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MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

JKENG/2012/41612 Vol. 2 No: 93

3 Bedroom Apartments

JAMMU

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U, the second larger member of the NDA, Nitish Kumar took a dig at Modi and thundered that his party would never give up secularism. He said his party's alliance with the BJP - the two together run the Bihar government -- could continue only if "some fundamental issues" were made clear. Nitish Kumar invoked former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had asked him to follow 'rajdharma' after the 2002 Gujarat riots. "You need Atalji's approach of taking everyone along to run this country," he said. "Only a person who can understand the diversity of this country can lead it." Alluding to an incident when Modi refused to accept a skull cap from a group of Muslims, the Bihar chief minister said to applause: "You have to respect everyone. Sometimes you have to wear a cap, sometimes you have to sport a 'tilak'." In his speech, Nitish Kumar did not take Modi's name even once. But in an obvious criticism of the Gujarat leader, Nitish Kumar said the Indian electorate was intelligent enough to see through speeches. "The people of this country may not be very educated but they are intelligent." Nitish Kumar underlined that economic development was taking place everywhere, and one state (read Gujarat) could not be cited as an example for the rest of the country. "What kind of development do we want?" he then asked. And in remarks clearly aimed at Modi, he said he would not want a development model that kept large chunks of people deprived of drinking water. But he said there was no problem in the BJP-JD-U alliance in Bihar. "We want to walk together and we don't want to leave anyone," he said. "But certain fundamental issues should be made clear." He said the JD-U would never give up its principle of secular values. "If its alliance with BJP broke down in future, the JD-U will take a decision depending on the situation." He said when the BJP and JD-U alliance came up, it was made clear that certain divisive issues close to the BJP's heart would have to be set aside. These included the BJP's demand to scrap article 370 of the constitution giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the demand for a uniform civil code and the call to build a grand Hindu temple at the site of the razed Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Nitish Kumar's comments came a day after the JD-U declared that support to Modi -- who has been addressing meetings praising his own Gujarat administration -- would compromise its secular credentials. There was no immediate reaction from the BJP to Nitish Kumar's comments, but party president Rajnath Singh called Modi its most popular leader. "Narendra Modi is the most popular BJP leader as of now," Rajnath Singh said on CNN-IBN's Devil's Advocate programme. "I cannot say who will be the PM candidate but he (Modi) is undoubtedly the most popular leader." Asked about Modi's projection of himself as the prime ministerial candidate, Rajnath Singh said: "Narendra Modi has never said he should be projected as the PM candidate."

CONTD
service last year to Kargil but due to high cost of the tickets there had been demands to subsidise the fare. While Srinagar Airport is currently operating 22 flights and a schedule of 32 flights a day had recently been approved, 18 flights operate from Jammu. build a prosperous nation," he said in his message. "We cannot achieve success until we follow the path of secularism and peaceful brotherhood. "Division in the name of religion, region, caste and colour is the biggest enemy of our nation and we all should be united to fight this enemy, if we want to take the path of prosperity and development," he added. NC's focus on the forthcoming assembly elections was evident when ? Nasir Aslam Wani and Devender Rana -- two close aides of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, were given important party posts. Wani, who was Minister of State in several ministries, was appointed the party's provincial president for Kashmir while Rana, political advisor to the Chief Minister, was named provincial president for Jammu. Assembly elections in the state are due towards the end of next year.

2
Young Modi was argumentative, often defied teachers: Book
NEW DELHI: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was quite argumentative as a child and often defied his teachers but showed leadership qualities from an early age and was mostly at the forefront of articulating concerns of his class mates, says a new book. In "Narendra Modi: The Man The Times", published by Westland Ltd, journalist Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay brings out hitherto unknown aspects of the BJP leader's life - early childhood, youth, renunciation, rise in politics, his struggles and his eventual win to become the chief minister. There are some rare pictures of Modi from a slim and emaciated young man to a confident chief minister. There is also a comprehensive look at Gujarat's progress under Modi's regime complete with figures and statistics. Modi's teacher Prahladbhai G Patel in the B N High School remembers him as an extremely argumentative child who would often defy teachers. He also recalls that he had once asked Modi to show his homework to one of his class monitors but he refused - he said if he has to show it to anyone for evaluation, it must be the teacher himself and no one. According to Mukhopadhyay, the reasons behind Patel's decision to ask Modi to get his homework scrutinized by a peer was simple: he was not a "very bright student" and was "commonplace" in studies. "In a class of 50 students, while Modi could not be called a poor student, Patel was clear in saying that he was 'ranked medium and at best could have been called a mediocre' student," the book says.

Uplift weaker sections...

"My efforts to give fillip to your socioeconomic status and ensure reservation benefits to you will only succeed when you concentrate on educating your children and making them complete their studies without any break", he reiterated and told them to fight for their rights in unity and in one voice. He asked them not to get astray by hollow slogans and resist the attempts by forces who want to divide them for vote bank politics and vested interests. Omar Abdullah referred to the historic land reform measures taken by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah where under poor peasants were made owners of agriculture land without paying a penny. He said creation of classless society where every citizen will have equal opportunity of growth, and status is determined by the actions of the individuals and not on the consideration of creed, caste, colour, region or religion has remained the bedrock of policy of National Conference since its inception. He said, he will continue to nurture this policy founded by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and groomed by Dr. Farooq Abdullah. Paying the rich tributes to Baba Sahib Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Omar Abdullah described him luminary champion of the rights of downtrodden sections of the society and poorer people. "Dr. Ambedkar worked throughout his life to uplift the socio-economic status of weaker sections and provide constitutional guarantee for their equitable growth and development", Omar said. Omar Abdullah threw light on the life and work of Baba Sahib Ambedkar and described him as a tall National leader and protector of the rights of poor. He also mentioned his outstanding contribution in the framing of Constitution of India and gave brief of Baba Sahib's involvement in various movements aimed at safeguarding the rights of weaker sections. "Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, popularly known as Baba Sahib Ambedkar, was one of the architects of the Constitution of India. He was an eminent jurist and sincere politician. His efforts towards eradicating social evils, untouchablity, caste restrictions etc were remarkable", Omar maintained. The function organized at Sher-i-Kashmir Bhawan was addressed by Minister for Planning and Development, Ajay Sadhotra, Minister for Social Welfare, Sakina Itoo, Additional General Secretary, NC, Dr. Mustafa Kamaal, NC Provincial President Jammu, Devender Singh Rana, Chairman NC Schedule Caste and Backward Classes Cell, Ram Pal and senior NC leaders including Gurdeep Singh Sassan. Ram Pal in his address highlighted various issues confronting the weaker sections and asked Chief Minister's intervention for their redressal. The Chief Minister asked him to enumerate these issues in a written memorandum so that necessary action is taken at the appropriate level for the consideration of genuine demands. Among others legislators Abdul Gani Malik, Rachpal Singh, Bimla Luthra, former legislators and leaders of National Conference were present on the occasion.

NC-Congress adopting...
district President Dhamanjeet Singh Khalsa .BJYM workers organized a big motorcycle rally which passed through various parts of the city raising anti Congress , anti National slogans like 'NC-Congress Dokha Hai, Desh Bachalo Moka Hai' and the motorcycle rally culminated at Ranjeet Resort where BJP district President Kathu Advocate Vijay Kumar Sharm, Janak Bharti, Dr. Narinder Sharma, Toney Shah, Ramesh Gupta, Vidys Sagar, Gopal Mahajan, Raghunandan Bablu. Prem Dogra and other senior leaders joined Yatra along with a large number of youth BJP activists including women joined the Yatra. Addressing the youth rally BJYM State President Ravinder Raina termed Congress party as the B-team of Hurriyat Conference. He said the role played by the Congress party in the recently concluded assembly session exposed the character of Congress and it is now very much clear that Congress Party along with its coalition partner National Conference have adopted the agenda of separatist organizations. Raina Said by supporting , defending and promoting the agenda of National conference, Congress back stabbed the nationalist people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. He said Congress-NC government is patronizing the terrorists by adopting the polices like Surrender and rehabilitation for terrorist and demoralized the youth by introducing the anti youth New recruitment policy which would destroyed the future of highly educated youth in the State. Raina asked the youth to make awareness about the anti-national and anti-youth polices of Congress-NC government with door to door campaign and get the youth strength united to through out this government from power. Addressing the rally BJP district President Advocate Vijay Kumar Sharma Said that NC-Congress government has nothing for highly educated and qualified youth but the anti nationals are being felicitated. He said the polices Adopted by NC-Congress government would encourage terrorism and will demoralize the nationalist youth of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Lashing out at Congress-NC government BJYM State general secretary Inderjeet Singh Sambyal said that youth BJP would continue its fight for the youth of all the three regions of the State and the youth power would be strengthen by Yuva Adhikar Yatra to provide justice to the ignored youth of the State. He demanded Immediate withdrawal of New recruitment policy and Surrender and rehabilitation policy. Others who address the youth rally were Vidya Sagar, Bharat Sharma, Karan Sharma, Sudesh Sethu, Bhanu Pratap, Mohinder Pratap Gupta, Ajay Pargal, Advocate Bhanu Jasrotia, Karan Sharma, Ishant Gupta, Mohinder Pratap Gupta, Honey Singh Jamwal and Naresh Sharma and Arpan Sharma. BJYM district President Damanjeet Singh Khalsa presented the vote of thanks. Yuva Adhikar Yatra will reach Billawar tomorrow.

Rajnath Non- Committal...

as the "most popular leader in the nation". Singh also expressed confidence that no ally of NDA including JD(U), which has been expressing reservations against Modi, will go out of the alliance. He maintained that the final authority to take the decision regarding the party's Prime Ministerial candidate remains with the BJP Parliamentary Board, and added, "only the board that will decide what parameters it adopts to decide about the PM candidate." Referring to Modi, a top JD(U) leader had yesterday said at the party's national executive meeting that "being popular is a different thing and becoming Prime Minister is another." Singh said he was confident that "whatever decision the Parliamentary Board of BJP takes will not result into creation of any crisis. I can say it with confidence." The BJP president, however, evaded questions on whether he was suggesting that Modi may not be projected as PM candidate. "I accept this that if there is someone, who is the most popular leader in the nation, it is Narendra Modi whether it is the BJP cadre or common people, Modi is a very popular leader among them. Nobody can deny this " Singh told Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate programme on CNN-IBN. He was responding to queries like why Modi is not being projected as the BJP's PM candidate when he is considered best by a section in the party to take on Congress' Rahul Gandhi. "I cannot say this that the fight will be between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi," the BJP president said. Singh raised doubts on the contention that Rahul Gandhi would be the Congress' PM candidate. "Congress has not declared its PM candidate. How do you say Rahul Gandhi is the PM candidate of Congress?"

India, Germany will step up pressure for UNSC seat

NEW DELHI/BERLIN: India and Germany will jointly intensify efforts to gain permanent membership in an expanded United Nations Security Council as also for broader reform of the world organisation, top ministers of the two sides say. "Security Council reform was naturally one of our focus areas of discussions. We have decided to continue to collaborate with Germany and intensify the pressures," Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told a news agency correspondent in the course of a brief chat in Berlin. He was referring to the inter-governmental consultations between India and Germany that took place here Thursday co-chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Khurshid said India and Germany will also continue to press for the UN Security Council reforms through the G4, a grouping comprising Brazil and Japan, besides India and Germany. He did not specify what the specific steps will be. The US, China, Russia, Britain and France are the five permanent members of the Security Council and each one of them enjoys veto power. This means any of them can prevent any resolution regardless of the level of international support it may command.

Playback singer P.B. Srinivas passes away

CHENNAI: Veteran playback singer P B Srinivas died on Sunday following a brief illness, family sources said. Srinivas (82) was not keeping well for the past few days and breathed his last at his CIT Nagar residence here, they said. Srinivas is survived by two sons and daughter. Popularly known as PBS, the veteran singer lent his voice in all four South Indian languages besides Hindi. He was the playback singer behind Kannada superstar Rajkumar and Tamil veteran Gemini Ganesan. In fact, it is believed that Srinivas's gentle voice suited Ganesan best. The duo produced some of the most memorable Tamil songs together including 'Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham' and 'Mayakkama Kalakkama' among many others. A native of Andhra Pradesh, his last song was in Tamil film 'Ayirathil Oruvan' in 2010. Srinivas was honoured with various awards including the state government's Kalaimamani Award.

