Narendra Modi can't be blamed for Assam violence: Shiv Sena

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena on Monday slammed the Congress for holding Narendra Modi responsible for the violence in Assam, saying those levelling such charges are the ones who have "divided" the country and should practice meditation at Ramdev's ashram as they have "lost their mental balance".

BJP's oldest ally also targeted Congress leader Kapil Sibal, saying it has never seen him "taking up the cause of Hindus in Kashmir as as he did for Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam".

"Those who are saying that India will break into pieces because of Modi are the ones who have divided the country. Instead of abusing Modi, Congressmen should introspect," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana said.

"Those in Congress who are making such allegations should either do vipassana (meditation) in Ramdev's ashram or else they will have to be admitted in a mental hospital after May 16 poll results as they have lost mental balance," the Sena said.

Congress on Sunday attacked BJP and its prime ministerial candidate for the violence in Assam, saying it was a result of "communal polarisation" done by them to garner votes.

32 people were killed, several others injured and thousands rendered homeless in two districts of Assam after attacks by militants belong to the anti-talks IK Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-S).

The Sena said, "Assam is burning. Peace eludes the Kashmir valley. We never saw Kapil Sibal taking up the cause of Hindus in Kashmir as he did for Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam."

"Sibal and Omar Abdullah (J&K chief minister) are afraid that after Modi comes to power, Bangladeshis will be driven out from Assam and Hindu Pandits will be brought back with honour in Kashmir," the Sena said.

Abdullah deliberately ignored the plight of Hindus in Kashmir, it alleged.

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US-Philippines launch war games after Obama pledge

MANILA: Thousands of American and Philippine troops launched large annual exercises on Monday after US President Barack Obama vowed "ironclad" backing for its Asian ally, locked in a tense maritime row with China.

Filipino Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the 10-day drills were necessary to deal with the challenge of "aggressive" neighbours intent on "changing the status quo".

He did not mention China directly, but it has been robust in its efforts to assert territorial claims over most of the South China Sea, putting a strain on its relationships with neighbouring countries.

"In recent years tensions in the Asia-Pacific region have increased due to extensive and expansive maritime and territorial claims undermining the rule of law," del Rosario said at the opening ceremony.

"Aggressive patterns of behaviour aimed at changing the status quo threaten peace and stability in the region."

He added that the military exercise, known as Balikatan (Shoulder to Shoulder), with its focus on "maritime capability" boosted the Philippines ability to "address these challenges".

The Philippines last year asked a United Nations arbitration tribunal to declare what Manila said was Beijing's claim to 70 per cent of the South China Sea as illegal and a threat to freedom of navigation.

The waters are believed to contain huge deposits of oil and gas and sit close to vital sea lanes.

Beijing has rejected UN arbitration and urged Manila to settle the dispute through bilateral talks instead.

About 2,500 US soldiers are joining 3,000 Filipino troops in the manoeuvres, which began a week after Obama assured Manila his government was committed to a 1951 mutual defence treaty.

Also last week, the allies bolstered their security alliance with a new defence agreement giving American forces greater access to Philippine bases — part of a US rebalancing towards rising Asia.

The accord gives US forces, vessels and equipment increased access to certain Filipino bases over the next 10 years.

"The (new agreement) updates and strengthens US-Philippine defence cooperation to meet 21st century challenges," US ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg said in a speech.

Obama's four-nation Asian tour was dominated by worsening maritime tensions between Beijing and Washington's allies in the region, which have triggered fears of military conflict.

The Philippines, which has one of the weakest militaries in the region, has repeatedly called on the United States for help as China has increased military and diplomatic pressure to take control of the contested areas.

While Obama sought to reassure the Philippines that the United States would support its ally in the event of an attack, he did not specifically mention coming to the aid of Manila if there were a conflict over the contested South China Sea areas, as his hosts had hoped.

But he ended his trip with a warning to China against using force in territorial disputes.

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Pakistan forces kill 10 separatist militants in Baluchistan

QUETTA, Pakistan: Pakistani forces killed at least 10 separatist militants in the volatile province of Baluchistan on Monday, paramilitary officials said.

Baluch rebels have waged a decades-long insurgency in the remote, sparsely populated and mineral rich southwest province, bordering Iran.

The Frontier Corps, the main state security force in Baluchistan, said it launched an operation against militant hideouts in the mountainous Panjgur district on Monday morning.

"Ten militants were killed in heavy exchange of fire this morning," said Frontier Corps spokesman Wasay Khan. "Several militant hideouts were destroyed and three soldiers were also wounded."

It was impossible to verify official accounts as journalists and independent observers are not allowed to operate freely Baluchistan.

The operation took place after Latif Johar, a member of the separatist Baloch Students Organisation (Azad), went on hunger strike 11 days ago to demand the release of the group's chairman and more than 100 detained members.

In the past three years, bodies of hundreds of members of Baluch political parties, student groups and poets have been discovered across the province, and many more are still missing.

Baluch activists say the bodies are evidence that the army is pursuing a systematic 'kill and dump' campaign to crush the separatist movement - a charge the army has repeatedly denied.

