1. Art and Diseño

29 JANUARY 2015 4
REPORTER POST
Ranchi
Nation
NCC displays unity
in diversity: Modi
Sunanda Pushkar murder:
Amar Singh questioned
New Delhi: The National Cadet
Corps (NCC) was a "mini India"
and it displays the unity in diversity that is the country's strength,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
said Wednesday. Speaking at the
NCC rally here, the prime minister said it brought back memories
of his childhood when he was
an NCC cadet. "I am standing in
front of a mini India, a miniature
of India's future. Our country is
full of diversities, and unity in diversity is the beauty and strength
of our nation. And this is what
keeps inspiring us," he said. "We
are blessed that we are a youthful
nation. Our dreams are young, our
energy is youthful." Modi called
upon NCC cadets to plan a unique
nationwide celebration of the first
International Yoga Day June 21,
which would send a strong inspirational message across the world.
"Yoga has now acquired a global
character, and as the country in
which yoga originated, we should
show the world that yoga can be
an important component of a
balanced, strong mankind," Modi
said. About a tableau dedicated to
the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan presented by the cadets, Modi said the
initiative was aimed at imbibing
cleanliness as a habit among 125
crore Indians. "We must work for
cleanliness... this is a great way to
serve Mother India," he said. The
prime minister revealed that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar,
Minister of State for Defence Rao
Inderjit Singh, External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj, BJP's
Delhi chief ministerial candidate
Kiran Bedi and actor-turned-parliamentarian Jaya Bachchan were
all NCC cadets.
New Delhi: Delhi Police
Wednesday questioned former
Samajwadi Party leader Amar
Singh as part of its ongoing
probe into the murder of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Congress MP
Shashi Tharoor. Amar Singh was
questioned at south Delhi's Vasant Vihar police station for about
two hours.
Amar Singh told media that he
was questioned by the Special
Investigating Team (SIT) of Delhi Police for about two hours
following his earlier statement.
"When the SIT team of Delhi
Police came to know that Sunanda had talked to me a few days
before her death, they asked me
to know the sequence of my
talk with her," he said. After the
death of Sunanda, Amar Singh
had told media that she was a
brave woman and she could not
commit suicide.
"If someone has murdered Sunanda, he should be caught,"
he said, adding he is not against
Tharoor or anyone. "I am not
against Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor and Sunanda both were affectionate to me. I just want the
truth to come out," he said. "Sunanda was my best friend. I have
told the police what the truth I
knew about her," Amar Singh
said, adding he did not want to
disclose his police questioning
in public. Sources said the SIT
questioned Amar Singh over
several points related to Sunanda and asked him about the IPL
(Indian Premiere League) angle
THURSDAY
as well. Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi said: "Amar
Singh had claimed that he had
some inputs related to the case.
He had also revealed some point
in the media. He was called for
questioning today (Wednesday)..." Earlier, police quizzed
senior journalist Nalini Singh
Jan 23. Pushkar was found dead
in a luxury hotel room here Jan
17, 2014. A murder case was
registered by police against unknown people Jan 1 this year.
Opposition will plant false Drop words 'secular', 'socialist'
stories against AAP: Kejriwal from Constitution: Shiv Sena
New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal
Wednesday said the opposition
parties would make "a last ditch
attempt" to malign his party by
planting false stories in the media. He appealed to the people
not to believe any false story
ahead of the Feb 7 Delhi assembly
polls. "We have got information
that opposition parties will level false allegations against some
candidates of the AAP in the next
few days," the former chief minister told reporters here.
He cited a sting operation against
six AAP candidates in the runup to the 2013 assembly polls,
which he said, had turned out
to be false. He said AAP's rising
support and TV channels' surveys showing the AAP being the
favourite to form the government
in Delhi had "unnerved the opposition parties". "A very senior
leader is known for planting sto-
ries in newspapers and television
channels. He has been tasked to
do so.
He will plant some stories. I will
appeal to the people of Delhi not
to believe any stories.
This is their last ditch attempt to
malign the AAP," Kejriwal added.
