Jet Airways to launch Abu Dhabi-Chennai flight from January 16

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Jan 2, 2014, 03.57PM IST

MUMBAI: Private carrier Jet Airways will launch a daily flight service from Abu Dhabi to Chennai from January 16.

The new service will now connect Chennai to several global destinations across Europe and Africa via Abu Dhabi, Jet Airways said in a release.

The airline currently operates daily flights from Abu Dhabi to Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai and Kuwait.

"We are confident that the daily service from Abu Dhabi to Chennai will prove immensely popular with our guests," Jet Airways senior vice-president for commercial Gauarang Shetty said.

With these new enhanced flights, Jet Airways will enjoy the distinction of being first domestic private carrier to operate over 50 daily flights to multiple destinations in the Gulf, it said.

The services to the Gulf include daily departures from and to Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Doha, Kuwait, Sharjah, Jeddah, Dammam, Muscat and Riyadh.

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Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy moves SC seeking permission to go abroad

NEW DELHI: Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy, who has been restrained from going abroad for failing to refund Rs 20,000 crore investors money, on Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking its permission to go overseas for business purposes.

A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar said that it would hear his plea on January 9 when the main case for handing over title deeds of Rs 20,000 crore of group's unencumbered properties to SEBI would be taken up for hearing.

Senior advocate C A Sundaram, appearing for Roy, submitted that his client has some business overseas and he is needed there. He submitted that Roy would come back to country within three days of the notice period.

The bench, after hearing his arguments, said that it would consider the plea on January 9 and also asked the SEBI to respond on the nature of title deeds handed over to it by the group.

Tightening the noose around Sahara group for not refunding Rs 20,000 crore investors money, the Supreme Court had on November 21 last year barred Roy from leaving the country and also restrained it from selling any of its properties.

The apex court had said its order for handing over title deeds of Rs 20,000 crore unencumbered properties to SEBI was not followed by the group in "letter and spirit" and prevented Roy along with other directors of the group Vandana Bhargava, Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary from leaving the country.

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AAP sets out for constituency specific manifesto ahead of LS polls

MANGALORE: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Dakshina Kannada unit is all set to replicate its Delhi move to come up with constituency specific manifesto for the 2014 general elections. It has sought suggestions from people to formulate comprehensive manifesto for Mangalore Lok Sabha constituency and they can send their views and suggest action plans with regard to infrastructure, healthcare, education, trade, commerce and industry.

Netizens can send their suggestions to aapdkunit@gmail.com which will be consolidated to frame the manifesto specifically to the district. This is an exercise which is first of its kind in the constituency and will help the Aam Aadmi Party to understand the needs and aspirations of the people of coastal region, said S Nandagopal, the district spokesperson of AAP. "We are coming out with a manifesto that reflects people's needs and aspirations," he said.

Following the success of AAP in Delhi, the mood is upbeat among people and this trend is seen in Mangalore also, he said, adding that the district unit is eagerly waiting to utilize the opportunity to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha. "AAP has started working on strengthening the membership base at the grass roots level," he said adding that public membership drive meeting will be held at BEM High School, Car Street here on January 12.

The party will use this public meeting as an opportunity to formulate its plan of action on issues of importance to the district and work out strategies to address the same. Some of the issues include denial of LPG connections due to lack of Aadhar card, security of women in Dakshina Kannada, Yettinahole project that entails diversion of excess waters of the Nethravathi for drinking water purposes, and setting up of ward committees in MCC among others.

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Former diplomat Hardeep Puri joins BJP

NEW DELHI: Retired career diplomat Hardeep Puri, who served as India's permanent representative at the UN, on Thursday joined BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, following in the footsteps of former home secretary R K Singh and petroleum secretary R S Pandey.

Puri, a 1974-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, had put in 39 years of service and held several senior positions in the ministry of external affairs and defence ministry. He held ambassadorial assignments in London and Brasilia.

