Sonia visits Asom for second phase

     Guwahati: Ahead of the second phase of state Assembly elections in Asom, Congress president Sonia Gandhi will undertake another day-long visit to the State for her second leg campaigning today. The elections for the second phase will be held in 61 constituencies spread over 12 districts. Gandhi, who had been the star campaigner for the party, is scheduled to address three election rallies - one each in Nagaon, Mangaldoi and Dhubri. For the first phase of Assembly elections, which was held on April 3, Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were the major campaigners for the Congress. But the second and the final phase of campaign will see a host of other campaigners. According to Congress spokesperson Bobbeeta Sharma's information, Sonia will arrive in Guwahati before noon and immediately leave for Nagaon for a public meeting. From there she will go to Mangaldoi for another meeting at 1:15 p. m. Then she will get back to Guwahati airport and will proceed to Dhubri for a rally at 3:25 p.m. She will return to Delhi in the evening via Guwahati.

TV supply possible: Karunanidhi (Go To Top)

      Chennai: Replying to AIADMK president J Jayalalitha's charge that supplying free colour TV sets to the masses was impractical, DMK supremo M Karunanidhi said that it is a feasible proposal. "Even if we are not able to give television sets to everyone at one shot, at the first phase alone, 53 lacs would have to be given and that can be completed in two years time. This would cost about Rs 1006 crores. In the next five years for all the poverty if everyone has to be given sets, then for a year, it would be only Rs 530 crores. In an annual budget of Rs 30,000 crores, it is not wrong to spend Rs 530 crores for our mothers and brothers, and it is not something which is not feasible," said Karunanidhi. Karunanidhi also explained the rationale behind the DMK's various people friendly schemes, announced in its manifesto, and rejected by the ruling AIADMK's view that it was utopian.

SBI strike enters fourth day (Go To Top)
by Maya Singh

      New Delhi: The State Bank of India's officers and staffs continued their strike for the forth consecutive day today, following the failure of talks with the Central Labour Commissioner over the pension issue last night. "Neither the Government nor the bank management is willing to address our demands. We want the cap on pension removed and the family pension raised. The Central Labour Commissioner met representatives of the striking unions and the Government till late evening, but failed to resolve the issue," V K Gupta, vice president of SBI Staff's Federation said. "They could not present any proposal, on which we can agree and withdraw our strike. So our protest and strike will continue indefinitely," Gupta added. SBI employees are on an indefinite strike across the country from April 3. The Government is reluctant to accept the employees' demand as it fears it would trigger similar demands by employees of other banks. The employees on strike have demanded for an upward revision of pension and family pension for the 2.10 lakh employees and officers of the SBI. Pension of SBI officers and employees had not been revised since 1992 and 1986 respectively.

IAF to decommission MIG-25s on May 1 (Go To Top)
by Suman Sharma

      New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has announced that it will decommission the MiG 25 aircraft on May 1 this year. Assistant Chief of Air Staff-Operations(ACAS), Concepts and Doctrines, Air Vice Marshal Sumit Mukherjee, told reporters on Wednesday evening that the MiG25s, nicknamed Trisonics, would be officially phased out on May 1. The Indian Air Force's No 102 Squadron based in Bareilly operates the MiG-25. He however ruled out the decommissioning of the English Electric Canberra, known for its maritime strike, ground bombing as well as reconnaissance.

Protest over 'Mandalisation' of education (Go To Top)

      New Delhi / Patna: The Manmohan Singh Government's move to reserve 27 percent of admissions in higher education institutions for other backward classes (OBCs) has evoked a strong protest from the students. Central institutions like Delhi University, the Jawahar Lal Nehru University, the Indian Institute of Technology, and the Indian Institute of Management have reportedly been zeroed in for this project, much to the dismay of the faculty and the student community. Reacting angrily to the new quota move, some students have referred to it as the "New Mandalisation" of education and pointed out that any tampering with the existing reservation system will affect the quality of education in the world-class institutions. The protesting students have said that the government should implement quota on economic status. The Mandal Commission report, which has already been in implementation for Central government jobs for more than a decade now, provides for 27 per cent reservation for OBCs. This will dramatically increase the quantum of reservation from the current 22.5 per cent to 49.5 per cent.

SP, Telugu Desam form 'Third Force' (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam SinghYadav along with the Telugu Desam Party supremo, Chandra Babu Naidu, today announced the formation of a "Third Force" that would be opposing both the BJP and the Congress. Hinting out the possibility of a realignment of the political parties at the national level that 'would soon take place", both leaders said that the Third Force would soon be joined by the parties like AIADMK led by Jayalalitha, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference.

Curfew in Aligarh: 2 die in communal clash (Go To Top)

      Aligarh (UP): Authorities imposed curfew here on Thursday following violent clashes between two communities leaving two persons dead and injuring several others. According to official sources indefinite curfew has been clamped in Delhi Gate, Sasani Gate and Kotwali areas of the city. District Magistrate R K Singh said here that adequate number of police forces along with State paramilitary forces have been deployed to maintain law and order. According to reports the situation went wrong when members of the two communities indulged in stone pelting on each other and fired from rooftops at Sabzi Mandi and Dahi Wali Gali areas under Kotwali Police Circle in the old city following a dispute over a place of worship last night. Official sources said five persons had suffered gunshot injuries and rushed to the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Medical College here. Two of the injured succumbed to their injuries, sources added.

India beats England to take lead in ODI (Go To Top)

      Kochi: Continuing the winning streak, India beat England by four wickets in the fourth One-Day International at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday to take an invincible lead of 4-0 in the seven match series. With this victory, the Team India also created a world record for most consecutive wins while chasing a target in one-day internationals. This was India's 15th successive win while batting second, surpassing West Indies' record established between 1984-85 and 1986-87. Powered by skipper Rahul Dravid's solid 65 off 73 deliveries with nine fours, India achieved the target of 237 in the 48th over with wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni wrapping up the match by hitting the winning run.

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