300-year-old Sanskrit ...

considered one of the earliest missionary grammars in Sanskrit, was released on April 10, Fr Roy Thottathil SJ, Director of Arnos Padre Academy here, said. He told PTI that he received an official communication in this regard from Prof Christphe Vielle and Prof Toon Van Hal of the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium., editors and publisher of the book. The 88-page manuscript of 'Grammatica Grandonica' was found missing for over three centuries and it was recovered last year by Hal from a Carmelite monastery's library in Montecompatri (Rome), Thottathil said. Born at Ostercappeln near Osnabruck in Hanover, Germany, Hanxleden arrived in India on December 13, 1700, as a Jesuit missionary. He built the Saint Francis Xavier's church at Velur near here in 1712 and spent his remaining days there. The two Professors had visited the church in January last year and other places related to the activities of Hanxleden, John Kalliath, Secretary of the Arnos Padre Research Institute told PTI. The church and the building were declared as protected monuments by the Kerala government in 1994. Proficient in German, Sanskrit, Malayalam, Latin, Syriac, Portuguese and Tamil, Hanxleden compiled MalayalamPortuguese and Sanskrit-Portuguese dictionaries. He mastered Sanskrit when even learning it was taboo for non-Brahmins and wrote several essays in Latin based on Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Hanxleden, who died of a snake bite at Pazhuvil near here in March 1732, made efforts to spreadamong European scholars and thinkers about India's cultural heritage and importance of Sanskrit.

Azad, Soz scions...

high command these days while Salmaan Soz is reportedly giving his maximum time at Baramulla in Kashmir Valley interacting with people. Even as both Azad and Soz are tightlipped over future plans of their sons, sources insist that formal entry of the two scions in politics is likely to be announced very soon.

Govt mulling night ..

the meeting, it was felt that flights should be operated till 10 PM. He said though the proposal is still under discussion, there was positive signal from the central team. "It was a good indication from the central team, there was positive signals," the official said. However, he said no talks have been held with airlines on the issue so far. Extension of the flights till 10 PM would increase the inflow of high-end tourists and Golf lovers to the state, the official said. In the meeting it was discussed that facilities including night landing set-up should be put in place before the approval of the proposal for the night flights. State Tourism Minister G A Mir said the night flights will give a boost to tourism in the state. He said the government will also appeal to the Centre for the commencement of direct flights from cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad from where a large number of tourists visit the state. "There is not only need to increase the number of the flights to Kashmir Valley but also commence direct flights from Mumbai, Ahmedabad and other metro cities to the Valley," Mir said. The extension of air services to Kargil from Jammu and Srinagar and subsidising the cost of the tickets to passengers ferrying in and out of Kargil were also discussed in the meeting. Air Mantra had already launched its air

Farooq demands restoration...

was launched during the NC's Central Working Committee meeting held at Jammu recently with the aim of highlighting its achievements. Abdullah chose the inaugural edition of the newsletter to reiterate his party's stand on Kashmir issue. "If there existed solution better than autonomy, which is acceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the NC would have no problem in accepting it. But there is no viable solution than autonomy," the newsletter quoted Abdullah, who is Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, as saying. It said Abdullah attaches immense importance to restoration of peace. "He (Abdullah) wants the people of Jammu and Kashmir to follow the path of peace and progress and shun violence and hatred, if they want to achieve economic strength, prosperity and lead a happy and peaceful life," it added. Abdullah called for a change in approach and attitude for building a strong and peaceful Jammu and Kashmir, and India. "To strengthen our state and country, we need to change our approach and attitude, which is a hindrance in the way of building a strong and peaceful nation. We have to realise our responsibilities," he said. Abdullah said the people of the state will have to exploit their managerial skills optimally. "We have to set high goals to climb the ladder of success, as we inherent talent and a vast knowledge pool. Together we can

President may form...

Devender Pal Singh Bhullar Friday by amicus curiae Ram Jethmalanmi and TR Andhyarujina. The court said this in its verdict rejecting Bhullar's mercy petition. "While exercising power under Article 72, the president is required to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers," the court said. While maintaining that the president was bound by the aid and advice of the council of ministers, the court said that in tendering its advise to the president, the central government was duty bound to "objectively place the case of the convict with a clear indication about the nature and magnitude of the crime committed by him, its impact on the society and all incriminating and extenuating circumstances". The court said that same was true for the state government, which is required to give advice to the governor for exercising his/her powers under Article 161 of the constitution.

CORRECTION
I am applying for the correction of name of my Son as ANSH RAINA instead of CHAHAT RAINA in migrant Ration Card No. -008468. Objection if any may be conveyed to the Relief and Rehabilitation commissioner (M) Jammu within one week from the publication of this notice. Sanjay Raina S/O Hirday Nath Raina R/O Drussu Pulwama Kashmir A/P Paloura Jammu

Nitish takes a...

by his supporters as a prime ministerial candidate. Addressing some 1,300 delegates of JD-

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8 Pages Rs: 1.00 Jammu Edition www.thestudentage.com

STUdent aGE
MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

JKENG/2012/41612 Vol. 2 No: 93

Mayawati accuses Akhilesh govt of indulging in political vendetta

But mercy pleas can't be left hanging for ages

Chidambaram to woo investors in N. America

Committal on Modi's PM candidature

function on Baba Sahib's birth anniversary Next generation of dynasty politics IN BRIEF UpliftAddresses weaker sections of the society:Omar Azad, Soz scions set to enter politics Rajnath NonJAMMU, APRIL 14 : Saying that he is the voice of weaker sections of the society and champion of their cause, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Sunday said that he will continue to carry forward the legacy of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah to work earnestly, sincerely and apolitically for inclusive and equitable growth and development of downtrodden. Omar Abdullah said that his grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and father Dr. Farooq Abdullah initiated historic initiatives to empower weaker sections and improve their status in the society. "I will continue to carry forward this mission which is governed by high principals of humanism and sincere service to poor people. Doing politics on human issues and programmes of upliftment of poor has never "You need not to raise voice for your rights because I am here as your voice and protector of your rights. I will The Chief Minister said this while addressing a large gathering of people belonging to weaker sections at a function organized by National Conference Schedule Caste and Backward Classes Cell here today in connection with the celebration of birth anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. The Chief Minister said that unless children belonging to weaker sections receive proper education and complete it logically, the benefits of reservation could not accrue to them holistically. "You have to ensure proper and complete education of your children so that you reap benefits of reservation amply", he emphasized. Contd. on page 2 Rohit Singh Rana JAMMU,APRIL 14:If fathers are there why sons can be far behind? The plot of this theme is set to be repeated with two young faces from Jammu Kashmir are all set to register their presence on political horizon as Union Minister for Health Ghulam Nabi Azad and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Prof Saifud-Din Soz have geared up for formal entry of their sons into Congress party. According to the reliable sources in Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad is mulling entry of his son Saddam Azad at the national level while Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz is contemplating to launch his son Salmaan Soz in State politics. All out efforts are being made to prepare ground for entry of the two on political canvass under direct supervision of their all powerful fathers, who are reportedly in hurry to see the young scions ready to fit into their shoes. In this connection, both Azad and Soz are learnt to have managed blessings of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who is keen to include more young faces in the party for wooing youth in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. It is pertinent to mention that Saddam Azad and Salmaan Soz are in the age group of early thirties and early forties, respectively. Both of them are highly qualified having Management degrees from abroad. Salmaan Soz had recently quit his job in the World Bank while Saddam Azad is working with a real estate multinational company. Sources hint that Ghulam Nabi Azad is interested for his son Saddam Azad to be included in the core team of Rahul Gandhi instead of being projected as a candidate in the next Lok Sabha polls while Saif-ud-Din Soz is looking for a safe Assembly constituency for Salmaan Soz in Kashmir Valley before taking off for national arena. After seeking blessings of Rahul Gandhi, Saddam Azad is being introduced to other senior leaders in the Congress Contd. on page 2

NEW DELHI: Amid speculation about Narendra Modi's projection as BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate, party president Rajnath Singh today remained noncommittal on the issue but hailed the Gujarat Chief Minister Contd. on page 2

300-year-old Sanskrit work by German released in Belgium

THRISSUR: A Sanskrit grammar written by German born grammarian, lexicographer andphilologist Jesuit missionary Fr Johann Ernst Hanxleden, popularly known as Arnos Padre, was released in Belgium. The over 300-year-old work, Contd. on page 2

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CM, Omar Abdullah addressing a mammoth gathering at Jammu been my family's, my party's or my trait", he said and added that every effort will be made to ensure inclusive and comprehensive development of weaker sections of the society in the State. continue to be champion and advocate of your cause", he assured them and said that he will work tirelessly for the upliftment of weaker sections of the society without any political consideration.

President may form own opinion on mercy pleas: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said that while the president or a governor cannot overturn its final verdict, in appropriate cases they can form an opinion whether a case is made out for grant of pardon or reprieve. An apex court bench of Justice GS Singhvi and Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya said: "Although he/she (president/governor) cannot overturn the final verdict of the court, but in appropriate cases, (they) can, after scanning the record of the case, form his/her independent opinion whether a case is made out for grant of pardon, reprieve, etc." The observation came while answering a question about the nature of power vested in the president under Article 72 and the governor under Article 161 of the constitution. The court was answering a question arising from the arguments of the counsel appearing in the case for 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict Contd. on page 2

Govt mulling night Yuva Adhikar Yatra reaches Kathua Nitish takes a dig at flights in J&K NC-Congress adopting the agenda of separatist organizations:BJYM Modi, JD-U sets deadline
NEW DELHI, APRIL 14: A day after the Janata DalUnited (JD-U) came out against Narendra Modi's prime ministerial candidature, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Sunday took a dig at Modi, saying one state's model of development cannot be a possible answer to India's ills. A resolution passed at the end of the two-day JD-U national executive meeting here also asked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to name its prime ministerial candiJAMMU: In a bid to give a boost to tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, the government is contemplating having night flights in New DelhiSrinagar-Jammu sector. The proposal for night flights in New Delhi-JammuSrinagar sector was discussed at a high-level meeting held here yesterday between state and central officials led by Union Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth. According to a senior state government official, during Contd. on page 2 KATHUA:Yuva Adhikar Yatra launched by the youth wing of the BJP, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) against the new recruitment policy and the Surrender and rehabilitation policy for terrorists, today reached Kathua. Led by the State President of BJYM Ravinder Raina, yatra was welcomed at Kalibadi by hundreds of BJYM workers led by State general secretary of BJYM

PAGE 5

date by the end of this year. It was the most unambiguous public expression of opposition within the BJPled National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to Modi, widely seen in his own party and Contd. on page 2

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BJYM State President Ravinder Raina along with others during Yuva Adhikar Yatra at Kathua Inderjeet Singh Sambyal and its Contd. on page 2

Farooq demands restoration of internal autonomy in J&K

SRINAGAR: A year ahead of the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, ruling National Conference (NC) seems to have hit the poll mode button, saying restoration of internal autonomy was the only solution to the political problems of the state. "Jammu and Kashmir is primarily a political problem and needs to be resolved through peaceful political means. "The only way to bring normalcy and permanent peace to the state and the subcontinent is to restore autonomy in its pristine form, as guaranteed in the Indian Constitution," NC president Farooq Abdullah said in his message in the party's online newsletter. The newsletter Contd. on page 2

Sarthal accident: Customary shock then long sleep

ROHIT SINGH RANA
Four people died when a bus in Sarthal, Kishtwar plunged into a deep gorge two days ago. Reports suggest the bus was driven by an un-trained conductor. That could well have been the only possible end of the story. If untrained drivers are allowed to drive vehicles on the treacherous hilly roads lives are sure to be lost and nobody will stop these ghastly accidents from happening. Columns have been written on the aftermath of road accidents. Seminars and road safety shows conducted but nothing doing. Accidents on the JKs roads are continuing with regular succession and that is really a matter of concern. Matter of concern for whom? That is a well argued question and those millions of denizens of the State who are witness to unabated bloodletting on the roads are justified if they are exhibiting concern. But even if they are concerned it will not bring down the increasing graph of killings in the accidents. With a spectator government which has little sympathy and concern for the lives of the people how can the devil graph come down. It will never when there are ready made statements waiting to be circulated whenever accidents happen. A customary show of angst, shock, some ex-gratia amount and a promise to look into the causes of investigation, thereafter a long sleep only to be disturbed by another accident and then the same repeat. It is a sad, catastrophic and terrible prospect. It is amply clear that the government is not serious and nothing is going to shake the authorities unless there is some sustained pressure on the government to move ahead purposefully in this regard. When things go out of the control and the system becomes ineffective to deliver the time is ripe to press for a change. People of hilly areas of the State have to take a lead in this matter. There is no harm to pour out in large numbers and have an indefinite sit -in dharna to press for reforms in the transportation safety so that the innocent passengers do not become prey to the looming road accidents. Things have to be moved and with an insensate government which is not particular about the safety of people. The only alternative left is to unleash a non violent struggle which will eventually force the authorities to come out of deep slumber and take effective decisions. Road accidents have claimed thousands of lives in past four years and if statistics are to be believed the number is many times more than those killed in terrorist related activities. With such a grim state of affairs there should have been a sense of urgency on the part of government to take all steps needed to improve road safety. Sadly this has not materialized because nobody is interested to act as the present system is big source of ill gotten income for those who are entrusted with the job of managing of roads. The scale of corruption in the traffic department is no secret. To act against the black sheep in the traffic department needs guts and if we go by the past experience there is no spine left in the government to either improve the road safety or instill a corruption free traffic management system.

