IAC activists demonstrate outside magistrate's office in Farrukhabad

FARRUKHABAD, UP: Activists of Arvind Kejriwal-led India Against Corruption on Saturday sat on a dharna in front of the city magistrate's office to press for permission to hold their proposed demonstration on November 1.

The Farrukhabad administration had denied permission to the IAC to hold demonstration to make fresh expose against alleged irregularities by Zakir Husain Memorial Trust of law minister Salman Khurshid, IAC sources said.

IAC convenor Laxman Singh along with his associates started the dharna in front of the magistrate's office.

The city magistrate later granted permission to the IAC activists to hold the November 1 programme, they said.

IAC member Sanjay Singh, meanwhile, told reporters in Lucknow that Kejriwal's programme would be held in the home district of Khurshid at all cost even if they have to land in jail.

Singh said IAC has written a letter to chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav requesting to give permission for Kejriwal's programme in Farrukhabad.

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Nitin Gadkari's stay as BJP chief will help Congress: Digvijay Singh

"If Gadkari continues as BJP president, it will help in exposing the main opposition party's corrupt face in the public," Digvijay Singh said.

GUNA (MP): Congress will benefit if Nitin Gadkari's continues as BJP president since it will help in exposing the main opposition party's "corrupt face" in the public, party general secretary Digvijay Singh said on Saturday.

"Continuance of Gadkari as BJP president is in the interest of the Congress as it will help the party in exposing BJP's corrupt face in the public," he told reporters at his ancestral hometown Raghogarh before leaving for Indore.

Gadkari is facing flak over allegations of dubious funding of his company. The main opposition party has rallied behind Gadkari and ruled out his resignation over the charges.

To a question, the Congress general secretary said after the proposed reshuffle of Union Cabinet, Rahul Gandhi could be seen playing a bigger role in the party.

Singh sought to downplay pre-poll surveys predicting victory for BJP in Gujarat, saying they are incorrect and Congress is contesting the assembly election due in December with an aim to register win.

Asked about reports that he would contest the next Lok Sabha polls from Rajgarh, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said he was ready to fight from any other seat except Rajgarh.

Referring to the global investors meet being organised at Indore from Sunday, Singh demanded that the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government make public how many agreements it had signed prior to the meet.

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Indonesia arrests 11 suspected terrorists planning attack on US embassy

JAKARTA: Indonesian police arrested 11 suspected terrorists on Saturday allegedly planning attacks on the US embassy and an American consulate, a spokesman said.

"The group's objectives were to attack the US embassy in Jakarta and consulate-general in the eastern Javanese city of Surabaya," national police spokesman Suhardi Alius told reporters.

Alius said the group was also targeting a building in the capital near the Australian embassy where US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan has an office.

"We also confiscated an explosive device from a home in the town of Madiun in eastern Java, as well as explosive materials and a bomb-making manual," Alius said.

Anti-terror police Detachment 88 made the arrests in four cities, including Jakarta, in a sweep on the island of Java, saying the detained belonged to a new network known as Hasmi.

Explosive materials were also secured from a location in Solo, central Java, and in Bogor on the outskirts of the capital.

Indonesia was rocked by a series of deadly attacks blamed on the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) last decade, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Indonesia has not seen a major attack since 2009 and authorities say a long crackdown on terrorism has debilitated JI.

But smaller terror cells aspiring to an Islamic caliphate through violent means have emerged, though none have carried out any serious attacks.

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Won't hesitate to stall Parliament if it helps fight graft: BJP

CHANDIGARH: BJP on Saturday said it won't hesitate to stall Parliament again if it helps fight corruption.

BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy claimed that two years ago by stalling the winter session of Parliament over the 2G spectrum scam issue, there had been a net benefit of Rs 2 lakh crore to the country.

"If by obstructing Parliament, resources of the exchequer are filled, BJP will not hesitate...," he told reporters here, adding the party also cannot remain silent to "monumental corruption" witnessed during Congress-led UPA government.

Rudy termed Sunday's reshuffle of Union Council of Ministers, Rudy as an "exercise in vain" and said the Manmohan Singh government, from which Trinamool Congress has pulled out, "should have sought a "fresh mandate" before going into this exercise (reshuffle)".

"After TMC's withdrawal...government lost its credibility. BJP feels this (reshuffle) is an exercise in vain," Rudy said.

The Prime Minister also came under sharp attack from the BJP leader who said Singh was known as an economist and for his honesty but in UPA-II that has "changed".

Rudy also said the PM was a Cambridge University scholar, had served in prestigious positions, including finance minister, finance secretary, governor of RBI etc and "nowhere in the world do we have a Prime Minister who is so qualified".

"But after promising growth rate of 9.2 per cent, it is hovering around 5.2 per cent", he added.

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Chandrababu Naidu in 'good health', to resume his march

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu is hale and hearty, his son Nara Lokesh has said.

"My father is in good health. There is no cause for concern. His foot march will continue," Lokesh announced at Gadwal this evening.

Full details about his father's condition would be revealed after the doctors' report was received, Lokesh added.

The TDP chief Chandrababu took a day's break from his ongoing "Vastunna Meekosam" foot march in Mahbubnagar district on Saturday following the minor injury he sustained to his back late last night.

Telugu movie star NTR Junior, Chandrababu's nephew and upcoming film hero Nara Rohit and a host of others called on the TDP supremo at Gadwal on Saturday.

Officials from the Mahbubnagar district administration also called on the leader of opposition to enquire about his health.

A team of specialist doctors that took an X-ray of his back after midnight on Friday and early this morning at Gadwal, where Chandrababu was camping, established that there was no fracture, but only a sprain.

"He was suffering from cramps following the fall he had late last night. There was also a muscle sprain," TDP sources said.

Though a determined Chandrababu wanted to continue with his foot march even on Saturday, he agreed to take a day's break for rest on the advise of doctors as well as pressure from party leaders.

The former chief minister suffered a minor injury to his back in a freak mishap when the dais, from where he addressed a public meeting at Gadwal in Mahbubnagar district, collapsed suddenly late on Friday night.

Soon after the incident, Chandrababu walked for about a kilometer, but later gave up following severe pain in the back. A team of doctors from Hyderabad rushed to Gadwal to conduct tests on the leader of opposition. An X-ray was taken after midnight to determine whether there was any fracture.

