It’s not news that Maoist guerrillas have been killing people to extract levies in Jharkhand. But now, police say they have evidence that Maoists in the state are indulging in contract killing.

Jharkhand’s Khuti district is one the worst Maoist-violence hit districts of the state. Here, people are killed by Maoists almost every week. The two Maoist organisations – Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) and People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) – are active in the district.

Both these outfits are also engaged in warring against each other. Hundreds of people have been killed in Khuti district this year by Maoist factions.

“We have now found a new trend — Maoist guerrillas are indulging in contract killing. We have blocked levy collection at many points, and to generate resources, PLFI members are indulging in contract killing,” a police official from Khuti district told IANS.

“People engaged in rivalry or enmity are hiring PLFI members at rate of Rs.10,000 to Rs.30,000 to execute contract killings,” the police official said.

Police earlier considered the killings an outcome of rivalry between the CPI-Maoist and PLFI. Investigations into some cases of murder, however, revealed the new trend.

Maoist guerrillas are active in 18 of Jharkhand’s 24 districts.

-IANS

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Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit failed to get full statehood for Delhi despite being in power for 15 years, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan said Tuesday.

He added if voted to power, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will strive for full statehood for Delhi.

“Either Sheila Dikshit was not interested in the statehood for Delhi or the central government ignored her demand for it,” Harsh Vardhan said during an interaction with journalists.

He exuded confidence in BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi of being elected as prime minister.

“After Narendra Modi becomes the prime minister, we will go to him and ask for it (full statehood),” Vardhan said at the Indian Women Press Corps.

Statehood for Delhi has become one of the poll issues ahead of the Dec 4 assembly elections.

He said, “It is not that she (Dikshit) is the chief minister because people’s lives have improved but she had better luck than us (BJP).”

The four-time legislator from Krishna Nagar in east Delhi also attacked Dikshit over the issue of women’s safety.

“Despite being a woman chief minister, she has not been able to ensure women’s safety,” he said.

“I get desperate to get in touch with my daughter, 22, if she is out and doesn’t answer my call after 8 p.m.,” he added.

Delhi became a state in 1992 under the system of diarchy where the elected government is given wide powers, except law and order that remain with the central government.

-IANS

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Nine people were arrested Friday for allegedly spreading rumours of an acute shortage of salt in Bihar due to which its prices shot up to Rs.150 a kg in a day, police said. Salt normally sells for Rs.8-Rs.16 depending on its quality.

Nine people were arrested for alleged blackmarketing of salt from Darbhanga, Champaran’s Bettaih, Barauni in Begusarai and Danapur in Patna districts since Thursday night, an officer said.

“I have asked district authorities to lodge FIRs against the hoarders selling salt at rates above the maximum retail price under section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act,” Bihar’s Food and Civil Supply Minister Shyam Razak told IANS here.

Principal Secretary (Food and Civil Supplies) Sishir Sinha asked the people not to buy salt in panic as Bihar had adequate stocks.

The state government alerted officials and police Thursday after it was reported that salt was being sold at an exorbitant Rs.50 to Rs.150 per kg in parts of state amid rumours of its acute shortage.

Rubbishing the rumours, Razak said that reports of a salt shortage in the state were baseless.

“It is purely a rumour, nothing else. We have appealed to people not to purchase salt from the blackmarket by paying four to ten times its original price,” he said.

According to reports here, people in nearly a dozen districts, including Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Begusarai, Sitamarhi, Saharsa, Samastipur, Madhubani, Sheohar, have since Wednesday bought salt at Rs.50-150 per kg after the rumours of salt shortage.

Taking advantage of the rumours, traders and shopkeepers in these districts sold salt at higher price, he said. “I have asked the concerned officials to inquire into rumours and take action against those found responsible for it.”

However, Razak blamed opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for spreading rumours to defame the state government and creating an artificial crisis.

-IANS

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Tripura has sought a Rs.2,125 crore green bonus from the 14th Finance Commission as it is ahead in aforestation in the country, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said here Thursday.