Bhangra no, Anti -India slogans Yes!

This is true Sir, Hundred percent true. It happened in Mughal gardens in Kashmir. As per traditions Mughal gardens are thrown open on Baisakhi. People throng there to taste joy and beauty of these gardens. But for those who celebrate with Bhangra and sing pro India songs here the result is abuses, brickbats and threat of stones. A group of Sikhs had gone to celebrate Baisakhi with a Bhangra. They thought Mughal gardens were a perfect setting for that but little did they realize that Kashmiriat does not tolerate BhangraShangra. It tolerates only anti -India slogans and sentiments. Yes another thing from rest of the country is welcome truck loads of money with a choice to spend them the way they like. No accountability or CAG -SHAG. After all J &K has acceded to India and that is impossible to be compensated.

RANASAHIB

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STUDENT AGE MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

STATE
Baisakhi festival celebrated at Akhnoor with traditional fervor

4
Show proper respect towards Kashmiri people

NEWS IN BOX
DC Anantnag assures all possible help to fire sufferers
ANANTNAG, APRIL 14: Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Dr. Farooq Ahmed Lone today assured fire sufferers of all possible help from the Government. Dr. Lone was interacting with the people who suffered a lot of damage in Frislan Pahalgam due to recent fire incident in which a house, a Kothar and a cowshed was damaged during his visit to the area. Dr. Lone announced a cash relief of Rs. 5000/- per family out of Red Cross Fund and directed concerned Tehsildar to process the relief case speedily, so that victims are provided assistance as soon as possible.

Govt. will explore tourism potential of Akhnoor: Sham

AKHNOOR, APRIL 14: Like other parts of the country, the Baisakhi festival was celebrated at Akhnoor with lot of fanfare and traditional fervor on Saturday. The festival was organized by the department of Tourism in collaboration with Akhnoor administration and other social organizations. Minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood control, Sham Lal Sharma was chief guest on the occasion. A larger number of people from different parts of the State participated in the function which was held at the right bank of river Chenab, Jia Potha. The spot has historical significance as first Dogra Ruler of Jammu and Kashmir; Maharaja Gulab Singh who was coroneted and heritage. The folk singers and artists mesmerized the were centre of attraction. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister congratulated the people on this auspicious occasion and said that festivals are harbinger of peace and prosperity of the people as also promotes mutual brotherhood and communal harmony. He said Jammu and Kashmir State has unique character of diversity where people from different religions share their joys and sorrows with deep sense of understanding which strengthens our ties. He stressed the need for further promoting the bonds of mutual brotherhood through festivals and other available means to ensure peace and prosperity in the State.

Soz tells New Delhi, Cong will emerge victorious

SRINAGAR, APRIL 14: Appealing New Delhi to display proper respect towards Kashmiri people, State Congress Chief, Professor Saif-u-Din Soz Sunday said claimed that will sweep the polls in 2014 and it will be the Congress which will decide about its coalition partner. Speaking at the party Headquarters in Srinagar on Sunday, Soz said that Congress party has witnessed a big change and it has became vibrant in all the three regions. "We are hopeful that Congress party will emerge victorious in coming Assembly elections and it will be the Congress party which will decide whether it will go for all alone or will opt for coalition," Soz said. Soz was all praise for Kashmiri people for maintain peace and order in the state. "Kashmiri people put an end to violence. Now there is peace just because of the Kashmiri people. Let the Centre now listen to them and give them respect. There is a need to change the policies and let New Delhi hug Kashmiri people by heart and give them a healing touch," Soz said and added that Congress will never befool people by tall claims. He said it is really a positive sign that scores of people from Old City are present here . "I was always eager to organize a rally in old city but police never agreed.

Residents of Kashmir take to Twitter to complain about power cuts

SRINAGAR: Residents of Kashmir Valley, which is reeling under a major power crisis, have taken to social networking sites to vent their anger with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who holds the power portfolio, often being their target. "Dear @abdullah_omar, since you can't make sure the continuity of power supply in Kashmir, just make learning #Braille compulsory," Idrees-ul-Haq wrote on the Twitter page of the Chief Minister. There have been frequent electricity cuts reported in the Valley over the past one month. Residents allege for every two hours of electricity supply, the Power Development Department (PDD) resorts to one hour of curtailment. While this pattern is being followed in the city, the residents of rural areas complain that there is no power supply for several hours at a stretch. "One fails to understand why there is so much load- shedding now as the water discharge in the rivers, feeding the power projects, has increased," said Ghulam Hassan, a retired employee of PDD. Many netizens resorted to sarcasm to give vent to their frustration over the frequent interruptions in power supply. "Thanks to @abdullah_omar my family (is) again having candle light dinner, No electricity (in) Kashmir. We deserve this as (we) pay our bills in time and no theft," wrote Arif Maghribi on Omar's twitter page. "Dear @abdullah_omar, try washing clothes in the icy cold water in the mornings and nights. Or having dinner in dark. But then you are who you are!" another twitterati Mohammad Faysal wrote. Although Omar uses the social networking platform to comment on important issues pertaining to the state, he has not responded to these comments so far. None of the officials of PDD including the chief engineer were willing to comment about the power crisis facing the valley.

Minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood control, Sham Lal Sharma celebrating Baisakhi fesival at Akhnoor here. The Baisakhi Mela is celebrated at the same spot every year. The local artists presented colorful cultural bonanza, touching rich Dogra culture jam packed audience with their offbeat acts. The artists also tried to showcase the rich heritage of Akhnoor town through their art. ThePunjabi Gidha and skit on social evils

Govt committed for overall dev of all the three regions of the State: Vikar
BANIHAL, APRIL 14: Minister of State for Technical Education, Power, CAPD and information Mr. Vikar Rasool Wani said that Government is committed for overall development of all the three regions of the State and several measures have been taken to extend basic amenities to people living in urban and rural areas of the State. The Minister was addressing a well attended public meeting at Khari of Ramsoo block in Banihal tehsil on Saturday. Deputy Commissioner Ramban, Shyam Vinod Meena, Tehsildar Banihal, SDPO and officers of other departments, Sarpanches, Panches and prominent citizens attended the function. Mr. Vikar said that number of roads and other development projects taken in hand during last four years of present coalition regime have been completed and many others are in progress. He said number of schools have been opened and many others upgraded and large number of teachers engaged in rural area so that the educational standard is improved.. Minister announced a bus for college students of Khari area from CDF so that students are provided transport facility. He also announced bridges for Kunji nallah, Hejba, Baba, Aakhran, Dhsan, fifteen more Anganwari centers for Khari area. To improve the power scenario of rural and far flung area, he announced number of transformers for uncovered areas . He further said the matter for opening of Jammu and Kashmir bank branch and plying of SRTC bus service is already in process. He said a skill development programme will be started to meet the unemployment problem as well as shortage of trained skill persons in different engineering and other projects under execution in the state. Minister also handed over the sports kits and uniforms to some local youth clubs for boosting the sports activity in area and their physical development.

Peerzada dedicates Heritage Hamam Mughal Garden to public

Inspects renovation works in Shalimar Garden
change room. SRINAGAR, APRIL 14: Minister for Hajj, Auqaf, Public Enterprises and Floriculture, Peerzada Mohammad Syed today dedicated Heritage Hamam Mughal Garden Shalimar to public. The Heritage Hamam was constructed at an estimated cost of Rs.40 lakh. Minister of State for Floriculture, Horticulture and Agriculture Mr. Nazir Ahmad Gurezi was also present. The Ministers were informed that the Hammam is a square-shapped structure accessed from a large recessed opening which is preceded by a portico. The entrance leads to a central chamber and two side chambers. They were also informed that the principal material used for construction is badshahi bricks. Most of the chambers are lit by skylights. The rooms have flat domed ceilings. The Hammam consists of features like the bathing pool or hauz, toilet and of work on all developmen-

Minister for Hajj, Auqaf, Public Enterprises and Floriculture, Peerzada Mohammad Syed dedicating Heritage Hamam Mughal Garden Shalimar to public. Later, Peerzada took stock of the developmental works under execution in the Mughal Garden Shalimar. The Minister was informed that a project of Rs. 1 crore has been sanctioned for the renovation work on Black Pawlan and other developmental works in the Garden. He was also informed that the work on the project is in full swing. The Minister directed the officers to speed up the pace tal works under execution in the historical Mughal Garden and complete them in a stipulated time frame. Commissioner Secretary, Public Enterprises and Floriculture Mr. Farooq Ahmad Fakthoo, District D e v e l o p m e n t Commissioner, Srinagar Mr. Farooq Ahmad Shah and other officials of INTACH, JK and Department of Floriculture were present on the occasion.

Peace, Harmony must for State's development : Madan

JAMMU APRIL 14 : Madan Lal Sharma Member Parliament Jammu Poonch Constituency said that Peace and harmony is must for the overall development of the J&K State. He was speaking on the occasion of Dr. B.R Ambedkar's Jayanti in a function held at Owner Union Matador Workshop old Ghou Addha Jammu . He termed Dr. Ambedkar as a great visionary who has not only promoted equity and fraternity through Constitution of India but also gave positive direction for the generations to come. Mr. Sharma said that his Constituency i.e Samba, Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch needs special package as most of the people are on LOC and International Border and those living near towns are also very poor and needy. He demanded a special recruitment from border belts and vocational trainings for young girls and boys for all districts. He also stressed upon the need of cashing tourism potential of Jammu and felt that special steps from Government are required to attract tourists towards Jammu ,Samba, Rajouri and Poonch . Kuldeep Raj Verma Vice Chairman for OBC and Manjit Singh Ex. Minister also spoke on the occasion and appealed the masses to follow the foot prints of Dr. B.R Ambedkar. The programme was organized by Owner Union Matador Workshop and Kamal Pradhan , president gave vote of thanks .

Mir inaugurates 3 day All India Rice Workers Group meeting

SRINAGAR, APRIL 14: Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Ghulam Hassan Mir Sunday inaugurated the 3 day 48th All India Annual Rice Workers Group meeting at SKICC Srinagar. In all 248 delegates from various parts of India participated in the meeting, held for the first time in the valley. The meeting was jointly organized by SKUAST, Kashmir and Directorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad. Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr. Nazir Ahmad Khan Gurezi was also present on the occasion besides DG ICAR, Dr. Swapan Kumar Dutta, VC SKUAST Kashmir Dr. Tej Pratap. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister while welcoming delegates said that the primary challenge for researchers is to make significant contributions which would include keeping rice affordable, slash poverty, reduce malnutrition, cut climate change impacts and 60 percent of the world population lives. Agriculture Minister said that rice is the principal crop

Sakina pays homage to Dr.B.R Ambedkar on his 122nd birth anniversary

'greener' rice by reducing the water and environmental footprint of rice production. Mr. Mir said Rice is the world's most important food crop consumed by more than half of the world's population. He said the crop will become increasingly important in the next century because of wide amplitude of its adaptation. He said more than 90 percent of the earth's rice is grown and consumed in Asia where cultivated in Kashmir valley, adding that it is grown on about 1.5 lakh hectares which comprise almost 50 percent of total area under different crops cultivation in the region. Mr. Mir informed that the population of rice has gone up to 5.28 lakh tons which sustains the demand to the extended of 60 percent, necessitating the significant imports from outside the valley. .JAMMU, APRIL 14: Minister for Social Welfare, ARI & Trainings, Ms Sakina Itoo on Sunday said that the main architect of Indian Constitution and Bharat Ratna, Dr. B.R Ambedekar throughout his life stood for the cause of needy, poor, downtrodden, neglected communities and economically weaker sections and fought for their rights. The Minister was addressing an impressive function held at Jaggi Darbar Hall, Paloura Ban Talab Road, Jammu, organised in connection with celebrations of 122nd birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar. .The Minister said that Government has taken up a massive programme of upliftment of poor sections through various governmental agancies like Social Welfare and other corporations and there is always room for improvement and many more steps are in pipeline to eextend all basic facilities to the underprivileged classes of the society. Paying rich tributes to the great leader, the Minister said that Dr.Ambedkar was not only a great social reformer, but he was also a Indian Jurist, political leader, philosopher, anthropologist, historian, orator, economist and editor, adding that the great social reformer throughout his whole life fought against social discrimination and equality of all citizens. She said the services rendered by

