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AAP has reclaimed its lost ground in Delhi, admits RSS

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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

New Delhi: The RSS on Tuesday in its mouthpiece ‘Organiser’ admitted that the BJP is not in a comfortable position in Delhi and added that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has reclaimed its lost ground in the city.

It has also said that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party has rejuvenated its cadres. It has accepted that the BJP chose Kiran Bedi as its CM candidate after receiving negative response from the field.

“The top BJP leadership after receiving adverse feedback from field against the Delhi BJP, inducted Kiran Bedi and projected her as BJP’s chief ministerial nominee,” the article says.

The article talks about the resentment in the state unit after Kiran Bedi was inducted in the BJP and made the CM candidate by the party’s central leadership and adds that the party has gained after that.

Petrol price cut by Rs 2.42; diesel by Rs 2.25 per litre

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petrol-price-oil

New Delhi: Petrol price was cut by Rs 2.42 while that of diesel was cut by 2.25 per litre, oil marketing companies said on Tuesday.

This is the tenth straight reduction in petrol prices since August, and sixth in diesel since October.

Petrol and diesel prices were last cut on January16 by Rs 2.42 and Rs 2.25 per litre respectively.

Oil edged higher in Asia today, extending gains from the previous day after US firms cut drilling activity, but analysts doubt the rebound will be sustained as supplies still far outweigh demand.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March delivery rose 37 cents to USD 49.94 while Brent crude for March gained 22 cents to USD 54.97 in late morning trade.

(Agencies)

NHRC asks for report on Delhi church attack

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This is the fifth attack on a church since December.

This is the fifth attack on a church since December.

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday issued notice to the union home ministry, Delhi government and Delhi Police for a detailed report, including the status of investigation, into the ransacking-cum-theft in a Delhi church.

The NHRC issued notice to the secretary of the home ministry, chief secretary of Delhi government and the Delhi Police Commissioner to submit their reports on the allegations of desecration of the St. Alphonsa’s Church in south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj in the early hours of Monday.

“Home ministry, Delhi government and the Delhi Police have been given ten days’ time to respond,” said a NHRC release.

The NHRC intervened in the matter after taking suo motu cognizance of media reports about the incident of breaking open the doors of the St. Alphonsa’s Church and defiling of the place of worship and the objects held sacred, the release said.

The church’s administration Monday claimed it did not seem to be just an incident of theft as this was the fifth case within nine weeks when a church in Delhi was targeted.

A few sacred items, including a ciborium (receptacle) and a monstrance kept inside a tabernacle, a cabinet made of wood and glass, were taken away.

The release said the NHRC also received a telephonic information from advocate Manoj V. George alleging that the police were not taking necessary and appropriate action.

“The commission has observed that the intention of the offenders appears to be to insult a particular religion and…promote disharmony… the matter involves serious issues relating to violation of human rights and requires the intervention of the commission to ensure prompt investigation,” the release said.

Earlier, NHRC member Justice Cyriac Joseph accompanied by some officers visited the church Monday and met Fr. Vincent, the priest at the church.

“Fr. Vincent explained to the NHRC team the nature and the extent of damage caused to the church. He said that the miscreants entered the church by breaking open the front main door. The tabernacle on the main altar directly below the main crucifix was opened and the Chalice and the Monstrance were removed from the tabernacle and the Holy Communion Hosts were thrown around the place,” the release said.

Fr. Vincent informed the NHRC team that the adjacent room called the Sacristy in which vestments and clothing and valuable articles like Chalice were kept, was also ransacked, the release said.

“He alleged that the intention of the miscreants was not to commit theft or burglary, as neither the money kept in three offering boxes nor any valuable objects were taken away. The act was to desecrate the sanctity of the church and to create a sense of insecurity in the minds of religious minority,” the release said.

As per the release, Fr. Vincent also expressed the apprehension that there was an attempt to downplay the incident as mere a theft or a burglary.

However, the release added, the senior police officials present on the spot during the visit of the NHRC members denied the allegation and the reports that the FIR was registered showing the offence as theft or burglary.

