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Jammu & Kashmir asked to pay Rs. 650 cr bill for IAF and NDRF rescue operations

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kashmir-floods

Srinagar: The J&K government has to pay Rs. 650 crores to Indian Air Force (IAF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for the rescue operations they carried out and the relief material distributed during the recent floods in Kashmir.

According to a report published by Rising Kashmir, a bill of over Rs. 650 crores has been drafted in Delhi and verbally communicated to the state government through official channels.

“However, the state government has not received the hard copy of the bill so far,” sources said, the paper reported.

They said the bill also includes charges for food items dropped from the choppers and for the boats that were used during the rescue operations.

The disclosure of this bill was discussed in a meeting of Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah with traders prior to their road show protest to press for their demands to expedite rehabilitation process.

Citing official sources, the paper quoted that, “during the meeting, the CM disclosed that the bill has been prepared by IAF and NDRF for their relief efforts in the valley.”

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khanday said they haven’t received any such bill so far.

However, he added: “I don’t have any information about it yet, but anyways we have to pay the bill as per the procedure.”

Khanday said it was on the recommendation of the state government that services of IAF and NDRF were availed at the time of disaster to be paid for from the funds of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

“Whenever IAF and NDRF services are availed by any state at the time of disaster, they have to be paid from the treasury of state’s SDRF,” said Khanday.

Earlier, the central government came under criticism for allegedly dropping expired food items from the choppers in the name of relief.

“It is a cruel joke, first they provide us expired food items and now they are charging for it,” a trader said requesting anonymity.

The development has come at a time when flood victims are desperately seeking financial package for their rehabilitation.

It has also infuriated the business community which has been badly affected in the floods.

“It is an irony that instead of sending relief package for the revival of Kashmir, Centre is sending such kind of bills,” said another businessman.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi had announced Rs. 1000 crore relief package for J&K along with Rs. 320 crore State Disaster Relief Fund, but the affected families have not been paid so far.

India ready for nuclear no-first-use agreements

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United Nations

by Arul Louis

New York: Reiterating its traditional policy of not using nuclear weapons first and not targeting non-nuclear weapons nations, India has offered to enter into agreements incorporating the two principles while ruling out joining the non-proliferation treaty.

“As a responsible nuclear power India has a policy of credible minimum deterrence based on a No First Use posture and non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states,” Ambassador D.B. Venkatesh Varma said Monday. “We are prepared to convert these into bilateral or multilateral legally binding arrangements.”

Varma, the Indian Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament, was speaking at a meeting of the UN General Assembly Committee on Disarmament and International Peace.

While New Delhi is “unwavering in its commitment to universal, non-discriminatory, verifiable nuclear disarmament”, he said, “there is no question of India joining the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) as a non-nuclear weapon state.” That would require New Delhi unilaterally giving up its nuclear weapons.

On another matter impacting the restriction of nuclear weapons, Varma offered New Delhi’s qualified support to the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) negotiations.

“Without prejudice to the priority we attach to nuclear disarmament, we support the negotiation in the Conference on Disarmament of an FMCT that meets India’s national security interests,” he said.

Such a treaty would stop the making of materials that could be used in nuclear weapons.

Reintroducing a draft resolution on a Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons, he criticised countries with nuclear weapons coverage that have repeatedly voted against the proposed measure since it was first introduced in 1982.

Varma expressed “regret that a sizeable minority of member states – some of them nuclear weapon states, some with nuclear weapons stationed on their soil and others with alliance partnerships underwritten by policies of first use of nuclear weapons – have voted against this resolution”.

And, “for reasons that are difficult to understand, some member states which are today in the forefront of efforts to highlight the humanitarian impact of use of nuclear weapons have also voted against this resolution”.

Reflecting the concern of the international community to the dangers from terrorists, Varma said India will be introducing again a draft resolution on “measures to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction”.

Participating in the debate, Pakistan called for the development of an international non-proliferation system “through policies that are equitable, criteria-based and non-discriminatory”.

In what may be seen as an indirect criticism directed at India, Yasar Ammar, a third secretary in Pakistan’s UN mission, said, “There should be no exceptionalism or preferential treatment driven by motivations of power and profit.”

The US has an agreement with India on civilian cooperation in nuclear field and because New Delhi has not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, it required a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), an international body that deals with trade in nuclear materials and technology.

Pakistan wants a similar agreement with the US, which has been cool to it because of Islamabad’s record of transferring nuclear technology.

India has the support of the US, Russia, Britain, and France for joining the NSG. Pakistan opposes India’s membership if it is not extended to it also.