PDP leaders from Chenab valley held meet at Doda

KISHTWAR APRIL 14: In order to summarize the party activities in three districts of Chenab valley viz Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban Districts, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders hailing from different regions of Chenab valley today held a meeting at Doda under the leadership of senior party leader Atta-Ulla Khan. During the course of the meeting various issues pertaining to the functioning of party in the region based on six assembly segments were discuss threadbare. The party leaders unanimously stress upon the party high command to chose the party candidates from Chenab valley in consultation with the party workers, so that the democratic system could be strengthen at grass root level. The speakers show his great concern over anti party activities of some party leaders, who are hell bent to tarnish the image of the party. They said some newly joined leaders by using his influence in party gives misleading information about some party leaders to high command and stress upon the party leadership to not to pay any heed to them. The participants decided that they will conduct the tour of entire Chenab valley in next few weeks so as to reach the people at door step and with the mission to listen the grievances of common people, beside to spread party agenda among the common masses. All the participants also express grief and shock over the tragic road accident at Sarthal Kishtwar in which five people lost their lives. Among the prominent who attended the meeting includes advocate Imtiyaz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafiz, Farooq Shah, Kuldeep Singh, Parveena Khan from Doda, Shakir Siddiqui, Raiz Ahmed Zarger, Ashok Sharma, Arshad Giri from Kishtwar, Sheikh Mohammad Ammin, Mushtaq Ahmed Rather, Khushal Singh, Shakeel Butt from Ramban, Raiz Ahmed Zarger from Bhalessa, Abdul Majid Khan, Mohammad Ayoob, Roshan Din, Akthar Hussain, Subash Chander and Sajjad Hussain Mir from Bhaderwah.

Improving life standard of people is govt's priority: Sagar

Lays foundations stone steel Foot Bridge at Nowpora
SRINAGAR, APRIL 14: Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Mr. Ali Mohammad Sagar Sunday said the developmental agenda taken in hand by the present government shall be taken to its logical end, adding our efforts are only to improve the life standard of the people of the state. The Minister was addressing a public meeting after laying foundation stone of Hazrat Taj Baba(RA) Steel Foot Bridge at Lone Mohalla Aabi Nowpora Khanyar. He said Rs. 40 lakh would be spent on the execution of this bridge and shall provide better communication facilities to the people of Nowpora, Alamdar Colony, Nai Sadak, Lone Mohalla and other adjacent areas. The Minister directed concerned engineers to ensure completion of the Foot Bridge within one month. He said marriage hall coming up at cost of Rs. 1.20 crore at Lone Mohalla will be dedicated to public within one month. He said the government's concept of constructing community halls has earned laurels in the public, because of its large scale utility. He said Nowpora and its peripheries were brought on tourist map which would benefit people in improving their socio-economic status. Mr. Sagar said that present government headed by Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah believes in public service without taking any propaganda. He said construction of various big projects have been taken in hand which percolates its benefits to the public at large. Referring to the unemployment problem, Mr. Sagar said that government has initiated skill development fund schemes for providing financial assistance to those unemployed youth who did not get government jobs. He said under this scheme, Rs. 7 lakh shall be provided to person having qualification of PG, Rs. 5 lakh to graduate and Rs. 3 lakh to 10+2. Mr. Sagar said that the era of gun culture has gone to its end, for, it is no solution to any problem. He said we are always asking for dialogue process to ensure solution of all issues including Kashmir issue. He said it is only peaceful atmosphere in which development of any nation is carried forward. On the occasion, among others, Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Committee, Dr. G.N. Qasba was also present.

the great legend for the uplfitment of the forgotten and neglected communities would be always remembered by the generations to come. Responding to the various demands put forth by the President of All J&K Scheduled Caste Welfare Association, R.L.Bharti, the Minister said that already a number of steps for the welfare of the people of these sections have been taken by the present Government under the dynamic leadership of young and enthusiastic Chief Minister, Mr. Omar Abdullah, which include making Backward Class Commission fully functional.. Giving details of many other towering personalities of the State,Ms Sakina said that some great personalities also have taken birth in Jammu and Kashmir State like Late Sher-i-Kashmir, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, who also contributed a lot for the development and welfare of the common people. She said, the great leader, under the slogan that "land must go to the tiller" with one stroke

made thousands of farmers owners of the agriculture land, which was a great revolutionary step towards the transformation of socio economic life the State. She said that the great leader always stood by communal harmony, and equal development of all the three regions of the State. Responding to the demands put forth by the leaders, the Minister assured that their genuine demands would be looked into and added that during the last four years several scholarship schemes have been provided to the SC, ST and other OBC students. Ex.Minister, Mr Mulla Ram, MLC, B.R Kundal, ExMLC ,Mahasha Vir Chand Dy. Commissioner, Jammu also attended the function. Earlier, the President of the Association submitted a charter of demands including Job reservation, Plan funds, political reservation, enforcement of Sc/ST (Prevention of atrocities Act and Rules and Construction of hostels for Sc students and scholarships to students.

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STUDENT AGE MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

EDITORIAL
By Kishori Rana n a landmark step, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the much-awaited direct cash transfer scheme wherein the subsidy amount will go directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. The government will implement the scheme for cash transfer to the beneficiary's account in 51 districts from January 1, 2013. Aadhaar card enabled cash transfers, or Direct Cash Transfer (DCT) scheme, which was launched on January 1, 2013, was UPA-led government's supposed

But mercy pleas can't be left hanging for ages

wo things appear clear from the ruling of the Supreme Court on April 12, which dismissed the petition of death row convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar. The first is that a delay in deciding on mercy pleas cannot be the ground for setting aside capital punishment. And the second is that such delays do not necessarily violate a convict's Fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Constitution. The apex court has done well to clear the air because various convicts whose mercy pleas were rejected by the President in recent years have tried to subvert justice by pleading leniency on those grounds. After all, the fact that mercy petitions have been rejected after lengthy delays does not in any way take away from the gravity of the crime that the convict had indulged in. Nor does it in any way mitigate the punishment of death, which in any case is awarded only in the rarest of rare cases in the country. The court's judgement closes the door on some 17 other cases where the convicts who were awarded the death penalty were hoping for respite on the premise that the authorities had sat on their mercy pleas for years together. As for the need to protect the Fundamental Right of the convict, it must be said that due punishment for a crime is not a violation of such a right, even if the punishment is late in coming. The ruling by a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court paves the way for Bhullar's hanging and for the process of law to be followed in similar cases, including that of the convicts in Rajiv Gandhi's assassination and the four aides of brigand Veerappan. Bhullar cannot claim that injustice has been done to him. The 'Khalistani' terrorist went through an elaborate legal process and had every opportunity to defend himself. A Trial Court had sentenced him to death in August 2001; a higher court confirmed the sentence the following year; the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal against the conviction not once, but on two occasions. Meanwhile Bhullar went to the President, who rejected his mercy plea in May 2011, and the matter thereafter returned to the apex court on the ground of 'inordinate delay' in deciding the mercy petition. The court had reserved its verdict in April 2012. It may be that the story has not yet ended. The aggrieved party may decide to approach the court for a review, or seek a fresh hearing on its appeal before a larger Bench. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's ruling should not lead one to believe that the present state of affairs, where the President sits on mercy pleas for endless number of months and years, is an ideal one. It is not and needs to be changed. Keeping convicts on the death row for years cannot be condoned. There is no reason why Presidents should deliberate for ages on a petition because they cannot make up their mind or because the Government of the day refuses to be prompt in forwarding its opinion to the President on mercy pleas. More often than not, as we have seen in many recent cases, politics plays a significant role in such delays. There must be a mechanism for timebound disposal of petitions. In addition, the scope for arbitrariness must be addressed. We have seen how Ms Pratibha Patil in her last days at Rashtrapati Bhavan, commuted the death sentences of convicts who had raped and murdered children.

DIRECT CASH TRANSFER: PANACEA OR ANOTHER SCAM IN THE MAKING

game changer. However, the scheme is yet to take off properly. With the government's decision that all payments to the beneficiaries, who do not have either bank accounts or their unique identity cards, will be made through the Aadhaar bridge, the administration is on an overdrive to enrol people via enrolment centers. However, even after the patients get their enrolment numbers, it will be at least a month before they get their Aadhaar cards. Earlier, at the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, the payment

was made through a bearers' cheque. It seems like the DCT scheme has been rolled out in a hurry with the teams at the grassroot level having a herculean task before themselves to enrol beneficiaries, open bank accounts and integrate them with Aadhaar. "It was not possible for all the schemes to roll out within 10 to 14 days. If the payment is released only through the Aadhaar bridge mode that will be difficult. I think the government has now realised that," said Shurvir Singh, Divisional Commissioner of

North West Delhi. It is a poverty reduction measure in which government subsidies and other benefits are given directly to the poor in cash rather than in the form of subsidies. It can help the government reach out to identified beneficiaries and can plug leakages. Currently, ration shop owners divert subsidised PDS grains or kerosene to open market and make fast buck. Such Leakages could stop. The scheme will also enhance efficiency of welfare schemes. The money is directly trans-

ferred into bank accounts of beneficiaries. LPG and kerosene subsidies, pension payments, scholarships and employment guarantee scheme payments as well as benefits under other government welfare programmes will be made directly to beneficiaries. T he money can then be used to buy services from the market. For eg. if subsidy on LPG or kerosene is abolished and the government still wants to give the subsidy to the poor, the subsidy portion will be transferred as cash into the banks of the intended beneficiaries.

TRIVIALISING SERIOUS ISSUES

By Prabhat Sharan, t is a hydra-brood of arrogance, power and insensitivity manifesting in obnoxious remarks. Kill one and two springs up in its place. Not a single day passes on the Indian political rostrum when political characters strutting full of sound and fury burst out one-liners smacking of crass, vulgarity, sexism and prejudices. In sixties, Bob Dylan crooned the stark and pessimistic 'The Times They Are a-Changin.'' And Indian polity in first quarter of millennium, is also undergoing painful convulsions etching out a new nadir of political horror screenplay which future generations may look back and nod heads with incredulity in their eyes. The new age politicians unlike the brooding, soft-spoken, doveeyed and maternal winged politicians of yore are no doubt media and tech savvy, but when it comes to social realities they are not only disconnected but even insensitive to the pain and miseries of populace. The 'quote' and the 'bite' is the only issue that matters and for a political actor, press is the modern day mythological 'Medea cauldron' providing oxygen at every step. And in a media that is saturated with 'sound bites', it is a tough fight to come out with a quote that can hog and capture the time and space for a brief moment. It is precisely for this reason Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar coldly remarked with a

Mercy pleas can't be left hanging for ages

wo things appear clear from the ruling of the Supreme Court on April 12, which dismissed the petition of death row convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar. The first is that a delay in deciding on mercy pleas cannot be the ground for setting aside capital punishment. And the second is that such delays do not necessarily violate a convict's Fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Constitution. The apex court has done well to clear the air because various convicts whose mercy pleas were rejected by the President in recent years have tried to subvert justice by pleading leniency on those grounds. After all, the fact that mercy petitions have been rejected after lengthy delays does not in any way take away from the gravity of the crime that the convict had indulged in. Nor does it in any way mitigate the punishment of death, which in any case is awarded only in the rarest of rare cases in the country. The court's judgement closes the door on some 17 other cases where the convicts who were awarded the death penalty were hoping for respite on the premise that the authorities had sat on their mercy pleas for years together. As for the need to protect the Fundamental Right of the convict, it must be said that due punishment for a crime is not a violation of such a right, even if the punishment is late in coming. The ruling by a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court paves the way for Bhullar's hanging and for the process of law to be followed in similar cases, including that of the convicts in Rajiv Gandhi's assassination and the four aides of brigand Veerappan. Bhullar cannot claim that injustice has been done to him. The 'Khalistani' terrorist went through an elaborate legal process and had every opportunity to defend himself. A Trial Court had sentenced him to death in August 2001; a higher court confirmed the sentence the following year; the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal against the conviction not once, but on two occasions. Meanwhile Bhullar went to the President, who rejected his mercy plea in May 2011, and the matter thereafter returned to the apex court on the ground of 'inordinate delay' in deciding the mercy petition. The court had reserved its verdict in April 2012. It may be that the story has not yet ended. The aggrieved party may decide to approach the court for a review, or seek a fresh hearing on its appeal before a larger Bench. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's ruling should not lead one to believe that the present state of affairs, where the President sits on mercy pleas for endless number of months and years, is an ideal one. It is not and needs to be changed. Keeping convicts on the death row for years cannot be condoned. There is no reason why Presidents should deliberate for ages on a petition because they cannot make up their mind or because the Government of the day refuses to be prompt in forwarding its opinion to the President on mercy pleas. More often than not, as we have seen in many recent cases, politics plays a significant role in such delays. There must be a mechanism for time-bound disposal of petitions. In addition, the scope for arbitrariness must be addressed. We have seen how Ms Pratibha Patil in her last days at Rashtrapati Bhavan, commuted the death sentences of convicts who had raped and murdered children.