This morning a digital X-ray was also taken and it was concluded that there was no fracture, TDP MLA Errabilli Dayakar Rao said. Chandrababu's wife Bhuvaneswari and son Lokesh were in Gadwal to attend on him.

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Engineer jailed for 5 years in Pakistan returns home to warm welcome

MUMBAI: 32-year-old Bhavesh Parmar, who was jailed in Pakistan for five years after he "inadvertently" crossed over to the country in 2007 by Samjhauta Express, returned home to a warm welcome here on Friday.

"It feels good to be back. I am happy," Bhavesh, a software engineer, told reporters after his arrival at the Mumbai airport.

His mother Hansa Kanti, who had gone to receive him at the Wagah border on Thursday, said he immediately recognized her despite a five-year-long gap.

"There was too much of crowd. However, he recognized me when we had a first eye-contact when he crossed over into the Indian territory," Kanti told reporters at her residence in suburban Vile Parle.

Bhavesh, who was accompanied by local MLA Krishna Hegde and MP Priya Dutt from Delhi, returned home in the presence of his neighbours, who cheered his home-coming. They garlanded him and also distributed sweets.

His mother thanked Vile Parle MLA Krishna Hegde and MP Priya Dutt for their help.

She, however, said that her son was finding it difficult to communicate as he was "giving short answers without constructing a sentence."

"He was very talkative earlier. But he is a bit reluctant to talk now," she said.

According to her, Bhavesh had gone into depression after his father died in 2006. "He suffered a double-blow. Since his father was ill, he had to quit from a multi-national company. But in two months time his father passed away and he went into depression as he was unemployed too," she recalled.

Meanwhile, Hegde said that if Bhavesh was facing any psychological problems, he was ready to bear the expenses of the treatment.

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SP's appeasement policy to be blamed for communal violence in UP: BJP

NEW DELHI: Condemning the communal violence in Faizabad and Barabanki districts of Uttar Pradesh, BJP on Friday alleged that Samajwadi Party's "appeasement" politics was responsible for such incidents.

Expressing concern at the increasing frequency of such violence in the state since Akhilesh Yadav government came to power, the party alleged that "radical elements among the minority community" were involved in them and demanded stern action against the culprits.

"BJP strongly condemns the communal violence in Faizabad and Barabanki and demands stern action against the culprits who had attacked the Durga puja procession on Dussehra...More than 35 communal incidences in less than 11 months have taken place in UP after Akhilesh Yadav took over as chief minister.

"There is a deliberate design to create communal strife all over UP," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said here.

He alleged that Faizabad is not the only place in the state which has witnessed communal violence. He recalled a case of stone pelting and killing of a devotee in Badarsa on Dussehra, desecration of Durga idol in Rudoli, among other cases.

Javadekar maintained that in the last 75 days, there have been communal riots in five places in Uttar Pradesh and seven people have lost their lives.

BJP alleged that that "radical elements among the minority community" are involved in them. The Opposition said a communal atmosphere has been created in UP with the blessings of the SP government.

In Kanpur, former BJP president Rajnath Singh charged the Akhilesh Yadav government with failing to curb the communal riots in the state

Alleging that, "Whenever the Samjwadi Party comes in power, communal riots increase", Singh said "the Samajwadi Party has failed on each and every front.... It is the duty of the elected government not to be biased against any cast, creed or religion."

Javdekar said, "What is worse is that police are unable to react even when they are attacked, leave alone taking action when attacks take place on festivities. Their hands are tied."

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Ferrari's support for Italian naval guards kicks up diplomatic row

Row hits India GP: Ferrari to race with Italian navy flag

NEW DELHI: Formula One team Ferrari's decision to carry the seal of Italian navy in the Indian Grand Prix as a mark of support for the Italian naval guards held here is leading on to another diplomatic spat between the two nations.

Reflecting New Delhi's unhappiness, official spokesperson in the ministry of external affairs Syed Akbaruddin said, "using sporting events to promote cause which are not of a sporting nature is not in keeping with the spirit of sports."

While Indian officials said that the gesture was not in the right spirit, Italian foreign minister Giulio Terzi has complimented Ferrari for the move.

"This shows that the entire country stands behind the marines" said Terzi.

Terzi had recently said that he was astounded by the "dithering" of the Indian judiciary in the case.

Announcing their decision to race with the flag of the Italian navy on their cars at this weekend's Indian Grand Prix, a Ferrari team official on Thursday said, "First of all, we just wanted to pay tribute to all the Italian Navy which is one of the excellences of Italy and it's just a sign of hope that a solution can be found about the case that involves two Italian sailors."

Ferrari had created a flutter by announcing on their official website that it will show its support for Italian sailors by racing with military symbols on its cars' livery at the second edition of the Indian GP, to be held at the Buddh International Circuit from October 26-28.

The two naval guards Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone on board the Italian ship 'Enrica Lexie', are accused of killing Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala. While a chargesheet has been filed against them by the local cops, Italy has approached the Supreme Court saying that Indian authorities have no jurisdiction in the matter.

They were detained on February 19 and were sent to Central Prison in Thiruvananthpuram. Later on, they were granted bail in June but on the condition that they must remain in Indian territory.

(With inputs from PTI)

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BSP to contest all 182 assembly seats in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Friday said it will put up candidates in all the 182 constituencies in Gujarat for the assembly polls.

"Our leader Mayawati has decided that the party will contest from all the seats in Gujarat on its own and will not to have seat adjustments with any political party," Member of Legislative Council (UP) Dharmaprakash Bhartiya told reporters here.

The party also declared the first list of 50 candidates. In the 2007 Assembly polls, BSP had fielded candidates in 166 seats and secured 2.62 per cent of the total votes.

On the party's prospects, he claimed, "We might not form our government but we will definitely be the king maker in the state.

"We are very clear in our strategy and no political party in the state has yet dared to select their candidates, which shows that they are mired in serious power struggles," he said.

Accusing chief miniister Narendra Modi of adopting 'double standards' on the issue of corruption, he said, "Modi is attacking the UPA government on the corruption issue but here one of his ministers has been allegedly involved in a multi-crore scam."

"Modi should resign on moral grounds," he demanded. He said that BSP chief Mayawati will soon visit Gujarat for campaigning.

"Our leader Mayawati will definitely come, if needed than more than once to the state," he said.

In the 2007 polls, BJP and Congress had cornered 49.12 per cent and 39.63 per cent of the votes respectively, whereas BSP came in the third place with a share of 2.62 per cent of votes.