“The ACP (Assistant Commissioner of Police) assured that FIR would be registered on the basis of the written complaint dated and in the light of the statement recorded by the police from Fr. Vincent Salvatore. The police officer asserted that there was no inaction on the part of the police and the investigation would be conducted strictly and accordance with law,” the release said.

(IANS)

Booklet on Arkavathi to 'expose' CM: H D Kumaraswamy

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H D Kumaraswamy

Bengaluru: A booklet on the illegalities of Arkavathi Layout aimed to expose the Congress government will be released soon, said JD (S) leader H D Kumaraswamy.

The booklet has been prepared based on 7,000 pages of official documents which clearly suggest that CM Siddaramaiah himself had signed the documents pertaining to the land deletion, Kumarswamy said.

The booklets will be distributed to all the members of the Assembly during the ongoing session, he added.

When asked why the documents were not submitted to the Justice H S Kempanna Commission, Kumaraswamy said a scam of this magnitude has to be handed over to CBI for inquiry.

Karnataka: Governor asks ruling and opposition to work together

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Vidhana Soudha

Bengaluru: With the Opposition BJP and JD(S) at loggerheads with the ruling Congress party over the Arkavathi Layout controversy and other issues, Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala has called upon the opposition and treasury benches to work together for the development of the State and the welfare of the people.

Addressing the joint session of the Karnataka Legislature, the Governor said the overall development of the State and the welfare of the people must be the main concern of all political parties.

Incidentally, Vala is the first Governor to address the joint session of the State legislature in Hindi, a move which has attracted widespread criticism from the pro-Kannada organisations.

However, copies of the Governor’s address were printed and made available by the Legislatutre Secretariat to the members as well as the media not only in Hindi but the State’s official language of Kannada as also in English.

In his 40-minute address running 24 pages, the Governor said the finances of the State have improved over the last year and said the State was well on its way to implementing the developmental programmes.

A sum of Rs 26,847 crore of commercial taxes had been collected up to November last year, which was 16.15 per cent higher than the achievement for the previous year for the same period.

The e-initiatives of the Commercial Taxes Department have made tax compliance by the tax-payer easier simpler and more transparent, he said.

A sum of Rs 8825 crore was the revenue earned by the Excise Department up to November 2014 with a growth of 8.43 per cent as compared to last year, the Governor said.

Vala noted various steps taken by the Government to tackle the various problems of Bengaluru City and said Bengaluru Metro Rail Project Phase I was targeted for completion this year.

The Governor said a state-widegeographic information system (GIS) would be established which would be available to all departments as an important and innovative governance tool in their day-to-day planning and monitoring of schemes.

“The Karnataka-GIS portal will be the first of its kind in the country,” the Governor said.

(Agencies)

AAP demands SIT to probe funding of major parties

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File Photo

File Photo

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday said it will ask the leadership of BJP and Congress to agree for a probe by a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the funding of all the three major parties in the Delhi polls.

The party said it will write to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and BJP President Amit Shah seeking their consent for the investigation, to bring transparency in the funding of political parties.

“AAP will write letters to BJP and Congress presidents requesting to cooperate in SIT probe about their fundings for clean politics,” senior AAP leader Ashutosh said in a tweet.

The party said that a five-member delegation of AAP will go to Supreme Court to request for the setting up of an SIT to probe the funding of the three political parties.

“Team of five leaders — Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas. Sanjay singh, Ashish Khetan And Yogendra yadav will reach SC BY 1030 to request SIT PROBE (sic),” he tweeted.

“We are going to SUPREME COURT to hand over a letter to request to create an SIT to investigate the fundings of BJP, Congress and AAP,” he wrote on the micro-blogging site.

The AAP’s move came a day after a breakaway group of the party accused it of receiving Rs 2 crore from “dubious” companies.

Asserting that it adopted “total transparency” in its funding, AAP’s Yogendra Yadav in a late evening press conference on Monday accused BJP of attempting to influence the voters ahead of the February 7 polls by bringing out false allegations.

