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Mulayam PM, Rahul his deputy: Akhilesh’s formula for alliance with Congress

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Akhilesh-Yadav

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today suggested that an alliance with Congress is possible in an arrangement where Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is the Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi his Deputy.

 

Akhilesh made the comments in the course of a conversation at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here in the presence of the Congress vice president. However, Rahul refused to comment when asked to respond.

 

The UP Chief Minister was replying to a question on whether he was ready to extend his “good” personal relationship with Gandhi to a political level with the Congress.

“You are asking me because I am a Samajwadi (socialist) and you also say that I get rebuked by my father (Mulayam). I also want that Netaji’s dreams are fulfilled and that I work for him. He becomes the Prime Minister and he (pointing at Rahul) Deputy Prime Minister. I am in agreement with this and will make an alliance now,” if it is found acceptable, Akhilesh said, smiling.

He, however, sidestepped a question on whether an alliance with its rival BSP, like the one in Bihar where JD(U) and RJD came together, is possible in UP for the 2017 Assembly polls.

“Her (Mayawati) choice is that stone made elephant statues come up. So how is that possible? I have already told you my formula,” was Akhilesh’s response, referring to his conditions for a possible alliance with Congress.

Earlier, he categorically said, “there is no talk of any coalition at this point. It’s better if we don’t talk of it now.”

The 42-year-old chief minister of India’s most populous state asserted that any relationship with the BJP or any of its associate organisations was not possible “because of the kind of divisions they produce and the language they use.”

(Agencies)

Modi announces relief of Rs 1000 crore for rain-hit Tamil Nadu

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People of India stay with people of Tamil Nadu in this hour of need, says the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducting an aerial survey of rain hit areas of Chennai on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducting an aerial survey of rain hit areas of Chennai on Thursday.

Chennai: After an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced an immediate release of Rs.1,000 crore for relief and rehabilitation works in Tamil Nadu.

“A sum of Rs. 1,000 crore will be released immediately by the Government of India to carry out relief works. This will be in addition to Rs.940 crore which was released earlier (by the Centre),” he said in a brief statement at the naval base “INS Adyar” here.

Flanked by Governor K Rosaiah and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, Mr. Modi began his brief statement with a sentence in Tamil saying telling people of Tamil Nadu, “I will be in support of you”.

Switching to English, Mr. Modi said he has seen the damage and misery caused by the monsoon fury.

“People of India stay with people of Tamil Nadu in this hour of need,” he said after the survey in which he was accompanied by Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, who hails from Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Modi also tweeted later, “The Government of India stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of Tamil Nadu in this hour of need.”

“I have directed that Rs. 1000 crore be released immediately by the Govt of India to Tamil Nadu for immediate relief,” he said in another tweet.

“I have seen the damage and misery caused by the extremely heavy rainfall,” said another of his tweet.

The Prime Minister made the announcement after holding consultations with the Chief Minister at the naval base here.

Earlier, Mr. Modi arrived from Delhi at the naval working station ‘INS Rajali’ in Arakkonam, about 60 km from here, and made an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas of Chennai, its suburbs and Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts.

After an earlier spell of heavy rains and damage in November, the Prime Minister had announced release of Rs.940 crore to Tamil Nadu.

(PTI)

Justice Thakur sworn-in as Chief Justice of India

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Justice T S Thakur

New Delhi: Justice T.S. Thakur was sworn in on Thursday as the 43rd Chief Justice of India.

President Pranab Mukherjee administered the oath of office.

Thakur succeeded Chief Justice H.L. Dattu who demitted office on December 2.

Chief Justice Thakur will have a tenure of 13 months as he is slated to retire on January 3, 2017.

(IANS)

Siddaramaiah announces Rs. 5-crore aid to flood-hit Tamil Nadu

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siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka on Wednesday announced Rs.5 crore for relief and rescue operations in flood-hit Chennai.

“As a humanitarian gesture, we are also rushing relief materials to Chennai for the people affected by flood waters,” an official told sources after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced in New Delhi the Rs.5-crore aid to Tamil Nadu.

With air, rail and road connectivity to Chennai disrupted, flights, trains and bus services from Bengaluru were cancelled for the next two days.

Though Chennai is about 350 km away to the southeast of Bengaluru, there is heavy movement of people and goods between the two state capitals, with a dozen flights and trains and about 100 buses operating daily.