(IANS)

C. K. Jaffer Sharief orderd to submit fresh affidavit by Karnataka High Court

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Jaffer Sharief during a hunger strike in Eidgah Khuddus Sab demanding a CBI probe into misappropriation of funds of Amanath Co-operative Bank (ACB). Also seen in picture, is Mr. Rizwan Asad, Editor- Chief, Nasheman.

Mr. Jaffer Sharief during a hunger strike in Eidgah Khuddus Sab demanding a CBI probe into misappropriation of funds of Amanath Co-operative Bank (ACB). Also seen in picture, is Mr. Rizwan Asad, Editor- Chief, Nasheman. File Photo.

Bangalore: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday ordered former Union minister C. K. Jaffer Sharief to submit a fresh affidavit, following objections raised by an appellant representing the Amanath Bank Welfare Association.

The appellant Mohammed Wazir Baig, complained that the signature on the affidavit furnished by Mr. Sharief is not his, and alleged that it’s forged.

Mr. Sharief in the previous court hearing on October 16th had informed the court of his intention to take over the beleaguered Amanath Co-operative Bank (ACB), and was asked to submit his scheme of action in detail before the next court hearing on 21st.

ACB has over  2 lakh 30 thousand customers, whose deposits have been frozen by RBI, following its directive to sieze the bank’s operations after revelations of misappropriation of funds on part of the Board of the Bank came forth.

According to sources close to Nasheman, Mr. Sharief would have to pump in at least Rs. 420 crore to pay the depositors and to operate the Bank. A total of Rs. 285.11 crore depositor money is stuck in the bank.

The court has also ordered ACB to furnish its balance sheet and other details, which the court will review before deciding the fate of the Bank.

The court will hear all the appeals related to the issue on October 30th.

Youths displaying ISIS flags not involved in militancy: Omar Abdullah

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omar-abdullah

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said here on Tuesday that all the local boys who displayed ISIS flags in recent days in Srinagar have been identified, but none of them has been found to be involved in militancy.

Speaking to media on the sidelines of the Police Commemoration Day, Mr. Abdullah said: “All the boys who displayed the ISIS flags in the city have been identified and cases have been registered against them.”

“None of them has been found involved in militancy so far. Now what are the reasons for them to display such flags would be established by the inquiry going on in these cases.”

A media flutter was created here during the last few months because some masked youths displayed the flags of the outfit ISIS that is active in Iraq and Syria.

It should be noted that a similar alert in reference to Goa was rubbished by the state’s Chief Minister last week. Goa CM Manohar Parrikar said that there was no specific terror alert for the state and media reports quoting a top NSG official indicating the same were “incorrect”.

Audio recording: Real story of the Meerut 'Love Jihad' – In the words of the 'victim'

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love-jihad-meerut

This audio recording is a conversation with the girl, who was called a ‘victim’ of Love Jihad by right wing Hindutva forces. The interview took place on August 30, 2014 at her house, in Hapur with journalist Neha Dixit. It took place in the presence of her mother, T, who can be heard in the course of the interview. S, the girl, talks about how she and Kaleem were in love and wanted to get married but her parents were opposed to the match on religious grounds. Kaleem is an accused in this case and has been in jail for the last two months. She also says that she fears for her life.

This interview was not publish earlier for the fear of the girl’s safety, who has now been provided with police protection by the court. The name of the girl has been beeped in this clip to protect her identity.

AIMMM meeting expresses concern at the “creeping communalisation" infecting the country

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Left to right: Janab Ejaz Ahmad Aslam, Zafarul-Islam Khan. Janab Masoom Moradabadi, Mufti Ataur Rahman Qasmi

Left to right: Ejaz Ahmad Aslam, Zafarul-Islam Khan, Masoom Moradabadi, Mufti Ataur Rahman Qasmi.

New Delhi: The Central Working Committee (Majlis-e Amla) of the All India Muslim Majlis-e Musahwarat, the umbrella body of Indian Muslim organisations, met here on Saturday, 18 October, 2014. This was the third meeting of the Working Committee this year. The meeting deliberated on milli, national and international issues. It discussed Mushawarat’s response to the post-election political scenario in the country as well as the preparations for the AIMMM’s golden jubilee later this year.

The meeting urged the Central government to declare the Kashmir floods calamity as a “national disaster” and to involve the army and national-level disaster management organisations to rebuild the shattered lives of the Kashmiris “who are left to fend for themselves.”

The meeting expressed concern at the creeping communalistaion and the freedom lumpen elements enjoy to spread hate and violence under the new dispensation at the Centre. It disapproved the open patrongage RSS elements are enjoying under the Modi government and criticised the efforts to saffronise history and textbooks.

