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Breaking News |
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PUNJAB ASSEMBLY’S COMMITTEE INDICTS AMARINDER, 3 OTHERS
FURTHER PROGRESS ON INDIA WAIVER AT NSG TALKS
BMW CASE: 5-YEAR JAIL FOR SANJEEV NANDA
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DEORA RULES OUT IMMEDIATE CUT IN FUEL PRICES
SP RULES OUT 'FRIENDLY FIGHTS' WITH CONG IN LS POLLS |
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Punjab News
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Chandigarh September 5:
A special committee of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Friday indicted former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, two former ministers and a Congress leader in a land deal during the previous Congress regime.
Besides Amarinder, former cabinet ministers – Choudhary Jagjit Singh and Raghunath Sahai Puri and former Amritsar Improvement Trust chairman Jugal Kishore Sharma – were indicted by a nine-member special committee of the state assembly, chaired by Akali Dal MLA Harish Rai Dhanda.
As Dhanda laid the committee's report in the House, the entire Congress MLAs, including Amarinder and Leader of the Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal raised vociferous slogans against the state government and trooped into the well of the House, forcing Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon to adjourn the Assembly for an hour.
Dhanda later told reporters in the press gallery that the special committee has held Amarinder, Puri, Singh and Sharma guilty in exempting 32.10 acres of land of Improvement. Trust despite adverse notings by various officers during the previous Congress regime. "The connivance of the four in bypassing all norms is very clear," he said, adding it was now upon the wisdom of the House what kind of punishment it gives them.
"It has been clearly established that in the land deal, money has been exchanged putting a loss of Rs 360 crore on the exchequer of Improvement Trust," he said. Before the adjournment of the House, the Speaker asked Dhanda to read out the salient features of the report. However, the protesting Congressmen did not allow the proceedings of the House to take place. When the House re-assembled, the opposition MLAs disrupted proceedings again, compelling the Speaker to adjourn the House for the day.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
September
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Chandigarh September 5:
Taking cognizance of a news report regarding the alleged mis-utilization of funds in the Suwidha Centres run by the Sukhmani Societies at the different district headquarters in the State, the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today ordered an inquiry to probe the entire matter.
Disclosing this here today, a spokesman of the Punjab Government said that the Chief Minister had directed the Chief Secretary Mr. RI Singh to get the matter probed under his supervision and submit a report within 15 days.
The Chief Secretary has reportedly directed the concerned Divisional Commissioners to conduct a thorough enquiry into the working of these Centres in the districts under their jurisdiction and submit their reports at the earliest fixing responsibility of the concerned officials, wherever necessary.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
September
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Chandigarh September 5:
Hundreds of teachers from all over Punjab took out a protest march against the state government here Friday.
The teachers had various demands on their agenda, such as renewal of the pension scheme, increase in medical allowance and house rent, fresh recruitment of teachers and promotions of clerical staff. Agitators broke seven police barricades and raised slogans against Education Minister Upinderjit Kaur and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal, who is a Lok Sabha member.
'The state government has betrayed the whole teachers community of Punjab. They have not fulfilled what they promised us in their election manifesto,' Gurcharan Singh Chahal, president of Punjab Government Aided School Teachers and Other Employees Union, told reporters.
'The education minister sent us a message in between the rally to meet her. We have refused this offer as we are tired of meeting these politicians and of submitting memorandums to them. Now, we want an official invitation and want the officials of both the education ministry and finance ministry to be present at the meeting,' Chahal said. 'Initially we were protesting peacefully but the police misbehaved with us and seized our vehicle and loudspeakers,' he added.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
September
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Chandigarh September 5:
Healthcare is a priority for the Punjab government and many big corporate units of India have shown interest in building ultra modern hospitals in the state, MP Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of Shiromani Akali Dal, said here Friday.