As the low pressure over the Bay of Bengal continued to batter Chennai, dark clouds and chilly winds gripped Bengaluru since Monday, with forecast of rains and thundershowers this week.

In a related development, prayers and rituals were performed in temples in the city to appease rain gods for sparing Chennai from further rains, as thousands of people, especially the Tamil-speaking community, with relatives reside in both cities.

(Agencies)

Rains, floods kill 269 in Tamil Nadu, 54 in Andhra

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tn-floods

New Delhi: The heaviest rains in Tamil Nadu in over a century and floods have claimed 269 lives, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday, describing the situation as “alarming”.

 

The minister also told the Lok Sabha that 54 people had been killed in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and two in Puducherry.

“There are no two opinions that the situation in Tamil Nadu is alarming. It is not an exaggeration to say that Chennai has turned into an island,” Singh said.

Singh said all highways leading to Chennai were closed for the past two days.

Chennai, he said, had received torrential rains, and the meteorological department has predicted more rains in the next two-three days.

Singh said 30 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and seven columns of the army were engaged in relief and rescue work. The navy had also deployed boats and divers.

He said the central government would provide all necessary assistance sought by the Tamil Nadu government.

Singh said the Tamil Nadu government had demanded Rs.8,480.93 crore for flood destruction and Rs.940 crore had been released as immediate relief.

(Agencies)

JD(S) to announce MLC list soon

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jds

Bengaluru: The JD (S) today convened a meeting of the MLAs to discuss the upcoming Legislative Council polls scheduled for December 27.

The JD (S) has 13 representations in the Legislative Council and of these, five MLCs recently retired. The party has not yet taken a final call on whether it should field candidates for all the 25 seats. The party said the decision will be announced soon.

JD (S) said that there are no differences of opinion about the selection of MLCs among members and said all petty differences have been sorted out.

In an aside party supremo and former prime minister blamed the media for distorting the image of the party .

Gujarat local polls: Congress leads in rural areas; BJP ahead in urban

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Gujarat-polls

Ahmedabad: In what could be a setback to the ruling BJP in crucial civic polls in Gujarat, the Congress is leading in district and taluka panchayats even as the saffron party is ahead in corporations and municipalities, as initial counting trends start pouring in from across the state.

The BJP had held almost all the local bodies earlier in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The civic elections have also assumed significance for the ruling party in the backdrop of Patel quota agitation and being the first major political battle for Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.

The Congress has surged ahead in nine district panchayats of the state, while the BJP is leading in four out of the total 31 district panchayats that went to polls.

In the last election, the Congress had only won the Tapi district panchayat.

The BJP, however, is ahead in all the six municipal corporations that went to polls, including Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Vadodara. All the municipal corporations were earlier held by BJP.

The ruling party is also doing reasonably well in the 56 municipalities.

However, in the 230 taluka panchayats, the Congress is doing well at the initial stage, State Election Commission officials said.

In the prestigious Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation polls, the BJP is ahead in more than 50 seats, while the Congress is leading in 15 seats out of total of 192 seats.

However, in a major upset, the Congress is leading its way to win the Rajkot district panchayat, where it is ahead in 22 seats out of total 40, while BJP is ahead in one seat. In the last elections, the BJP had won 26 seats there and the Congress 14 seats.

The voting for six municipal corporations was held on November 26, while that for 31 district panchayats, 230 taluka panchayats and 56 municipalities was held on November 29.

Though the voting for the six municipal corporations was as low as 45 per cent, for other semi-urban and rural bodies it was over 60 per cent.

For the BJP and Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, the polls are being seen as a challenge as they were held after the Patel quota stir and in absence of Narendra Modi.

The Congress is hoping to make a comeback in the state, riding on the Patel quota agitation.

The Patel leaders, who had launched a stir for inclusion under OBC category for reservation, had during the poll campaign told their community members to vote against the BJP, and in favour of the Congress.

(PTI)

‘Visibly’ upset Modi leaves Lok Sabha amid uproar

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Narendra Modi

New Delhi: A visibly upset Prime Minister Narendra Modi left the Lok Sabha on Wednesday as opposition members created a din demanding the sacking of minister V.K. Singh.

After some 40 minutes of uproar, during which Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s repeated requests to the protesting MPs to calm down fell on deaf ears, Modi left the house.

The opposition MPs said they wanted Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh out of the government for making “derogatory comments” against Dalits.

The trouble began soon after the house met for question hour as opposition members assembled near the speaker’s chair shouting slogans against the minister.