He was responding to allegations by AAP Volunteer Action Manch (AVAM), a breakaway group of the Aam Aadmi Party, which accused the Kejriwal-led party of receiving Rs 2 crore last year through four “dubious” companies.

Mr. Yadav said “strangely instead of inquiring against AAP, the BJP ministers are today making allegations even after sitting on the files for eight months.”

The AAP also challenged the government to probe the allegations by any central investigating agency including the CBI and Enforcement Directorate.

(PTI)

EVMs in Delhi tampered? Press any button, BJP light blinks alleges Kejriwal

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EVM

New Delhi: With just three days to go to the Delhi Assembly polls, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal expressed shock that Electronic Voting Machines in Delhi cantonment have been tampered.

Kejriwal alleged that yesterday during an EVM inspection in Delhi cantonment, it was found that 4 Electronic Voting Machines were tampered.

On pressing any button on the EVM, the light for the BJP party was blinking.

The AAP chief tweeted: Large scale EVM tampering? Yest, during inspection of EVMs in Del cant, in 4 machines, whatever button u pressed, light against BJP lit— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 3, 2015.

He, however, did not explain where the inspection of the EVMs was carried out. Official sources said that inspection of EVMs are carried out and at times public representatives are also taken along for random checking of the machines.

VHP leader Praveen Togadia barred from entering Bengaluru

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Praveen Togadia

Bengaluru: Senior VHP leader Praveen Togadia has been barred from entering Bengaluru from February 5 to February 10.

Bengaluru police commissioner M N Reddi has issued a notice to Togadia prohibiting him from entering the city.

The VHP leader was scheduled to attend ‘Hindu Virat Samavesha’ convention on February 8 in the city.

The ban came in the wake of provocative speeches made by Praveen Togadia in the past.

Sources said that VHP is planning to organise ‘Ghar Wapsi’ after the convention on February 8.

(Agencies)

VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi stokes fresh controversy with communal rants

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sadhvi_prachi

Badaun: VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi has stoked fresh controversy by making inflammatory remarks on the issue of ‘love jihad’ and defending her statement that Hindu women should have four children.

“They are trapping our daughters through ‘love jihad’. These people who give birth to 35-40…. Are spreading love jihad….. They are trying to make Hindustan into Darul Islam.

“When I made the remarks, it was as if the country was hit by a quake. The media said you have sparked an uproar with your remarks on four children. I said I have only advocated four children for Hindus not 40…. And it is important because the country needs it,” the saffron clad leader said at a function organised here by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) which “felicitated” Hindus who have more than four children.

Prachi had contested the 2012 Assembly elections on BJP ticket from Purkazi constituency in UP. She was among persons accused of inciting riots through their provocative speeches in Muzaffarnagar in 2013 and was later granted bail.

The latest hate speech came despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s warning to party leaders to restrain from making controversial comments which can overshadow his government’s agenda of development and economic reforms.

The BJP was quick to distance itself from Prachi’s remarks, saying the party does not agree with such views and is not interested in discussing any such issue.

“The BJP does not agree with any such comment. We do not think that the comments are correct. BJP does not want to discuss any issue other than good governance and even the people are not ready to accept any such discussion.

“Under such circumstances, there is no significance of such remarks,” said chief of BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit Laxmikant Bajpai.

He asserted that the leader was not speaking at a party platform.

Prachi felicitated 20 persons, who had more than four children at the ‘Virat Hindu Sammelan’ organised by VHP here yesterday. Those “honoured” included Dwarika Singh, who have 11 children, Rampal Singh and Surnam Singh, who have nine children each.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Sadhvi Prachi said, “Why family planning is implemented for Hindus only.”

On “Ghar Wapasi”, she said that if 1,400 years ago everyone was Hindu, “UP Urban Development Minister Azam Khan, Jama Masjid’s Imam Bukhari, former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Yusuf Raza Gilani should also do ghar wapasi”, a term used for reconverting into Hinduism.

Prachi said that she was not against love but against “Love Jihad”.

“A campaign is being run to trap Hindu girls in the name of love,” she said.

The sadhvi had drawn criticism last month over her remarks that Hindu women should have four kids.