Kejriwal also said that a CBI inquiry should be ordered against
AAP candidates if the opposition
parties had any evidence.
Mumbai: The words 'secular'
and 'socialist' be dropped permanently from the preamble of
the Constitution, the Shiv Sena
demanded Wednesday, a day
after a controversy erupted over
a central government Republic
Day advertisement. Shiv Sena
MP Sanjay Raut welcomed the
exclusion of the words from the
R-Day advertisement issued by
the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting, which raised a furore. "We welcome this. Though
it may have been done inadvertently, it was like honouring the
feelings of the people of India. If
the terms were mistakenly deleted this time, we want them to be
removed permanently from the
Constitution," Raut told media
persons. However, Nationalist
Congress Party executive president Jitendra Awhad opposed
the Shiv Sena proposal. "We read
the Constitution as it stands today. Because amendment is part
of parliamentary procedures.
This is what the preamble says
and the advertisement omitted
'secular' and 'socialist'. Does it
reflect the BJP mindset?" Awhad
asked. The advertisements, published in newspapers around the
country to commemorate the
66th Republic Day celebrations,
quotes the Preamble as: "We, the
people of India, having solemnly
resolved to constitute India into
a SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC." The original preamble says: "WE, THE PEOPLE
OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a
SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure all its citizens."
Sushma Swaraj to
Congressman Gurudas
Kamat hits back at the BJP travel to China Feb 1
Mumbai: A day after the BJP attacked senior Congress leader
Gurudas Kamat for his comments
on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's marital status, he hit back saying "Modi is not god" who can't
be questioned, here Wednesday.
He also condemned statements
by some BJP leaders who he said
were trying to spread misinformation about his comments on union
Minister Smriti Irani and Gujarat
Chief Minister Anandiben Patel
vis-vis the plight of Jashodaben,
estranged wife of Modi. "Why are
the BJP leaders inferring something which is not in our minds
and nor was it inferred in my
statement? The BJP should ask its
cadres and spokespersons how
and why they have such thoughts
in their minds when we refer to
Anandiben Patel and Smriti Irani's
elevation," Kamat wondered.
He pointed out that it was the Congress party which always fought
for empowering women, raising
their status and ensuring that they
secured an equal share of respect,
stature, power and all other benefits as men. "We only wanted to
point out that people in public life
should, especially, set an example
by their own actions, which needs
to be under scrutiny at all times,"
Kamat contended.
Accordingly, he said, when the
prime minister of the country
speaks about "empowering women" and "daving the girl child", it
certainly sounded hollow as he
was the cause of misery and desolation of his own wife Jasodaben,
after marrying her and leaving her
stranded in one year, without ever
looking back at her. "This is the
biggest insult to women, which
BJP Spokespersons should first
understand and ask their own
leaders for accountability and
'balance mind' before levelling allegations against others for mental
imbalance," Kamat said, referring
to BJP legislator Atul Bhatkalkar's
statement Tuesday that Kamat had
"lost his mental balance".
He reminded the BJP leaders that
during the (2014 Lok Sabha) election campaign, Modi called the
late Sunanda Pushkar "a Rs.50
crore girlfriend" and other distasteful statements against Congress leaders. "Narendra Modi is
not god that he cannot be questioned...In a democracy, it is not
only our responsibility but our
duty to question our leaders at
all times," Kamat asserted. Referring to Bhatkalkar's allegation that
he (Kamat) was sacked from the
union cabinet, Kamat retorted that
he had resigned (in July 2011) after
he was elevated from minister of
state rank to independent charge,
and deployed for party work.
