1. Art and Diseño

6
HIMALAYAN MIRROR
NATIONAL
GANGTOK, SUNDAY 01 FEBRUARY 2015
AAP manifesto promises full
statehood for Delhi, more jobs
New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) :
The AAP Saturday released
its manifesto for the Delhi
assembly elections, promising full statehood for Delhi,
increased focus on women's
safety, making the city a trade
and service hub to generate
more jobs, and slashing the
power tariffs and VAT rates.
The manifesto promised to
set up 20 new colleges, provide clean drinking water at
affordable prices and a free
Wi-Fi zone, among others.
The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) however dismissed the
manifesto, saying it was
wishful to make new promises when the Aam Aadmi
Party had never managed to
fulfil those made for the 2013
polls.
AAP
chief
Arvind
Kejriwal, who released the
manifesto, said it was a
sacred document for his party
akin to the "Gita, Bible,
Quran, and Guru Granth
Sahib". Laying out a road
map for creating more
employment, the former
chief minister said: "We wish
to make Delhi a trade, tourist,
education and service hub.
This will help in generating
more employment in the
city." This besides, passing
Jan Lokpal and Swaraj bills
would be a priority of the
AAP government, he said. It
was over the failure to introduce anti-graft bill in the
assembly, that Kejriwal quit
as the chief minister Feb 14,
2014.
New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders release Aam
Aadmi party manifesto for upcoming Delhi assembly elections, in New Delhi on Jan 31,
2015.(Photo: IANS/Amlan Paliwal)
Kejriwal said that his party
would especially focus on
safety of women in the capital. "We want every woman
to feel safe and secure. Over
10 lakh CCTV cameras will
be installed across the capital.
A security guard will be
deployed in every government bus," Kejriwal said.
He also said that government auditor, Comptroller
and Auditor General of India
will audit the books of power
companies."
"Our party has no interest
with the power companies
unlike other parties. We will
restart the auditing of these
power companies and the
rates will be decided accordingly," he said.
Power tariff will be
reduced by 50 percent, he
added. Kejriwal said the
manifesto containing 70point action plan would be
implemented after coming to
power as they had done in the
earlier rule of 49 days.
He also said VAT (value
added tax) will be reduced.
Taking a dig at the BJP for
not coming out with a manifesto, Kejriwal said it was
shying away from making
any promises as they had not
fulfilled any of the promises
they made at the time of the
2014 Lok Sabha election.
The BJP has announced
that it would abstain from
releasing a manifesto for the
Delhi polls and would
instead come up with a
"vision document".
Kejriwal contended that
the BJP's claim that people of
Delhi do not want full statehood was wrong.
On former IPS officer
Kiran Bedi being projected
as the BJP's chief ministerial
candidate, Kejriwal said:
"Though she (Bedi) won't
win...If she wins, she will be
reduced to puppet chief minister." With regard to the
Congress, Kejriwal said in its
rule of 15 years, the party
released three manifestos in
which they had made tall
claims, but sadly most of
their promises were not
realised. BJP leader Nirmala
Sitharaman, however, making light of the "non-suggestive" AAP manifesto said: "It
is worth noticing that AAP
has a new 70 point manifesto
when they could not fulfil
their last manifesto."
"Point 38 in AAP manifesto on free wifi is nothing
new, the NDMC (New Delhi
Municipal Council) is
already working on it," she
said. "In their 49 days of rule,
the people who consumed
less than 200 units of electricity were also charged bill on
higher rates," she said adding
"AAP has spoken of reducing
VAT in manifesto, whereas
from April 1, GST (Goods
and Service Tax) will take
over... maybe they will blame
the centre later."
Delhi goes to the poll Feb
7 and ballots will be counted
Feb 10.
10 die as effluent
N-capable Agni-V missile's
tank bursts
canister launch successful treatment
in Tamil Nadu
Bhubaneswar/New
Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) :
India Saturday successfully conducted the first canister-based trial of its
nuclear-capable Agni-V
missile, which is capable
of hitting targets over
5,000 km away. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
called it "a prized asset".