“Our (Tripura’s) forest cover is 73 percent (of the state’s 10,491.69 sq km area). Our efforts to keep the ecological balance of the country must be appreciated by allocating Rs.2,125 crore as a green bonus,” Sarkar told reporters.

“We have also demanded Rs.1,250 crore to mitigate the affect of climate change.” he added

Sarkar said that as vast areas were under forest cover, the government is facing a land crisis for developmental work and infrastructural development.

The 14th Finance Commission (2015-16 to 2019-20) led by former Reserve Bank of India governor Y.V. Reddy, after its three-day visit to Tripura ,left here Thursday for Kolkata for talks with the West Bengal governemnt.

Tripura’s Left Front government has sought a total of Rs.67,104 crore from the Finance Commission.

The state government urged the panel against depriving of financial aid from the central government as in the past, the chief minister said.

“The 13th Finance Commission had deprived Tripura to a large extent and put the state government in an awkward position in the matter of providing salaries, allowances, pensions to the government employees, pension holders and other vital sectors’ development,” he added.

Tripura had sought around Rs.27,000 crore from the central government. The 13th Finance Commission had recommended Rs.16,350 crore in 2009.

“Like other states, we have also demanded the Commission to recommend a 50 percent share of central taxes. We urgently need Rs.2,890 crore for infrastructural development in the districts and projects in the education, health, agriculture and irrigation sectors,” Sarkar said.

“As the other states in India demanded, we also wanted for equal vertical distribution of central taxes between the centre and the states,” he added.

“To take up suitable projects of livelihood for the tribals, we have sought Rs.407 crore from the Finance Commission.”

During the deliberations with the panel, the government stressed the need of developing the rail, road and telecommunication network.

“The consequence of the three decades of terrorism in the state has been explained to the commission,” Sarkar said.

It is very essential to assess the fund requirements for the state on a realistic basis rather than a normative basis for all northeastern states, Sarkar pointed out.

The six-member 14th Finance Commission will make its recommendations to the central government by Oct 2014 on the sharing of central taxes, principles governing grants-in-aid to states and transfer of resources to local bodies.

Before submitting its recommendation, the commission would visit all the states in India. The panel so far visited 10 states, including three in the northeast – Tripura, Nagaland and Manipur.

-IANS

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Fresh television footage telecast by a cable news channel showed Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar taunting media persons, asking if they could take on a Nigerian one-to-one.

The footage, telecast Sunday, came at a time when Goa’s politicians as well as sections of civil society are being criticised for shades of racism in their response to a public clash involving Nigerians and local residents.

“Can you handle a Nigerian one to one? Someone make sure he is covered by insurance,” Parrikar was shown telling reporters on the sidelines of a press conference following the clash involving an angry Nigerian mob on one side and the police and the residents on the other.

The footage was telecast on Prudent Media, a cable news channel on its show ‘Just imagine’, which takes a satirical view of the week’s events.

A Nigerian mob smashed a police vehicle, assaulted policemen and even snatched their sticks while blocking a national highway Oct 31. They were protesting the murder of their compatriot by the drug mafia and demanding the presence of a consular official at the post mortem.

Subsequently, one Nigerian was brutally beaten up by residents in full view of the police.

Earlier Parrikar, while justifying the inability of the police to handle the violence had blamed the sheer physicality of the Nigerians.

“They are huge and aggressive. Some of them are seven feet tall. It would take at least 100 of our policemen to handle a crowd of 50 Nigerians,” Parrikar told reporters.

Other BJP legislators have also levelled serious accusations against Nigerians.

Shortly after the violence Subhash Phaldesai, BJP MLA from Sanguem, described Nigerians as “wild animals” pumped up with drugs.

Art and culture minister Dayanand Mandrekar likened them to cancer, before apologising for his comment.

An English language newspaper went to the extent of using the word ‘Nigro’ while referring to Nigerians while quoting a police officer in its report. The newspaper, however, later apologised.