In 2011 and 2012, as permanent representative at UN in New York, he led the Indian delegation to the security council. He also chaired its Counter-Terrorism Committee.

Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, with whom Puri enjoys a good relationship, is understood to be instrumental in bringing him into the party.

Former home secretary R K Singh had joined the BJP on December 13 along with Sunil Shastri, son of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, former petroleum secretary R S Pandey and retired Railways official Dharam Singh in presence of BJP president Rajnath Singh.

Welcoming Puri in the party fold, Rajnath Singh said, "We look forward to utilising his experience in the areas of Foreign, Security and Trade policies".

Puri said he was delighted to formally join the party which he had long admired for its strong sense of nationalism.

He said he looked forward to doing party work and was ready to contribute in whatever manner the party president and BJP's senior leadership asked him to.

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Hardeep Puri, former permanent representative at the UN, joins BJP

NEW DELHI: Retired career diplomat Hardeep Puri, who served as India's permanent representative at the UN, on Thursday joined BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, following in the footsteps of former home secretary R K Singh and petroleum secretary R S Pandey.

Puri, a 1974-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, had put in 39 years of service and held several senior positions in the ministry of external affairs and defence ministry. He held ambassadorial assignments in London and Brasilia.

In 2011 and 2012, as permanent representative at UN in New York, he led the Indian delegation to the security council. He also chaired its Counter-Terrorism Committee.

Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, with whom Puri enjoys a good relationship, is understood to be instrumental in bringing him into the party.

Former home secretary R K Singh had joined the BJP on December 13 along with Sunil Shastri, son of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, former petroleum secretary R S Pandey and retired Railways official Dharam Singh in presence of BJP president Rajnath Singh.

Welcoming Puri in the party fold, Rajnath Singh said, "We look forward to utilising his experience in the areas of Foreign, Security and Trade policies".

Puri said he was delighted to formally join the party which he had long admired for its strong sense of nationalism.

He said he looked forward to doing party work and was ready to contribute in whatever manner the party president and BJP's senior leadership asked him to.

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Shiva Kumar and Roshan Baig sworn-in as ministers in Karnataka cabinet

BANGALORE: Amidst displeasure expressed by few senior Congress MLAs and flak from civil society activists, senior Congress MLAs D K Shiva Kumar and R Roshan Baig were sworn-in as cabinet ministers here on Wednesday.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah at the party high command's diktat expanded his seven-month old ministry by inducting the two as cabinet ministers. Both Shiva Kumar and Baig were administered the oath of office and secrecy by governor H R Bhardwaj in Raj Bhavan.

While the developments have evoked only negative responses, Siddaramaiah himself is said to be unhappy on the issue. The CM is said to have shared his unhappiness with some senior ministers and legislators, whom he met prior to the swearing-in. He is reported to have said the expansion has given an opportunity for the opposition parties and his detractors to attack him.

The CM on the sidelines of swearing-in ceremony, however, denied the developments had given rise to discontent in the party. "Both should have become ministers long back,'' he added. Governor said the expansion has made him happy. "If the captain is good, then everyone in the cabinet will also be good,'' he maintained.

Both Kumar and Baig, though being senior in the party had been kept out of the cabinet when the ministry was formed in May as they were facing charges of alleged illegal mining and land grabbing respectively. On the same count, Siddaramaiah had dropped Santosh Lad from the cabinet in November as the Supreme court appointed Central Empowered Committee had closed down his mine for violating the mining rules.

Freedom fighter H S Doreswamy has questioned Siddaramaiah's move to induct Kumar and Baig to the cabinet when there are considered as "tainted" as they are facing several charges. Doreswamy, who had written a letter when Siddaramaiah was forming the government to keep out tainted persons on Wednesday, said he would take up the issue again with the CM and take take up the cause fighting against the tainted ministers. Jnanpith award recipient U R Ananthamurthy said: "I like Siddaramaiah very much. The Congress high command seems to not learnt any lessons even after losing the state assembly elections. Corruption is an issue now.''