The surface-to-surface
missile, which has the ability to hit targets deep
inside China, was fired
from a mobile vehicle at
the Inner Wheeler Island
launch site in Bhadrak district, about 200 km from
Odisha
capital
Bhubaneswar, officials
said.
The launch came on the
day Avinash Chander, who
played a key role in the
missile's
development,
demitted office as head of
the Defence Research and
Development Organisation
(DRDO) after his tenure
was cut short by 15
months.
"It is a canisterised version of the longest-range
missile. It was tested for
the first time from a canister. The test was successful," test range director
M.V.K.V. Prasad told
IANS.
This was the third
launch of the missile, but
the first from a canister
which would provide the
armed forces with operational flexibility to pick
and choose from where to
launch the missile.
A canister launch system
of the 50 tonne, 17-metrelong and 2-metre-circumference missile gives the
forces the ability to transport it by road and rail.
President
Mukherjee
congratulated the DRDO
on the successful test-firing. In his message, he
said: "I extend hearty congratulations to all those
associated with the successful test-firing of the
third developmental trial
of India's indigenous AgniV surface-to-surface missile.
"I am happy to know
that many new technologies relating to navigation
and guidance, warhead as
well as engine has been
tried out in this version. I
understand today's test is
also the first time the missile has been tried out in a
canisterised version.
Mukherjee conveyed his
felicitation to the team of
scientists, engineers, and
others involved in the
effort. "Our nation is grateful for their hard work and
proud of their accomplishment" he said.
Prime Minister Modi
also congratulated the scientists. "Successful testfiring of Agni-V from a
canister makes the missile
a prized asset for our
forces. I salute our scientists for their efforts,"
Modi said in a statement.
BJP moves EC against
AAP's Kumar Vishwas,
Bedi files complaint
New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) :
The BJP Saturday filed a
complaint with the Election
Commission against AAP
leader Kumar Vishwas for
allegedly making a "derogatory" remark against its chief
ministerial candidate Kiran
Bedi, prompting her to lodge
a police complaint against
Vishwas.
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP)
leaders
Satish
Upadhyay, Meenakshi Lekhi,
Shazia Ilmi, Shaina NC,
among others, went to the
poll panel's office and filed a
complaint against him.
"We moved the Election
Commission against Vishwas
and sought strict action...,"
Upadhyay said.
At a recent rally, Kumar
Vishwas allegedly said: "Two
problems the BJP has with
Arvind Kejriwal. One is that
he wears a muffler... Has he
stolen it from you? One of
them says he (Kejriwal)
coughs a lot..... What is your
problem? Do you have to
sleep with him in his bedroom?"
However, Kumar Vishwas
said his remark at a rally
where AAP chief Kejriwal
was also present was not
directed at Bedi, but the BJP
claimed he was targeting her.
Vishwas said whatever
remarks he made were targeted at the BJP and not Bedi. "I
am surprised that channels
are not showing this video.
There were cameras of so
many channels. There was an
Election Commission camera
too... when they do not have
any issue they are spreading
such things," he said.
He challenged Bedi and
the BJP to prove that these
remarks were targeted at
Bedi. Bedi in a series of
tweets expressed her anguish
over the remarks.
"Absolutely derogatory,
sexist remarks, illegal photoshopped images communicating wrong messaging. It is
this unethical, toxic, perverse
and uncivil practices that we
need to eliminate from our
system."
In another tweet, she
asked: "What kind of security
and dignity can women
expect from AAP's leadership that itself has blatant
sexist and perverse mindsets?"
She said a police complaint
has been lodged over the
remark.
"A police complaint has
been lodged against Kumar
Vishwas' sexist comments at
a recent rally in the presence
of their leadership," she
tweeted. Ilmi, a former AAP
leader who recently joined
the BJP, said that apart from
the derogatory remark, the
BJP has also raised other
issues with the commission.
"AAP has been flouting
Election
Commission's
norms and we filed a complaint on other issues also.
We sought strict action," she
said. BJP leader Shahnawaz
Hussain also called AAP
"anti-women".
Chennai, Jan 31 (IANS) :
Ten labourers drowned to
death in sludge Saturday
when an effluent treatment
tank burst in Tamil Nadu's
Ranipet town, officials
said.