“V.K. Singh should resign!” they shouted. Mahajan tried to pacify them on one hand and asked the rest of the house to continue with parliamentary business.

Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah looked on from the front rows of the treasury benches.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu also tried to pacify the agitated members, saying the minister had already clarified the issue and there was no point stretching it further.

As the question hour got over amid the din, the speaker again requested the opposition to let the house function but the protesting MPs instead walked out.

(IANS)

Chennai rain fury: Airport shut, Army assisting in rescue operations

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Heavy rain Tamil Nadu

Chennai: Rain-ravaged Chennai was today crawling with air and road traffic severely hit as Army, Navy and NDRF teams stepped up rescue operations in worst-hit localities of the city that is also witnessing power outages.

 

The non-stop torrential rains pounding the city since last night showed some let up in the morning but the inundated streets left commuters stranded.

In view of the water logging, Chennai Airport authorities have shut operations till 6 AM tomorrow. All airlines, including Air India, have cancelled their operations from Chennai airport.

The Airports Authority of India has issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) to all air operators in this regard, an AAI spokesperson said in New Delhi.

The spokesperson said Chennai airport authorities had initially shut operations till this morning but due to incessant rains it has now decided to extend it till 6 AM tomorrow.

Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) is a notice containing information concerning the establishment, condition, or change in any facility, service or procedure, among others, in airspace management.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in view of the situation, the Centre has deployed Army, Navy and NDRF teams in sufficient numbers.

“The Prime Minister has issued a memorandum and we have deployed our Central team there to assess the situation and make a report so that every possible help can also reach there,” Singh said.

Two columns of army’s Garrison Infantry Battalion have been pressed into service in Tambaram and Oorapakkam after the Tamil Nadu government sought military assistance.

The Navy has also been deployed to assist in the operations.

“More army personnel are coming to Chennai from Bengaluru,” a Defence Public Relations official said.

Navy personnel have been deployed in Sadiapet area of Chennai to rescue people marooned in low-lying areas.

The NDRF is airlifting another 15 teams to the rain-battered state. While 10 teams are being airlifted from Bhubaneshwar to Tirupati, another five teams are being lifted from Delhi, NDRF DG O P Singh said.

Each team comprises 40 personnel.

The teams are also carrying 20 inflatable boats along with them for the rescue operations.

NDRF DIG and commanding officer have been stationed in Chennai to take stock of the operations, he said.

Singh said that he is also in constant touch with the Relief Commissioner of Tamil Nadu.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said more forces will be deployed to tackle the situation.

However, “we are facing difficulty in bringing them (forces) there as the airport is also not operating,” he said.

The rains that have virtually broken a 100-year-old record with one day’s rainfall covering a month’s average have flooded areas in Vadapalani, Valasaravakkam and Nandamvakkam as nearby lakes overflowed into the city.

The situation has worsened in suburban areas of Tambaram and Mudichur after the Chembarakam lake overflowed and an unprecedented 26,000 cusecs of water was released flooding the downstream areas. These areas had already suffered heavily during the earlier spells of rains.

A large part of the road near Madhya Kailash temple in the heart of the city in an area that connects the IT corridor has caved in resulting in a huge crater and disrupting traffic.

Even in hitherto unaffected areas, people have complained that water entered their homes and roads flooded with surging waters. Several areas in the city went without power as supply was cut as a safety precaution.

DG MeT Department Laxman Singh Rathore said, “Extremely heavy rainfall has been occurring for sometime and today Tamil Nadu has witnessed 35 cm of rainfall that has created havoc.

“Its intensity, however, will decrease in the next 48 hours and further by 72 hours but it is likely to continue for five-seven days,” he said.

DMK MP Kanimozhi demanded that the Centre should declare it as a national disaster as it is not only Chennai that is affected but also coastal areas of Tamil Nadu.

“The rain is unrelenting and more rains have been predicted in another few more days. I really don’t understand how state government can handle the situation. We need more resources, more help and everything has to be rushed quickly. We need whatever support Centre can give to the state government,” she said.

Meanwhile, Spicejet has cancelled all its flights till tomorrow, while Jet Airways has cancelled all its flights to and from Chennai for today.

Budget carrier IndiGo has announced cancellation of all flights from Chennai.

“Due to heavy rains causing water logging on the Chennai runway all the inbound and outbound flights to and fro Chennai have been cancelled,” Indigo tweeted.

(Agencies)

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