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No evidence against Manmohan Singh in coal case: CBI

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manmohan singh

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday told a special court that there is no prima facie evidence against former prime minister Manmohan Singh in coal block allocation case allegedly involving Jindal group firms.

Special Public Prosecutor R. S. Cheema told Special Judge Bharat Parashar that there is no prima facie evidence against Manmohan Singh to name him as an accused in allocation of Jharkhand’s Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to Jindal Steel and Gagan Sponge.

Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda had filed a plea last month seeking summoning of Manmohan Singh in the case but the CBI opposed it saying that the application was filed to delay the trial.

The court set October 16 for delivering its order on Koda’s plea.

Koda, in his plea, said: “Materials placed by the CBI shows the said conspiracy, if any, cannot be complete without the involvement of the (then) coal minister (Manmohan Singh) who had the final say in the entire allotment.”

He also sought summoning of the then energy secretary Anand Swaroop and the then mines secretary Jai Shankar Tiwari, saying they were part of the three-member sub-group formed by the Jharkhand government to evaluate the pleas of firms and suggest suitable application for recommendation by the state.

Apart from Koda, Congress leader Naveen Jindal, former union minister of state for coal Dasari Narayan Rao, former coal secretary H.C. Gupta and others have been named as accused in the case.

They have been charge-sheeted for criminal conspiracy and cheating as well as under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

(IANS)

Ashamed of Modi’s behaviour on foreign soil: Congress

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modi-usa

New Delhi: Congress on Monday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his barbs at the party in the US, saying they were “ashamed” of his behaviour on foreign soil.

“Listening to the Prime Minister’s speech I am ashamed. Indian PM after going to California is making fun of his countrymen and is only praising himself,” Congress leader Rashid Alvi said. In a veiled attack on corruption during UPA regime and a barb at the Congress President’s son-in-law Robert Vadra, Modi in his address to the Indian community in California today deprecated the culture of graft in the country.

“In our country it doesn’t take much for allegations to come up against politicians… Someone made 50 crores, someone’s son made 250 crores, (someone’s) daughter made 500 crores, (someone’s) damaad (son-in-law) made 1000 crores…” he said. Countering Modi, Congress leader Manish Tiwari said, “Indians are fed up with the government who helps a ‘baghoda’.

Is there any state government in India like Rajasthan where there are scams after scams. Before taking a dig at others, he should look at his party,” he said. JD(U) leader K C Tyagi also took a dig at Modi, saying, “Questions can also be raised as to why he does not stay with his mother”. He said the Prime Minister should never attack his country’s opposition in the foreign land.

Alvi said he had written to Modi after Lok Sabha polls, saying “You say your mother works even today. Then why are you not caring for your mother. Is your salary less that you cannot take care of your mother?”

Modi had on Sunday got emotional while talking about the sacrifices his mother made as he grew up.

(Agencies)

Social activist Medha Patekar arrested in Allahabad

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Social activist Medha Patekar was on her way to Kachari village when police tried to prevent her from going ahead, fearing tension in the area.

Medha Patekar

Lucknow: Social activist Medha Patekar was arrested in Allahabad on Saturday.

She was on her way to Kachari village when police tried to prevent her from going ahead, fearing tension in the area. As she refused to abort the plan, senior police officials arrested her and took her to the police lines.

Patkar was going to attend an event in the village on death anniversary of a social activist Banwari Lal Sharma and was later also due to meet families of some people arrested for opposing the land acquisition in the area.

District Magistrate of Allahabad Sanjay Kumar on Friday night had urged the social activist to cancel her visit, as prohibitory orders were in place there.

Patkar was detained at the guest house at Allahabad university. But she was arrested as she began to move towards a rally venue and staged a sit-in.

Patkar is demanding immediate release of people arrested for opposing land acquisition by the government authorities in that area.