Two village councils have already resolved to stop house owners from renting rooms to Nigerians within their jurisdiction, even as Nigeria diplomats claimed that their nationals were being targeted and even threatened that Nigeria could respond by throwing Indians living in the African country on the streets.

Expats and Goaphiles like Victoria Miller from Britain says she feels “very sad, angry and disappointed” with some of the responses to the incident.

“I cannot believe the racist, derogatory and disgusting views that some people are expressing and, yes, it has made me question my relationship with Goa where I have spent most of the last seven years,” she says.

Meanwhile, two persons suspected of having murdered the Nigerian Obado Simeon have been arrested by the state police which has said that the killing was a result of rivalry between narcotics gangs.

-IANS

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The battle of the hustings begins in earnest from Chhattisgarh on Monday with voting in assembly polls taking place in constituencies in Maoist-affected areas of the state. This will set the stage for the electoral fight in five states over the next month.

The stakes are high for both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the elections are expected to set the trend for the Lok Sabha polls to be held April-May 2014.

The BJP is aiming to retain its governments in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and unseat the Congress in Rajasthan and Delhi. 

Opinion polls have shown the BJP in a position to form governments in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the three states in which it is virtually in direct contest with the Congress.

However, the fight is triangular in Delhi where Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party seems set to queer the pitch for both the Congress and the BJP.

The polls in the four Hindi heartland states are also crucial as the winning party in each state is expected to carry the momentum to the Lok Sabha polls. The four states together account for 72 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress is also aiming to retain Mizoram in the north east.

Most of the 18 constituencies going to the polls in Chhattisgarh fall in the Maoist affected areas. 

Campaigning ended in these seats Saturday with both the Congress and BJP bringing in their star campaigners. If it was prime ministerial aspirant and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for the BJP, the Congress fielded party president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also addressed party workers in state capital Raipur.

The remaining 72 seats in Chhattisgarh will go to the polls Nov 19.

Electioneering is also expected to pick up momentum in the coming days in Madhya Pradesh (230 seats) and Mizoram (40 seats) which go to the polls Nov 25.

Voters will cast their ballots in Rajasthan (200 seats) Dec 1 and and Delhi (70 seats) Dec 4. Counting in the four Hindi heartland states will take place Dec 8 and for the Mizoram assembly Dec 9.

Both BJP and Congress leaders expressed optimism about the outcome in the five states.

BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the party will form governments in the four Hindi heartland states and perform well in Mizoram.

“People are satisfied with the performance of BJP governments in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Both chief ministers Raman Singh and Shivraj Singh Chouhan have taken development to every resident of their states. The UPA government has given a lot of money to Congress governments in Delhi and Rajasthan but they have misused the funds,” claimed Naqvi.

He said price rise and “corruption of UPA government” were factors in the assembly polls and the outcome will impact the Lok Sabha polls next year.

Also expressing confidence, Congress spokesperson Meem Afzal said the party was optimistic of forming the government in Chhattisgarh and was in a very good position in Madhya Pradesh. He said the Congress had improved and consolidated its position in Rajasthan and its government in Delhi had a good track record of development.

“The opinion polls will prove wrong. We will emerge victorious,” he said.

Afzal said the outcome of assembly polls “may or may not have an impact” on the Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati is also expected to address rallies in the poll-bound states. The Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal-United and Nationalist Congress Party are among the other parties fielding candidates.

According to political analyst Aswini K. Ray the outcome of the assembly polls is likely to have a bearing on the BJP and Congress in terms of potential alliance partners for the Lok Sabha polls.

“In these terms, the elections will be indicative,” said Ray, former professor of political science, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

-IANS
Image courtesy Amar Ujala

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Dozens of government employees staged a protest here Saturday against what they termed the anti-employee policies of the Jammu and Kashmir government.

The employees gathered at the Press Enclave at Residency Road in summer capital Srinagar raising slogans against the Omar Abdullah-led coalition government in the state.

“We shall neither tire nor bow before the brute force being used by the state government to put down our peaceful voice and legitimate demands,” Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) president Abdul Qayoom Wani told the protesters.