sneer in a public function at Indapur: "Should I urinate in the dam?", and managed to carve out an indelible image amongst viewers and readers even though it came with a negative halo. But then negative halo does not deter Ajit Pawar; after all he is the nephew of Union Agriculture Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar and has all the arrogance of a feudal lord. His so-called barb, crass and vulgar in nature, was aimed at an activist who was on a hunger strike at Mumbai's historic Azad Maidan demanding release of water from the (Ujain) dam to the droughtaffected Sholapur region. But Ajit Pawar, born with a silver spoon, has always been a strong apostle of industrialists and, thus, his mockery towards the activistfarmer. "He has been on a fast for the past 55 days. If there is no water in the dam, how can we release it? Should we urinate into it? If there is no water to drink, even urinating is not possible," he had said. To top it, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray went a step ahead attacking Ajit Pawar in a similar vein. Thackeray said that NCP would get people's urine instead of votes in the next polls and he (Ajit Pawar) will realise that he should have built dams when he will be flushed off in people's urine." Ironically, the serious issue of drought ravaging the interiors of the state got lost in the cacophony of cheap, lewd and seemingly antago-

nistic remarks of political leaders. The so-called Ajit Pawar 'foot in mouth' syndrome is a case in point of a trend which is being brazenly and deliberately practiced by present day political leaders. Prejudice, a handy tool of deflection When the issue of malnutrition had reared its head in the country's most media-hyped state of Gujarat, its chief minister Narendra Modi remarked: "Gujarati middle class is more beauty conscious than health conscious... that is a challenge. If a mother tells her daughter to have milk, they have a fight. She'll tell her mother, 'I won't drink milk. I'll get fat'. Spinning out crude inane streetjokes, blurring issues and twisting logic with clouded fallacies, helps in diverting the attention of the people, and according to Irfan Engineer, Director of Institute for Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution: "Not all the time while spouting absurd statements they (politicians) are thinking in conspiratorial manner...many a times their ingrained biases and prejudices also come to the fore." Engineer contends that most of the time the issue is trivialised because politicians know in their heart that the problem exists because they are the creators. "Take for example the drought, everybody knows the situation in Maharashtra... but they still make a joke of it. Why? Because successive governments in Maharashtra have

always catered to big industrial houses and factory owners; the result is that farmers remained water starved. It is not a new phenomenon. "Earlier, the late Vilasrao Deshmukh had remarked that farmers are dying in cotton belt Vidarbha - because farmers spend their money and time chewing tobacco. What kind of logic is this? But such nonsensical one-liners manage to reduce the gravity of the situation at that point of time." However, the insensitivity of the new age politicos is not just confined to the rural and hinterland populace, even the urban dwellers fall prey to their stings. The Delhi bus gang-rape is a case in point. So is the case of three BJP?MLAs watching a porn video in the Karnataka Assembly and claiming they were educating themselves on the plight of women. Or the Suryanelli rape case and the recent death of a student activist in Kolkata. Though West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee may be known for making cold and insensitive remarks with a display of a dictatorial arrogance, President Pranab Mukherjee's suave son Abhijit's sexist remark on Delhi bus gang-rape protesters had stunned people. Commenting on the protests, the Jr Mukherjee, an MP?himself, said: "...those who are on the streets pretending to be students are highly dented and painted women seeking two minutes of fame." The remark

revealed the intrinsic biases and prejudices ingrained in the psyche of Indian politicians. Professor of Sociology (Mumbai University), Dr P S Vivek, points out that contemporary political leaders are just 'front people.' "If one goes through political speeches irrespective of ideology they professed...on the floor of houses made in fifties and early sixties...one is awed with the extensive knowledge political leaders then had. Political leaders controlled the reins of political-economy. But in the present day changed scenario, many politicians are mere front persons propped up by corporate bodies...so you have nincompoops masquerading as leaders." Thus, Prof Vivek contends, "It is not surprising to find Mamata dismissing the death of SFI activiststudent as a small and petty matter, or Kerala MP K Sudhakaran disparaging the Suryanelli rape victim as a prostitute. But the vicious cycle does not stop at just making statements. In the new social networking age, the new age politicians have also realised that in the market controlled cut-throat world, social values have changed and thus a negative image is more effective than that of a brooding scholar politician. Switch on the television and you will see negative advertisements full of sleaze popping in every channel. So why should a politician be any different as politics too is a business?"

India and Pakistan: Tracing the Nuclear Trajectory

By PR Chari omparing countries to animals is an absorbing pastime for foreign policy analysts to discover their essential character. It is, therefore, no accident that the US has chosen the eagle to be its national symbol to emphasize its aggressive, risktaking nature. The erstwhile Soviet Union, now Russia, identified itself with the bear, which hugs what it seizes securely to itself. During the heyday of the Empire, the British lion - king of the forest - symbolised its power, which is intriguing since that feline is not indigenous to the British Isles. Nearer home, animal allegories have sought to capture the basic character of China and India. China conjures up conflicting images of a cuddly panda and fire-breathing dragon, while India has been compared to the prickly porcupine or self-preening peacock or lumbering elephant. In this milieu, Michael Krepon's characterisation of the India-Pakistan nuclear imbroglio in terms of the Aesopian hare-tortoise fable greatly overstates the case. Krepon argues that "India's

nuclear weapons program is moving steadily forward without great exertion. The tortoise will win this race, and could quicken its pace. But the hare continues to run fast, because nuclear weapons are a sign of strength amidst growing domestic weaknesses and because it can't keep up with the growth of India's conventional military programs." This is not quite accurate, since it must also be appreciated that the strategic direction of India's military nuclear program has uncompromisingly been directed against China and, incidentally, against Pakistan. In other words, nuclear weapons are primarily required by India to establish strategic parity with China, and secondarily, to deter Pakistan's intransigence. Pakistan's nuclear program, however, is essentially intended to counter its conventional forces inferiority vis--vis India. Currently, both countries hold around 80-100 nuclear weapons in their stockpiles. Despite routine pledges to maintain a minimal deterrent, the size of these stockpiles has doubled over the last decade. Both countries also possess cruise missiles, and are

seeking nuclear armed submarines to ensure the survivability of their deterrent, provide second strike capability, and strengthen their deterrent postures. Pakistan, in fact, has imbued nuclear weapons with magical properties; they can deter India, and provide a sense of equality with its seven-timeslarger neighbour that is fast becoming the third largest economic power in the world. Nuclear weapons also provide it with strategic reassurance, however illusory, in dealing with the US. Nothing, therefore, infuriates Pakistanis more than suggestions that the US should gain control over or 'takes out' Pakistan's nuclear arsenal in defined circumstances. Krepon also draws attention to the fact that Pakistan's nuclear policy, and, for that matter its defence, as well as its Kashmir and India policy are strictly controlled by the Pakistan Army, with civilians playing a peripheral role in the decision-making apparatus. He then draws attention to the quantitative and qualitative nuclear arms race proceeding in South Asia, with obvious dangers

for its strategic stability. Unfortunately, he has no plausible solutions to proffer about how India should configure the size and structure of its nuclear arsenal to meet the threat from China without inviting a reaction from Pakistan. In other words, how could arms race stability be sought in a triangular nuclear scenario, which is unique in the international security system, and has no guiding precedent? Unstated here is his belief that India faces no nuclear danger from China; hence, it is excessive for India to conjure up a non-existent nuclear threat from China to justify its enlarging the range of its delivery capabilities, and making other attempts to sophisticate its nuclear arsenal. He then suggests that: "The safest route to reduce nuclear dangers on the subcontinent is through concerted, top-down efforts to improve relations between Pakistan and India. The surest way to do so is by greatly increasing cross-border trade. Leaders in both countries have endorsed this course of action, but underlings are moving slowly in the run-up to national elec-

tions." He might have added the need to liberalise the visa regime, and promoting reciprocal visits of special interest groups like students, media persons, legislators, professional groups and so on to create constituencies in both countries that would develop a mutual interest in friendly bilateral relations. These are tired old beliefs, and have often been made before. Regrettably, these eminently sensible suggestions have wrecked on the rocks of official obduracy and obstruction. Why? In truth, the political leadership and, in the background, the military and intelligence services in India and Pakistan have no interest in permitting such confidencebuilding measures to flourish and erode their institutionalised negativism. Unless Krepon can find a better solution to these problems, his well-meaning ideas to insulate the nuclear entanglement between India and Pakistan from disaster are not going to succeed. Of course, the disaster is of primary consequence for the two South Asian adversaries, who need to be aware of and address the dangers to their own survival.

WikiLeaks revelations
Dear Sir The U.S. Embassy cable of 1976, accessed by WikiLeaks, quite rightly foresaw the course of events in the likely event of Indira Gandhi's death (April 12). The cable even talked of manoeuvres for a dynastic succession. While Sanjay Gandhi's untimely death changed the scenario, the days following Indira Gandhi's assassination did witness the seizing of power

by her "inner circle" through force of circumstances in 1984. Yours etc Murtaza Khan Akhnoor,Jammu

Justice for Sikhs

Dear Sir The wheels of justice have moved at snail's pace in doing justice to the victims and families of the 3,000 Sikhs mercilessly killed during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. It is clear that the

CBI did not perform its role properly. It is now back to square one. No one knows how many more years it will take for the investigating agency to prove its worth and do the job expected of it. No one has been punished so far for the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition; justice eludes many victims of the postGodhra genocide in 2002; the Assam riots, not to speak of the massacre in Meerut, Bhagalpur and Mumbai, with the conspirators and perpetrators of the crime walking free or even blessed with high positions in governments. Yours Etc. Ashok Kumar

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NATIONAL

Karnataka polls: Sonia, Rahul, Manmohan to undertake campaign for Congress

BANGALORE: The Congress in Karnataka has planned to launch a blitzkrieg for the high-stake May 5 assembly polls with its leaders Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi slated to criss-cross the state during a 10-day long campaign from April 23. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would join the electioneering for a day addressing meetings in Hubli, Dharwad and Bangalore on April 29, KPCC president G Parameshwara told reporters here, announcing the programme that may be subject to change. Rahul Gandhi is expected to set the tone for the party's poll pitch with meetings in Bellary, Raichur and Bijapur on April 23. This would be followed by rallies in Kolar, Tumkur and Haveri on April coming back to power. The party had fared badly in successive elections held after the BJP government came to power but as infighting and a series of corrumediaon charges took a heavy toll on the ruling party, Congress showed signs of recovery. After the recent elections to the Urban Local Bodies in which the Congress pushed the BJP to the third spot along with KJP of former party strongman B S Yeddyurappa, the party feels it is withinstriking distance of power. Parameshwara also released a booklet highlighting the alleged misdeeds of the BJP government, particularly in the Bangalore civic body which, it alleged, had become a cesspool of corrumediaon.

Mayawati accuses Akhilesh govt of indulging in political vendetta

LUCKNOW: Apparently peeved over removal of hoardings set up on the occasion of 122th birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar, BSP chiefMayawati on Sunday accused the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh of acting with political vendetta and treating her party as number one target. "Members of the opposition parties are being dealt with political vendetta and BSP is being made number one target," she said here. The BSP supremo was apparently more infuriated with the removal of hoardings installed near Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal to mark his 122th birth anniversary. sion is required," she said. Mayawati said that considering the approach of the SP government, her partymen took permission from the local body to install hoardings near the Sthal. "Till yesterday, a large number of hoardings were installed within three kilometres of the sthal, but I have come to know that a lot of drama took place last night and on the directive of the SP government, all of them removed. In whatever strong words the move is condemned is less," she said.