Upper caste villagers booked for assaulting Dalit boy

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dalit

Mysuru: In an incident that took place in Kuruburu Village in T Narasipur Taluk, few men belonging to the upper caste assaulted a dalit boy after he claimed his reward for winning a competition on September 24 Thursday night.

It was alleged that the upper caste men not only hit the boy but also showed disrespect to BR Ambedkar’s portrait.

Sources say that a competition had been organized by the villagers at a Ganesha pandal. The competition, gundu kallu (stone lifting) was held as part of the Gowri-Ganesha festival.

The organizers declared that the winner would get a cash prize of 2,000. Narayan, Chinnaiah, Rangaiah, Puttaswamy and Mahesh, who are dalit boys, took part in the competition and Narayan won.

However, when Narayan claimed his cash prize, the organizers refused to give it to him; instead they hit him with sticks and chased him along with the other boys to their locality. It is alleged that the villagers also broke the drinking water pipes in the dalit area.

However, the police rushed to the spot and took control of the situation.

Charges of harassment on dalits have been booked against 14 people.

(Agencies)

Expand 4G network in India soon: US media honchos to PM

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi poses for a photo with media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and other media honcos before a round table meeting 'Media, technology and communication - Growth story for India' in New York on Thursday. PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi poses for a photo with media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and other media honcos before a round table meeting ‘Media, technology and communication – Growth story for India’ in New York on Thursday. PTI

New York: Presenting India as a technology-driven society, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday pledged protection to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) as he met top executives of major media and communication companies here.

“This is a technology-driven era. We are a technology-driven society,” he said at a round table meeting with the top executives of companies like Comcast, Time Warner, Discovery, Sony, ESPN, News Corp, 21st Century Fox, Disney Industries, ABC television group.

The focus of the Prime Minister’s meeting with over dozen media honchos was to understand about the trends in media and communication technologies and the opportunities for India.

“We are committed to protecting IPR which is essential to fostering creativity,” Modi told them at the round table on Media, Tech & Communications.

The CEOs present included Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman News Corp and 21stCentury Fox; James Murdoch, CEO, 21st Century Fox; Robert Thompson, CEO, News Corp; John Skipper, president, ESPN; Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India; David Zaslav, president and CEO, Discovery Communications and Michael Lynton, CEO, Sony Entertainment.

Others present at the round table were Brian L. Roberts, CEO, Comcast; Michael Roth, CEO, Interpublic Group of Companies; Shane Smith, CEO, Vice Media; Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP; Jeff Bewkes, CEO, Time Warner; Nancy Dubuc, CEO, A&E Networks; Anthony Pratt, chairman, Visy Industries; William Duhamel, Route One Investment Company and Jeff Ubben, CEO, ValueAct Capital.

US media honchos for early rollout of 4G

Describing India as the ‘biggest market’, America’s media honchos have called for speedier digitisation of the Indian system, including early expansion of the 4G network, during a one-of-its kind meeting with PM Narendra Modi.

During the meeting wherein the focus was on the role that the media and entertainment industry can play in development and generation of employment opportunities in the country, CEOs of the top media houses appreciated Modi for ‘energetic and dynamic leadership’ and expressed optimism about the future of India, a statement said.

The CEOs representing 40 per cent of the world’s entertainment industry – were enthusiastic about the digital transformation that is taking place in India through the ‘Digital India’ initiative.

They said that the current strong trajectory of the Indian economy makes it at a unique moment to accelerate growth in this sector.

“All of them said India is the biggest market for them in terms of the phenomenal growth of the entertainment channels, in terms of the youth in India wanting more such content. They asked for speedier digitisation of the Indian systems,” External Affairs Minister spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters.

Shane Smith for instance, said that he wanted rolling out of the 4G systems as soon as possible. This is the bandwidth that they need for their program contents to be rolled out and to reach people as fast as possible.

All the CEOs said that India is already a big market for them and they do not have any issues with the existing norms.

“What they wanted was speedier expansion of broad band infrastructure,” he said.

