Deccan Chronicle

Pass women's quota Bill over my dead body: Lalu

2010-03-15T10:32:00.003+05:30

The RJD supremo, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, on Sunday upped the ante on the Women’s Reservation Bill by telling a public meeting at Chapra, his Lok Sabha constituency, that the Bill would have to be passed, if at all, only “over my dead body”.

Mr Yadav, well known for his ability to whip up public sentiments, used one of his favourite political tricks almost bordering on emotional blackmail when he told a large crowd in Chapra: “I will oppose this anti-minority, anti-backward caste Bill till my last breath. If it still gets passed

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Chargers play Kolkata Knight Riders in Indian premier League opener today

2010-03-12T11:07:00.003+05:30

Defending champions Deccan Chargers are determined to continue their fairytale in the third edition of the Indian premier League that gets underway on Friday.

Deepika Padukone, Lionel Richie and Bjorn Again, Abba’s next generation, will kick off the tournament at a gala show at 6.30 pm at the D.Y. Patel stadium in Navi Mumbai.

The action will start at 8 pm, when Deccan Chargers take on Kolkata Knight Riders, triggering 45 days of cut-throat competition among eight teams.

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Sonia wants quota Bill as Women's Day gift

2010-03-05T09:45:00.001+05:30

The Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, told party MPs that she would accord the “highest importance” to the Women’s Reservation Bill to be introduced in the Rajya Sabha on March 8, International Women’s Day.

Mrs Gandhi told the general body meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party that Rajiv Gandhi had first unveiled the vision of empowering women. It was a matter of pride that even though the Bill has taken so long, “it is our government that has cleared the legislation in Cabinet”.

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Crash mars aero expo, 2 pilots die

2010-03-04T10:34:00.002+05:30

The awe of a scintillating aerobatics dis play at the start of the India Aviation-2010 air show on Wednesday turned to shock after a naval plane lost control and crashed into a two storied residential building, killing both pilots and injuring seven persons.

There were cheers and applause as the four aerobatic planes took off in formation at about 11.20 am even as the inaugural function was on and the union civil aviation minister, Mr Praful Patel, was holding forth on air safety and growth.

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Most wanted Maoist Telugu Dipak caught

2010-03-03T09:17:00.004+05:30

The West Bengal CID arrested one of AP’s most wanted Maoist leaders, Venkateswara Reddy alias Telugu Dipak alias Prabahakar alias Dileep, from Behala on Tuesday. He carries a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

A member of Central Military Commission, Venkateswara Reddy is believed to have taken a front position during the Maoist attack on the EFR camp at Sildah.

He is also a close aide of CPI (Maoist) politburo member Kishenji alias Mallojula Koteswara Rao, and was in the thick of the Maoist movement in Lalgarh and Nandigram.

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Hockey hero suspended for 3 games

2010-03-02T10:05:00.003+05:30

India's celebrations after beating Pakistan 4-1 in the Hockey World Cup opening game were cut short on Monday when striker Shivendra Singh was banned for three matches for injuring an opponent.

Shivendra scored one goal in India’s 4-1 rout of their archrivals in Pool B but injured Pakistan’s Fareed Ahmed above the eye when he tackled him, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said in a statement. Hockey India appealed against the ban immediately.

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Andhra Pradesh gets bigger tax share

2010-02-26T10:34:00.003+05:30

The revenue to the state through Central taxes and grants has doubled to Rs 1.14 lakh crore thanks to the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission.

The state has so far received Rs 57,000 crore under the 12th Finance Commission. The releases for state-specific needs will also be increased from Rs 449 crore to Rs 1,270 crore. These amounts will be released in the next five years. Expressing happiness at the recommendations, the CM, Mr K. Rosaiah, said the increased allocations would help the state.

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Eastern Railway Budget

2010-02-25T10:43:00.003+05:30

Politics seemed to prevail over sound economics as the railway minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, took to the stage once again on Wednesday to present her second Railway Budget in the last seven months.

The goodies doled out to the Trinamul Congress leader’s home state came as no surprise given Ms Banerjee’s determination to dislodge the Marxists from power in next year’s Assembly election in West Bengal.

With no increase in passenger fares for the seventh year running and no revision in freight rates either this year, the railways will need to raise resources from other avenues.

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Chiru gets Rajya Sabha seat offer from Congress

2010-02-24T10:25:00.004+05:30

The Praja Rajyam chief, Mr K. Chiranjeevi, on Tuesday, confirmed that there were moves within the party to accept an offer from the Congress to field a candidate for the Rajya Sabha.

While talking to mediapersons, Mr Chiranjeevi said: "It is only a proposal till now and nothing has been decided. We don't know what the Congress expects from us. We thought the Congress is offering us a seat.''