Nine of the dead hailed
from West Bengal and one
person was from Ranipet,
about 120 km from here.
All were sleeping in a room
adjacent to the unit that
operated the CETP (common effluent treatment
plant) tank.
The tank burst around
3.30 a.m. Saturday and the
workers drowned to death
in the thick slimy effluent,
an official told IANS.
The unit was operating
the CETP for 86 tanneries.
The huge tank was at a
height of around 10 feet.
According to police, two
people were undergoing
treatment at a government
hospital. In a statement
issued here, Chief Minister
O.
Panneerselvam
expressed grief over the
tragedy announced a
solatium of Rs.3 lakh to the
families of the dead and
Rs.25,000 to those injured.
He said the bodies would
be taken back to their
native places at the Tamil
Nadu government's cost.
Three-year-old raped
in Bihar, one arrested
Patna, Jan 31 (IANS) : A
man was arrested in Bihar's
Madhubani
district
Saturday for allegedly raping a three-year-old girl
and then hanging her naked
from a tree, police said.
This shocking incident
occurred at a village near
Keoti in Madhubani, about
200km from here.
The victim suffered serious injuries in her private
parts and is battling for her
life in Darbhanga Medical
College and Hospital, a
family member said.
According to police, the
victim along with her
mother Thursday visited a
private nursing home near
their village to inquire
about her grandmother,
who was undergoing treatment there.
"When the victim was
playing in the room, a man
entered and started talking
with her and then took her
in his arms to buy her a
packet of snacks from a
nearby shop. Her family
did not object, taking him
to be nursing home staff.
But when the victim did not
return even after half an
hour they began searching
for her...she was found
hanging naked from a tree
in a nearby garden Friday
morning.
"The accused had first
raped her and then left her
hanging naked from a tree
in biting cold," police said.
Her family took her to
neighbouring Darbhanga
for treatment.
The accused, a youth in
his 20s, was arrested after a
tip off by people from a village near the nursing home.
Modi seeks full majority in Delhi,
promises honest government
New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS)
: Prime Minister Narendra
Modi Saturday attacked the
AAP, dubbing it the party of
"back-stabbers" and "betrayers", while asking voters in
Delhi to give the BJP full
majority in the Feb 7 assembly polls and promising
them an "honest government" in return.
Without naming the Aam
Aadmi Party, Modi said:
"People can make a mistake
once, but not again and
again. One year back, Delhi
people had voted with
dreams.
"Last year, those whom
you people voted, backstabbed you and shattered
your dreams. They ruined
your one year," the prime
minister said at a rally in east
Delhi's Karkardooma area.
He said he had come to
seek the "blessings" of the
people of the capital.
"Delhi won't vote for
betrayers and those who
destroyed Delhi," he said.
AAP's Arvind Kejriwal
had formed the government
in Delhi after the December
2013 assembly polls. He
resigned as chief minister
over the Lokpal bill after 49
days in power.
Modi, who shared the
stage with Bharatiya Janata
Party president Amit Shah
and the party's chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi,
asked the people of Delhi to
vote for a BJP government
as it can work in tandem
with the centre.
"Elect a government with
whom I can work shoulder
to shoulder towards making
a positive difference in your
lives."
The prime minister said
the BJP had emerged as the
largest party in the Delhi
assembly last time. "Give us
full majority this time," he
said.
"I have come here to
assure you that the BJP will
give you an honest government in Delhi," he said.
Modi said the entire world
was watching the Delhi
polls.
"If India needs to be introduced to the world, then
Delhi is the best place to
showcase. All events in the
capital have an imprint on
not only the country but the
entire world. It represents
India," he said.
The prime minister said
that with US President
Barack Obama's visit to
India, the country's image
has been enhanced the world
over.
He said he has worked
against corruption, but
added: "I don't publicise
that".
"I have come to Delhi as
you have called me. If you
had not given me seven
MPs, then I would not have
been able to come to Delhi.
Thus I have come at your
bidding," he said.
The prime minister said
Delhi has been in a mess for
the last 15 years.