Assembly elections in the state are scheduled to be held on December 13 and 17 and counting of votes will be held on December 20.

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Centre asks states to facilitate 'reverse vasectomy surgery' of willing Maoists

NEW DELHI: Amid reports that a number of surrendered Maoists want to undergo reverse vasectomy surgery, the Centre on Friday asked nine naxal-affected states to help such ex-naxal cadres with better medical facilities at government's cost so that they can return to their normal family life.

Waking up to the plight of such surrendered Maoists who had to undergo sterilisation as pre-condition for marriage when they were part of the naxals' armed cadre, the home ministry also asked the nine state governments to suitably sensitise district administration so that the issue is addressed with sensitivity.

"It is suggested that the names and addresses of the Maoist cadres who avail of this option ( reverse vasectomy surgery) should not be disclosed", said the ministry's advisory to the states.

A two-page note comprising the advisory was sent to police chiefs and principal secretaries (home) of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhua Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Such an advisory, sensitising the states about the wishes of surrendered Maoists, assumes significance in view of the growing demand of reverse vasectomy surgery by Ultras as they want to return to their normal family life.

Home ministry figures show that as many as 1,980 Maoists had surrendered before state authorities across the country in the past nearly six years. Incidentally, most of the married male Naxals had to go for sterilisation under the CPI (Maoist) dictat to prevent filial attachment of its cadres in future.

The home ministry came to know of this forced practice recently when two surrendered CPI (Maoist) cadres underwent vasectomy reversal surgery in Chhattisgarh.

The home ministry's note to the states said the forced sterilisation of the lower/tribal cadres of the Peoples' Liberation Guerilla Army of the CPI (Maoist) by the top leadership has been in practice for a number of years.

Referring to the practice, the ministry in its advisory note said, "No rehabilitation is complete if the Maoist cadres cannot return to normal family life and have children. Hence there is a need to ascertain the status of the surrendered/arrested Maoist cadres, and wherever necessary , facilitate their return to normal family life".

The ministry felt that this process would also reduce the temptation of the cadres to return to the Maoist fold.

"Hence, the state government should consider facilitating vasectomy reversal operations of willing Maoist cadres", said the ministry.

It said that since most of the sterilisation surgeries are conducted in a crude manner by local quacks, if the reversal operation has to be done in a higher medical centre, the government should bear the cost.

"Further, there is an urgent need to increase awareness and communicate to the Maoist cadres through the government machinery and the NGOs that vasectomy is reversible. This may motivate them to leave the Maoist fold, join the mainstream and start a normal family life", said the ministry's note to states.

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Government not court has to find solution to mining crisis: Parrikar

PANAJI: With uncertainty prevailing over resumption of mining activity in Goa, chief minister Manohar Parrikar has said the government and not court can find a solution to it.

Supreme Court recently halted the transportation and extraction of ore in the state pending inquiry report from the Centrally Empowered committee (CEC), which will probe into the illegalities pointed out by Justice M B Shah Commission.

"I have strong objections to a ruling like this....In situations like this it is governments that have to deliver," Parrikar said last night while speaking at a function to mark the birth anniversary of former minister late Matanhi Saldanha in Panaji.

The state government had suspended all the mining leases on September 10 and subsequently in the first week of October, Supreme Court ordered halting of extraction and transportation iron ore in Goa.

The people dependent on mining activity fear to lose their livelihood if the ban continues.

"It is the government which has to put stop to the mining," the chief minister said.

The Shah Commission report estimated a whopping Rs 35,000 crore loss to the exchequer due to illegal mining in the last 12 years.

Referring to the demand of recovering the money from the mine owners, Parrikar said, "If anything has been looted from the state, it will be recovered."

"It is very easy to say that the Rs 35,000 crore has to be recovered. Executing it is very difficult," he added.

Parrikar said the government had sent notices to all mining companies asking why the money should not be recovered and all of them replied saying that the report was wrong.

"Now I have to sit and worry about the issues that mine owners have pointed out, because the administration has to function in a particular way. Else, we will get dragged to court," he said.

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Mamata Banerjee's painting auctioned in New York for $3000

KOLKATA: Purple flowers on a bed of green leaves in acrylic and oil on canvas by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has been auctioned in New York for 3000 dollars, her first painting to be sold abroad.

With a reserved price of USD 2500, five bids were made before the painting titled 'Flower Power' was sold at 3000 USD to Sundaram Tagore Gallery, a spokesperson of the US-based NGO Children's Hope India which auctioned the painting to raise funds for the welfare of underprivileged children in India, told .

The auction was held at a gala event in New York City to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the NGO.

Founded in 1992 by a group of Indian American women professionals, Children's Hope India sponsors health, education and vocational programmes for thousands of children in India.

Among other items, a cricket bat with the signature of Team India members including M S Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar was auctioned for 15,000 USD.

Out of about 200 paintings made so far by the Trinamool Congress supremo, this was was the first time her work went abroad. She has held three exhibitions so far.

Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien, who was also present during the auction, said the NGO had requested the chief minister to contribute a painting.

"Since it was for a good cause she readily agreed. She painted it two months ago at her office," said the party leader.

Another painting was sent to Israeli Ambassador Alon Ushpiz in Delhi last week.

"He paid a courtesy visit on the CM and wanted to buy one of her paintings. Banerjee said she would gift it," said Derek, who had organised Banerjee's first sale-cum-exhibition in 2005.

Titled '25 Hours In A Day', the first lot was sold for Rs four lakh.

The second exhibition in 2007 fetched Rs 14 lakh and the proceeds were donated to the victims of Nandigram violence.

Ahead of the last year's Assembly elections, her collection of 95 paintings were sold out within three days for a staggering price of more than a crore of rupees.

The proceeds were used for the party's poll expenses.

Derek said Banerjee's fourth exhibition with 50 paintings would be held in Kolkata early next year.

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Mayawati not in favour of giving Sonia Gandhi walkover in 2014 Lok Sabha elections

LUCKNOW: Contrary to the decision of the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh (UP), the main opposition party, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), has decided to field candidate against Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli.

The BSP has started preparation for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Though the party has not officially released the names of the candidates it has finalised for the elections so far, senior BSP leaders announced the name of Ram Lakhan Pasi to be party's candidate from Rae Bareli. The announcement was made by the BSP state president Ram Achal Rajbhar and national general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui at a party function held in Rae Bareli on Wednesday.