“We had planned to hold a seminar on the employees’ demands inside the CAPD (Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution) office in the city today (Saturday). Police sealed all entry and exit points at the proposed venue, forcing us to gather at the Press Enclave to hold the protest,” Wani said.

“This protest is against the use of force by the state government against its employees. We demand withdrawal of essential services maintenance act (ESMA) and the withdrawal of invoking of no-work-no-pay rule,” he added.

“We demand implementation of the agreement already signed between the government and its employees”, Wani told the protesters.

Wani and some other protesters were later detained.

State government employees have been demanding enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years, removal of pay anomalies and regularisation of daily wage and adhoc employees in the state.

-IANS

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A Congress minister said here Saturday the ‘none of the above’ (NOTA) voting option should not be applied in Jammu and Kashmir as it would strengthen the separatist campaign in the state.

“The NOTA option for voting would only strengthen the hands of the separatists,” Medical Education Minister Chowdhary Taj Mohiuddin said at an official function in Gandhi Nagar area of the winter capital Jammu.

“I have written a letter to the prime minister and the Congress high command that the option of NOTA should not be applicable in Jammu and Kashmir, as it would be used by separatists for their anti-election campaign,” he said.

Many leaders of the Congress-National Conference ruling coalition have been opposing the introduction of the NOTA voting option on electronic voting machines (EVMs) during the forthcoming Lok Sabha and the state assembly elections to be held in 2014.

Senior separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani, whose house arrest restrictions were lifted by the authorities earlier this month, has been travelling to different parts of the Valley as part of his anti-election campaign.

Geelani has been drawing large crowds at his public meetings. He said participation in the election process gives legitimacy to Indian rule in Kashmir and asked people to stay away from it.

-IANS

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A total of 139 candidates, including three women aspirants, have filed nominations for the Nov 25 elections to the 40-member Mizoram assembly, officials said here Saturday.

“The overall picture would be clear after withdrawal of the nominations Monday. Scrutiny of nominations will take place till Saturday,” an election department official told reporters.

Friday was the last date for filing nominations.

Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla filed nomination in two constituencies – Serchhip and Hrangturzo – while former chief minister Zoramthanga of the main opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) has sought re-election from the East Tuipui seat.

Another prominent leader and Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC) president, Lalhmangaiha Sailo filed nominations from the Aizawl East-I seat.

MNF, MPC and Maraland Democratic Front (MDF), all local parties, formed a pre-poll alliance under the banner of Mizoram Democratic Alliance (MDA) and have fielded candidates in all the 40 seats.

According to political observers, the triangular contest would be held between the MNF-led alliance MDA, ruling Congress and the Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) led by police officer-turned-politician Lalduhawma.

The Congress has fielded candidates in all 40 seats with 31 sitting legislators seeking re-election. Former minister and party’s sitting legislator Nirupam Chakma did not get a party ticket to contest this time.

The ZNP also nominated candidates in 38 seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party fielded candidates in 11 constituencies.

During the last assembly elections in December 2008, the Congress won 32 seats, MNF three and the MDF one. The MPC and ZNP got two seats each.

The MNF, which ruled the state for 10 years till 2008, is the principal opposition party.

-IANS

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Policing in cities has become challenging due to mismatch between growing urban population and shortage of police personnel, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Thursday.

“Policing has become a casualty due to massive urbanisation, as the number of police personnel had not increased in proportion to the explosive population growth in cities across the country,” Siddaramaiah said at a conference of top police officials here.

Admitting that the burden of maintaining law and order, guarding vital installations, checking crime rate and providing security to VIPs had increased manifold over the years, the chief minister advocated urban policing as prevalent in developed countries, which had seen urbanisation over the decades.

“Though urban policing is not new as a term, it is the need of the hour to cope with increasing work pressure and resource constraints in cities,” Siddaramaiah said at the second All-India Conference of Commissioners of Police from states across the country.

Noting that pace of urbanisation was accelerating in the country like never before, the chief minister advised the police commissioners to make optimal use of social networks and effective communication to step up urban policing.