"I have come to take Delhi
out of all the mess. I am not
satisfied that you give me
space to sit in the South
Block. I want to serve each
and every nook and corner
of Delhi." Modi said Bedi
was the right person for the
capital's top job.
"Delhi needs a stable gov-
ernment. Kiran ji knows
Delhi well. She has administrative experience. She will
take Delhi to new heights."
He said the BJP will make
India slum-free by 2022 and
promised concrete houses
for slum dwellers within the
city precincts.
Addressing the people
before Modi, Bedi said if she
became Delhi's chief minister, within three days she
would ensure that cameras
are installed in public buses
and road junctions.
"In my first three days as
CM, I will deploy home
guards and civil defence volunteers in civil dress in
buses, metros and roads to
protect women.
"Cameras will be installed
inside buses and also at road
junctions to check crime,"
she added.
Meanwhile, in response to
Modi's attack, Kejriwal said
it was for the people of Delhi
to decide which is the better
party.
"You know how much
work we did in our 49 days
and what has the BJP done in
eight months?" he said at a
public rally in Delhi.
CBI conducts raids in Odisha
over chit fund scam
Bhubaneswar, Jan 31
(IANS): The Special
Investigation Team (SIT)
of the CBI Saturday conducted
simultaneous
raids at 14 locations of
chit
fund
firm
Microfinance Ltd in
Odisha.
The CBI sources said
that the teams conducted
raids at 14 places including
Bhubaneswar,
Cuttack and Berhamapur.
The company was
operating its business and
has offices in these cities.
"In Odisha chit fund
scam, the CBI conducted
searches at 14 places of
Microfinance Ltd offices
and residences of former
MD
Durga
Prasad
Mishra, director Ashok
Patnaik and other directors of the company,"
said a spokesperson of
CBI in New Delhi. CBI
sources said the officials
raided the house of Ajay
Swain, former personal
assistant of commissioner-cum-secretary
of
Panchayati Raj department, the residence of
Suratha Das, one of the
directors of Microfinance
Ltd, and the residence of
retired
Indian
Administrative Officer
Jugal Kishore Satpathy in
Bhubaneswar. Besides,
the central investigating
agency conducted raids at
the residence of Ashok
Patnaik, one of the directors of the company, in
Cuttack and at the head
office in Berhampur city.
This is the second time
that the CBI has carried
out raids on places associated with Microfinance
Ltd.
Uber rape case: Prosecution
completes recording of evidence
New Delhi, Jan 31
(IANS) : In just 17 days,
the prosecution in the
Uber rape case Saturday
completed recording of
evidence in a court here.
The prosecution, which
had in its chargesheet
cited 44 witnesses, examined 28 of them, including
the woman victim who
identified the accused cab
driver,
Shiv
Kumar
Yadav, as the one who
raped her.
Dropping 16 witnesses
saying they were not relevant, the prosecution
closed the evidence with
the recording of the statement of the investigating
officer of the case, Delhi
Police Sub Inspector
Renu.
During the hearing, the
investigating officer in
her cross examination by
Yadav's counsel, denied
his suggestion that she has
not probed the case properly and fairly.
Additional
Sessions
Judge Kaveri Baweja,
who began the trial Jan
15, fixed Feb 3 for recording the statement of the
accused driver.
"Special public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava
states that all the relevant
prosecution
witnesses
have been examined and
no other witness is left to
be examined," the judge
said.
"Accordingly, prosecution evidence is closed.
Put up the matter for Feb
3, 2015 for recording of
statement of the accused,"
the judge added.
On Friday, the business
head of Uber Asia confirmed that Yadav was
working for the company
and that he had diverted
the vehicle from the actual route for which it had
been booked by the
woman.
According to police, the
woman executive was
allegedly raped by 32year-old Yadav inside the
car on the night of Dec 5,
2014.
The trial in the rape
case is being conducted
on a day-to-day basis.
The court had Jan 13
framed charges of rape
and causing grievous bodily harm or endangering
the life of a woman, kidnapping a woman, criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt
under various sections of
the Indian Penal Code
against Yadav.