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Narendra Modi can't be blamed for Assam violence: Shiv Sena

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena on Monday slammed the Congress for holding Narendra Modi responsible for the violence in Assam, saying those levelling such charges are the ones who have "divided" the country and should practice meditation at Ramdev's ashram as they have "lost their mental balance".

BJP's oldest ally also targeted Congress leader Kapil Sibal, saying it has never seen him "taking up the cause of Hindus in Kashmir as as he did for Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam".

"Those who are saying that India will break into pieces because of Modi are the ones who have divided the country. Instead of abusing Modi, Congressmen should introspect," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana said.

"Those in Congress who are making such allegations should either do vipassana (meditation) in Ramdev's ashram or else they will have to be admitted in a mental hospital after May 16 poll results as they have lost mental balance," the Sena said.

Congress on Sunday attacked BJP and its prime ministerial candidate for the violence in Assam, saying it was a result of "communal polarisation" done by them to garner votes.

32 people were killed, several others injured and thousands rendered homeless in two districts of Assam after attacks by militants belong to the anti-talks IK Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-S).

The Sena said, "Assam is burning. Peace eludes the Kashmir valley. We never saw Kapil Sibal taking up the cause of Hindus in Kashmir as he did for Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam."

"Sibal and Omar Abdullah (J&K chief minister) are afraid that after Modi comes to power, Bangladeshis will be driven out from Assam and Hindu Pandits will be brought back with honour in Kashmir," the Sena said.

Abdullah deliberately ignored the plight of Hindus in Kashmir, it alleged.

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Nigeria's Boko Haram claims abduction of over 200 schoolgirls: AFP

ABUJA: The Islamist militant group Boko Haram claimed responsibility on Monday for the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls during a raid in the village of Chibok in northeast Nigeria last month, the French news agency AFP reported, citing a video it had obtained.

"I abducted your girls," Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said in the video, according to AFP. It did not immediately give further details.

Boko Haram on April 14 stormed an all-girl secondary school in the village of Chibok, in Borno state, then packed the teenagers, who had been taking exams, onto trucks and disappeared into a remote area along the border with Cameroon.

The brazenness and sheer brutality of the school attack has shocked Nigerians, who had been growing accustomed to hearing about atrocities in an increasingly bloody five-year-old Islamist insurgency in the north.

Boko Haram, now seen as the main security threat to Africa's leading energy producer, is growing bolder and extending its reach.

The kidnapping occurred the same day as a bomb blast, also blamed on Boko Haram, that killed 75 people on the edge of Abuja and marked the first attack on the capital in two years.

The militants repeated that attack a week later in almost exactly the same spot, killing 19 people and wounding 34 in the suburb of Nyanya.

The girls' abductions have been hugely embarrassing for the government and threaten to distract attention from its first hosting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) for Africa, this week.

The apparent powerlessness of the military to prevent the attack or find the girls in three weeks has triggered anger and protests in the northeast and in Abuja.

On Sunday, authorities arrested a leader of a protest last week in Abuja that had called on them to do more to find the girls. The arrest has further fuelled outrage against the security forces.

In a televised "media chat" late on Sunday, President Jonathan pledged that the girls would soon be found and released, but also admitted he had no clue where they were.

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Lalu Prasad cries conspiracy, Rabri files complaint for life threat

PATNA: Alleging conspiracy by communal forces to stop him, RJD president Lalu Prasad said he will complaint the matter to the Election Commission, after his party's cavalacade was stopped by police and district officials when they were returning from a campaign in Saran district.

The incident occurred during the wee hours at Shivbachan Chowk in Saran, when a team of police and administrative officials stopped the RJD cavalcade for election related checking, police said.

Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi, both opposed this on the grounds of "non-availability" of women police personnel and search order papers.

The atmosphere was vitiated with frayed tempers and exchange of angry words, police said.

A large crowd of RJD supporters also assembled around. An empty black SUV present on the spot and without a hind number plate added to the drama.

"Eight criminals were following us in this black SUV since we started from Chhapra. The plan was either to kill us or to implant cash in our vehicles. When they could not overtake us, the police stopped us on the pretext of search without any women constable or proper permission papers," said Prasad.

"This black SUV was following us for a long time. This is a conspiracy to kill us. The police had checked our vehicle and suitcase earlier also so there was no reason for checking again," Rabri said.

After a heated exchange of words, Prasad lost his temper and lambasted all the government officials present there, who beat a hasty retreat.

Rabri went to Sonepur police station to file a case alleging threat to her life. The policemen there have accepted her complaint, but are yet to register an FIR.

"This was a conspiracy by the communal forces to stop us. This was done intentionally. There was no videographer with the police. They tried to harass a woman candidate. I am not letting this go. We will be complaining to the EC today itself," Prasad said.

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Lalu Prasad cries conspiracy, Rabri files complaint for life threat

PATNA: Alleging conspiracy by communal forces to stop him, RJD president Lalu Prasad said he will complaint the matter to the Election Commission, after his party's cavalacade was stopped by police and district officials when they were returning from a campaign in Saran district.