On the people’s perception that police serve interests of an elite minority at the cost of public good, he said effective policing would instill a sense of security and infuse a feeling of justice being delivered.

He said police being the most visible arm of the state administration, law enforcement and policing were signs of good governance.

“There is a compelling need to project police as an instrument that fosters, complements democracy and augments the welfare of masses,” Siddaramaiah told police officers.

Referring to public anger over the way police handle certain situations and guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court, the chief minister called for transparency, probity and acquisition of newer skill-sets for efficient functioning of the police force.

The conference was held to mark the golden jubilee year of the Bangalore police commissionarate, which serves a million people in the city.

-IANS

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Former Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta will take on Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the Dec 4 assembly elections, the BJP said Wednesday as it announced the names of 58 candidates while allocating four seats to its ally, the Akali Dal.

Gupta’s candidature will make the New Delhi constituency a prestigious affair as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal is the third major contestant from there and both leaders have vowed to defeat Dikshit.

“It was my choice to contest from New Delhi (seat) against Sheila Dikshit as I have been challenging her poor policies and governance since the last 15 years. Now I have got an opportunity to take her head on,” Gupta told IANS.

Gupta said that he did not consider Kejriwal a “serious threat.”

“I challenge both of them for a public debate on any issue related to Delhi. We will win the seat with clear majority,” he added.

Dikshit is yet to announce her candidature but it is widely believed that she will pitch for a fourth five-year term — having ruled Delhi since 1998.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been out of power in Delhi for 15 long years, is expected to name its candidates for the remaining eight of the 70 Delhi constituencies later.

The Akali Dal, a long-term ally of the BJP, separately announced here and in Punjab that it will field candidates for four seats having a sizeable Sikh population — Kalkaji, Shahdara, Hari Nagar and Rajouri Garden in alliance with the BJP. The candidates are expected to be named in a couple of days.

The Akali Dal contested four seats in Delhi in 2008 polls too.

Releasing its first list, the BJP said its chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan would be fielded from Krishna Nagar in east Delhi from where he has been elected four times.

Parvesh Verma, son of former Delhi chief minister Saheb Singh Verma, will be the BJP candidate in Mehrauli.

Delhi’s former tourism minister Surender Rathawal will contest from his traditional Karol Bagh constituency.

Among other prominent candidates are Jagdish Mukhi (Janakpuri), Karan Singh Tanwar (Delhi Cantonment), Pawan Sharma (Uttam Nagar), Aarti Mehra (Malviya Nagar), Dharamdev Solanki (Palam), Ramesh Bidhuri (Tughlakabad) and Ram Veer Bidhuri (Badarpur).

-IANS

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The Group of Minister (GoM) to consider the issues regarding the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and formation of a Telangana state will meet in the national capital Thursday.

The third meeting of the GoM headed by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde will consider the reports prepared by various ministries and also the suggestions received from people on email.

After the second meeting on Oct 19, Shinde had said that over 2,000 suggestions were received from people and that the ministries were asked to take them into account while preparing their status reports.

The meeting is expected to fast track the process for formation of Telangana state.

The six-member GoM plans to submit its report to the government before the winter session of parliament and a draft bill for carving out Telangana state will be based on its recommendations.

The GoM was constituted last month to address all issues that need resolution at the central and state government levels.

As part of its intensified efforts, the GoM will hold separate meetings with the political parties Nov 12 in Delhi. It has called only five parties for the meetings as three other parties have not submitted their reports.

The GoM had asked eight parties to submit their suggestions on the bifurcation by Nov 5.

The ruling Congress submitted two reports – one by leaders from Telangana supporting bifurcation and the other by Seemandhra leaders demanding status quo.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) also submitted their reports, backing formation of Telangana state.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is also divided on the issue along regional lines, YSR Congress party and Communist Party of India-Marxist, which are opposed to bifurcation, have not submitted their reports.

The GoM has allotted half hour to leaders of each party to enable them to place their views. The panel may also seek clarifications at the meetings.