The name of Pasi was announced after a meeting of workers in Rae Bareli on Wednesday. Pasi is local dalit leader of the BSP and does not have much political experience. Naseemuddin Siddiqui said that the party has started ground work in Congress's bastion. Pasi emerged as consensus s candidate in the meeting, said Rajbhar. Leader of opposition in UP assembly Swami Prasad Maurya has been assigned task to monitor Pasi's election campaign, he added.

Significantly, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has announced not to field any candidate against Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli in Lok Sabha elections as a 'thanksgiving geusture' in return for the Congress not putting up any candidate against his daughter-in-law Dimple in Kannauj Lok Sabha by-polls held in June this year. In fact, SP had not put up candidates against Sonia and her son Rahul, who is also Congress general secretary, in 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

However, Mayawati does not want to give any impression that she is going soft on the Congress, although her party is extending outside support to the UPA government at the centre on grounds that it wants to keep BJP out of power. Interestingly, of late, the Congress is giving more importance to Maya than Mulayam. However, Mayawati, sources said, fears that it will lose grip over its core vote bank -- dalits, if it gives more weightage to the Congress party.

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Narendra Modi inviting tenders to favour industries: Congress

AHMEDABAD: The state government officials are busy making tenders for laying pipelines in such a manner that it benefit certain companies from Kutch, alleged Gujarat leader of Opposition Shaktisinh Gohil.

He said that GSPC's group company GSPL had bagged three cross-country gas pipeline projects Mehsana-Bhatinda (1,611 km), Bhatinda-Srinagar (740 km), and Mallavaram-Bhopal-Bhilwara-Vijaipur (1,738 km).

GSPL holds 52 per cent stake, while other JV partners such as IOCL, BPCL and HPCL will have 26 per cent, 11 per cent and 11 per cent stake holding respectively. These three projects are worth over Rs 13000 crore.

Now, execution of these pipeline projects are about to begin so the GSPL and Modi government officials are preparing tender documents regarding awarding contracts for pipeline projects.

"It is learnt from the insiders that tenders for procuring pipelines and civil works are being prepared in such a manner with certain conditions that only a Kutch based pipeline manufacturing firm gets selected as sole supplier of pipelines. This is aimed at thwarting competition, which would bring competitive rates, and allow monopoly of a single firm, which would create cartels of its own contractors for civil works," he alleged.

"This is being done at the behest of the Chief Minister because the firm concerned has reliably offered election funds of Rs 500 crore to the ruling party in the state assembly polls. Earlier, this company had, again by rigging bidding process, obtained contracts of supply of pipelines for water supply in the BJP government," Gohil claimed in a statement.

In this scam in making, several high profile officials of the GSPL, GSPC, energy department and finance department are involved to carry out the deal as per instructions of CM.

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I will take over as president of Karnataka Janata Paksha on December 10: Yeddyurappa

BANGALORE: Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, yet again challenged the ruling-BJP by announcing that he would quit BJP and take over as the president of the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) on December 10 in the presence of 4-5 lakh people.

The Lingayat strongman on Thursday extended an open invitation to his supporting ministers, legislators and MPs to attend the December 10 programme scheduled at Haveri, 350km from Bangalore, where he is expected to launch his new party KJP.

"Don't fear of action from the government and party, let us see what action they (BJP) would take. I am inviting all my supporters, well-wishers including chief minister Jagadish Shettar and cabinet colleagues, legislators and MPs belonging all political parties to attend the programme," Yeddyurappa told reporters here before leaving to Chamarajanagar.

Yeddyurappa's close aide and former Union minister V Dhananjay Kumar, who was recently expelled from the BJP has taken the membership of the KJP. He is expected to be the temporary president of the party till December 9, where in a KJP executive committee meeting scheduled on that day and the appointment of Yeddyurappa as the new president would be announced.

Kumar also dared the party high command to take action against Yeddyurappa while holding state BJP president KS Eshwarappa responsible for the present crisis in the BJP.

Soon after Yeddyurappa announced that he would take over as the president of the new party, state BJP leaders attacked him. Party vice president Bhanuprakash at a public function in Shimoga said that BJP had given everything to Yeddyurappa and he should be grateful to it. "He was made MLC even after he was defeated in the assembly elections in 1999. The BJP has given everything to him. Yeddyurappa should remember this," he said. Social welfare minister A Naranayaswamy also maintained the same line and said Yeddyurappa became chief minister because of the BJP.

However, Yeddyurappa said he had no intention to topple the Shettar government.

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Japan, China officials met over island dispute: Tokyo

TOKYO: Japan and China held high-level talks at the weekend as they seek ways to repair relations damaged by a territorial row over islands in the East China Sea, Tokyo said today.

Relations between the two countries have sunk to new lows in a vicious spat over a group of uninhibited, Tokyo-administered islands, called the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyus in China.

Japanese vice-foreign minister Chikao Kawai visited Shanghai over the weekend and met China's vice-foreign minister Zhang Zhijun to discuss the island dispute, local media reported.

The meeting was "part of communications that go on between Japan and China at various levels and in various forms about the present situation over the Senkaku islands," said top government spokesman Osamu Fujimura.

Fujimura declined to confirm further details, including who took part.

The two officials from Japan and China also met in Beijing last month.

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Sebi seeks strong legislation to check public money collection

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Oct 24, 2012, 02.30PM IST

MUMBAI: Market watchdog Sebi has asked the government to frame a strong central legislation to tackle the menace of companies collecting large amount of money from the public without requisite regulatory approvals and for dubious investment projects.

Stating the existing legal provisions are weak and allow such companies to benefit from certain loopholes in the regulatory framework, Sebi chairman U K Sinha told PTI that the market regulator takes action against such entities whenever it suspects anything wrong and gets evidence.

"People make all sorts of excuses - in some cases they claim they are under the state government, some cases they are saying they are registered with the ministry of corporate affairs, some cases they are saying they are housing companies and in some cases they claim to be NBFCs.

"And in most cases, they say that we are not under the Sebi jurisdiction," Sinha said in an interview here.

"But wherever we suspect and we got information and evidence, we take action against them. But the legal provision is relatively weak on this front and I agree that there is need for one strong central legislation because big amount of money is being collected from the citizens of the country," he said.