'We are planning to set up more hospitals in Punjab in the coming days as we really have scarcity of good hospitals in this region. If we have hospitals then there is a lack of good technology and manpower,' Badal told reporters after inaugurating a cath lab at Fortis hospital here.
A catheterization laboratory or cath lab is an examination room in a hospital or clinic with diagnostic imaging equipment used to support the catheterisation procedure. A catheter is inserted into a large artery, and various wires and devices can be inserted through the body via the catheter which is inside the artery. 'Healthcare is one issue that has been continuously neglected by every central government since independence, but now we have to change the scenario,' Badal said.
'I personally know countless cases in Punjab where people died due to lack of medical facilities. We plan to take medical facilities to every nook and corner of the state and for that we are looking towards a fruitful association with private players.' 'The expenditure to set up this hi-tech cath lab is five times what we have for normal cath labs. Facilities available in this lab are at par with any western country,' said G.S. Kalra, director of department of cardiology, Fortis Hospital, Mohali.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
September
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Chandigarh September 5:
With the Supreme Court “cracking the whip” on cops refusing to immediately lodge FIRs on receipt of complaints, the Punjab police are getting the same in heaps.
Emboldened, and wielding newspaper clippings, complainants are actually browbeating the personnel into registering FIRs, saying a failure to do so would attract contempt of court and jail term. “We are getting complaints, and yes, newspaper clippings. Now, they (complainants) are telling us to register cases without an inquiry,” DGP NPS Aulakh told reporters.
“Following the apex court’s July 14 order, we have instructed our SSPs to register cases without delay.” Though an empowering tool, the order has its blind spots, like the unfair-minded people getting others framed to settle scores. Though it will add to the workload of investigating officers and the judiciary, it may help cleanse the criminal justice system. However, for that to happen, the Punjab Police Rules (PPR) will have to be amended.
“According to PPR, a police officer can hold an inquiry ahead of the registration of a case. With the Supreme Court order, there is no choice now,” IG (Border Range) Rajpal Meena said. Aulakh added, “For the purpose, we have asked for more personnel from the government.” SSPs are already preparing for the challenge as the number of cases registered has shot up by three times. SSP, Kapurthala, Rakesh Agrawal said, “Since it may lead to a surge in arrests.
I have asked the officers to make arrests only after my permission.” He added that the district police will try to follow the CBI on arrests, prepare challan and then arrest a culprit, unless it is a heinous crime and the offender is dangerous.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
September
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India News
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Vienna September 5:
Further progress was made today at the meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) towards reaching a consensus for a waiver to India as the United States expressed optimism over achieving the "objective".
A statement issued by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi affirming India's commitment to non-proliferation goals sent out the right signals and boosted its case before the 45-member nuclear cartel, which welcomed and praised it.
A few countries are still said to be having some questions, particularly on the issue of nuclear testing by India, when they put forth their expressions during the morning session on the second day of the NSG meeting. Efforts are still under way to assuage their concerns, diplomats said.
"We are pleased that there was a positive momentum in the discussions," John Rood, US acting Under Secretary for Arms Control, told reporters before lunch break. He called Mukherjee's statement regarding India's commitment to non proliferation as "very significant" and said it was discussed by the NSG members who "praised and welcomed" it.
"On the basis of this we believe a positive momentum was generated in the discussions," Rood said. The US official emphasised that his country remained committed to securing the exception for India and was optimistic on achieving the goal. "We are both committed to achieving the objective and achieving consensus and are optimistic that we can achieve the goal," he said.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
September
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New Delhi September 5:
India today affirmed its commitment to strengthening the non-proliferation regime and vowed to abide by its voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing, a move aimed at assuaging concerns of some NSG countries on giving it a waiver for nuclear commerce.
New Delhi also made it clear that it will not be a source of proliferation of sensitive technologies, including enrichment and reprocessing transfers and will work with the international community to advance the common objective of non-proliferation. "We remain committed to a voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement here.