-IANS

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The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) has strongly opposed the reported proposal by the central government to make Hyderabad a union territory, saying this would destroy the city.

The MIM demanded that Hyderabad should be unconditional capital of Telangana state, which, it suggested, should also include two districts of Rayalaseema.

In a letter to the Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted by the centre over bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the MIM sought formation of separate Greater Telangana state comprising 10 districts of Telangana and Anantapur and Kunrool districts of Rayalaseema.

The GoM has sought suggestions of all political parties before working out modalities for formation of Telangana state.

Ruling out any compromise on Hyderabad as the capital of the new state, MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also opposed the proposal for central control over law and order and other matters in Hyderabad.

The MIM demanded that the centre must quickly decide on the capital for the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh and include it in the AP Reorganisation Bill so that work on the new capital can start immediately.

The Hyderabad MP told reporters here Wednesday that he suspects the centre is contemplating status of union territory or short of union territory to Hyderabad, and said this would destroy the city and affect the interests of Muslims and other weaker sections.

He strongly suspects that the centre is contemplating UT status to Hyderabad, saying the suspicion is based on a cabinet note, terms of reference of the GoM and background note of the home ministry to the GoM.

“Hyderabad is not Chandigarh. There is no geographical contiguity between Hyderabad and Andhra,” said Owaisi, whose party has its political base in Hyderabad and has been representing Hyderabad in the Lok Sabha for nearly three decades.

He said UT status to Hyderabad would destroy the city as neither Telangana nor the residuary Andhra state would invest here.

The party, which has seven members in the state legislative assembly from the historic city, also rejected the proposal for making Hyderabad a common capital of both the state. “We would like to make clear that the proposal for common capital status to Hyderabad is unacceptable to us,” the MP said.

“We don’t want union status or central rule for Hyderabad. There is no question of allowing central control over law and order, municipal administration, revenue, land administration, higher education and medicare in Hyderabad. Such a proposition would adversely impact Hyderabad,” he wrote to the GoM.

“At best within the city of Hyderabad, Khairatabad mandal can be designated as a common area to serve as temporary working capital for the residuary state,” it added.

He said the argument that people of Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra) live in Hyderabad and hence should be declared a UT or the central government should take control of law and order was without any basis.

“People of Seemandhra also live in other districts of Telangana. Let the centre take law and order of all these districts in its hands,” he said.

The MIM chief said if the government of Telangana was unable to provide security to people, the centre could dismiss it under Article 356.

He also suggested that people of Seemandhra living in Hyderabad be declared linguistic minority to protect them under Article 29 of the Constitution.

Pointing out that MIM originally stood for continuance of united Andhra Pradesh but since the Congress and the UPA government foisted their decision to carve out separate Telangana state, it reluctantly accepted it.

Owaisi, however, warned that the bifurcation would strengthen the communal forces in the new state. “History will judge them whether it was the right decision or coloured by short-sightedness,” he said.

The MIM urged the GoM to recommend to the government to ensure that four percent reservations for Muslims in the existing Andhra Pradesh continue in the two states.

-IANS

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The Punjab government has decided to introduce single-stage taxation at the factory level on branded products in a bid to simplify tax collection.

The move is aimed at giving relief to thousands of small traders and retailers, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said Tuesday here.

Presiding over a meeting of ministers and officials here, Badal said a new “Traders’ Policy” would be announced Nov 14.

He said single-stage taxation would be introduced for all “kirana” (grocery) items, all white goods (including televisions and refrigerators), medicines and branded shoes.

“More branded products are likely to be taken in the ambit of single stage tax in phases,” Badal said.

The single-stage taxation should be introduced from Dec 1, he said.

Ministers and leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, part of the alliance government with the Shiromani Akali Dal in the state, also attended the meeting.

Badal announced that 200 traders would be awarded at the time of unveiling the policy for paying the highest amount of taxes in various categories.

He said the government was committed to make all work related to traders and business paperless. Taxation procedures will also be simplified.

