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VHP, Bajrang Dal are trying to disrupt peace in state: CM Siddaramaiah

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siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah slammed Hindutva groups here on Friday, November 13 and said, “VHP and Bajrang Dal are trying to disrupt peace in the state.” CM slammed opposition parties and said that they have resorted to disturb social harmony in the state under the guise of religion. Hidden animosity within them is spreading hatred among the people, he said.

“We decided to celebrate Tipu Jayanthi to announce that we all are one”, he added. His comment comes in the wake of the recent bandh call and violence across the state by pro-Hindu groups against Tipu birth anniversary.

Normal life has been paralysed due to the bandh call by right wing groups over Madikeri clashes in protest against celebrating the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan. The bandh call given across the state turned violent and miscreants pelted stones at private and government buses in Puttur and Surathkal of Dakshina Kannada district.

VHP groups protested in front of Town hall in Bengaluru on Friday, condemning Madikeri violence. Security has been tightened in sensitive areas across the state.

Meanwhile, Home Minister G Parameshwara held a meeting with top police officials and reviewed law and order situation following the Tipu row.

The Chief Minister has ordered a magisterial probe into the Madikeri clashes and Deputy Commissioner C Shikha will lead the probe, it has been reported.

BJP MP Venkaiah Naidu, speaking on the recent Tipu row said, “Both good and bad opinions have been prevailing on Tipu Sultan. I won’t comment on local issues as a central minister,” he said.

Former Prime Minister and JD (S) supremo Deve Gowda, while commenting on the violence said that the state government’s decision to celebrate Tipu’s anniversary was wrong and that this has led to communal clashes. Earlier, Muthalik’s speech had led to violence in Hassan, he said.

The state government’s decision to hold Tipu’s birth anniversary celebrations across the state has sparked several protests by the BJP and right-wing groups. The protests turned violent in Madikeri on the day of the celebration and the unrest has been extended to Dakshina Kannada district as well. Agitating over the death of a VHP leader in Madikeri on November 10 and the murder of a youth at BC Road on November 12, the district unit of Bajrang Dal and VHP have called for dawn-to-dusk bandh on Friday, November 13. However, it received mixed response in few parts of the state as several buses were running and shops were kept open.

(Agencies)

Modi UK visit sees business deals worth $14 billion

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modi-cameron

London: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit here has seen $14 billion worth of business deals inked by enterprises of the sides, including a $4.4-billion investment by Britain’s OPG Power Ventures to add 4,200 MW capacity of new electricity generation in Tamil Nadu over the next few years.

Among the two-dozen pacts and investment commitments acknowledged by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and David Cameron was one by Merlin Entertainment to open the famed Madame Tussauds wax museum in New Delhi by early-2017 and another by Vodafone to invest $1.4 billion to support the Government of India’s “Digital India” and “Make in India” initiatives.

This apart, the largest Solar power generator in Europe, Lightsource, said it was investing a little over $3 billion in India to design, install and manage around 3 GW of solar power infrastructure in India over the next five years in partnerships with Indian companies, led by Srei Infrastructure.

“Prime Ministers Cameron and Modi noted the deep and fruitful business relationship between the UK and India and welcomed the 9.2 billion pounds ($14 billion) of commercial deals between the UK and India announced during the visit,” said a joint statement issued by the two sides after the official talks.

Other major deals announced late on Thursday included:

– Standard Life, Bupa and Aviva to invest a combined total of $365 million in their Indian joint ventures

– Pact between Britain’s cloudBuy for facilitating $5,3 billion worth of transactions using an online marketplace

– British technology company Intelligent Energy’s $1.8 billion contract to provide clean energy for 27,400 telecoms towers of GTL

– Holland and Barrett International pact with Apollo to open 1,000 stores in India over the next five years

– Kloudpad Mobility Research’s investment in South India to make next generation smart watches, wearables and tablets

– TVS to open an advanced logistics facility at Barnsley, a town in South Yorkshire

– London Stock Exchange and Yes Bank pact for collaborations on bond and equity issuance, with focus on green infrastructure

– HDFC’s proposal for rupee-denominated bonds overseas up to $750 million under new Indian central bank guidelines

– Wipro’s commitment to increases its investment in Britain.