The meeting welcomed the statements by the President of India and the Prime Minister that the Indian Muslims are not involved in terrorism and observed that this line of thought should be properly conveyed to the security and intelligence agencies which are busy faking cases and framing Muslim youth although many have been acquitted by courts in recent months.

AIMMM condemned “any attempt by the terrorist Al-Qaeda and ISIS outfits to make inroads into India” and “cautioned the government to thoroughly probe any so-called ‘threat’ before it is widely publicized.” The AIMMM also condemned the terrorist philosophy of these and similar outfits and warned Indian Muslims not be taken in by their bogus propaganda which is far from the merciful message of Islam “which respects others and calls for peaceful coexistence of religions, cultures and civilisations.”

The meeting remembered personalities who have passed away since the last meeting. They included, Qari Maulana Muhammad Qasim Madrasi, Justice Mufti Bahauddin Farooqi, Maqsood Alam, Chowdhary Muhammad Aslam, Khwaja Qutubuddin Moonis, Zafar Saifullah, Prof. Mahmood Elahi, Abdul Ahad Wakeel, Syed Ali, Ghoolam Eesaji Vahanwati, Sheikh Abul Fazl Muhammad bin Abdur Rahman, Muhammad Fazal, Pakeeza Sultan Begum, Muhammad Ateeq Siddiqui, Justice Syed Shah Nayyar Husain, Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Captain Abbas Ali, Zohra Sehgal and Balraj Puri.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the national President Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan. It was attended by Mufti Ataur Rahman Qasmi and Janab Masoom Moradabadi, general secretaries, Janab Syed Shahabuddin, Janab Nusrat Ali, Janab Ejaz Ahmad Aslam, Prof. Humayun Murad, Shaikh Manzoor Ahmad, Dr. Syed Ahmad Khan, Dr. Anwarul-Islam, Janab Amanullah Khan, Janab Anees Durrani and Janab Abdul Khaliq.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) debuts with victory in Maharashtra, will now focus on UP, West Bengal & other states

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MIM Asaduddin Owaisi

Mumbai: The All India Majlis-e-Ittihadul Muslimeen, scored a stunning victory in Maharashtra by winning two seats, marking a relatively assured debut in the Maharashtra assembly elections.

In its first attempt to expand outside Hyderabad and have a pan-India presence, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party bagged the prestigious Byculla seat in Mumbai and the Aurangabad Central and East seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.

Waris Yusuf Pathan became the party’s first member of the legislative assembly (MLA) in the state when he was declared the winner in Byculla, over rivals Madhu Chavan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and gangster Arun Gawli’s daughter Geeta Gawli of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABS).

However, the big gain for the AIMIM came in the Aurangabad Central seat, where its candidate, former NDTV journalist Imtiaz Jaleel, defeated sitting Shiv Sena MLA Pradeep Jaiswal by 19,982 votes.

In neighbouring Aurangabad East, the AIMIM’s Abdul Gaffar Quadri led for most of the counting, opening up a lead of nearly 30,000 votes before being upstaged by the BJP’s Atul Save by a slim margin of 4,260 votes. Quadri, too, managed an impressive tally of 60,268 votes.

Aurangabad was a part of Hyderabad state during the Nizam’s rule.

In Nanded South, in the initial rounds of counting, the party’s Moin Mukhtar led the BJP’s Dilip Kandkurte by 4,000 votes, but Kandkurte managed to bounce back. By the end of counting, Mukhtar was relegated to third place, finishing with 34,590 votes. Hemant Patil of the Shiv Sena won the seat. Likewise, in Parbhani, in a riveting battle for second place, the AIMIM’s Syed Khalad Syad Sahebjan finished ahead of the BJP’s Anandrao Bharose by nearly 3,000 votes. Shiv Sena candidate Rahul Patil won the seat.

The AIMIM also managed creditable third place finishes in Nanded North and the four Mumbai-Thane constituencies of Kurla, Mumbra-Kalwa, Versova and Mumbadevi. And, for a party known to represent Muslims, the AIMIM fielded a Hindu candidate in Avinash Barve from Kurla.

Scores of supporters of the party celebrated the victory at Darussalam, the party headquarters in Mumbai. A stream of workers and supporters were seen congratulating the MIM chief and his younger brother Akbaruddin Owaisi, who aggressively campaigned in Mumbai and parts of Marathwada.

The MIM leaders felt it was a big achievement for the party considering that it did not have any organisational structure in the state and majority of its candidates were political novices.

“It is a good beginning. We will now build on this victory and expand the party to other states,” a senior party leader told the media. He said the results reflect the disillusionment of Muslims with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.