While Kumar is facing charges of causing loss to state-run Mysore Mineral Lts in related to purchase and export of iron ore, Baig is alleged to have illegally sold a plot of government land, which is being heard in the Lokayukta court.

The swear-in ceremony was relatively low-key affair and was held in the Raj Bhavan's banquet hall instead of normal venue - the glass house. However, supporters of both Kumar and Baig had turned out fairly good numbers and cheered by bursting crackers as both took oath in the name of God. While Kumar was seen in white silk shirt and dhoti, Baig sported his usual white safari with fur cap.

Police had horrid time to control the crowd and second line Congress leaders who wanted to gain an entry to Raj Bhavan. The police restricted entry to the venue as the banquet hall's seating capacity was less than 150.

City police appeared to be over-doing their job particularly Bangalore central DCP Ravikanthe Gowda as he restricted entry to VIPs and media. He literally had fisticuff with Congress functionaries and many times had verbal dual with media and others.

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Thousands rally on New Year's day for Hong Kong democracy

HONG KONG: Thousands marched in Hong Kong on Wednesday to demand a greater say in how their future leaders will be chosen, expressing fears that China will limit long-awaited political reforms.

"Democracy will prevail" read some banners as protesters sang and shouted slogans against the city's government, less than one month after the start of an official public consultation on Hong Kong's future electoral system.

"Because we are Hong Kong citizens, we must vote," said Sharon Tang, a 49-year-old administrative worker at a trading company, adding that residents of the former British colony have the intelligence to choose their future leaders.

Other protesters carried banners reading "Change does not come if not fought for", and huge posters depicting the city's current chief executive Leung Chun-ying with an egg plastered on his head.

The marchers left Victoria Park — still named after the 19th century British monarch who oversaw Hong Kong's seizure from China — in mid-afternoon and were to stage a rally in the Central financial district afterwards.

Organisers have said more than 50,000 people are expected to take part in the annual New Year's Day pro-democracy protest. There were no immediate police estimates of crowd size.

Marchers aim to let the Hong Kong government and China's ruling Communist Party know "that Hong Kong people need and want a real democracy", Johnson Yeung, convenor of rally organisers the Civil Human Rights Front, told AFP.

Hong Kong residents enjoy rights and freedoms unknown on the mainland despite China's resumption of sovereignty in 1997.

It has its own government and legal system under a semi-autonomous status, and Beijing has promised that its people will be able to vote for their next chief executive in 2017.

Under the current system, the city's leader is elected by a 1,200-strong pro-Beijing committee.

But many fear that China will control the choice of candidates to secure the election of a pro-Beijing person.

Yeung said he saw this year and the ongoing debate over the city's future democratic system as a "battle" that must be won.

"This rally will give the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) a clear message that if you don't give us real democracy, there will be direct action from the people," he said.

Mimicking the Occupy protests that broke out in 2011 in cities such as New York and London, some activists have threatened to take over the streets of Hong Kong's business district later this year to try to force officials to guarantee a fair electoral system.

A "New Year Civil Referendum" was also conducted in Victoria Park and over the internet on Wednesday, and drew about 50,000 voters by mid-afternoon.

The poll asked Hong Kongers their preferences on how candidates for the leadership post should be chosen in future.

There are frequent protests in the city of seven million, with discontent growing over sky-high housing prices, a growing wealth gap and slow progress towards full democracy.

Current chief executive Leung suffers from particularly low popularity ratings — 42 percent according to a December survey by Hong Kong University.

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Gujarat: Former BJP MLA Kanu Kalsariya joins Aam Aadmi Party

AHMEDABAD: Former BJP MLA Kanu Kalsariya, who spearheaded the agitation against Nirma's cement plant in his constituency, on Wednesday joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the presence of its national executive member Dinesh Vaghela.

Kalsariya, who had contested from Gariadhar seat in the 2012 assembly elections under the banner of 'Sadbhavana Manch' and lost, joined AAP amid party workers and supporters at the district collectorate here.