28 and in Mandya, Hassan and Shimoga on May 1, he said. The Congress president is scheduled to address rallies in Mangalore and Chikamaglur on April 26, Gulbarga and Belgaum on April 30

and Mysore and Bangalore on May 2, Parameshwara said. The Congress is playing for high stakes in the polls as it sees the prospect of dislodging the first-ever BJP government in the South and

Modi is 'marketing' himself for PM post: Congress

INDORE: Congress today alleged that Narendra Modi is busy these days in "marketing" himself for the post of Prime Minister, even though there is no consensus on the Gujarat chief minister within his own party. "With an intention to become Prime Minister, Modi is these days marketing himself despite the fact that his own party leaders are not unanimous in declaring his candidature for the top post," Congress general secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh B K Hariprasad told reporters here. He said Modi's focus was on becoming the Prime Minister while on the other hand Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was talking about strengthening the hands of common man. "This his good work," he said. The Congress general secretary also dismissed the claim made by the BJP leaders that Modi has ensured all round development of Gujarat under his leadership. "Gujarat was never lagging behind. It has been always ahead for long as far as development is concerned. Business and commerce acumen is always there in the blood of Gujaratis and they are not dependent on any government for their development," Hariprasad said. "Ambanis and Tatas have established their industrial units in Gujarat and no chief minister can take credit of development of Gujarat all of a sudden," he said.

Army team to visit China to finalise military exercise

NEW DELHI: Ahead of Defence Minister A K Antony's visit to China next month, an Army delegation would be there this monthend to finalise the dates of bilateral military exercises expected to be held later this year after a gap of over four years. An Army delegation under a Brigadier from the Military Operations Branch will visit China in the last week of April to finalise the date for the third edition of the Hand-to-Hand exercise between the two sides, sources told MEDIA here. The exercise is expected to be held in SeptemberOctober time frame this year, they said. India and China had last held the last edition of the exercise in December 2008 in Belgaum in Karnataka while the first edition was held in 2007 in Kunming province of China. The two sides had decided to resume their military exercises during the visit of former Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie to India last September. During the talks, Antony had also accepted the invitation to visit China. The visit is likely to see the two sides further discuss the proposal for a Border Defence Cooperation Agreement mooted by the Chinese side during the visit its Deputy Chief of General Staff last month. The border defence cooperation agreement proposes to avoid any misunderstanding or flare up along the boundary. After the visit to China, Antony is also scheduled to visit Australia. The scheduled visit to Australia was postponed in February this year.

"The government knew that it was Babasaheb's anniversary and lakhs of people will come to pay tribute to him. On this occasion hoardings are installed across the country for which no permis-

Arbitration Centre must cater to common man: CJI

BANGALORE: An Arbitration Centre must speedily redress cases not just of the rich and the corporate houses but also the common man, Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir on Sunday said. "Arbitration centre is meant for the speedy redressal of cases of not just the rich and the business houses but also the ordinary person. This is something we need to stress", he said after unveiling the second Arbitration Centre in India here. The Centre answers to the need of corporate houses wherein a number of Indian business matters were being heard in Arbitration Centres abroad like Singapore or Moscow. The fact that redressal of cases will be time bound within a period of 90-120 days and the fee charged by the Arbitrator has been made specific, not exceeding Rs 8 lakh will make such Centres more meaningful, Justice Kabir said. Arbitration Centre is a place where people will not only get speedy solutions for their problems but is also one Arbitrator will have to deal with not more than five cases, he stressed. Justice Vikramajit Sen, Supreme Court judge and former Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, who was instrumental in establishment of this Centre here said the Centre would focus on speedy resolution of disputes. Justice HL Dattu, the Supreme Court judge, appealed to the legal fraternity to ensure that the Centre also caters to the general public, especially the lower middle class. Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, Justice DH Waghela, emphasised the need to popularise and publicise such centres and described the Centre as "one of its kind in South Asia". Justice KL Manjunath, president, Arbitration CentreKarnataka, said the Centre would entertain all arbitration clauses. Justice Dattu released the book "Arbitration Centre - Karnataka (Domestic & International) Rules, 2012" and Justice V Gopala Gowda, Supreme Court judge, launched the website of the Centre.

is the big difference between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi," he said. "A person who is weak is always looking for a post, while a strong man always sits confidently in the house thinking that people will elect him one day on the basis of

Hamid Ansari arrives in Tajikistan on four-day 'goodwill' visit

DUSHANBE: Vice President Hamid Ansari on Sunday arrived here on a four-day "goodwill" visit to Tajikistan to discuss ways to boost their strategic ties in multiple sectors, including counter-terrorism, with the resource-rich central Asian nation. Ansari, a former diplomat, will hold high-level talks with top leaders of Tajikistan including its President Emomali Rahmon and Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Trade, among others, to discuss ways for further cooperation between the two nations. Ansari is the first Indian Vice-President to visit the nation. Ansari was received by Tajikistan's Deputy Prime Minister Davlatov Matlubkhon Sultonovich. Both the countries share "close and cordial" relations for over 21 years since Tajikistan's independence following dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. During the visit, the two sides will discuss the issue of terrorism emanating from Pakistan and Afghanistan and ways to get access to further trade with Tajikistan, which is a land locked country surrounded by mountains, by

UPA vulnerable after DMK pullout, asks NCP to prepare for polls: Sharad Pawar
THANE: Key UPA ally NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the Centre's ruling coalition had become "vulnerable" after DMK's pullout and that elections were round the corner. Pawar, Union Agriculture Minister, also said since Congress was the majority party in the UPA, his party would respect its view on the alliance's prime ministerial candidate. "UPA's position has become vulnerable after DMK's pullout. We have to prepare and plan for elections. I have suggested to the UPA chairperson to convene a meeting to discuss this and she is also of the same view," Pawar told reporters. Amid conflicting voices on who should be the UPA's candidate for Prime Minister's post, Pawar said the coalition's spearhead Congress would have to take a call. "Compared to the last time, UPA has shrunk. It is only the Congress, NCP and

of the ways in which the calendar of courts can be made less burdensome, the Chief Justice said. Highlighting the need for such an alternate dispute resolution mechanism to address the problems of pendency of cases, the Chief Justice compared an Arbitration Centre to "safety valve of a pressure cooker which if not there, will result in bursting of the cooker because of the pressure building up". Going down memory lane, Justice Kabir recalling his experience in trial and high courts, said "litigation, particularly commercial litigation can be a time consuming affair. When I was practising, there were times when return of summons in such cases could take six months or even two to three years". An

opening a trans-Afghan corridor. "One area of common interest between two of us of the high priority is the problem of terrorism emanating from the territory between us and them -- which means Pakistan and Afghanistan. Tajikistan has enormous interest in the stability of Afghanistan. We have the same kind of interests, same kind of concerns. So this is an area where cooperation and exchange has taken place on a continuation basis. And it is also an area of convergence," Ansari told media persons accompanying him on board a special flight. Tajikistan has immense geo-strategic significance. It has a border with China of 520-km. "It has a border with Afghanistan of 1,420 km. This is a very porous border and adds to the geo-strategic

significance of the region. The Afghan-Wakhan corridor is 16-km, which is the least distance between Tajikistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK)," said an Indian diplomat. Both the nations are not likely to sign any agreement during Ansari's visit. But, the thrust will be on to explore more areas of mutual cooperation. Diplomatic relations between the two nations were established in 1992. In May 1994, India opened its diplomatic mission in Dushanbe and Tajikistan opened its embassy in New Delhi in June 2003. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had visited Tajikistan in 2003. Former President Pratibha Patil had paid a visit to the central Asian nation in September 2009.

Digvijay Singh may surrender before court on April 19

N a t i o n a l Conference.....Majority party has to take the call. We will respect the majority party's view," he said. Pawar's statement follows similar hints by Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, who had last month asked his partymen to gear up for a mid-term poll, citing a "confidential" report. "I have come to know about a confidential report which says that elections will be held in November. You people start preparing for them," he had said addressing party workers in Lucknow. The Samajwadi Party with 22 MPs and BSP with 21 are providing crucial outside support to the government and bailing it out in times of crises. GUNA: Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh said here today that he might surrender on April 19 in a court in Ujjain, which has issued non-bailable arrest warrant against him in connection with a case of alleged manhandling of BJP youth wing workers. On July 17, 2011, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers had been chased and beaten up allegedly by Congressmen, including Digvijay Singh and Congress MP from Ujjain Premchand Guddu, when the workers tried to show them black flags protesting against a remark by Singh. Following this, a case was registered against some Congress leaders. However, an application was later moved in the local court with a prayer to make Digvijay Singh and four others also accused in the case, after which the court Even though he had sought more time from the court, a non-bailable warrant was issued against him in the case. Digvijay said he would file an appeal in the High Court in the case. "However, if I still don't get any relief, I would surrender before the lower court on April 19," he said. Terming Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as a "man of announcements", Digvijay said "he made over 8,000 announcements and out of them not even 800 were fulfilled." "Even though Chouhan had announced relief to hail-frost and unseasonal rain-affected farmers, they were yet to get any compensation," he said.

had issued summons to them. However, Digvijay was unable to appear in the court due to his wife's death. Defending himself on the issue, the Congress General Secretary told reporters that he was attacked by the BJP youth wing workers and in order to protect himself from them, the alleged manhandling took place.

US sees strong role for India on space security issues

WASHINGTON: There is greater room for Indo-US cooperation on space security issues, as India, which is a pioneer in many space related issues, has much to give to the international community, a top American official has said. "We see a strong role for greater US-India cooperation on space security issues, in the AsiaPacific and internationally," said Frank A Rose, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, at the National Space Symposium. US President Barack Obama had said in 2010 that the relationship between India and America will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century, Rose recalled. "While India has long focused on using space for the benefit of its people, as an established spacefaring nation with close ties to other regional space actors and emerging spacefaring nations, we see a strong role for Indian leadership in regional and multilateral space fora, where India has much to give, and also to gain," he said. "It is clear that there are significant areas of strategic convergencebetween India and the United States on space issues. This is why, in 2011, we launched the first US-India space security discussions as part of an effort to ensure that our two countries exchange views on this increasingly important domain," the official said. He said the US is not only looking to strengthen its current alliances and partnerships, but to forge deeper ties with emerging spacefaring nations. "That is why I've spent a great deal of time in Asia in the past two years, discussing space security issues with my counterparts in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Our increasing engagement with ASEAN members is part of a broader effort by the United States to deepen our commitment to the region and to work with all nations to ensure a sustainable and secure space environment," he said.

Nation pays homage to BR Ambedkar

NEW DELHI: The nation on Sunday paid homage to Bharat Ratna Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar on his 122nd birth anniversary. A number of functions have been organised throughout the country to mark this occasion. Dr Ambedkar, popularly also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, philosopher, anthropologist, historian, orator, economist, and editor. He was also the chairman of the Drafting Committee of Indian Constitution. Born into a poor Mahar (considered an untouchable caste) family, Ambedkar campaigned against social discrimination, the system of Chaturvarna - the categorisation of Hindu society into four varnas - and the Hindu caste system. He returned to Buddhism and is also credited with providing a spark for the transformation of hundreds of thousands of untouchables to Theravada Buddhism. Dr Ambedkar was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1990. Overcoming numerous social and financial obstacles, Dr Ambedkar became one of the first outcastes to obtain a college education in India. Eventually earning law degrees and multiple doctorates for his study and research in law, economics and political science from Columbia University and the London School of Economics, Dr Ambedkar gained a reputation as a scholar and practiced law for a few years, later campaigning by publishing journals advocating political rights and social freedom for India's untouchables. He is regarded as a Bodhisattva by some Indian Buddhists, though he never claimed himself to be a Bodhisattva.