As per the joint statement, the two prime ministers also announced three UK-India city partnerships with Indore, Pune and Amaravati to support India’s ambitious urban development goals through technical assistance, expertise sharing and business engagement.

They also launched a new Thames-Ganga partnership for healthy river systems.

(Agencies)

Modi is embarrassing India: Congress

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Anand Sharma

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is embarrassing India by repeatedly saying in foreign capitals that the country enjoyed no credibility till he came to power, the Congress said on Friday.

“We completely reject his claim that he has restored India’s credibility,” Congress leader Anand Sharma told a news conference here, on the second day of Modi’s visit to Britain.

He said Modi’s claim implied that India had no credibility earlier and the world did not respect India before Modi took power in May 2014.

“By repeating this thing over and over again in capitals that he visits, he is embarrassing the country.

“India had respect, India had credibility and India was one of the most favoured destinations for FDI because of government policies” even earlier, Sharma said.

The Congress leader alleged that there was an atmosphere of fear in India today, and the whole blame for this lay on the prime minister.

“The PM presides over a government which is arbitrary in functioning. The PM is authoritarian when it comes to the conduct of the affairs of the state.

“It is his government which has sullied India’s image as a favoured destination because of forces which have been unleashed and which have been given protection and endorsement by Modi,” Sharma said.

(Agencies)

Rape cases in India more than double in 2001-14

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Thiruvananthapuram: India has witnessed a surge in rape cases, with their number increasing more than double from 2001 to 2014, said a report released here on Friday.

The findings are part of the much-awaited report on the ‘Status of Women in India’, released at the International Conference on Gender Equality at Kovalam.

The rape cases registered between 2001 and 2014 rose from 16,075 to 36,735.

Cases of cruelty against married woman too witnessed a rise, going up from 49,170 to 122,877.

“…’home’ is the first sanctuary of violence against women in the form of incest and early marriage,” said Pam Rajput, chairperson of a High-Level Committee (HLC) on the Status of Women in India.

Quoting the findings on Thursday at the inaugural day of the International Conference on Gender Equality-1 (ICGE-1) three-day conclave, Rajput said this report was an attempt to recommend policy interventions based on contemporary assessment of women’s economic, legal, political, education, health and socio-cultural needs.

The report notes that globally India ranks second-last (141 out of 142 countries) in health.

It was 40 years ago, on the eve of the foremost UN world conference of women, that the first report on the Status of women in India was submitted.

Rajput said India had one of the worst gender gaps in the world workforce participation with only 25 percent (15 percent in urban areas and the rest in rural areas).

“This can be revised only by integrating macroeconomic policy with social policy and examining the situation of underpaid women working in public services as voluntary or social workers,” said Rajput.

“Despite the economic growth and the increase in the level of education, women find it very difficult to make free choices,” said Rajput, who recalled that it was in Thiruvananthapuram while attending a conference of the National Federation of Indian Women in 1980 that she chanced upon a booklet that gave comprehensive statistics on women, inspiring her to dive headfirst into women’s studies.

The committee believes that gender architecture needs to be revisited and that there should be separate budgets for women and children.

(Agencies)

Tipu controversy: BJP demands Siddaramaiah’s ouster, takes swipe at Sonia

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siddaramaiah

New Delhi: BJP today demanded the Karnataka chief minister’s resignation following death of two persons in violence over Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary celebrations, and took a swipe at Congress chief Sonia Gandhi asking if she will now lead a march and seek Siddaramaiah’s ouster.

BJP said Siddaramaiah was unable to handle the law and order situation, and sought a probe into the death threats made against playwright Girish Karnad and its MP Prathap Simha. It also expressed concern that no arrest has been made in the murder of rationalist M M Kalburgi.

“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah must resign. Two persons have died and he has not been able to handle the law and order situation. Will Sonia Gandhi go to Bengaluru and march against this? Will she demand Siddaramaiah’s resignation?” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters.

Gandhi had on November 3 taken to the streets and led a march of its top leaders to Rashtrapati Bhavan to protest against the climate of growing intolerance in the country and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “endorsing” incidents of hate.

Referring to the alleged death threats received by Jnanpith awardee Karnad and BJP MP Simha on social media, the party sought a probe into it.