“The Prime Minister and CEOs observed that the changes in technology and media in recent times have led to an enormous democratisation of knowledge. He said that the world is now in a technology- driven era, where growth of digital infrastructure is as important as growth of physical infrastructure,” Swarup said.

(Agencies)

Karnataka bandh demanding Kalasa-Banduri canal project hits normal life

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Karnataka bandh

Bengaluru: Normal life was affected in the IT city and other parts of Karnataka today following a 12-hour statewide bandh called by several pro-Kannada outfits demanding implementation of Kalasa-Banduri canal project, over which state government has locked horns with neighbouring Goa.

With various public transport unions supporting the bandh, buses were not plying, while availability, of auto-rickshaws and taxis remained scarce.

People coming to the city from far of places were seen stranded at bus stands and railway stations following non-availability of buses to reach their destination. They even alleged taxis and auto rickshaws of overcharging.

Incidents of ‘rail roko’ were reported at Mysuru, Hassan, Hubballi, Dharwad and Tumkuru stations.

Some private schools and colleges had declared a holiday. Education Department has also declared holiday at several places.

Vatal Nagaraj, president of ‘Kannada Okkoota’, under whose leadership the bandh has been called said, “Calling for bandh was necessary to protect the interests of people of Karnataka.” Alleging MP’s across party lines failed to raise the issue in Parliament, he demanded their resignation.

The bandh was supported by several trade unions as well as Kannada film industry. A ‘massive’ protest march has been organised in the city as part of the bandh.

The Kalasa-Banduri Nala (diversion) project, which will utilise 7.56 tmcft of water from the inter-state Mahadayi river, is being undertaken by Karnataka to improve drinking water supply to the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad and the districts of Belagavi and Gadag.

It involves building barrages across Kalasa and Banduri, tributaries of Mahadayi river, to divert 7.56 TMC to Malaprabha river which supplies drinking water needs of the twin cities.

Protests are on by several organisations and farmers across districts of North Karnataka demanding implementation of Kalasa-Banduri project.

The protest has intensified since an all-party delegation lead by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi which turned out to be “inconclusive.”

As few senior Congress leaders expressed unhappiness about Prime Minister’s response to the all-party delegation, BJP accused it of “misleading” the public and said Modi was positive about getting peaceful settlement to the issue.

Adequate security measures were taken to ensure that no untoward incidents occur, Additional Commissioner of Police (Bengaluru West) Pratap Reddy had yesterday said.

About 4,500 officials and police personnel have been deployed in the city besides 63 platoons of Karnataka State Reserve Police and City Reserve Police Force.

(Agencies)

Sikhs, Patels protest against Modi at UN headquarters

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modi

United Nations: A group of Sikhs and the Patidar community supporters have demonstrated outside the UN headquarters here, coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on Sustainable Development at a special UN summit.

Under the banner of Sikhs for Justice, over 200 Sikhs, alleging human rights violations in Punjab, demanded referendum in 2020 for a separate Khalistan. The protesters, raising anti-India and anti-Modi slogans, urged the world body to take steps to meet their demand. “There is massive violations against minorities, in particular against Christians, Sikhs and Muslims,” SFJ leader Bakhshish Singh Sandhu claimed yesterday.

Side by side in a separate enclosure were a few dozen members of the Patidar community from Gujarat who are living in different parts of the country. “We want justice from police brutalities. As many as 4,000 youths are still in police custody. There has been police brutality against innocent people. So far no action has been taken against the police officials responsible for this,” one Anil Patel claimed.

The protesters were sporting caps of Sardar Patel Group from Gujarat, which is leading the movement for reservations for the Patel community in the State. Meanwhile, a few enclosures later at the UN headquarters, another group of Patels under the banner of Indian Diamond and Gemstone Industry of New York held a welcome rally for Modi.