The incident occurred during the wee hours at Shivbachan Chowk in Saran, when a team of police and administrative officials stopped the RJD cavalcade for election related checking, police said.

Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi, both opposed this on the grounds of "non-availability" of women police personnel and search order papers.

The atmosphere was vitiated with frayed tempers and exchange of angry words, police said.

A large crowd of RJD supporters also assembled around. An empty black SUV present on the spot and without a hind number plate added to the drama.

"Eight criminals were following us in this black SUV since we started from Chhapra. The plan was either to kill us or to implant cash in our vehicles. When they could not overtake us, the police stopped us on the pretext of search without any women constable or proper permission papers," said Prasad.

"This black SUV was following us for a long time. This is a conspiracy to kill us. The police had checked our vehicle and suitcase earlier also so there was no reason for checking again," Rabri said.

After a heated exchange of words, Prasad lost his temper and lambasted all the government officials present there, who beat a hasty retreat.

Rabri went to Sonepur police station to file a case alleging threat to her life. The policemen there have accepted her complaint, but are yet to register an FIR.

"This was a conspiracy by the communal forces to stop us. This was done intentionally. There was no videographer with the police. They tried to harass a woman candidate. I am not letting this go. We will be complaining to the EC today itself," Prasad said.

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Centre's decision to probe snoopgate issue 'wrong': Omar Abdullah

SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday termed as "wrong" the Centre's announcement for setting up a judicial commission to probe the snoopgate issue allegedly involving Narendra Modi.

Omar, whose National Conference (NC) is a part of the UPA, said his father, Union minister Farooq Abdullah, also felt the same way about the announcement.

"Was talking to my dad last night and he felt the same way — setting up a commission of inquiry in the dying hours of UPA 2 is just wrong," Omar twitted.

The chief minister said the decision should have been implemented when it was taken in December.

"If the decision to appoint a commission was taken in December, it should have been implemented. To appoint a judge 5 months later is wrong," he said.

On Friday, the central government had said a judicial commission to probe "snoopgate" allegedly involving Modi will be in place before the Lok Sabha poll process comes to an end on May 16.

The UPA government had decided four months back to set up the inquiry commission but the process got delayed reportedly because of its inability to find a judge, who was ready to take the task.

The Union Cabinet had announced that the commission, to be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge or a retired Chief Justice of a high court, will also look into charges of snooping on Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh by the previous BJP government when he was in the opposition as well as the leaking of the call data records (CDR) of Jaitley in Delhi.

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Centre's decision to probe snoopgate issue 'wrong': Omar Abdullah

SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday termed as "wrong" the Centre's announcement for setting up a judicial commission to probe the snoopgate issue allegedly involving Narendra Modi.

Omar, whose National Conference (NC) is a part of the UPA, said his father, Union minister Farooq Abdullah, also felt the same way about the announcement.

"Was talking to my dad last night and he felt the same way — setting up a commission of inquiry in the dying hours of UPA 2 is just wrong," Omar twitted.

The chief minister said the decision should have been implemented when it was taken in December.

"If the decision to appoint a commission was taken in December, it should have been implemented. To appoint a judge 5 months later is wrong," he said.

On Friday, the central government had said a judicial commission to probe "snoopgate" allegedly involving Modi will be in place before the Lok Sabha poll process comes to an end on May 16.

The UPA government had decided four months back to set up the inquiry commission but the process got delayed reportedly because of its inability to find a judge, who was ready to take the task.

The Union Cabinet had announced that the commission, to be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge or a retired Chief Justice of a high court, will also look into charges of snooping on Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh by the previous BJP government when he was in the opposition as well as the leaking of the call data records (CDR) of Jaitley in Delhi.

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Northeast India's development will help Bangladesh: Bangladesh's foreign minister

DHAKA: Bangladesh's foreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said development of India's northeastern region would also benefit his country.

"It will ultimately be a win-win situation for all of us," Ali told a seminar in Dhaka Saturday on the country's Liberation War in 1971 and the relations with northeastern Indian states.

The minister recalled the contribution of India's northeastern states to the cause of Bangladesh's liberation in 1971 when he said "millions of our people took refuge in Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam besides West Bengal", bdnews24.com reported.

He said a lot of development took place after the independence and "we are playing an important role in this region's economic development, peace and stability".

Ali cited Bangladesh's steps on establishing more rail and road connectivity with the India's northeastern states and said the region comes as "an important link of connectivity" in Bangladesh's plan to be bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia and beyond".

The proposed BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) economic corridor will pass through northeast India after originating in Kolkata and passing through Bangladesh before it enters Myanmar and finally China's Yunnan province.

This regional corridor, it is felt, would be a game-changer for the economy of all four countries.

Mahmood Ali said Bangladesh has already requested India to allow opening a deputy high commission in Guwahati and upgrade its Agartala visa office to an assistant high commission to increase diplomatic and commercial presence in the northeast.

He said there would be direct air link between Dhaka and Guwahati soon.

"We need to complement India's endeavour to develop its northeastern states in our own interest".

He said this "mutual respect and understanding" of each other's concerns has put the relationship on "a solid footing".

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