New Delhi: After an intensive engagement with the US during the
visit of President Barack Obama, India is now set to engage with China
with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to pay an official visit to
Beijing Feb 1-3. Sushma Swaraj's
visit, on the invitation of her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, is also
expected to lay the ground for the
visit of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi later this year. The two ministers will discuss bilateral, regional
and global issues of concern to both
sides. Sushma Swaraj will inaugurate
the Second India-China High-Level Media Forum and attend the
launch of Visit India Year during
her stay in Beijing, said an external
affairs ministry statement Wednesday. She will also participate in the
13th Foreign Ministers' Meeting of
Russia-India-China Trilateral, and
will meet Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the
meeting. This would be the first visit
by a cabinet minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government
to Beijing after the government
took over in May last year. Chinese
President Xi Jinping had visited In-
Anti-leprosy activist since 1948 honoured by Assam
Guwahati: A 94-year-old social
activist, who dedicated his life to
fighting leprosy in Assam's Karbi
Anglong district since 1948, was
Wednesday honoured by the state
government. Gandhian and social
activist Janardan Pathak became
the first person to be conferred
with the "Amal Prabha Das Award
for Social Service" for the year
2013. The award was instituted by
the Assam government in 2013
to honour people for their distinguished service to the society.
Pathak was honoured for his service to the nation while following
the principles of Mahatma Gandhi. He has worked for fighting
leprosy in Karbi Anglong district
(then called the Mikir Hills) since
1948. The activist Wednesday said
he would donate the award money - Rs.60,000 - to a trust to help
poor students of the backward
district in the form of scholarships
so that they can pursue future
studies. "I met Mahatma Gandhi
for the first time on May 25, 1945.
I told him I want to work for the
society. He asked me to complete
my studies first and then go back
to the northeast region and meet
social reformer Thakkar Bapa,
who will show me the path," said
Pathak after receiving the award.
"Following Gandhiji's instruction,
I came back to Assam in 1948.
Thakkar Bapa told me to go to the
Mikir Hills district, where leprosy
was taking a severe toll. I started
the Gandhi Seva Kendra in Sariahjan in 1948, and since then I have
been running the kendra," he said.
Sariahjan is 65 km from Karbi Anglong district headquarters Diphu.
Pathak recalled vividly the day of
Gandhi's assassination -- Jan 30,
1948. "Gandhiji's assassination
was a dark moment for humanity. It changed the course of my
life forever. I was shocked to learn
about his death and all I could do
was pick up a fistful of earth and
dedicate my life to the path shown
by him. I have never looked back
and I have no regrets," he said.
NEWS IN BREIF
Will appear for CBI questioning Jan
30: Mukul Roy
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress general secretary and former
railway minister Mukul Roy, who has been summoned by the
CBI in the Saradha scam, Wednesday said he will appear
for questioning before the agency Jan 30. Roy has been
visiting Delhi frequently following the CBI summons. Upon
his arrival in Kolkata, he assured of his cooperation with the
probe agency against which the Mamata Banerjee-led West
Bengal government as well as the ruling Trinamool have
moved the Supreme Court alleging it was an instrument of
the BJP-led central government. "Today I have returned to
Kolkata and like I have reportedly said I will cooperate with
the probe agency. I have been asked to appear before the
CBI Jan 30, and I will appear before them on that day and
participate in the probe," Roy told mediapersons here.
Three get life term for raping minor in
Bihar
Patna: A court in Bihar Wednesday sentenced three people
to life in prison for gang-raping an 11-year-old girl in Bhojpur
district, a lawyer said. First additional district and sessions
judge of Ara civil court J.P. Mishra pronounced the order.
Nilnidhi Singh, his brother Jay Prakash Singh and Jaggu
Pandit have been charged with raping six Mahadalit women, including the girl, at gun point in the district's Kurmuri village Oct 8, 2014. Police said the medical report only
confirmed the rape of the minor girl. Last week, the court
absolved them of the charges of raping five other Mahadalit
women for lack of evidence.
Allahabad HC commutes death term
of Nithari killer
Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court Wednesday commuted the death sentence of Nithari killing convict Surinder Koli to life imprisonment. A bench of Chief Justice D.Y.