(Agencies)

Activists, groups launch anti-Modi campaign in US

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Modifail

New York: A group of activists, organisations and some members of the Patel community have launched a campaign in the US against Prime Minister Narendra Modi who arrived here today.

The campaign in various shape and form primarily includes multiple levels of protests in both New York and San Jose where the Prime Minister would be travelling.

It also includes a massive campaign on social media and even a big bill board from the new “Modifail” campaign launched by Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA).

Describing itself as a coalition of progressive groups in the US, the AJA has put up a huge billboard on a freeways in Silicon Valley. The saffron-colored billboard has a huge mugshot of the Prime Minister addressing a rally.

“We stand against Modi’s regressive agenda,” the bill board in Milpitas says.

In a statement, AJA hoped that this series of billboards in the Bay Area will inform the American people that Modi’s upcoming “Silicon Valley PR tour is being used as an excuse to whitewash his dismal record” as Prime Minister.

AJA plans protests outside the SAP Center in San Jose on September 27, where Modi is scheduled to address to some 18,500 Indian-Americans.

New York-based Sikh for Justice has said it will hold similar protests before the United Nations here and also in front of the SAP Center in San Jose on September 27.

It has also announced a reward of USD 10,000 to any one who asks questions to Modi and Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg during their upcoming Townhall meeting at Facebook HQ.

A section of the Patel community, who are agitated against police action in Gujarat, has said they would raise “black flags” against Modi in both New York and San Jose.

US-based Human Rights Watch urged CEOs of American technology companies to tell the Indian leader that they will oppose any steps that erode free expression or privacy rights.

“While India presents significant business opportunities, CEOs should tell Modi that they will oppose any steps that erode free expression or privacy rights,” Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

During his stay in the US – primarily in New York and Silicon Valley — Modi will meet the CEOs of top technology firms such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, Adobe and Facebook.

The Patels-dominated Asian American Hotel Owners Association or AAHOA has welcomed the US visit of the Prime Minister, describing him as a leader who has a distinguished record of fostering economic development and innovation.

(Agencies)

Muzaffarnagar riots: Judicial panel indicts SP, BJP leaders

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muzafarnagar-riots

New Delhi: The Justice (retd) Vishnu Sahai commission set up by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe Muzaffarnagar riots has named several local Samajwadi Party and BJP leaders in the report.

It has also indicted some police officers, including the SHO of a local police station for failure to prevent the riots, reports Times of India.

Justice Vishnu Sahay, heading the commission submitted the report to the Governor yesterday.

The report will be sent to the state government for necessary action. The commission recorded the statements of more than 476 persons, including 100 officials in connection with the riots that broke out after an incident on August 27, 2013.

It was also asked to look into administrative lapses, if any, in controlling the violence in Muzaffarnagar and surrounding districts which left over 60 people dead and thousands displaced.

(PTI)

Karnataka: Cabinet expansion to be delayed as Rahul, Digvijay not in India

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siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: The state government’s much-awaited Cabinet expansion and reshuffle have been indefinitely put off as AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh are not in the country.

Digvijay Singh, for the past few weeks has been in the US as he is attending his ailing daughter, though he was supposed to return on Thursday, his trip has been delayed. Rahul, too is in the US. Hence, CM Siddaramaiah who was supposed to stay back in Delhi and discuss regarding the Cabinet expansion and reshuffle, will return to Bengaluru on Thursday evening. Digivjay Singh is in-charge of party affairs in the state. It should be noted that several ministerial aspirants who were in Delhi to campaign for ministerial posts will return empty-handed as the decision will be postponed.

CM Siddaramaiah said that since both Rahul and Digivjay were not in the country, he would discuss with them once they return.

He indicated that the talks would take place only after Rahul visits the state and speaks to the families of farmers who committed suicide which is scheduled for October 6 and 7.

With regard to the Kalasa-Banduri project, the state government will file an interim petition in the Supreme Court, said the Chief Minister and added that the petition would be filed after a legal team looked into the available options.

(Agencies)

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