Giving an example, Sinha said he was recently in Assam and there he was told that all the mutual funds put together have a combined AUM (Asset Under Management) of less than Rs 1,000 crore in the state.

At the same time, there is one such company that launched one scheme and managed to collect more than Rs 1,000 crore, he said, without naming the company.

"So if you make the comparison, you will see the dimension is quite big. So, we have urged the government to make one strong central legislation to tackle this issue," he said.

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29 Indians sentenced to death in various countries: RTI report

THANE: A total of 29 Indians have been sentenced to death for various criminal offences during the last five years in various countries, the external affairs ministry has said in response to an RTI query.

In reply to a query under the Right to Information Act by activist Om Prakash Sharma, the MEA report has stated that 21 Indians had been awarded death sentence in the United Arab Emirates, six in Kuwait and one each in Indonesia and Iran.

Twenty-seven of those sentenced to death have been convicted for murder along with other offences like abduction, burning, hiding body, theft, adultery and intoxication, the report said.

The remaining two have been awarded capital punishment for offences punishable under the Narcotics Act and Drugs Act, it said.

In all, 10,647 Indians had been convicted in various countries for criminal offences and imprisoned, including the 29 death penalties.

The UAE tops the list with as many as 4,315 Indian convicts, followed by Bangladesh with 2,008 convicts, Kuwait 1,161, China 673, Oman 429, UK 426 and some other nations have less than 250 convicts, the report mentioned.

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Myanmar sets curfew after new violence in northwest

YANGON: Authorities in Myanmar imposed a night-time curfew in at least two towns in northwestern Rakhine state after renewed deadly unrest between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas in an area where more than 80 people were killed in June.

The earlier violence was a setback for a quasi-civilian government that has won international plaudits for its political and economic reforms since President Thein Sein took office in March 2011, ending almost 50 years of brutal military rule.

Official media said on Wednesday that two people had been killed and eight injured in the violence since Sunday, while 1,039 homes had been burned down. Unconfirmed reports from other sources put the death toll higher.

Up to 800,000 Rohingyas live in abject conditions along Myanmar's border with Bangladesh. Neither country recognises them as citizens and the Bangladeshi authorities turned away boatloads of Rohingyas fleeing the violence in June.

Most people in Myanmar regard them as illegal immigrants from South Asia. Even Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate who led the fight for democracy, has sidestepped questions on how to tackle the problem.

Hla Thein, spokesman for the Rakhine State government, told Reuters curfews had been imposed in the townships of Minbya and Mrauk Oo from Monday. Some local sources reported reinforcement of armed police in these towns.

"However, I don't think the situation has returned to normal in villages on the outskirts of Mrauk Oo," retired school teacher Mya Thein told Reuters by telephone.

Another source reported trouble in a town called Myay Bone.

"The local Rohingyas prepared boats for escape. Just before escape, they started setting fires. Then the Arakans (local Rakhine people) chased them down, seized one of the Rohingyas who had started a fire and also burnt the Rohingyas' boats prepared for escape," he said, quoting an uncle in the area.

"I heard the authorities had been able to control the situation in other towns but not Myay Bone yet."

As with the previous bout of violence, it was unclear what had set off the arson and killing. In June, tension had been rising for some time after the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman in May that was blamed on Muslims.

Thein Sein's government has negotiated ceasefires with most of the ethnic rebels that have fought for autonomy for half a century but has done nothing to address the Rohingya problem.

Suu Kyi, now a member of parliament, told reporters in the capital, Naypyitaw, on Tuesday that a general absence of law was to blame for the situation in Rakhine State.

"Of course I am worried about the situation there," local media quoted her as saying. "Actually, this situation can be expected. As I often said, there must be the rule of law to prevent this sort of problem. It cannot be sorted out overnight."

On Oct. 15, the government decided against letting the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) open an office in Myanmar. That followed marches by opponents of the plan in several cities, led by Buddhist monks.

The OIC had wanted to open a liaison office in Rakhine and could have used it to help distribute $50 million in aid promised to the Rohingyas by Saudi Arabia.

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Markandey Katju slams politicians for being 'intolerant' towards media

NEW DEHLI: Slamming the "ugly display of temper" by Virbhadra Singh after he threatened to break cameras of mediapersons, Press Council chief Markandey Katju today said such increasingly intolerant behaviour by politicians against journalists was unacceptable in democracy.

"It is deeply regrettable that certain politicians are of late becoming increasingly intolerant towards the media, and are not behaving in a manner which is expected of them in a democracy," he said in a statement here.

"The latest instance of such undemocratic behaviour is the alleged statement of a senior politician that he will break the camera of a journalist when asked about some allegations against him," Katju said in a reference to the Congress leader.

The Press Council of India chairperson said that in a democracy it was the people who were supreme and politicians were only servants of the people.

Media acted as an agent of the people for giving them information about their servants and intolerant behaviour by politicians had no place in a democracy.

"If something untrue is published about a politician he has certainly a right to get his rejoinder published, but losing one's balance or giving an ugly display of temper is just not acceptable in a democracy," Katju said.

Singh had threatened to break the cameras of mediapersons on being questioned about allegations of corruption against him at Ani in Kullu district last evening.

In his statement, Katju also referred to previous instances where he felt that the political class had not been tolerant enough towards the media.

"Before that there was a statement of a chief minister of a certain state that a section of the media is doing dadagiri and spreading negative canards about the state government," Katju said in his statement.

He was apparently referring to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's remarks.

Katju said that in some states some "political workers (evidently at the orders of their leaders) had physically assaulted media people and even vandalised the office of a leading newspaper in Mumbai."

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Yeddyurappa to quit BJP, launch party on December 10

BANGALORE: Former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa on Tuesday announced he will quit the BJP and launch a regional party on December 10, raising questions over the survival of the state BJP government headed by Jagadish Shettar.

"I will launch a regional party December 10. The same day I will quit BJP and also resign as assembly member," he told reporters here after 'Audhya pooja' at his office, which was formerly the BJP office.

The former chief minister said preparations for the launch of the new party will formally start Wednesday as it is 'Vijayadashami' day.

He said the the new party would be launched in the presence of "lakhs of supporters at a public meeting in Haveri, about 350 km north of Bangalore.

"My decision to leave the BJP and launch a new party is firm. I appeal to my supporters not to give any credence to reports that I will change my decision and stay in the BJP," he said.

