 |
|
New Delhi, July 18 (ANI): A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was elected as India's new President on Thursday. Kalam, former academic, ex-civil servant and father of India's missile technology, was virtually assured of the post after he won the support of all political parties, except the Communists, ahead of Monday's vote. Election official R.C. Tripathi said Kalam won 4,152 of the total 4,785 votes cast across the country on Monday, trouncing rival Lakshmi Sahgal, an 87-year-old woman activist and former member of the Indian National Army (led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose) which fought for independence. "I, R.C. Tripathi, the returning officer for the presidential election, hereby declare that Abdul Kalam, house no 833, Nika Singh block, Asiad Village complex, New Delhi, has been duly elected to the office of the President of India," the returning officer announced in New Delhi. Kalam, the third Muslim among India's 12 Presidents, will be sworn in next Wednesday. A man who attracts attention for his grey hair trimmed in a particular style and is known for ability to recite from the Koran as well as Bhagavad Gita with equal ease, was nominated by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's ruling coalition last month. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan broke the news to Kalam and offered him sweets, a traditional Indian practice on occasions of happiness. A visibly elated Kalam said: "I am indeed delighted to get elected as the next President of India. I thank the Almighty, my parents, my teachers and three great minds I worked with-- Professor Vikram Sarabhai, Professor Satish Dhawan and professor Brahm Prakash, and also all my friends from different parts of the country I have worked with. My greetings to all of them and also to my countrymen." Kalam, considered a political novice by many, defended his credentials by saying that for the past 20 years he had worked very closely with various governments and understood the value of decision making for the progress of a nation. "I am working from 1982 directly with with the government, whether you need a missile programme, whether you need a launch vehicle programme or whather you need a nuclear weapon programme. Everywhere you need a political decision. Unless the political decision is there, the satellite will not be in the orbit, the missile will not reach the required targets or the nuclear weapons will not be there. Actually the political decisions are very vital for the success of any of programme. Whether the missile programme, the nuclear programme or the launch vehicle programme." Senior members of India's left parties, which opposed his candidature, also dropped in to congratulate him. "We came to congratulate Mr. Kalam on his election as our next Rashtrapati (President). Of course, he is a very respected man and as you know our fight has been more symbolic on certain principles and not against him personally," said Somnath Chatterjee, a Communist Party of India (Marxist), leader . Kalam headed India's missile development programme through the 1980s and was also part of a team that conducted India's 1998 nuclear tests.(ANI) Mob teargassed in Ranchi during Jharkhand bandh
Ranchi, July 18 (ANI): Students protesting against the Jharkhand government's domicile policy took to the streets here on Thursday disrupting traffic and forcing shops to close down. Officials said normal life was affected in Bokaro, Dhanbad and Jamshedpur towns also. The students were angered by the new policy that bars those who settled in the state after 1932 from being considered for jobs in the state government. The mineral-rich Jharkhand state was carved out from Bihar two years ago. Forty per cent of the state's approximately 10 million people cannot be considered for Class III and Class IV jobs in the lower rung of bureaucracy as per the new policy. Police said they burst teargas shells to disperse a mob which obstructed entry at the state secretariat. Most of the ministers including chief minister Babu Lal Marandi, could not attend office. All the educational institutions in Ranchi remained closed and vehicles remained off the road. Shops and business establishments downed their shutters, but train services were not affected. Elaborate security arrangements were made at Dhanbad, Giridih and Chaibasa towns. Personnel of the Rapid Action Force, Jharkhand Armed Police and the Central Reservice Police Force were deployed at sensitive points to prevent violence. The shutdown was called by the Chattra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (Students and Youth Struggle Committte) and the Jharkhand Upekshit Yuva Manch (Jharkhand Neglected Youth Association). The domicile policy has sharply divided students. The tribal student groups, supporting the policy, have given a call for shutdown in the state on Saturday (July 20).(ANI) Security tightened for Amarnath yatra
Go
to top Jammu, July 18 (ANI): Security was tightened on Wednesday as the first batch of Hindu pilgrims begins an arduous annual trek to the holy Amarnath cave. Though officially the pilgrimage begins on July 22 when the cave shrine will open after a long winter break, many have already started winding their way up through the mountains to avoid a three-day rush. Security personnel of Central Reserve Police Force and Jammu and Kashmir state police lined up the journey route that will take the pilgrims through five base camps before they reach the Amarnath cave. Several times in the past, the annual pilgrimage has been targeted by Islamic guerrillas. Questions on security arose after militants massacred 28 Hindu laboureres in Jammu, last Saturday. Security forces said earlier this week that they had killed a self-styled commander of Hizbul Mujahideen and recovered arms and ammunition meant to be used in a planned attack on Amarnath pilgrims. Hundreds of para-military and police forces have been deployed at vantage points along the steep, slippery 48-kilometre (29 mile) trek to the cave. More than 100,000 pilgrims are expected to visit the holy cave from July onwards. Amarnath stands at a height of nearly 12,500 feet (3,888 metres) above sea level, 141 kilometres from Srinagar. The base camp for the pilgrimage, Pahalgam, is 96 kilometres south of Srinagar. The pilgrimage leads devotees through monsoon rain-swollen streams and past a glacier-fed lake to the cave where they worship an ice stalagmite, believed to be a phallic symbol representing the regenerative powers of Lord Shiva.(ANI)
Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu Go to top Bangalore, July 18 (ANI): After much intervention and pursuasion by the Centre, the Karnataka Government has decided to release 10,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu. The decision was taken at an all-party meet here on Wednesday. With this the decades-old water row between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu seems to have been resolved, though only to some extent. It must be noted that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had sometime ago asked Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna to release water to the neighbouring state. The water would be released from the Kabini reservoir. While announcing the decision, the state government assured its farmers that enough care would be taken to look after their interests. Karnataka Water Resources Minister H.K. Patil told the reporters that water was released because its level in the reservoir was nearing the maximum level. Though the decision was reportedly endorsed by all the major political parties in the state, leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council D.H. Shankaramurthy looked unhappy and told the reporters that if the state had excess water, it (government) could have taken care of the farmers' interest instead of releasing itto Tamil Nadu.(ANI)
|