He said he is neither aware of the Congress' plans nor any pre-condition for the seat offer.

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India should make its intentions clear: China India should make its intentions clear: China

2010-02-23T10:20:00.003+05:30

India should be transparent on its military intentions in the region, including in the Indian Ocean to “ease the nerves” of its neighbours, a leading state-run Chinese newspaper said on Monday.

“A leading regional power, India intends to assume a bigger role in South Asia.

But that raises the question of how India is going to use its increasing power. The dominance India is seeking has to be conducive to the equilibrium of the current international order,” the Global Times said in an editorial. Nobody wants to see piracy running wild in the Indian Ocean.

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Osmania University vice chancellor denies Maoist presence on campus No Maoists in Osmania, asserts

2010-02-22T10:41:00.004+05:30

The Osmania University vice-chancellor Prof. Tirupathi Rao on Sunday said there are no Maoists on the university campus and the allegation that Maoists have infiltrated the campus under cover of the Telangana movement is “base- less”. Prof Rao was speaking to reporters at OU.

His statement contradicts the submission made by the state government this week in the Supreme Court that there is “sufficient evidence” that Maoists have infiltrated the campus and are taking shelter there.

The government also informed the apex court that Maoists have significantly infiltrated the pro-Telangana movement and are posing as agitators.

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State moves Supreme Court to retain forces on Osmania University

2010-02-19T10:37:00.000+05:30

he AP government, in a swift action on Thursday, moved the SC to stay the state High Court’s direction for removal of paramilitary forces from the Osmania University campus.

Admitting the petition, the top court said it is not a “healthy situation” to keep security forces stationed in the campus permanently.

After making the observation during a brief hearing, a bench headed by the Chief Justice, Mr K.G. Balakrishnan, comprising Justices S.H. Kaparida and Aftab Alam, fixed the hearing on the government’s petition for Friday.

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You want Telangana over our dead bodies: Owaisi

2010-02-18T10:47:00.004+05:30

The Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) leader, Mr Akbaruddin Owaisi, said on Wednesday that the attacks on Muslims by T-activists in Nizamabad district amply showed that the agitations are assuming a communal colour.

“Do you want to achieve separate Telangana over the corpses of Muslims?” an angry Mr Owaisi asked in the Assembly, as his MLAs stalled proceedings for more than an hour demanding a debate on the attacks on Muslims in Pothangal village in Nizamabad.

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Terror threat pushes Deccan Chargers games to Cuttack

2010-02-17T10:10:00.002+05:30

Responding to the threat to withdraw from IPL 3, the IPL governing council granted two matches to Deccan Chargers in their catchment area of Cuttack with promises of holding a couple of matches later if the intelligence reports clear Hyderabad as a venue.

Besides the current agitations and mood in the state, Hyderabad has always been the hub of several sleeper cells and terror modules of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e- Tayyaba and Bangladesh- based Harkat Ul Jihad Al Islami, evident from the recent arrests of a few, including Shaik Khaja alias Amjad who heads terror operations in South India.

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Deccan Chargers slaps notice on IPL for return of matches

2010-02-16T10:26:00.002+05:30

The Deccan Chargers on Monday threatened to pull out of IPL-3 if the six home games of the defending champions were not restored to Hyderabad, and Visakhapatnam.

Serving a legal notice to the IPL and the BCCI, Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures Limited, the parent company of the team, contended that the decision to move the matches out was in “grave breach” of the agreement, which grants rights to the franchise to stage its home games at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal.

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Violence erupts in Osmania University again

2010-02-15T10:16:00.003+05:30

Osmania students clashed with policemen who blocked their “sudden” pro- Telangana rally from the campus to nearby Tarnaka.

With Section 144, which prevents the assembly of more than five persons, in force, the police tried to push the students back. The students retaliated by throwing stones at the police.

The rally was “spontaneous”, students said. It happened after it became clear that the TRS plan to force MLA resignations had flopped, and on the eve of the Assembly session.

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Chief Minister mounts direct attack on Jagan

2010-02-12T10:19:00.003+05:30

The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, has expressed anger at the constant criticism of the state government by the Sakshi newspaper owned by Kadapa MP, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, signalling that the rift between them has widened.

In a review meeting held on Wednesday, Mr Rosaiah wondered loudly why the newspaper was always accusing his administration of being dysfunctional and of not implementing the pet schemes of Jagan’s father YSR, despite getting so many government advertisements.

He also added that the ministers and MLAs seemed to be insensitive to criticism against him but took care to visit Jagan whenever he was in town.