Chandrachud and Justice P.K.S. Baghel passed the order
after hearing a petition filed by Peoples Union for Democratic Rights. Uttar Pradesh Advocate General Vijay Bahadur
Singh and state counsel Akhilesh Singh opposed the petition to commute Koli's death sentence. Koli was convicted
for the murder of Rimpa Haldar, who went missing in Noida
in December 2006. The petitioner has alleged that there
was considerable delay in disposing of Koli's mercy petition
by the president of India and hence the capital punishment
be commuted to life term. Many children went missing from
Noida's Nithari village in 2005. In December that year, police raided the bungalow of Moninder Singh Pandher and
arrested him and his domestic help Koli after some skeletons were recovered from the backyard of the bungalow and
in a nearby drain.
Burdwan blast: Four JMB militants
nabbed for running terror camps
Kolkata: Four militants of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), who were responsible for running terror
camps in West Bengal, have been arrested in connection
with the Oct 2 Burdwan blast, the NIA said Wednesday.
Dalim Sheikh, Motiur Rehman, Habibur Rehman and Ghiyasuddin Munshi were nabbed by National Investigation
Agency sleuths Tuesday night. "Having already arrested
12 accused in this case, we have arrested four more people in this connection. They are being produced before an
NIA special court in Kolkata Wednesday where we will seek
their police remand for further questioning," the NIA said in
a statement. The agency said the investigation into the blast
in Khagragarh in Burdwan that killed two JMB militants revealed that the militant outfit had established its network in
many districts -- particularly in Murshidabad, Nadia, Malda,
Birbhum and Burdwan in Bengal, Barpeta in Assam, and
Sahibganj and Pakur in Jharkhand. "The investigation revealed that senior JMB members had established terrorist
training centres and bomb-making units in Beldanga and
Mukim Nagar in Murshidabad, Nanur in Birbhum and Khagragarh and Simulia in Burdwan," the agency said.
Andhra Pradesh reports two swine
flu deaths, 24 cases
dia last September. Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang had visited India last
year to touch base with the Modi
government. The RIC trilateral cooperation currently covers industry,
trade, agriculture, emergency relief
and healthcare. The RIC countries
are also members of various key
groupings such as BRICS and G-20.
Obama accompanied by his wife
Michelle paid a three-day state visit
to India Jan 25-27. He was the chief
guest at the Jan 26 Republic Day
parade and also held summit level
talks with Prime Minister Modi.
Hyderabad: Swine flu, which has so far claimed 25 lives
in Telangana, is also spreading in neighbouring Andhra
Pradesh, as the state Wednesday reported two deaths and
24 positive cases. This was revealed by Andhra Pradesh
Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas to reporters in Ongole, around 320 km from Hyderabad. A pregnant woman in
Anantapur district has tested positive for H1N1 influenza,
while four suspected cases were also reported in Anantapur, Chittoor and Visakhapatnam districts. The pregnant
woman is in critical condition and currently on ventilator in
a government hospital in Anantapur. Doctors said the baby
died in the womb and was removed. A suspected swine
flu case was also reported from the same district. A youth,
who had gone back to Hindupur town from Hyderabad, was
found to have swine flu symptoms.
Bill and Melinda Gates thank India for Padma Bhushan
New
Delhi:
Philanthropist
couple Bill and Melinda Gates
Wednesday thanked the Indian
government for naming them for
Padma Bhushan, one of the country's top civilian honours, saying
they were excited to see the progress India was making. "We are
honoured to receive the Padma
Bhushan award for social work
alongside so many distinguished
awardees and thank the government of India for conferring this
high distinction upon us," they
said in a statement. The couple
said their work was guided by
the belief that all lives have equal
value. "We are excited to see the
extraordinary progress that India is making in improving the
lives of its people." "With landmark policy announcements in
healthcare, sanitation and financial inclusion, it has shown that,
with the political will, the right
tools and strong partnerships,
it is possible to reach the most
vulnerable populations with the
services they need to live healthy
and productive lives," the statement said. Bill and Melinda Gates
were named for Padma Bhushan
in the Republic Day honours list
Jan 26 for social work. Their Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation,
started work in India in 2003 to
prevent HIV/AIDS. It has since
expanded its work to areas including vaccines, maternal and
child health, sanitation and agricultural development, and has an
office in New Delhi.