Yeddyurappa said he had not decided on when his supporters in the Shettar ministry and legislators backing him should quit the BJP.

He claims the support of around 70 of the party's 120 legislators in the 225-member assembly. Nearly half of the ministers in the 34-member Shettar cabinet are Yeddyurappa supporters.

The former chief minister is clearly wary of being held responsible for bringing down the Shettar ministry as both he and Shettar hail from the Lingayat community, which makes up for 17 percent of the state's 65 million population and is generally believed to support the BJP.

With Yeddyurappa fixing the date of his party's launch, focus will now be on how many ministers and party legislators will attend the Dec 10 show of strength and whether BJP leadership will act against them.

The BJP leadership has been wavering on acting against Yeddyurappa though he has been ridiculing it for months.

With assembly election due in May next year, the party may choose to ignore the act of ministers and legislators attending the launch of a new party instead of risking the fall of Shettar ministry.

That could entail President's rule till the assembly polls, which the BJP would like to avoid as it has often accused Governor H.R. Bhardwaj of acting as a "Congress agent".

The 69-year-old Yeddyurappa, largely credited for leading the BJP to power for the first time in south India, says the BJP leadership has "betrayed" him.

He resigned as chief minister in July last year over mining bribery charges and faces a dozen corruption and illegal land deals cases. He was succeeded by D.V. Sadananda Gowda in August 2011.

However, he has been asserting that BJP president Nitin Gadkari did not keep the promise to make him state BJP president within 24 hours of quitting as chief minister.

Shettar succeeded Sadananda Gowda in July this year.

Yeddyurappa has also been holding BJP leader L.K. Advani responsible for the mess.

Yeddyurappa and Shettar were known rivals. Shettar was not even made a minister when Yeddyurappa formed the ministry in May 2008.

He had opposed Shettar when there were moves to make him the chief minister after he (Yeddyurappa) quit.

But in less than a year, Yeddyurappa fell out with his successor Gowda, brought him down and backed Shettar's claim to chief ministership.

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Eminent litterateur Sunil Gangopadhyay passes away at his Kolkata residence

KOLKATA: Eminent litterateur and Sahitya Akademi president Sunil Gangopadhyay died at his South Kolkata residence in the early hours of Tuesday following a massive heart attack.

He was 78. Gangopadhyay's body will be kept in a mortuary till his son arrives from Boston for performing the last rites, family sources said.

A prolific writer and winner of several awards, Gangopadhyay was the founder editor of 'Krittibas', a seminal poetry magazine that became a platform for a new generation of poets experimenting with many new forms.

Author of over 200 books, Gangopadhyay excelled in different genres but declared poetry to be his "first love". His Neera series of poems are popular.

Gangopadhyay also excelled in short story, novels, travelogues and children's fiction.

He had won the Sahitya Akademi Award (1985), Ananda Puraskar `(1989) and the Hindu Literary Prize(2011).

After serving five years as the vice-president, he was elected the president of the Sahitya Akademi on February 20, 2008.

He used the pen-names of Nil Lohit, Sanatan Pathak and Nil Upadhyay.

Gangopadhyay is survived by wife and son.

President condoles Gangopadhyay's death

President Pranab Mukherjee condoled the death of eminent writer Sunil Gangopadhyay.

"Gangopadhyay had enriched Bengali literature through his unique style. He was one of the best intellectuals among his contemporaries. The vacuum created by his death cannot be filled," the President said.

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Release of water for irrigation from Mettur dam stopped

SALEM: Release of water from Mettur dam for irrigation was stopped on Tuesday morning following heavy rains in delta districts of Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur areas, PWD sources said.

The water level this morning stood at 63.93 feet against its full level of 120 feet. The inflow was 3,119 cusecs and there was no outflow.

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Laden would have escaped if US had sought Pak's permission before raid: Obama

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama, in some of his most blunt remarks to date, said on Monday that Osama bin Laden would have escaped if the United States had sought Pakistan's permission ahead of the raid on the al-Qaida leader's compound.

Obama administration officials have previously justified the decision not to involve Islamabad by citing the risk that bin Laden might somehow be tipped off and flee his compound in Abbottabad before the team of Navy SEALs arrived.

Leon Panetta, then the director of the CIA and now defense secretary, said in an interview with TIME magazine shortly after the May 2011 raid that there was a concern that the Pakistanis "might alert the targets."

But in Monday's presidential foreign policy debate against Republican opponent Mitt Romney, Obama presented such risk as a certainty.

"If we had asked Pakistan (for) permission, we would not have gotten him," Obama said.

The bin Laden raid was one of the many issues Obama used to differentiate himself from his opponent.

Romney - during his failed bid for the 2008 Republican nomination - criticized Obama for warning publicly that, if Islamabad didn't act, he would go into Pakistan to get high value targets like bin Laden. Romney suggested such comments were not helpful in building ties.

On Monday, Romney said he also would have ordered the raid.

"We had to go into Pakistan. We had to go in there to get Osama bin Laden. That was the right thing to do," Romney said.

The question of who in Pakistan might have known about bin Laden's whereabouts is still a matter of speculation.

The Pakistani ambassador to the United States at the time of the raid, Husain Haqqani, told a forum in Washington in August that he believed someone somewhere in Pakistan must have known -- a similar sentiment echoed by Panetta.

"I don't have any hard evidence, so I can't say it for a fact. There's nothing that proves the case. But as I said, my personal view is that somebody somewhere probably had that knowledge," Panetta told CBS' "60 Minutes" program in January.

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Keenan-Reuben murder case: Charges framed against four accused

MUMBAI: A local court today framed charges against four accused in the case of death of youngsters Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandez while fighting eve-teasers in Mumbai last year.

The court framed charges against the accused for murder, conspiracy and molestation.

The trial will begin next month.

Keenan (24) and Reuben (29) were stabbed after a scuffle near a shop in suburban Andheri on October 20 last year.

The duo were attacked, leading to their death, when they tried to protect their female friends from the group of eve-teasers.

Police had later arrested Jitendra Rana, Sunil Bodh, Satish Dulhaj and Dipak Tival for the murder.

Following a public outcry, the case was transferred to the fast track court in Sewri in March.

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Pakistan asks Afghanistan to extradite Malala's attacker

Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban for speaking out against the militants.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has sought extradition of Mullah Fazlullah, a militant commander who planned the attack on teenager Malala Yousafzai and is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.

Foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar has demanded Fazlullah's extradition during her meeting with US special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Mark Grossman.

Grossman was told that Fazlullah was involved in the attack and that the US should use its influence for his extradition, Geo TV reported Monday.

Fazlullah and his associates have been hiding in Afghanistan's Kunar province, and have carried out 15 cross-border attacks over the past one year, according to officials.

They also said that the gunman involved in Malala's attack has fled to Afghanistan.

Fourteen-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Oct 9.

She was on her way home from school when an attacker wearing police uniform stopped the school bus and opened fire at her. She was seriously injured.

The Taliban said they attacked Malala, Pakistan's first National Peace Award winner, for "promoting secularism".

She was flown into Britain for treatment aboard an air ambulance provided by the UAE. She is undergoing treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

Malala came to prominence in 2009 at the age of 11, when she started writing a diary for BBC Urdu about life under the Taliban.

Under the pen-name Gul Makai, she described the problems caused by militants who had taken control of the Swat Valley where she lived in 2007 and ordered girls' schools to close, according to the BBC.

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Chennai-bound Kaveri Express train derails in Andhra Pradesh

CHITTOOR(AP): Three bogies of the Chennai-Bound Kaveri Express train derailed while its engine was damaged when boulders fell on the track near Kuppam in the district early on Monday.

One person was injured in the incident, AP Government Railway Police said.

The derailment occurred at around 2.30am near Mallunuru railway station, a GRP inspector said, adding due to rainfall in the area some boulders from the nearby hills fell on the tracks while the Mysore-Chennai (KaveriExpress) train was passing.

Three bogies, including one AC coach of the train, went off the track while its engine also got damaged when the boulders fell on it, he said.

"One person sustained minor injuries in the incident. Train services on the route got affected as boulders were still being cleared and track restoration work was under progress," the GRP inspector added.

Alternate arrangements were being made to enable the passengers to reach their destination.

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Actor Jackie Shroff to lead Bihar campaign against female feticide

PATNA: The Bihar government has roped in Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff to lead a campaign against female feticide in the state.

Shroff, who met health minister Ashwini Choubey has agreed to lead the campaign against killing of girl child through the state government's scheme 'Bitiya Bacho Andolan' (save the girl child movement) launched in May last year.

Shroff promised to create awareness among people to fight the social menace, Choubey said.

The minister said the actor who met him on Sunday shared his concern against the social malady and readily accepted the request to be a part of the programme.

Taking a cue from Aamir Khan's serial 'Satyamev Jayate', the Bihar government had launched the 'Bitiya Bachao Andolan'.

Choubey said involvement of a popular figure like Jackie Shroff would popularise the scheme.

The minister said killing of girl child was a crime and should be stopped immediately.

He said while people were worshipping Goddess Durga, the girl child in many cases was being killed in the mother's womb.

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J&K govt diverted 1883 hectares of forestland in Jammu: CAG

JAMMU: The CAG has pulled up the state forest ministry for allegedly diverting 1,883 hectares of forest land for non-forest purposes in violation of rules in this district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The report released by Comptroller and Auditor General of India this month also found that Jammu accounts for 25 per cent of forest land (767 sq km), below prescribed level of 33 per cent as per National Forest Policy.

Moreover, out of the 25 per cent forest land, only 1,063 hectares (one per cent) has been demarcated so far, the report stated.

The records showed that 1883.23 hectares of forest land has been diverted for non-forest purposes between 1991-92 to 2010-11 period in Jammu district, the report for the year ending March 2011 said.

Also, no land has been brought under forest cover in lieu of forestland diverted, the report stated.

As per the State Forest Conservation Act, 1997, twice the area of forest land diverted for non-forest purpose should be afforested, it said.

"Further, possession of the land was transferred to user agencies without clearing the payments from them in contravention of the rules," it said.

As a result an amount of Rs 56.07 crore was outstanding against various agencies on account of compensation for the periods ranging between 6 to 288 months, it said.

According to rules, the possession of forest land diverted for non-forestry purposes should not be handed over to the user agency till all the payments due are deposited, it said.

Divisional forest officer (DFO), state forest department, Jammu, stated in reply to CAG queries that recovery of compensation amounts would be taken up with user-agencies. The DFO, however, said fresh forest areas could not be raised due to non-allotment of funds.

"The reply was not accepted as the department should not have, in violation of rules, handed over the possession till all the payments were deposited by the indenting department," the CAG report said.

CAG indicted the department for dismal performance to reduce degraded area, recovery of compensation and increase of forest cover.

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Former IAC activist Annie Kohli can represent me in debate: Digvijaya

RAGHOGARH, MP: The war of words between Digvijaya Singh and Arvind Kejriwal is escalating, with the Congress leader insisting that the activist first reply to all his questions before holding a debate.

"Kejriwal must first answer the questions posed to him by me and then only will I reply to him," the party general secretary told reporters here.

Singh was replying to Kejriwal's comment that he was willing to reply to all queries but Singh should first convince Prime Minister Singh and others to answer issues raised by the people. Singh on October 20 had posed questions to Kejriwal on funding of his NGO and other issues.

With Kejriwal daring Singh to hold debate with his close aide Kumar Vishwas, the party general secretary replied that "If Kejriwal can ask Kumar Vishwas to hold debate then I can be represented by Annie Kohli".

The former IAC activist Kohli yesterday confronted Kejriwal at his press meet in Ghaziabad sharply questioning his conduct and accusing him and Manish Sisodia of using the anti-corruption movement for their own gains.

Referring to the incident, Singh said it appears that "internal conflict in old team of Anna Hazare is coming to the surface".

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No 'martyr' status to police, paramilitary personnel killed in line duty

A jawan carry Martyrs Book as they pay tribute at Police Memorial on the occasion of Police Commemoration Day in New Delhi on Sunday.(PTI Photo)

NEW DELHI: (PTI) While the country today commemorated the sacrifice of its police and paramilitary personnel killed in the line of duty, the government is yet to accord "martyr" status to these personnel on the lines of the armed forces.

"The stark reality is that while there is an official notification in the government gazette to declare troops and officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force as martyrs when they sacrifice their lives in the line of duty, there is no such order for police and paramilitary personnel," a top central police officer said.

As per a home ministry data, between September 2011 to August this year, a total of 546 police and paramilitary personnel lost their lives on duty due to "unnatural" causes, which include action.

Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde today paid tributes to these personnel at a memorial event in the national capital, where for the first time all the central forces came together to pay their tributes to their valiant comrades.

The fact was also recently reported in Parliament by minister of state for home Jitendra Singh stating that in a committee of secretaries (COS) meeting, convened on this subject last year, "no consensus" could emerge on the issue.

"The matter (for giving status of martyr to paramilitary personnel) was considered by the COS on September 14, 2011 but there was no consensus on the issue," Singh said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on May 8 this year.

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Lathi-clad farmers to protect Kejriwal during Farrukhabad visit

Lathi-clad farmers of Bharatiya Kisan Union will protect Arvind Kejriwal during his Farrukhabad visit on Nov 1.

FARRUKHABAD: Criticising Union law minister Salman Khurshid for daring Arvind Kejriwal to stage a protest in Farrukhabad, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tikait group) vowed on Sunday to thwart any attempt to harm the social activist during his visit to the district on November 1.

Khurshid's recent statement was strongly condemned in a meeting of the organisation on Saturday, and a decision was taken to protect Kejriwal and his team, general secretary of BKU Laxmi Shanker Joshi said.

During Kejriwal's visit to Khurshid's parliamentary constituency on November 1, lathi-clad farmers would be deployed to protect him, he said adding, if any person attempts to create disturbance then a reply would be made in the same vein.

Meanwhile, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad has warned of serious consequences if any disruption was created during Kejriwal's visit.

In a clear challenge to Kejriwal, Khurshid had dared him to stage a protest in his constituency and had said "let him also return from Farrukhabad".

"I have been made the Law Minister and asked to work with the pen. I will work with the pen but also with blood," he said at a closed-door function in Delhi whose footage was aired by some news channels.

Referring to Kejriwal's threat to stage a protest in his home constituency from November 1, the senior Congress leader said, "Let them come and visit Farrukhabad. But let him also return from Farrukhabad."

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Centre not taking action against Khurshid's NGO: Azam Khan

RAMPUR: SP leader and UP minister Azam Khan today questioned why the Centre had not taken action against law minister Salman Khurshid's NGO, which is in controversy over allegedly forging names of beneficiaries of a scheme for the handicapped.

"Why is the Union government not coming forward to take action against Union law minister Salman Khurshid's NGO," Khan, whose party extends outside support to the UPA, told reporters last evening.

The state urban development minister claimed that he was victimised during the Mayawati regime for launching welfare schemes.

Attacking the Centre, he said "this UPA government and the Congress headed by Sonia Gandhi are being recognised and will be recognised for scams."

Khan also criticised Arvind Kejriwal, saying he has got into the habit of levelling charges to get cheap popularity.

"Kejriwal would realise his political strength in the coming elections just like Anna Hazare who has been rejected and forgotten by the masses," the SP leader said.

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Iran, like US, denies plan for one-on-one nuclear talks

DUBAI: Iran followed the United States on Sunday in denying that the two countries had scheduled direct bilateral negotiations on Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

The New York Times, quoting unnamed US administration officials, had said on Saturday that secret exchanges between US and Iranian officials had yielded agreement "in principle" to hold one-on-one talks.

"We don't have any discussions or negotiations with America," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told a news conference. "The (nuclear) talks are ongoing with the P5+1 group of nations. Other than that, we have no discussions with the United States."

The P5+1 group comprises the permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia - plus Germany.

The United States has been working with the P5+1 to pressure Iran on its nuclear programme, but with few results. The United States and other Western powers allege that the programme is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, but Tehran says it is purely peaceful.

The White House also denied the newspaper report, which came two days before President Barack Obama faces Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in a televised foreign policy debate.

"It's not true that the United States and Iran have agreed to one-on-one talks or any meeting after the American elections," US National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement.

"We continue to work with the P5+1 on a diplomatic solution and have said from the outset that we would be prepared to meet bilaterally."

Salehi said on Sunday it was planned that Iran would hold talks with the P5+1, "probably in late November", according to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).

"NO DATE" But a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is coordinating the efforts of the P5+1, said that "we hope that we will pick up discussions soon, but there is no date at the moment".

The P5+1 has held a series of inconclusive meetings with Iranian officials in the past year. While Western officials say there is still time to negotiate, they also have been ratcheting up sanctions, which are contributing to mounting economic problems in Iran.

The New York Times said Iran had insisted that its direct talks with Washington should not begin until after the US election on Nov. 6, which will determine whether Obama serves a second term or is succeeded by Romney.

The report looked likely to fan campaign debate over foreign policy, where Romney has been accusing Obama of being an ineffective leader who has left his country vulnerable.

He has also accused Obama of failing to give adequate support to Israel, which sees the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to its existence and has tried in vain to persuade Obama to spell out at what point the United States would use force to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.

Iran has repeatedly denied Israel's right to exist. An Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander was quoted on Sunday as praising the launch of a drone into Israeli airspace by the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah this month.

"This issue showed that the Zionists (Israelis) and Americans must know that no place is safe for them anymore," Mohsen Kazemini was quoted as saying by Fars.

Separately, the Guards' top commander, Mohammad Ali Jafari, said on Sunday he saw no chance of a military strike on Iran, ISNA reported.

Jafari's comments were in contrast to a statement last month in which he said he expected Israel eventually to go beyond threats and attack Iran.

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Scrap medical entrance test, DMK chief Karunanidhi to Centre

CHENNAI: Opposing the proposed National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for medical courses, DMK, a key ally of UPA, today sought the Centre's immediate intervention to abolish the system of entrance test.

"There are reports that the Centre proposed to conduct entrance test for medical education. The Central government should intervene and take steps in scrapping the test. That is our stand," DMK chief M Karunanidhi said, writing in party organ "Murasoli".

He also asked the Jayalalithaa government to take constructive steps to safeguard the interests of students of the state instead of focusing on 'vindictive action and filing defamation cases' against DMK leaders.

Referring to the Andhra Pradesh high court's recent order staying NEET in that State, Karunanidhi said the government in that state had acted 'wisely' in obtaining the relief.

Stating that it was during DMK regime that entrance test was abolished, he recalled his earlier statement that under the proposed NEET there was no provision for reservation to backward classes.

"I expect the Tamil Nadu government will also take constructive action to protect the state students instead of focusing on vindictive action and filing defamation cases," he added.

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