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Boycott Indian Premier League, state to Deccan Chargers

2010-02-11T10:17:00.003+05:30

The state sports minister, Mr Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, on Wednesday asked the Deccan Chargers to boycott the IPL tournament if the governing council stuck to its decision not to conduct matches in Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, requested the Union agriculture minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, president-elect of the International Cricket Council, to intervene and retain the IPL matches in the city itself.

Though the Deccan Chargers, the defending champions, were scheduled to play the inaugural as well as four other matches in the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal, the IPL organisers decided to shift the venue to Mumbai.

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Indian Premier League 3 pulls out of city

2010-02-10T10:46:00.002+05:30

The state minister or sports, Mr Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, made a starling revelation via a press release that all the IPL matches slated to be played n Hyderabad were being moved out. The inaugural ad already been pulled out of the city because of the unrest over Telangana. Mr Reddy's office said he had been told by the organisers that all matches were moved out. Two of the seven home matches of the Chargers are scheduled to be played in Visakhapatnam. Hyderabad was to host four after losing the opener.

Mr Reddy's step comes two days after the ICC president-elect, Mr Sharad Pawar, himself met the Shiv Sena chief, Mr Bal Thackeray, seeking to nullify the Sena's threat of keeping Australian players out of IPL-3 in retaliation for the violence unleashed against Indians there.

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High Court cancels Muslim quota

2010-02-09T10:20:00.006+05:30

The AP High Court in a majority decision on Monday struck down as unsustainable the legislation providing four per cent reservation in educational institutions and government jobs to backward groups among Muslims.

A seven-member bench headed by Chief Justice Anil R. Dave was divided 5-2 and provided three dif- ferent decisions while striking down the legislation.

Justice Dave while pronouncing the verdict on his behalf and on behalf of Justice A. Gopal Reddy, Justice V. Eswaraiah and Justice G. Raghuram opin- ed that the legislation failed to define the expressions “

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India for talks with Pakistan from February 18

2010-02-08T10:00:00.005+05:30

India believes Pakistan has taken some steps in the investigation of the Mumbai attacks but it needs to come clean on its support to terrorists and demonstrate its sincerity by taking action against Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed and 13 others, who are still at large.

This issue will be taken up in the forthcoming foreign secretary-level talks India has proposed February 18 or 25 for the meeting between the foreign secretary, Ms Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart, Mr Salman Bashir.

New Delhi would have no hesitation to discuss any issue which Islamabad may want to bring up including Balochistan.

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e-Seva to accept new LPG application

2010-02-05T10:20:00.001+05:30

Registration for new LPG connections can now be done through all the 54 eSeva centres in the twin cities. The oil marketing companies will allocate gas connections to all eligible applicants on a priority basis.

Applicants have to submit proof of their residence and Rs 15 as processing charge while registering for the LPG connection. The minister for civil supplies, Mr J. Krishna Rao, on Thursday inaugurated the registration process at the Khairatabad e-Seva centre.

He said, "Applicants can approach e-Seva centres for registration.

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Centre avoids T word, sets up panel 5 man panel

2010-02-04T10:11:00.003+05:30

The Centre on Wednesday constituted a five-member expert committee to hold consultations on the “situation in Andhra Pradesh” arising out the demand for the creation of a separate Telangana state.

The five-member committee will be headed by former Supreme Court judge B.N. Srikrishna, while the former home secretary Mr Vinod K. Duggal will be its member-secretary. The Union home secretary, Mr G.K. Pillai, said the committee will hold wide-ranging consultations with all sections of people and different political parties and groups on “the situation in Andhra Pradesh”. A home ministry spokesperson said the terms of reference were still being drafted and will be finalised in consultation with the committee chairman and announced shortly.

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1 dead in hospital inferno

2010-02-03T10:33:00.002+05:30

One patient died and 11 persons, including two doctors and five nurses, were injured when a major fire engulfed the Park Super Specialty Hospital at Somajiguda here on Tuesday morning.

The ground floor was gutted in the fire which started at 9.20 am. Amid the chaos and thick smoke, patients were shifted to the nearby Yashoda Hospital.

There were 42 inpatients, including 14 critically ill ones in the ICU when the fire broke out.

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Rahman scores 2 Grammys

2010-02-02T10:23:00.001+05:30

Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman completed his sweep of top music awards by bagging two Grammy awards for his foot-tapping Jai Ho and the outstanding soundtrack for Slumdog Millionaire.

"This is insane, God is great again," an elated Rahman said while accepting the golden gramophones at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, this is his first Grammy win.

The composer shared the award for Jai Ho with lyricist Gulzar and Tanvi Shah, who penned the Spanish lyrics of the international hit.

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