Main Page                                                         Archive

 

UPA rejects NDA demand for Lalu's resignation

     New Delhi: Opposition demands for the resignation of Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav after he was chargesheeted today by Special CBI court in Ranchi for his role in the 1996 fodder scam case was categorically rejected by the ruling UPA in Parliament, which claimed that charges had only been framed against Lalu and he had not been convicted. "Just because charges have been framed against him (Lalu), there is no justification for his dismissal," Union Law Minister HR Bhardwaj told reporters. "When somebody becomes an MP, he is qualified for becoming a minister. A minister can be disqualified only when he incurs some disqualification," Bhardwaj added. Both Houses of Parliament today witnessed a vociferous and an extended verbal battle involving two personalities, who have been in the news for all the wrong reasons during the past week -- Lalu Yadav and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. This morning, the Lok Sabha had to be adjourned for 20-minutes as pandemonium reigned during Zero Hour on the issue of the recent "attack" on Lalu in Vadodara alleged by RSS and VHP activists. The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned for about 45 minutes around the same time. In the Lower House, both the RJD and Opposition members indulged in slogan shouting, forcing Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to adjourn the House. The RJD was demanding the dismissal of the Gujarat government and the arrest of Modi. The verbal battle began in the House as soon as Chatterjee permitted the BJP's Sushil Modi to raise the issue of the attack on Lalu for which he had been given a notice.

Delhi police questions Teesta Setalvad  (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The Delhi Police today questioned noted social activist Teesta Setalvad for over two hours in connection with the allegations made against her by Best Bakery case key witness Zahira Sheikh. Talking to reporters after coming out of the Kotwali in Old Delhi, Setalvad said that though she was satisfied with the questioning, the matter was still sub-judice, and therefore, she was not at liberty to disclose the details of her interrogation or her views on the allegations levelled by Sheikh. "I am satisfied with my questioning by the authorities today," she said. Joint Commissioner of Police Kanwaljit Deol, who interrogated Setalvad did not speak to the press. Earlier on April 21, Deol had questioned Zahira for about two hours. Monday's interrogation of Setalvad was mostly aimed to verify the statements made by her. Zahira, who was asked about her version of the 2002 riots along with the controversies surrounding her, had allegedly demanded that 'others' related to the case should also be questioned, said sources. While slamming Setalvad for coercing her into making certain statements which she did not wish to make and forcing her to sign papers in the language (English) she did not know, Zahira levelled several charges of intimidation and threat against the social activist, besides accusing her of 'using her' for her own motives. Setalvad, on the other hand, accused the riots victim and her brother of making 'certain demands' to go along with her. The interrogation of the two comes in the wake of Supreme Court's order for a probe into the matter after Zahira changed her statements off and on with regards to the case which made the progress of the case tardy and complex.

IAF officer Anjali Gupta's court martial adjourned till Wednesday (Go To Top)

     Bangalore: The court martial proceedings against Flying Officer Anjali Gupta, charged with financial irregularities and acts unbecoming of an officer, has been adjourned till Monday. Anjali, who is currently under detention, is the first woman flying officer against whom the Indian Air Force has launched court martial proceedings. "She is being court martialled because she has indulged in financial irregularities and acts unbecoming of an officer, overstaying leave and they point to a direction that a person's integrity is in doubt," said Group Captain Ajay Mason. Earlier, the court martial began in a makeshift courtroom where a five-member bench headed by a Group Captain started conducting the proceedings in-camera.

     Meanwhile, Anjali's family claimed that she is victim of voicing against sexual harassment by her seniors and colleagues. They alleged that Anjali is facing the wrath of daring to protest against harassment. "If you have a male officer coming into your room at 2 in the morning, isn't that sexual harassment? She didn't have a camera, so she can't prove it. And who will she go and complain to? It's the same people who she is reporting to," said Anjali's sister Alka Garg. But the IAF maintained that Anjali never reported the allegations of sexual harassment in her official letters to the Force authorities. "She has put in about 25-odd applications during her stay here of almost two years. And in none of these applications she had made mention of sexual harassment other than the one she addressed to MoD and to the chief on 7th April," Group Captain Mason said. Anjali was working in the administrative wing of the Aircraft Systems and Training Establishment (ASTE) in Bangalore. She has approached the Karnataka State Commission for Women and also the state High Court charging two senior men officers of harassing her.

Three killed in firecracker factory explosion in Gwalior (Go To Top)

     Gwalior: At least three people were killed in an explosion, which ripped through a fireworks factory here today. The factory owner Nandkishore with his family was busy preparing orders for a marriage ceremony, when the sudden explosion killed him on the spot and later his two daughters, who suffered 99 percent burns. Nandkishore's youngest daughter has been admitted to a hospital in a critical condition. "He was completing orders for a marriage party and suddenly the firecrackers caught fire and he was killed," said Gopinath, an eyewitness. Mohinder Singh, superintendent of Police, said an enquiry into the cause of the incident had been ordered. "We are investigating the cause of the incident. A police party has been called and we will give the interim report soon. The post-mortem examination of the dead will be done," he said.

India to resume military aid to Nepal: Natwar (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: India has decided to resume military aid to Nepal unconditionally. External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh revealed this decision to a television channel late on Sunday night soon after the Indian delegation returned home from the three-day 50th Asia- Africa Summit that was held in Indonesia. Singh told the television channel that resumption of military aid to Kathmandu would be activated soon, ending a more than three- month-long ban that followed King Gyanendra's royal coup on February 1 in which he dismissed the Sher Bahadur Deuba Government for its failure to stymy the Maoist insurgency and for not declaring prospective dates for elections. The decision to resume military aid was taken after two meetings with the Nepal King -- one with Natwar Singh, which lasted for over an hour on April 22, and the other between the King and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which lasted for about 45-minutes at the Jakarta Convention Centre on the sidelines of the summit on April 23. During the meeting, Manmohan Singh promised to look at the monarch's request for the resumption of Indian military aid from a "proper perspective". Sunday night's decision reflects a complete turnaround by New Delhi, which had till now consistently demanded the restoration of multi-party democracy in the kingdom if military aid was to be restored.

---