“Earlier we used to say ‘hum do hamare do’. But now we have started saying that ‘sher ka bachcha ek hi achha’ (for a lion, one offspring is enough). This is wrong,” Prachi had said at a gathering in Bhilwara.

“If there is one child, where all will you send him? To protect the border… Or make him a scientist or he will take care of business…. So, we need four children. One can go to protect the borders, one can serve the society, give one to the saints and one to VHP to serve the nation and protect the culture. This is very important,” she had said.

Demanding a law to ban forced conversions, Prachi had supported the VHP’s ‘Ghar Wapsi’ or reconversion programme.

“If a son is angry due to the some reason and leaves the house, should he not be allowed to return. Should the family not accept him?

“That’s why ‘Ghar Wapsi’ should be supported,” she said.

Earlier, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj drew criticism when he asked Hindu women to have at least four children, with the opposition accusing BJP of trying to polarise the atmosphere.

BJP on its part had distanced itself from the remarks of Maharaj, who was also served a show cause notice, and urged its workers and public representatives to refrain from making such comments.

(PTI)

Set up SIT for Sikh ‘genocide’, Punjab CM Badal asks PM Modi

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Massive rally held by Lok Raj Sanghathan and other organization to mark 30th anniversary of Sikh Genocide. File Photo

Massive rally held by Lok Raj Sanghathan and other organization to mark 30th anniversary of Sikh Genocide. File Photo

New Delhi: Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday sought the personal intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in constituting a special investigation team (SIT) to probe all cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

In a letter to Modi, Badal said the “genocide” of Sikhs was a “pre-planned” incident at the behest of Congress leaders.

Badal urged the central government to take an immediate call on the recommendations of the Justice (retd) GP Mathur panel, constituted by the Centre in December last year, to re-investigate several cases related to anti-Sikh violence that broke out in November 1984 after the assassination of the-then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The chief minister said the Shiromani Akali Dal has been struggling to get justice for the victims of the 1984 riots in Delhi and other parts of the country.

He said that on the Akali Dal’s demand, the Justice Mathur panel was constituted in December 2014, by the central government to examine the possibility of setting up of an SIT for re-investigating the 1984 “genocide”.

Badal said the panel had, in its 45-page report, suggested setting up of an SIT.

Demanding re-investigation of many cases where crucial evidence was overlooked and cases were closed by Delhi Police even without sending them to courts, Badal said all such cases needed to be reopened.

Accusing the previous Congress-led government at the Centre and in Delhi of pushing the anti-Sikh riots cases under the carpet, Badal said the recommendations of the Mathur panel had given new hope to victims of the riots.

“By doing so, the government of India will assuage the bruised psyche of the Sikh community and help them get justice,” Badal said.

Hundreds of Sikhs were targeted and killed in Delhi and other places across India by mobs in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her two Sikh security personnel in October 1984.

Many Congress leaders were accused of instigating mobs to target Sikhs during the riots.

Meanwhile, an Akali Dal delegation Sunday met home minister Rajnath Singh and demanded an SIT to probe the 1984 riots as per recommendations of the committee.

Stating that justice delayed was justice denied, party leader and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Committee chief Manjit Singh GK said: “We met the home minister and told him that the government should act on the recommendations of the Justice Mathur report and the SIT must be constituted with immediate effect.”

He said Rajnath Singh assured them that justice will be done.

However, the Aam Aadmi Party attacked the government and described it as a political gimmick to woo voters ahead of the polls.

AAP leader HS Phoolka said if it was true, the findings of the retired Supreme Court judge were a severe indictment of the BJP-led government which has continued to stall the SIT ordered by then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in February 2014.

“The government has to explain to the citizens of the country and the victims why it continued to stall this SIT for these nine months,” he asked.

“Badal continued to shift his stand on the SIT. In February 2014, he said there was no need of the SIT. When the NDA came to power, he said the SIT should be Supreme Court-monitored and later said there was no need of an SIT and a commission should be appointed.”

He said the findings of the Mathur panel were a severe indictment of Badal also.

(IANS)

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