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Homage paid to Rajiv Gandhi

     New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi today led the nation in paying homage to former premier Rajiv Gandhi on his 14th death anniversary. A wreath was placed on behalf of President APJ Abdul Kalam at Vir Bhoomi, the memorial of the late Prime Minister, on the banks of river Yamuna in New Delhi. In a politically significant gesture, RJD chief and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and JMM chief and former Union minister Shibu Soren also offered floral tributes to the departed leader. Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, several Union ministers, including Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Finance Minister P Chidambaram, governors, chief ministers and senior Congress leaders also paid their tributes. The Prime Minister was accompanied by his wife Gurcharan Kaur. Rajiv's children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadhra and son-in-law Robert Vadhra were also present. Senior Congress leaders Ambika Soni, Ahmed Patel, Ashok Gehlot, Motilal Vohra, Mohsina Kidwai and R K Dhawan also paid their respects to the late leader. Bihar Governor Bhuta Singh, Delhi Lt Governor B L Joshi, Chief Ministers of Delhi and Haryana Sheila Dikshit and Bhupinder Singh Hooda also paid their respects to the leader, who was assassinated on this day at Sriperumpadoor in 1991. Rajiv Gandhi would have been 61 on Saturday and to mark this occasion 61 children from Delhi took part in an all-religion prayer which was followed by a poem sung inspiringly by Pandit Channulal Mishra of Babares Gharana. Sant Kabir's dohas and bhajans were also sung to perfection by Mishra. A poem, composed by Ralph Emerson, evoking certain qualities of Rajiv Gandhi was also recited in solemnity and grace. A culmination of the ceremony was the playing of a recorded speech by Rajiv Gandhi in which he emphasised the need for secular identity of India.

One arrested with leopard skins (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Amidst nationwide furore over missing tigers, police in New Delhi have arrested a snake charmer in possession of three leopard skins worth millions of rupees in the international market. Officials on Saturday said that Ashok Nath, a resident of Pitam Garh village in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested in New Delhi while on his way to sell the hides. The police working on a tip-off had laid a trap, for Nath. Nath on being pointed out by the informer was apprehended and three leopards' skin recovered from the bag he possessed. Police said Nath had acquired the hides some months back and was holding them back to strike the right deal. "In the last two to three months he has killed three leopards. He had kept the hides waiting for three or five more hides before he sold them in the market at higher rates," said Ravindra Yadav, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, West District, Delhi. Nath, who comes from a family of snake charmers, told interrogators that he came into the trade some four to five years back. Police are investigating Nath's modus operandi and probing the bigger international racket. "He was caught last night and he maybe part of a bigger racket but it is still not disclosed and under investigation," said Yadav. In the last year the killing of leopards has reached a new high. Over 80 leopard skins have been seized in the capital in the last two months alone. In a recent incident police had seized 45 leopard skins and 14 otter skins in the city. Over the years an increasing number of animal skin seizures have been reported in New Delhi as the city has emerged as a transit point for wildlife trade. With the increasing demand for animal hides in the international market, the leopard and tiger population of India is under a constant threat in the hands of poachers and smugglers. It is estimated that for every tiger that is killed, at least 25 leopards are killed. According to an estimate made several years back there were 10,000 leopards in the country. If this trend continues wildlife officials believe that the population of leopards will very soon vanish.

Nagmani quits LJP, Paswan rules out split (Go To Top)

     New Delhi/Patna: Lok Janshakti Party's (LJP) General Secretary in-charge of Bihar Nagmani quit the party, setting the banner of revolt in the party. Speculation has been rife, that party president and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan is facing revolt from about 13 of his 29 party legislators in Bihar state assembly as he failed to help form a government in the state and end the political stalemate since an inconclusive February poll. "The decision taken regarding Bihar is wrong and that is why I have resigned as Lok Janshakti Party's (LJP) General Secretary in-charge of Bihar and as a primary member of the LJP," Nagmani, National General Secretary, said in Patna after quitting the party. Paswan, however ruled out any split in the party claiming his bloc was intact. Paswan said he would continue efforts to form an alternative government in Bihar. "I am not at all in favour of elections. How will the elections take place? ...Our party is not splitting... Resignation of Nagmani does not matter. He was not an MLA. There are many General Secretaries like him," he told reporters in New Delhi. Earlier, Central rule was imposed in Bihar in March after feuding parties failed to cobble together a majority following an inconclusive state poll.

Clinton to visit India on May 27 (Go To Top)

     Washington: Former US President Bill Clinton will visit New Delhi and Chennai on May 27 as part of his continuing engagement with the victims of the December 2004 tsunami disaster. In India, Clinton will focus on the issue of temporary shelters for the victims, according to an announcement by the William J Clinton Foundation. According to The News, he travels to Sri Lanka on May 28, followed by a visit to the Maldivian capital Male and the country's Kaafu Guraidhoo islands on May 29. In the Maldives, he will focus on the "adopt an island" initiative. Clinton will then leave for Banda Aceh in Indonesia - the worst hit area. "In each country Clinton will meet all concerned parties - including the Government, civil society, donors and the private sector - to assess the current status of the recovery effort," the announcement said.

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