Karnad, who came under severe attack for his remarks that Bengaluru international airport should have been named after Tipu Sultan rather than the city’s founder, Kempe Gowda, received a threat on Twitter that he would meet with the same fate as rationalist M M Kalburgi, who was gunned down recently by two men at his residence in Dharwad in north Karnataka.

Karnad, though, later apologised, saying he did not want to hurt people’s feelings.

Meanwhile, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu pooh-poohed suggestions that the Bengaluru airport should have been named after 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan and not city’s founder Kempe Gowda.

“Decision has been made to name Bangalore airport after him. Public has also welcomed this decision. Now taking up again the same issue and suggesting different names do not have any meaning. There is no point in discussing now after the airport has been named after a great person who was instrumental creating Bangalore city.

“Secondly, the government (Karnataka) before taking any steps should keep in mind the public sentiment. Thirdly, no body should add fuel to the fire,” Naidu told reporters.

(PTI)

Bengaluru: Woman raped in Cubbon Park; two security guards held

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rape

Bengaluru: A 35-year-old woman was allegedly raped by two security guards at Cubbon Park here last night, police said today.

Police said they have arrested both the security guards in connection with the incident.

The woman hailing from Tumkuru had come to the city to take membership in a tennis club functioning at the sprawling Cubbon Park when the incident occurred, they said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Sandeep Patil said “The incident came to light when an Assistant Sub-Inspector who was on rounds noticed the woman sitting near Siddalingaiah Circle around 2.30 AM and questioned her.”

He said, “Immediately she was brought to the Cubbon Park Police Station and a detailed statement taken from her.”

The woman had come to the club late afternoon. Though some workers told her there was none in the club and asked her to come today, she decided to stay back near by.

At about 9:30 PM noticing her alone in the park two security guards approached her, the DCP said.

When she asked them to help her make her exit from the park as she did not know the way, the guards under the pretext of helping her had taken her to a secluded place and allegedly raped her.

Patil said, “A case has been registered last night. Guards have been detained, detailed investigation is going on and medical examination of victim and two accused is also being done.”

He said a case has been booked under Indian Penal Code section 376 (punishment for rape).

(PTI)

Modi arrives in Britain for three-day visit

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Modi-Britain

London: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in London on Thursday for a three-day visit to Britain that will see India and Britain sign a number of pacts on mutual investments and defence cooperation.

Modi, wearing a dark coat, stepped out of the aircraft with folded ‘namaste’.

In a series of pre-departure Facebook posts, Modi said: “My visit is aimed at strengthening cooperation with a traditional friend that is not only a major economic partner of India but also one of the leading economic players of the world.”

Modi’s visit to Britain is the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister in nine years after Manmohan Singh’s visit in 2006. Singh visited Britain in 2009 to attend the G-20 summit.

“UK is one of the fastest growing G-7 economies and is home to a strong financial services sector,” Modi stated. “I see immense scope for our economic and trade relations to improve and this will benefit both our economies,” he added.

On November 14, Modi will leave for Turkey to attend the annual G-20 summit.

(IANS)

Was Shah Rukh Khan targeted by ED for speaking on intolerance, asks Congress

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SHAHRUKH khan

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday questioned if Shah Rukh Khan had faced the wrath of Enforcement Directorate (ED) because he spoke up on the issue of intolerance.

On Wednesday, the ED had questioned Khan over alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“A noted film star like Shah Rukh Khan is grilled for four hours… Whether he is facing wrath for speaking out or whether something wrong has been done by him,” chief spokesperson of Congress Randeep Surjewala said.

He said that suspicions on this score arose as the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI have nowadays become “instruments of vendetta”.

Citing an instance, Surjewala alleged that Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh, who is the senior-most chief minister in the country, faced ED raid on the day of his daughter’s marriage.

The Enforcement Directorate has recorded the statement of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan in a matter of alleged irregularities in the sale ofSHARES of Knight Riders Sports Pvt Ltd (KRSPL) to a Mauritius-based company.

The case, dating back to 2008-09, pertains to the share sale of KRSPL, owned by Khan’s Red Chillies along with Juhi Chawla and her husband, to a Mauritius-based company owned by Chawla’s husband Jay Mehta.

