in the BJP’s history, Kirti Azad also took on Mr Jaitley on the floor of Parliament, seeking a CBI investigation monitored by a special investigation team into his allegations. He signed off by reminding the House, “and we know who was heading the DDCA between 2008 and 2013,” a reference to Mr Jaitley.

On Twitter, he challenged Mr Jaitley to sue him, attacking the minister in multiple tweets.

Mr Jaitley has dragged five leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to court over their allegations of corruption against him, but he made no such move against Mr Azad, amid speculation that the BJP would punish the lawmaker after the winter session of Parliament ended today.

The BJP has rallied around Mr Jaitley, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah making strong statements in his defence. PM Modi told party lawmakers at a weekly meeting that Mr Jaitley would come out of the controversy “with flying colours.”

Kirti Azad found support today from fellow BJP lawmaker from Bihar, Shatrughan Sinha, who called him a “hero” and warned the party against taking action “against friend who’s fighting against corruption.”

(Agencies)

Gangsters gun down policeman in Delhi court

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court-firing-Delhi

New Delhi: A policeman was killed when four gangsters sneaked into a court in east Delhi and fired at a member of a rival gang, leaving him injured, police said.

Head Constable Ram Kumar took bullets in his head and chest and collapsed dead in the premises of the Karkardooma court when the gunmen fired at Irfan, who was their target.

“The killer gang entered the court and opened fire when they saw Irfan. He was injured and has been hospitalized,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Sanjay Beniwal told IANS.

“Unfortunately, the policeman accompanying Irfan got killed,” he said. “Irfan belongs to another (criminal) gang.

“Other policemen in the court caught hold of three of the four killers but one got away,” Beniwal added.

Police said the firing took place when prisoners under trials were being produced in court room no. 73 around 11.30 a.m.

(IANS)

Kerala Governor misses flight as pilot refuses to wait

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P Sathasivam

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Governor Justice P Sathasivam failed to board an Air India flight from Kochi to the state capital after the pilot reportedly refused to wait for the dignitary and took off.

Raj Bhavan sources said the Governor reached Nedumbassery International airport about 10 minutes before the flight was to depart at 11:40 PM yesterday, but the “step ladder had been removed and the flight was pushing back”.

According to the sources, the Governor was returning to the state capital after attending a function in Kozhikode. They were informed by Air India officials that the Delhi-Kochi -Thiruvanthapuram A1048 flight will take off at 1140 PM.

The delayed flight had yesterday reached Kochi airport at 10.58 PM and was to leave by 1140 PM.

“We got a communication from the airport that the flight will take off at 11.40 PM. However, when the Governor, accompanied by his wife reached the airport at 11.28 PM to board the flight, we saw the step ladder had been removed and the flight was pushing back,” the sources told PTI.

AI officials were waiting at the ladder point with the Governor’s boarding pass. The sources said though the Air India manager had informed the pilot that the Governor was arriving, he refused to wait for him and closed the door.

When contacted, the airport sources said the Governor had reached the tarmac when the flight was at the “push back stage and the doors were closed”.

Raj Bhavan sources said they would be taking up the matter with appropriate authorities even as Air India sources said they were looking into the matter.

After an overnight stay at Kochi, the Governor reached the state capital by road this morning. Two years ago, the then Governor Nikhil Kumar had also faced a similar situation.

(PTI)

Rajya Sabha disrupted over Ram temple, DDCA row

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rajya Sabha

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha’s proceedings were briefly disrupted twice in the pre-lunch session on Wednesday over the issues of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and alleged irregularities in the DDCA.

Soon after the upper house met for the day, Janata Dal-United member K.C. Tyagi raised the issue of stones being transported and carved for constructing the proposed Ram temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

He said that tension is being created in Ayodhya, where the Babri mosque once stood.
“A similar situation (to what prevailed earlier) is being created in Ayodhya once again. Tension is being incited,” Tyagi said.

Members of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress too supported him.

BSP leader Mayawati accused the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh of trying to derive political mileage by again raking up the Ram temple issue.

“There should not be anything that is in contempt of the Supreme Court. It’s the responsibility of the Uttar Pradesh government to maintain law and order,” she said.

“Stones are being polished since 1990, and the site is around one-and-a-half km away from the disputed site. Second, both the government and the BJP firmly believe the court decision should be respected and we will respect it,” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

“There is no restriction on carving of stones; it does not mean the Ram temple is being constructed,” he said.

However, members of the Congress and Samajwadi Party trooped near the chairman’s podium and shouted slogans against the government.

Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien adjourned the house for 10 minutes.

As the house reassembled at 11.34 a.m., Congress members again trooped near the chairman’s podium to demand the resignation of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over the Delhi and District Cricket Association issue.

Chairman Hamid Ansari requested the Congress members not to disrupt the proceeding on the last day of the winter session but his request was ignored.

He then adjourned the house till 1.00 p.m.

(Agencies)

Kejriwal seeks Modi’s resignation, attacks Jaitley

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arvind-kejriwal

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation for ordering a CBI raid on his office.

Launching his fiercest attack yet on the prime minister, Kejriwal told the Delhi assembly that the CBI raided his office – notwithstanding the CBI’s denials – because it was looking for a file on the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).

“I demand Prime Minister Modi’s resignation for the fraudulent raid he ordered to save (Finance Minister) Arun Jaitley,” who had headed the DDCA for years, the Aam Aadmi Party leader said to thumping of desks by his party colleagues.

Kejriwal also asked Modi to sack Jaitley because of his involvement in the DDCA, where critics have alleged largescale financial bungling. Jaitley has claimed innocence in the entire affair.

If Jaitley was indeed innocent, he should prove this to the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Delhi government, he said.

“He should feel ashamed,” Kejriwal thundered, referring to Modi and the December 15 raid by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which has denied searching Kejriwal’s office and said that it only targeted his principal secretary Rajendra Kumar for corruption.

December 15, the chief minister said, was “a black day” for India.

Kejriwal accused Modi of constantly interfering in the functioning of the AAP government.

He said he had urged Modi to let the AAP government work without interference but “he did not agree”.

“The CBI said the chief minister was not raided… Only his principal secretary’s office was raided. If this is indeed true, why did they enter my office?” Kejriwal asked.

He said they were looking for a file on the DDCA, and alleged that despite 50 hours of interrogation spread over six days, the CBI had not been able to build a case of corruption against Rajendra Kumar. “They are mentally torturing him.”

Kejriwal poked fun at Modi for wearing a Rs.10 lakh suit last year, and demanded to know how a “chai wala” (tea seller) could afford such a costly suit.

The AAP leader denied accusations that his party had earlier advocated independence for the CBI but had now done a U turn.

“Even today we say that the CBI should be independent. And the day it becomes independent, it will not raid Rajendra Kumar… It will send a notice to Modi to ask where you got Rs.10 lakh to buy the suit.

“The CBI is not independent. Don’t fool the people.”

(IANS)

TN floods: CM seeks Rs 25,912 crore for restoration work

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chennai-floods

Chennai: With the unprecedented deluge leaving a trail of destruction and devastation in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today sought Central assistance of Rs 25,912 crore towards restoration, saying it was ‘difficult’ for state Government to meet the costs, especially after suffering ‘huge loss’ of Central tax devolution.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said her government was committed to rebuilding infrastructure and reducing the distress caused to people due to floods by providing ‘gratuitous relief’ for affected families.

“These costs are very large and it is very difficult for the Government of Tamil Nadu to meet the cost, particularly after the huge loss of Central tax devolution and transfers suffered by the state consequent on the 14th Finance Commission’s recommendations,” she said.

The CM recalled that her government had earlier submitted a memorandum totalling the losses suffered at Rs 8,481 crore in November, following which a Central team had also visited Tamil Nadu to make on-spot assessment.

However, the “fourth and most severe spell” of rainfall was received after the team’s visit, she said,referring to the heavy downpour on December 1,which resulted in severe flooding of Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts even as Cuddalore had also been affected.

“We have now prepared the supplementary memorandum which reflects damages caused during the fourth spell of rainfall and the consequent floods in the first week of December 2015.

Tamil Nadu immediately needs an additional sum of Rs 17,431.51 crore for temporary and permanent restoration,” she said.

With the government now preparing a supplementary memorandum the state will need a total sum of Rs 25,912.45 crore, including the earlier Rs 8,481 crore, for relief and restoration efforts, she told Modi.

“I request you to kindly instruct the Ministry of Home Affairs and the other concerned Ministries to expeditiously consider our two memoranda for assistance on account of flood damages and devastation and release the necessary funds at the earliest to meet the state government’s requirement of Rs 25,912.45 crore,” she urged Modi.

Referring to her plea for an immediate release of Rs 2,000 crore made with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley here on Sunday “to sustain the vigour of restoration operations”, she urged the Prime Minister to instruct the Finance Ministry to expedite its release.

(Agencies)

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