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INTERNATIONAL & ECONOMY

were battling the militants. That was followed by a second blast some minutes later. About two hours after the assault began, survivors of the attack began coming out of the court complex after locking themselves in room. Some were crying, others held their heads in their hands. "I never expected to make it out alive today," said Halima Geddi, who fled the court complex about two hours after the attack. She said she had taken cover behind an outer wall. "There is no peace. No one protects us. I came to see my boy who was supposed to be tried here." Mogadishu's main government centre is heavily guarded with multiple security checks. However, the security at the court complex is not nearly as strong. Ugandan troops from the African Union forces stationed in the city arrived on scene and began pushing back on-lookers. Most militant attacks in Mogadishu are blamed on fighters from al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic extremist rebel group in Somalia. Al-Shabab ruled Mogadishu from roughly 2006 until August 2011, when African Union and Somali forces pushed them out of the city. Since then the al-Shabab extremists have launched suicide bombings on the capital city every few weeks. KATHMANDU: A Nepalese presenter has set a new world record by hosting a 62 hour television talk show -- the longest-ever, organisers said on Sunday. Rabi Lamichhane, 36, settled in the United States for the past 10 years, presented the "Lord Buddha Was Born in Nepal" programme, staying on air for 62 hours and 12 minutes. His programme last night broke the Guinness World Record previously held by two Ukranian presenters Pavlo Kuzheyev and Tetiana Danylenko for a 52-hour 2011 broadcast. One hundred guests, including Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the Indian ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad, television

At least 5 killed as gunmen attack Mogadishu court

MOGADISHU: Militants launched a serious and sustained assault on Mogadishu's main court complex on Sunday, detonating at least two blasts, taking an unknown number of hostages and engaging in extended gunbattles with government security forces, witnesses said. The attack on Somalia's Supreme Court complex began at around 12.30 p.m. local time and running battles with police and army forces lasted more than two hours. Two bomb blasts were heard and gunmen were seen on a court building roof firing shots, an Associated Press reporter at the scene said. A confirmed death toll wasn't immediately available.

Nepalese hosts longest-ever talk show, sets record

However, Hassan Abdulahi, a police officer, said he saw five dead bodies lying at the entrance to the court. The gunmen took hostages in the main courtroom and forced their way into other rooms in the complex, said another police officer, Abdinasir Nor. The number of hostages wasn't imme-

diately known. The armed men forced their way inside the complex and immediately set off an explosion, said Yusuf Abdi, who was near the court when the attack happened. A government spokesman, Mohamed Yusuf, confirmed the attack and said security forces had responded and

New technique to yield gold from crop plants

NEW YORK: Scientists have developed a new technique which they claim can grow and harvest gold from crop plants. The technique of finding gold called phytomining uses plants to extract particles of the precious metal from soil. Some plants have the natural ability to take up through their roots and concentrate metals such as nickel, cadmium and zinc in their leaves and shoots. For years, scientists have explored the use of such plants, dubbed hyperaccumulators, for pollution removal. However, there are no known gold hyperaccumulators, because gold doesn't easily dissolve in water so plants have no natural way of taking the particles in through their roots, LiveScience reported. "Under certain chemical conditions, gold solubility can be forced," said Chris Anderson, an environmental geochemist and gold phytomining expert at Massey Once the crops reach their full height, treat the soil with a chemical that makes gold soluble. When the plant transpires, water is pulled up and out through tiny pores on its leaves, it will take up the gold water from the soil and accumulate it in its biomass. It can then be harvested. Getting the gold into plants is the easy part. Getting the gold out has proved more difficult, Anderson explained. "Gold behaves differently in plant material," Anderson told the website. If the plants are burned, some of the gold will stay attached to the ash, but some will disappear. Processing the ash poses difficulties, too, and requires the use of huge amounts of strong acids, which can be dangerous to transport.

US 'fully committed' to defending Japan: John Kerry

TOKYO: Washington is "fully committed" to protecting Japan, US secretary of state John Kerry said on Sunday, days after Pyongyangthreatened the Japanese capital would be "consumed in nuclear flames". "The United States is fully committed to the defence of Japan," Kerry told a joint press conference in Tokyo with Japan's foreign minister Fumio Kishida, ahead of a widely anticipated missile launch by North Korea. Kerry's comments came after the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Friday that any attempt by Japan to shoot down a North Korean missile would result in war. "Japan is always in the cross-hairs of our revolutionary army and if Japan makes

celebrities and common people, joined Lamichhane during the programme. He had arranged the record attempt to help promote Nepal globally, Lamichhane said. According to the Records rules, Lamichhane was allowed five minutes every hour for a break. The show, recorded in the Nepali language with English

subtitles from the News24 studio here, was livestreamed on the channel's website during which Lamichhane interviewed politicmedia, journalists and celebrities and took phone calls from viewers. Formerly a radio and television journalist in Nepal, Lamichhane is now the manager of a branch of a sandwich shop in Baltimore, US.

North Korea dismisses South's Venezuelans vote in dialogue offer on Kaesong presidential election
SEOUL: North Korea dismissed on Sunday the South's offer for dialogue on the future of the Kaesong joint industrial zone, calling the offer an "empty" political gesture. The North announced the withdrawal of its 53,000 workers and the suspension of operations at Kaesong at the beginning of the week, as military tensions on the Korean peninsula soared. Seoul last Thursday called for Pyongyang to "come to the dialogue table" to revive the complex, a rare symbol of cross-border economic cooperation and crucial hard currency source for the North. But Pyongyang dismissed the offer by the South's Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae as a "meaningless" and "cunning" gesture aimed at concealing its true intentions to invade the North. "We found the offer an empty, meaningless act," a spokesman of the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in an interview with the state media KCNA. The official cited the South's ongoing joint military drill with its ally, the United States, and a call for the North to give up its nuclear ambitions as obstacles preventing talks. "If the South is genuine about having talks...it should first abandon the confrontational posture," the spokesman said. CARACAS: Venezuelans are voting Sunday in a key presidential election which will test the socialist legacy of late president Hugo Chavez. Chavez's protege, acting President Nicolas Maduro is facing off against opposition candidate Henrique Capriles. In his election campaign, Maduro has pledged to push forward Chavez's "21st century socialism, "which has brought popular health, education and food programmes to the poor". Maduro's challenger Capriles has said Venezuelans are tired of divisive "Chavista" politics and vowed to bring change to the nation of 28 million people. The latest opinion polls show that Maduro has a convincing lead over his opposition rival. Chavez, who ruled Venezuela for 14 years, died March 5, aged 58, after a two-year-long fight with cancer. He named Maduro as his successor before undergoing the latest surgery in December.

University in New Zealand. Fifteen years ago, Anderson first showed it was possible to get mustard plants to suck up gold from chemically treated soil containing gold particles. The technique includes finding a fast-growing plant with a lot of aboveground leafy mass, such as mustard, sunflowers or tobacco. The next step is to plant the crop on soil that contains gold.

a slightest move, the spark of war will touch Japan first," KCNA said in a commentary. "Japan must come to its senses and behave rightly," it added. Japan, the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack, has stationed anti-ballistic missile batteries in and around its heaving capital, and vowed it would respond. "All we can say is we will take every possible measure to respond to any scenario," a spokesman for the defence ministry said.

ECONOMY

Chidambaram to woo investors in N. America

NEW DELHI: Finance minister P. Chidambaram will seek to drum up foreign investment from the US and Canada this week to fund a record high current account deficit, even as policymakers debate the risks of overreliance on foreign investors to finance the gap. As Chidambaram kicks off a week-long North America trip, his officials are working on a series of steps to attract at least $20 billion in new investment to fund the deficit without depleting the country's $300 billion in foreign exchange nated government debt by easing curbs on foreign investment in sensitive sectors such as defence, telecom and media, finance and trade officials said. Chidambaram, aiming to take advantage of a wave of cheap global funds, will meet foreign investors in New York, Ottawa and Toronto, the latest stops in a global roadshow to talk up India as an investment destination. The new push for foreign investment is seen as part of an important but potentially risky shift in how India approaches its widening current account deficit, which has emerged as the government's biggest economic worry. India's current account deficit widened to an alltime high of 6.7% of GDP in October-December, driven by heavy oil and gold imports and muted exports. "The size of the deficit in itself is not a problem, if you can comfortably finance it," said an official familiar with the funding proposals being considered by the government.

Bank of America pays Mukesh Ambani Rs 1.3 cr as director pay

NEW YORK: Indian billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani has got paid USD 240,000 (about Rs 1.3 crore) as director compensation for 2012 by global banking giant Bank of America -- a position he would relinquish next month. Ambani, who heads India's leading business conglomerate Reliance Industries group, was paid a higher compensation of USD 276,816 by the bank in the previous year, 2011. Ambani joined Bank of America's board as an independent director in March 2011, but would step down from this position at the company's next Annual Meeting of shareholders on May 8. on its board would not seek re-election at the Annual Meeting and would be replaced by new members on its board. The shareholders have been asked to ratify the changes. As on March 13, 2013, Ambani held a total of 31,265 shares of the bank, which have been given so far to him as part of his director compensation. The bank said that its board held 13 meetings in 2012, and each of its current directors attended at least 75 percent of the aggregate meetings of board and the committees on which they served, except for Ambani.

reserves. The proposals include raising the cap on foreign investment in rupee-denomi-

up to $5 billion, reducing tax rates on such investments, making it easier for Indian firms to borrow abroad, and

Plan panel, CII to launch network to remove bottlenecks

NEW DELHI: To identify and remove bottlenecks in the way of economic expansion, the Planning Commission will launch jointly with India@75 foundation an initiative India Backbone Implementation Network (IBIN) - on April 19. "The IBIN, structurally an organisation, is essentially a process that will promote widespread capabilities in the country to systematically convert confusion to coordination, contention to collaboration, and intentions to implementation," a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) statement said on Sunday. IBIN is an initiative of the Planning Commission and India@75, a grassroots initiative of the CII, for realizing the dream of an inclusive, sustainable and developed India by the year 2022. Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia will launch IBIN next week. IBIN aims to seed new techniques into the service delivery system. It seeks to build a network of partners to create capability to manage effective stakeholder dialogues, resolve dispute and conduct policy impact analysis. The organisation will seek to find common grounds among the diverse players to move the economy to expansion which will be inclusive. CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee, a trustee of 'India @75' said that coordination is the first step towards building India at 75 (2022 will be the 75th year of India's independence) and IBIN will lead us into a new era. Industry players like Infosys chairman Emeritus N R Narayana Murthy, Tata Group chairman Cyrus P Mistry, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, Godrej Group President Adi Godrej, are the trustees of India@75. Its executive council includes noted lyricist Javed Akhtar, sportsman Prakash Padukone and innovator R.A. Mashelkar. The network will work on the principle that in a highly diverse democratic country, consensus and partnerships among multi-faceted and diverse stakeholders are the only ways to progressively move ahead, the statement said.

Airtel launches special international roaming packs

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel on Sunday said its customers travelling to the US can have up to five hours of free incoming calls and make outgoing calls for Rs 20 per minute through special international roaming packs. Apart from USA, the Company has launched international roaming packs for countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, UAE and UK, the Company said in a statement. Airtel's postpaid customers travelling to USA can get 300 incoming minutes free on a fixed rental of Rs 8,500. The pack has a validity of 30 days and customers will be charged for incoming and outgoing calls at Rs 20 per minute after the free minutes are over, it said. Users travelling to the US will get 60 free incoming minutes on a pack of Rs 3,500 and 10 free minutes on a pack of Rs 1,000. "While Airtel postpaid customers travelling to countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, UAE and UK can now enjoy up to two hours of non-chargeable incoming calls and make outgoing calls for as low as Rs 40 per minute through special packs," the company said. Customers travelling to these countries will get 120 free incoming minutes on a fixed pack of Rs 3,600 and they will be charged Rs 40 per minute for incoming and outgoing calls after the free minutes are over. On a pack of Rs 1,500, 30 free incoming minutes will be provided and Rs 60 per minute will be charged once the free minutes are over. The validity of both the packs is 15 days each. Besides postpaid customers, Airtel prepaid customers travelling to a select countries can also have outgoing and incoming call rates as low as Rs 20 per minute on recharge packs of Rs 779 and Rs 1,479, along with getting full talk time on these packs which can be used both during international roaming as well as in India.