ED is probing allegations that shares sold to the Jay Mehta-owned Sea Island INVESTMENTS were undervalued by eight to nine times. Khan had faced ED once in 2011 when he was questioned about alleged foreign exchange violation of around Rs 100 crore.

(Agencies)

Girish Karnad will be killed like Kalburgi, threatens anonymous Twitter account

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girish-karnad

Bengaluru: Actor and Jnanpith awardee, Girish Karnad received death threat for suggesting Bengaluru international airport should be named after Tipu Sultan.

“Girish Karnad will meet the same end like kalburgi if he enrages kannadigas by replacing in Kempe gouda (sic) with Tipu Sultan.” the tweet, later deleted by the user, read.

“A tweet was posted by someone with the user name Intolerant Chandra…. We are aware of the tweet and action will be taken if necessary and if a complaint is lodged,” the TOI quoted a police officer.

Karnad had given a written complaint on the issue.

Girish Karnad on Wednesday apologised for saying the Bangalore international airport should have been named after Tipu Sultan and not Kempegowda, believed to have founded the city.

Karnad said he had never meant to insult the Vokkaliga icon when he suggested the airport should have been christened after Tipu, the 18th century king of Mysore who died fighting the British. “I have great respect for Kempegowda and I never insulted him. I apologise if my words caused any hurt to anyone.”

Chief minister P.C. Siddaramaiah, who had presided over the Tipu Jayanti programme where Karnad made the controversial suggestion, distanced himself from the remark. “He shouldn’t have made that remark. It is his personal view and there is no question of the government even thinking of changing the airport’s name,” the Congress leader said.

Karnad had justified his view saying Kempegowda was not a freedom fighter like Tipu, angering the Vokkaligas and sparking demonstrations. The community wields immense political clout and accounts for 15 per cent of the state’s six-crore population.

The Vokkaligas have termed Karnad’s remarks an “insult” to Kempegowda. Former deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader R. Ashok, a Vokkaliga, demanded an apology from the actor for making the suggestion at the first state-sponsored Tipu event.

(Agencies)

Over 2,000 war veterans return medals

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war veterans return medals

New Delhi: Over 2,000 ex-servicemen protesting against the government’s “diluted” one-pension-one rank scheme on Tuesday returned their medals in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, the organizations spearheading the movement claimed on Tuesday as they hit back at Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for his “unlike soldiers behaviour” remark aimed at them.

Colonel (retd) Anil Kaul, spokesman of the protesters in Delhi, said 2,000 ex-servicemen’s medals were deposited at the district collector’s office.

“The veterans had threatened to leave the medals on the road if we didn’t accept it. Hence, we accepted those,” District Collector Sanjay Kumar told reporters.

In Chandigarh, Brigadier Kiran Krishan (retd), Convener for North Haryana of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), a constituent of United Front of Ex-Servicemen that had led the nation-wide protest for OROP at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, said that more than 150 war veterans returned over 150 medals which were handed over to the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula.

Kaul said ex-servicemen from Ambala, Chandigarh, Moga, Jalandhar and Gurdaspur returned their medals today while those from Mumbai, Pune, Vadodara and Bangalore will follow the suit.

“Our people from Mumbai, Pune, Vadodara and Bangalore will return their medals next. By the way, this is just the trailer,” he added.

The veterans claimed over 20,000 of them have returned medals since their protest began in 2008 to press for OROP.

Kaul reacted sharply to Parrikar’s statement that the war veterans’ protest against OROP notification is “unlike that of a soldier” and said the Parrikar’s behaviour “too doesn’t behove that of a Defence Minister.

Dismissing Parrikar’s remarks that the protesters were being “misguided” and that the OROP notification issued on Saturday has been his “achievement”, the agitators shot back at the BJP leader asking him to learn English to know meanings of the two words and asked him not to “lie” to his soldiers seeking their due rights.

“He says our behaviour is unlike that of a soldier. But we feel Parrikar’s behaviour is unlike that of a Defence Minister. We have been seeking our due to rights for past 149 days. But government has found no time to listen to us.

“Hence, we have been impelled to agitate Mr Parrikar. Your notification is not what we have been talking about. Therefore, we are returning medals,” Kaul said.

(PTI)

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