When asked if he would contest against Modi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Kalsariya said a decision regarding whether he would contest the elections and against whom would be decided by the party and he would go by that.

Amid his supporters wielding brooms and chants of "aam aadmi zindabad," Kalsariya, a gynaecologist by profession, candidly admitted that he was about to join the Congress party just before joining AAP.

"I wanted to join the Congress party as there was no other option. I would have made a mistake had I done so. AAP is a symbol of people's power. And, they showed it in Delhi," he said.

"Gujarat has never got a third alternative apart from BJP and Congress. AAP, as a third political alternative, will turn a new chapter in Indian politics in 2014," he said.

AAP claims to have registered 20,000 members offline and 50,000 members online across the state following the party's spectacular showing in the assembly elections in Delhi, where the party won 28 of the 70 seats.

Retired IAS officer A R Bharadwaj, who was the director of Mahatma Gandhi Labour Institute, also joined the Aam Aadmi Party.

When asked why he had joined AAP, Bharadwaj said, "Throughout my professional career, I felt suffocated. If I did good work, I would be harassed. But, AAP is a people's party. It gives an opportunity to do good for people."

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People won't forgive Congress if it withdraws support to AAP: Prashant Bhushan

MUMBAI: People of Delhi won't forgive Congress if it withdraws support to the Arvind Kejriwal-led government, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Prashant Bhushan said here on Wednesday.

He said Lok Sabha elections are the next target for his party after the "success" in Delhi assembly polls.

"We are not in an alliance with Congress. Congress gave support because of its own compulsions. We said we won't accept any conditions," Bhushan told reporters here.

To a query what would AAP do if Congress withdraws support, Bhushan said "the people of Delhi won't forgive Congress in next polls if it pulls down the people's government."

"You are aware that we did not start out for electoral politics nor for grabbing power. Our aim was Jan Lokpal and corruption-free India. But the big parties taunted us that we won't be able to defeat them in polls," the senior Supreme Court advocate said.

"We also felt that people want a change. We elected them (politicians) for five years and they take graft from big companies and make laws which are not in people's interest," he said.

AAP's mission is to bring about a transformation in the country to ensure democratic and legal rights to the common man, he said.

The present power structures in the country, including the judicial system, do not guarantee meaningful participation of and rights to the vast majority of people, Bhushan said.

It was time that radical changes were brought about in every sphere of the polity including bureaucracy, police and judiciary, he said.

"We formed the party out of compulsion," he said. The results of Delhi polls had damaged the ego of big political parties, he said while describing BJP as "overtly communal" and Congress as "covertly communal."

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Infosys former board member Balakrishnan joins AAP

BANGALORE: In a surprise move, V Balakrishnan, who stepped down as board member of software behemoth Infosys recently creating ripples in the corporate circles, has joined the Aam Admi Party.

"Yes I have become the member of AAP, have got the confirmation today," Balakrishnan told PTI with his move to dabble in politics coming three weeks after his sudden exit from India's second largest software services exporter.

"They (AAP) have revolutionised politics in this country, I'm fascinated with it," Balakrishnan said.

Announcing Balakrishnan's exit on December 20 as member of the Board and from services of the Company, Infosys had said the resignation is effective December 31, 2013.

Balakrishnan, who joined Infosys in 1991 and later became its chief financial officer, was said to be a top contender to the post of Chief Executive Officer.

In response to a question whether he was looking for a full time political career along with business commitments, he said, "In future, I think so...; I think I will be able to manage both."

Balakrishnan, soon after his exit from Infosys, had said he was waiting for SEBI's approval for his private equity fund, which he has formed along with former Infosys executive Mohandas Pai and former Wipro executive Girish Paranjpe.

To a question on contesting the Lok Sabha elections, he said, "It's too early to say anything about it."

Balakrishnan was also the BPO head at Infosys as well as the chairman of Infosys Lodestone, a global management consultancy firm.

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