“The Congress-NCP alliance was in power for 15 years but did nothing for the development of Muslims. It even failed to protect the community. In fact, Muslim youths were arrested and tortured after blasts in Malegaon in which right-wing fundamentalist groups were involved,” the leader said.

He pointed out that the condition of Muslims, who constitute over 13 percent of the state’s population, went from bad to worse during the last 15 years. “The Muslims were looking for an alternative so that their voice can be heard in the legislature and the MIM provided them the platform,” said another leader.

Focus on other states

Claiming that the poll campaign in Maharashtra witnessed Dalit-Muslim unity, the MP said the party will spread this message to Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and other states.

MIM leader in Telangana assembly, Akbaruddin Owaisi termed the party’s victory Maharashtra as historic. Akbaruddin, who led the poll campaign, said it was for the first time that a party went to another state and won two seats in a short span of 15 days.

He said despite the hurdles created in MIM’s campaign by the police, people backed the party. He assured the people that MIM will work hard to live up to their expectations by raising their voice in the legislature.

BJP wins power on own in Haryana; to rule Maharashtra

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bjp-victory

Mumbai/Chandigarh: The BJP Sunday created history in Haryana by getting a clear majority on its own for the first time and said that it would form the government in Maharashtra too where it finished the single largest group in a hung assembly but has been offered support by the NCP.

The Congress was humiliated in both Haryana and Maharashtra which it had been ruling for two and three consecutive terms respectively.

For the first time, the Bharatiya Janata Party got a clear mandate in Haryana, winning 47 seats in the 90-member assembly with a 33.2 percent vote share.

The BJP Parliamentary Party Board met in New Delhi Sunday evening to discuss chief minister probables for Haryana and Maharashtra. The party later announced it would send senior leaders Rajnath Singh to Maharashtra and Venkaiah Naidu to Haryana to take a decision on the chief ministerial candidates.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, general secretary J.P. Nadda said he would accompany Rajnath Singh.

On the offer of support from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, Nadda said no call has been taken yet.

The names doing rounds in Haryana include Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh activist Manohar Lal Khattar, state BJP president Ram Bilas Sharma and party spokesperson Abhimanyu. Other names were of leaders, who did not contest, including union ministers Sushma Swaraj, Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal. Congressman-turned-BJP leader Birender Singh is also in the running.

Senior party sources told IANS that the new government could be sworn in before Diwali this week. The Hindu festival of lights falls on Oct 23.

In Maharashtra, the BJP won 122 seats in the 288-member assembly, falling well short of the 145 seats required for a simple majority. Its ally Rashtriya Samaj Paksha won one.

With the NCP, which won 41 seats, offering BJP “outside support”, leaving the runner up and former ally Shiv Sena high and dry, BJP president Amit Shah said in New Delhi that his party would “form the next government” in the state.

NCP leader Praful Patel said Maharashtra needed stability and so his party was ready to prop up a BJP government.

The Shiv Sena, which ended up with 63 seats, had earlier said it was ready to make up with the BJP, a sentiment shared by some of the latter’s leaders, including L.K. Advani, one of those who was not happy with the decision to dump its ally of 25 long years after a row over seat sharing ahead of elections.

The Congress, which, with the NCP, ruled Maharashtra for 15 years until their alliance collapsed before the elections, finished third with 42 seats.

Shiv Sena chief Udhav Thackeray said that nobody from the BJP has approached his party for support, and his party would not approach it with any proposal.

“If (the BJP) they make any proposal, we shall consider it,” he said.

Earlier, Maharashtra BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said that while no discussions had taken place with the Sena, “if the need arises, we expect our friends to support us”, while Sena leader Anil Desai added that the acrimony between the parties was history.

Amit Shah said the victory in Haryana and the near victory in Maharashtra proved that the “Modi wave” which catapulted the BJP to power in the Lok Sabha battle was still intact.

Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena cut a sorry figure and is likely to end up with just three seats. Independents and smaller parties could have 19 members. The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) made an impressive debut winning two seats while losing three by narrow margins in its first attempt to expand its base outside Hyderabad.

The NCP blamed the Congress for the Maharashtra verdict. Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan accepted responsibility for the Congress rout.

Outgoing Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda also accepted defeat and submitted his resignation to Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki to pave way for formation of the new government.

The BJP’s win in Haryana is a big achievement considering it had won only four seats in the 2009 assembly polls.

Kailash Vijayvargiya, in charge of the BJP’s party affairs in Haryana, said: “People of Haryana wanted a change. Our party cadres and leaders worked very hard. The credit for our success has to go to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.”