India's assertion came as four countries of the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) stuck to their reservations on the waiver issue at the two-day meeting of the cartel in Vienna. They felt that India could use the NSG exemption to further its military nuclear programme. New Zealand, Austria, Ireland, and Switzerland have sought changes in the draft proposed by the US which projected the waiver as a "historic opportunity" to bring the largest democracy and one of the biggest economies into the global nuclear mainstream.
Mukherjee's statement is significant as it comes soon after Indian officials led by Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon met representatives of 'sceptic' countries of NSG and is seen as an attempt to allay their reservations. An NSG waiver is a key step in the operationalisation of the nuclear deal which will go to the US Congress for approval once the atomic cartel gives the green light.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
September
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Chennai September 5:
Lamenting that considerable part of public debate was presently focussed on short-term problems, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked the political leadership to understand the importance of education in the country's development.
"Unfortunately, a considerable part of our public discourse is focussed on short-term problems and on issues pertaining to access to what is presently available. We are not devoting as much attention to questions of growth and development and to the challenge of a multi-fold expansion of opportunities," he said at the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Madras University here.
"I urge all our political leaders to understand the central importance of education in the development of our country," he said, adding that expansion of opportunities should not compromise on the standards and outcome of education. Asserting that the focus should be on granting access to quality education to all deserving children, Singh said.
"India cannot realise its full development potential if the hitherto marginalised sections of society do not become active partners in the process of development. Education must contribute to the achievement of this goal." Making a strong case for democratisation of education and pursuit of excellence, the Prime Minister said "an innovative India must combine both inclusion and excellence and it is wrong to see them as two separate and contradictory goals."
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
September
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New Delhi September 5:
Sanjeev Nanda, grandson of former Naval Chief S M Nanda, was today sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court for mowing down six persons, including three policemen, with his BMW car in 1999.
"Sanjeev Nanda, I award you five years jail term and the time earlier spent by you inside the jail would be deducted," said Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar, who had earlier convicted him under a stringent penal provision which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years' imprisonment. The court, however, did not impose any fine on him.
It sentenced co-convict and businessman Rajeev Gupta to one year rigorous imprisonment for destruction of evidence. His two employees -- Bhola Nath and Shyam Singh -- were however awarded six months' jail terms each for washing off blood stains and pieces of victims' flesh from the offending vehicle after the incident. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Gupta and Rs 100 each on his two employees, who were held guilty under Section 201 (destruction of evidence) of the IPC.
The had on September two convicted Nanda under Section 304 Part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC prescribing a jail term of up to 10 years or fine or both as punishment. Nanda had crushed six persons to death while driving the BMW car in an inebriated condition in the wee hours of January 10, 1999 at Lodhi Colony in south Delhi.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
September
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New Delhi September 5:
A day after his party chief expressed his dilemma on Indo-US nuclear deal after a “secret letter” of US State Department came to light, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh on Friday expressed satisfaction at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assurances over the Indo-US nuclear deal.
“We believe on the Prime Ministers’ assurances on the nuclear deal,” said Amar Singh refuting speculations that his party will withdrew support from the government in the wake of the new developments. The statement came after Amar Singh held a meeting with PMO officials today.
On Thursday, Mulayam Singh Yadav said his party was in a "dilemma" on the Indo-US nuclear deal after a Bush Administration's letter containing controversial pronouncements to a Congressional Committee chairman was revealed by Washington Post.
"It has some truth but (External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee) gave a different statement. So I am also in a dilemma. But will study the news reports and decide whether the media is correct or Pranab Mukherjee is," he told reporters here after a party meeting. Samjwadi Party played a crucial role in bailing out the UPA government by voting in favour of it in the July 22 trust vote.
Meanwhile, the SP leader also announced that his party will not field any candidate from Amethi and Rae Bareli seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, which are happens to be the constituency of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and party president Sonia Gandhi respectively.
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Source :
Punjab Mail Online
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News Date :
September
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