The US-based banking major announced last month that Ambani would step down as a director and join its new, non-fiduciary global advisory council. The bank also said that Ambani and five other directors currently

Ten firms get SEBI nod for rights issues worth Rs 2,200 cr
NEW DELHI: Ten companies, including Bajaj Finance, Kesoram Industries and Alok Industries, have got market regulator SEBI's nod since the beginning of this year for issuance of 'rights' shares worth over Rs 2,200 crore to their existing shareholders. In rights issue, shares are issued by the companies to their existing investors as per their holding at a pre- determined price and ratio. As per the latest data available with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India), it has given green signal to as many as 10 rights issues, together worth upto Rs 2,206 crore, since January 1, 2013. Of these 10 issues, SEBI issued its final observations on the draft offer documents of one company this month itself, while the regulator issued observations for five firms in March and two firms each in February and January. The draft documents for most of these issues were with the regulator between June and December 2012. Issuance of 'observations' on offer documents by SEBI is considered as a clearance to the issuer to go ahead with the share issues through routes like IPOs, FPOs and rights issue. The market watchdog has approved Bajaj Finance rights issue worth up to Rs 750 crore, Alok Industries (up to Rs 551 crore), Kesoram Industries (up to Rs 500 crore), Golden Goenka Fincorp (upto Rs 131 crore), Matrix World Wide (about Rs 112 crore), Uniphos Enterprises (Rs 75 crore), Hitachi Home & Life Solutions (India) Ltd (up to Rs 55 crore). Among other rights issues are Food and Inns (upto Rs 15.50 crore), Waterbase Ltd (Rs 13 crore) and Dynacons Systems & Solutions Ltd (Rs 4 crore). Individually, SEBI received the draft offer document for Bajaj Finance rights issue, through lead manager JM Financial Ltd on November 22, last year and issued its 'observations' on January 8, 2013. Further, the regulator received draft offer documents for Alok Industries rights issue on September 28 last year and issued its observations on January 16 this year. SBI Capital is the lead manager for this issue. The draft offer documents for Kesoram Industries issues were received by SEBI on

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fection; the chase was as good as over. The KKR out fielding was also exceptional on the day as Manoj Tiwary took as many three welljudged catches in the deep. Thisara Perera (36, 25 balls) also threw his bat around but there was too much to do with too little time left in the end. The loss was Sunrisers second in five matches and also put a question mark on their ability to chase down big totals. The three wins that they have notched up so far has been low scoring ones and the lack of batting depth is seriously hurting the Hyderabad franchise. Kumar Sangakkara and Co will be eagerly waiting for Shikhar Dhawan to recover from his knuckle fracture and get back into the thick of things.

8 Punjab wrestler Kiran wins Surinsar dangal

JAMMU: Pahalwan Karan of Goal Bagh Stadium, Amritsar in Punjab clinched the 2nd Annual Surinsar Kesari dangal title beating Farooq of Sarore in district Samba in the main bout that took place at Surinsar in block Dansal of Jammu district on Sunday. Dangal was organized by J&K Tourism Department, Jammu in collaboration with J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association. Member Legislative Assembly (MLA) Nagrota and President State BJP, Jugal Kishore Sharma was chief guest, who distributed cash prizes among the winners and runner-up. President J&K Indian Style Wrestling Association, Shiv Kumar Sharma presided. Senior vice president Hotel and Restaurant Association Katra and state secretary, BSP Rakesh Wazir and Chairman Jammu Central Co-operative Bank, Mohinder Singh were guests of honour. The chief guest presented cash prize of Rs 3000 along with traditional Silver "Gurj (Gadda) and Patta" to the Tourism. Technical officials, who helped in smooth conduct of this dangal were Shiv

IPL: 6 KKR thrash Sunrisers by 48 runs to register 2nd win

KOLKATA: Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders got back to winning ways as they outclassed Sunrisers Hyderabad by 48 runs to notch up their second win in the Pepsi Indian Premier League in Kolkata on Sunday. A power-packed batting performance with significant contributions from skipper Gautam Gambhir (53), Eoin Morgan (47) and Jacques Kallis (41) enabled KKR to reach a commanding 180 for four on a slow track. Sunrisers didn't have the firepower to make a match of it as they managed only 132 for seven as all the KKR bowlers put up an impressive show. After his useful knock with the bat, Kallis bowled splendidly to end with brilliant figures of three for 13 while Lankan offie Sachitra

Senanayake justified his selection above Brendon McCullum picking up one for 18 in his four overs. While openers Parthiv Patel (27) and Cameron White (34) added 57 runs for the opening stand, Sunrisers'

chase never took off as the KKR bowlers varied the pace of the deliveries effectively on a slowest track. Cameron White was brilliantly caught by Yusuf Pathan, who timed his jump at the boundary line to per-

Haryana to take on Chandigarh in Sub-junior hockey finals

NEW DELHI: Hosts Haryana registered a comprehensive 3-0 win over Uttar Pradesh while Chandigarh women routed Delhi 6-1, in the semifinals of the 3rd SubJunior Women National Championship (North Zone), played at Sonepat on Sunday. Leading 1-0 at the half time, Haryana women scored through Navneet Kaur (16th, 43rd) and Udita (49th) minute. Haryana looked the better drilled outfit and dictated the pace from the start while Uttar Pradesh committed far too many errors that put them on the defensive for majority of the match. In the second semifinal, Chandigarh defeated Delhi 61 with three goals from Anjali, two from Saroj and one by Shilpi Dabas. Haryana will take on Chandigarh tomorrow in the summit clash of the North Zone. Meanwhile in West Zone, Hockey Maharashtra edged out hosts Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd 2-1 in a Pool A match to enter the semifinals of the Sub-Junior Women National Championship. Alaknanda Bagadi scored the opening goal for Hockey Maharashtra in the 40th minute. Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd, however, levelled the proceedings in the 64th minute but another goal from Alaknanda helped her side win its last league match. Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy who topped Pool A has already qualified for semifinals. In Pool B, Rajasthan defeated Chhattisgarh 3-1 while Goa beat Gujarat 2-0. Both Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are through to the semifinals.

Shuttlers Deng, Riichi win New Zealand Open

AUCKLAND: Japanese shuttler Riichi Takeshita and Deng Xuan of China won the men's and women's singles titles, respectively, at the New Zealand Open Grand Prix ons Sunday. Eleventh seed Takeshita beat Xue Song of China 21-16, 16-21, 21-17 in one hour and two minutes at the North Shore Events Centre. Among the women, Song's third seeded compatriot Deng overcame unseeded Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in a marathon battle which lasted one hour and eight minutes. The Chinese emerged victorious 21-17, 18-21, 22-20. In an all-Indonesian mixed doubles final, fifth the longest match of the day lasting one hour and 13 minutes where unseeded Chinese pair Dongni Ou and Yuanting Tang upset top seeded Malaysians in three games. OuTang beat Vivian Kah Mun Hoo and Khe Wei Woon 2115, 11-21, 21-19. In the last match of the day, top seeded Indonesian men's doubles pair of Angga Pratama and Ryan Agung Saputra beat unseeded Chinese Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen 21-6, 22-20 in 27 minutes.

Pahalwan Karan of Amritsar in Punjab receives Surinsar Kesari title from chief guest, State President, (BJP) Jugal Kishore Sharma at Jammu on Sunday. winner of main bout, Karan and Rs 2000 to runner-up, Farooq. In other interesting bouts, Arjun of Amritsar beat Fila of Billawar and Bobari of Sarore beat Tariq of Doda. In total, 27 bouts were played in this dangal which was part of the ongoing three-day Baisakhi Festival of the Department of Kumar Sharma, Inderjeet Khajuria, PR Sharma, Rakesh Khajuria, Bansi Lal Tidyal, Mulk Raj Sharma, Prem Kumar, Hazi Sak Mohammad, Sudershan Singh Jamwal, Rakesh Sharma, Ratten Singh, Parsotam Singh, Bodh Raj Singh and Vijay Singh (Viju).

Semis line-up drawn in Mir Iqbal (U-15) Football

JAMMU: Semifinals position has been cleared in the ongoing Mir Iqbal Hussain Coca Cola (under-15) Football Tournament, organized by District Football Association at GGM College ground, on Sunday. Teams reaching the last eight stages of the competition are Oriental Academy, DBN School, MHAC Nagbani and BSF-A. Now, in the semifinals, scheduled for Monday, Oriental Academy shall take BSF-A while DBN School shall lock horns against MHAC Nagbani. Earlier, in the quarterfinals, played today, Oriental Academy defeated fighting KC Public School 5-2 in tie-breaker. In the stipulated time the match ended in 1-1 draw. It was KC Public, who took first lead in the 40th minute through Jigmeet Rinchin but successful in penalties while Jigmeet Rinchin netted the

seeds Praveen Jordan and Vita Marissa upset top seeds Riky Widianto and Puspita Richi Dili 21-18, 21-8 in 31 minutes. The women's doubles saw

Hafeez signs up for Caribbean Premier League

LAHORE: Pakistan Twenty20 Captain Mohammad Hafeez has signed for the inaugural Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the West Indies Cricket Board said in a statement. The statement said the 32-year-old all-rounder had joined as an international franchise player for the tournament which will take place between July 29 and August 26 across the Caribbean. Hafeez is one of only eight players to have scored more than 1,000 runs in Twenty20 internationals. He joins Australians Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist and New Zealander Ross Taylor as the early international signings for the new league. The CPL will feature six country-based franchises who are allowed a maximum of four foreign players each. West Indies are the current world Twenty20 champions and several of their team are already contracted to the league including big-hitting batsmen Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, all-rounders Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo and captain Darren Sammy. The six franchise countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.

Jubilant DBN School team after winning quarterfinal in tie-breaker at GGM Science College ground Jammu on Sunday. only to find an equalizer five minutes later when Manav Gupta beat the advancing goal-keeper in the 45th minute. Later, in tie-breaker, DBN proved to be lucky side and emerged winner 5-2. Sahil, Vivek Pal, Manav Gupta and Dushyant Sharma were only goal for KC Public. In other quarterfinals of the day, MHAC Nagbani blanked KC International 4-0. Rajan (15th), Kanav Chib (35th) and Sahil Kumar (37th and 38th) were the scorers. The DBN won their match against JK Public School beating latter 1-0.

SLC to elect office bearers through secret ballot for first time
COLOMBO: For the first time in the history of Sri Lanka Cricket, its office bearers will be elected through a secret ballot voting in its Annual General Body Meeting on April 16s. "There will be a secret ballot observed by the Election Commissioner's Department," Ashley de Silva, SLC's acting CEO said. De Silva said the secret ballot would be in accordance with the amendments to the Sports Act. A last minute decision to change the venue of election from SLC headquarters to Colombo's main convention centre has added spice to what has already been a controversial run-up to the AGM. Analysts said the move to have a secret ballot from the traditional show of hands in voting for names underlines that much is at stake. Meanwhile, Jayantha Dharmadasa is set to become the next SLC president, after the executive committee rejected all three original candidates, and named him the sole nominee for the position. SLC held its first election in seven years last year after the game's administration continued to be under politically appointed interim committees since 2005. However, an ultimatum from the ICC compelled the move to return to democratic elections.

Patel Club, Rising Star wins ties

JAMMU: Punjab based Patel Club and Rising Star won their respective matches to advance into the next round of the Young Heroes Memorial Hockey Tournament being organised by Hockey Association Hiranagar under the banner of Hockey Jammu and Kashmir at sports stadium, Hiranagar in district Kathua. In the first match, Patel Club Punjab trounced Singh Club Bandhu Rakh by three goals to one. Earlier, both the teams were introduced with the special guest, Ramesh Singh Jasrotia. In another match of the day, Rising Star Hiranagar outplayed Lashipur Hockey Club 4-1 to find berth in the next round. Atma Singh Jasrotia was special guest in this match. As per the reports reaching here, a huge crowd turned-up to the venue to witness the matches between local and outside clubs. Prominent among those present were Jaswant Singh Narinder Sharma (coach), Sunit Dutt, Vinod Chibber, Pawan Kumar Gupta and Dheeraj Gupta.

BCCI warns Sreesanth for tweets on Slapgate

NEW DELHI: Paceman S Sreesanth has been warned by the BCCI for raking up the 2008 'Slapgate' issue through a social networking website. The Rajasthan Royals paceman has been told that if he repeats it again, he will be issued a show cause notice, according to an IPL source. Sreesanth made revelation through his tweets that Harbhajan Singh was a backstabber and that the spinner had not slapped him. He claimed on Friday through a series of tweets that The BCCI has also warned Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir for their angry outburst at each other during an IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore early this week. Gambhir and Kohli charged at each other following the dismissal of the latter. They were reprimanded by the match referee and now BCCI has asked them to conduct themselves properly.

he was elbowed by his India teammate and the whole thing was planned.

Sania Mirza elected Vice President of Indian Tennis Players Association

NEW DELHI: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza has been appointed Vice President of the Indian Tennis Players Asscociation. AITA Vice President and one of the founder members of the ITPA, K a r t i C hidambaram tweeted on Sunda, "Happy to announce that @MirzaSania has consented to be a VP of @TennisITPA and she has been co opted unanimously. Welcome aboard #Sania" The ITPS has been formed with a view to represent player's interest in Indian tennis. The body includes all the top Indian tennis players as its members. Former India Davis Cupper Jaideep Mukherjee is the president of the Association while Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and S o m d e v Devvarman are also vice presidents in the association. Paes inclusion came as a major surprise as he was not one of the founding members but did come into the players meeting during the Davis Cup weekend last week. Sania has been India's top female player for several years now and is currently ranked no. 17 in the doubles world rankings. She has given up playing singles due to injuries and to ensure she can continue playing doubles at the top level for many more years.

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