The Congress won only 15 seats, down from its tally of 40 last time. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) ended with 19 seats, down from 31 seats in 2009.

“This is the Janadesh (public mandate). I accept this and wish well for the incoming government,” said Hooda, who has at been at the helm since March 2005.

“The result is a surprise for us (INLD). We will review where we went wrong. People have given their mandate to the BJP. We will extend our support to the government for Haryana’s progress,” INLD leader Abhay Chautala told media after his party’s defeat.

A record 76.54 percent of Haryana’s 1.63 crore electorate voted in the assembly polls this time, while around 64 percent of the 8.35 crore electorate turned out in Maharashtra.

(IANS)

BJP backtracks on black money, Ram Jethmalani accuses it of shielding the corrupt

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jethmalani_modi

New Delhi: BJP did a volte face on the black money stashed away abroad by telling the SC that could not disclose the names of those who have deposited money in banks abroad, citing double taxation avoidance treaties with other countries.

It said that as per this law it cannot make public the names that were disclosed by foreign banks. The move has drawn flak from the opposition Congress party, which was criticised for taking the same position during the United Progressive Alliance regime. During its Lok Sabha poll campaign, the Bharatiya Janata Party had promised to recover undeclared money kept by Indians in overseas banks if elected to power.

Its stand was made in an application seeking modification of an earlier court order asking it to disclose the names all such people it had received from German government to the petitioner Senior counsel Ram Jethmalani.

Jethmalani who slammed the previous government said that the current government was trying to shield the rich and corrupt.

“Matter should not be entertained even for a day. Such an application could only be made by crooks who have illegally parked their ill-gotten money abroad and not by a democratically elected government,” Jethmalani said, adding that Centre is trying to protect the people who have stashed black money in foreign banks.

Global Financial Integrity, a Washington-based think-tank, has estimated that Indians had salted away $462 billion (about Rs. 28 lakh crore in current exchange rates) in overseas tax havens between 1948-2008. A study by industry body Assocham says nearly $2 trillion or Rs. 120 lakh crore of Indian black money is stashed overseas. Assocham’s black money estimate is more than the country’s nominal GDP, which stood at Rs.114 lakh crore or $1.9 trillion in 2013-14. Jethmalani claims that around Rs 70 lakhcrore is stashed in foreign banks.

He said that he has written a letter to Prime Minister on this issue and his response is awaited.

Interestingly, the apex court had earlier rejected the same stand taken by UPA government, observing that such DTAA does not prevent the Centre from disclosing the names of the persons having bank accounts in foreign banks.

The Congress, for its part, demanded an apology from Mr. Modi for misleading the nation. Accusing the BJP and Mr. Modi of “political dishonesty”, Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said the stand taken by the government in the Supreme Court earlier in the day was basically a repetition of what the former Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, had said in the past.

“At that time, he was shouted down by the BJP” and its supporters like Baba Ramdev and Kiran Bedi, Mr. Singhvi said. Why is one government’s inaction on black money alright while another government was ridiculed for it?”

Tradition of Nalanda University is firmly against divisiveness: Prof. Amartya Sen

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amartya-sen

New Delhi: The recently revived Nalanda University will depend on its “old glory” while embarking on its new journey in which attempts will be made to learn across the barriers of regions and countries, Amartya Sen said today.

“Integrated thought and profound global understanding marks tradition of Nalanda, which is firmly against divisiveness and is strong supporter of knowledge and enlightenment to all,” the Nobel Laureate said.

He said that the revived university in Bihar will be unique and depend upon its “old glory” while it embarks upon its new journey.

“We will depend on the glory of old Nalanda…the flow of ideas and contact that brought people from all countries. The future of the Nalanda University cannot be independent of the values and commitment of the earlier institution that has evolved over a long past.Tradition of Nalanda is not only quality education but it was a matter of great importance of global cooperation and a systematic attempt to learn across the barriers of regions and country,” Sen said.

The economist was delivering a lecture on “The relevance of Nalanda in the Contemporary World” organised by the university here.

Sen said that the decision to revive the more than 100-year-old university was taken in a joint initiative at East Asia summit some seven years ago, and the institution would help in promoting peace in the world.

Speaking on the occasion, Vice President Hamid Ansari said that he had an incidental connection with Nalanda Project as the Bill for it came in Rajya Sabha for discussion and was passed.

The Vice-President also recalled his recent visit to X’ian city in China where he visited the Ancient Pagoda where thousands of manuscripts translated by Huensang (renowned student of the old Nalanda university) from Sanskrit to Chinese language, were on display.

Ansari said Nalanda University was the first institution of higher learning in the world.

(PTI)

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