“The new policy would ensure that traders would not have to visit any government office for any purpose, including payments and sales tax,” he said.

Punjab has around 2.50 lakh traders, of whom only some comply with rules. A spokesman said only about 900 traders paid tax of over Rs.1 crore annually, while a large section do not pay any value-added tax (VAT).

-IANS

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The Goa government will write to the Nigerian embassy after a number of Nigerians living in Goa were found to be using only photocopies of passports and visas as proof of their nationality, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said Monday.

Parrikar was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a government function at the secretariat.

“We have questioned a lot of Nigerians and were verifying their documents. Most of them have only photocopies of their passports and visas. We are going to ask the Nigerian embassy to verify these documents,” Parrikar said.

This is part of a verification drive started by the Goa government which will inspect documents of all foreign nationals living in the state.

The drive was announced after Nigerian nationals blocked a National Highway Thursday for hours protesting the murder of a Nigerian by a local drug gang.

Both MPs from the state as well as many people have been calling for a boycott of Nigerians living in Goa even as many liberals have called these statements ‘racist’ in nature.

Parrikar said that the police were close to cracking the case of murder of Nigerian Obina Obiwesi.

He said the narcotics gang war which spilled out into the open last week will not mar the image of Goa as a tourism destination.

-IANS

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Pressure groups in Meghalaya Sunday criticised Chief Minister Mukul Sangma for travelling abroad despite ongoing agitation over influx and illegal immigration of Bangladeshi nationals into the state.

“It is evident that this government is ‘one man’ government and the situation warrants the chief minister to be present, and resolve the burning issue of the state but his foreign trip speaks volumes of his seriousness on the issue of influx,” Khasi Students Union (KSU) chief Daniel Khyriem said.

Sangma, along with a team of officials from the commerce and horticulture departments, left for Slovakia Saturday. The team is expected to return Tuesday.

“This is another compelling reason to view with scepticism the claim and commitment of the government to resolve the issue,” he said, while announcing another bout of three-night road blockades from Nov 5 to Nov 7.

The blockade is expected to mount pressure on the Meghalaya government to implement the Inner Line Permit (ILP) to regulate the entry of outsiders entering the state.

The night blockade — to be effective between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. in all the 11 districts — will affect movement of vehicles on National Highways 40 and 44, the lifelines for landlocked Mizoram, Tripura and parts of Manipur and Assam.

“We are forced to adopt such methods due to the adamant attitude and failure of the Mukul Sangma government to implement the ILP as recommended by the high level committee on influx in 2012,” Khyriem said.

Meghalaya is experiencing a series of shutdowns, night road blockades and picketing of offices since Sep 2 after the breakdown of talks between the government and protesting groups on the ILP issue.

Several cases of arson were reported in east and west Khasi Hill districts and more than 50 pro-ILP activists have been arrested. Two people have died during the statewide agitation.

Fourteen organisations include the Khasi Students’ Union, the Federation of Khasi, Jaintia, Garo People and the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front are demanding the introduction of the Inner Line permit (ILP) system, the absence of which, they say, would lead to the number of people entering Meghalaya getting out of control, given the state’s proximity to Bangladesh and Assam.

Inner Line Permit is an official travel document issued by the union government to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected or restricted area for a limited period.

It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those states to obtain permit for entering into the restricted areas.

However, Sangma has ruled out implementation of the British-era Inner Line Permit (ILP) system to check illegal migrants from Bangladesh, but promised strict laws to curb infiltration of illegal immigrants.

Khyriem said the ILP was still very much alive in the state, as the government had not produced any documentary proof on the claim that the Garo Hills region was repealed from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873 in 1897.

-IANS

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The display of camaraderie between the West Bengal government and separatist Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) was cut short Sunday after the Gorkha outfit once again raised the Gorkhaland issue.

The GJM, after a meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday said the “issue of Gorkhaland was now out of the syllabus” and vowed to work jointly for development of Darjeeling hills.

But only two days later, party supremo Bimal Gurung, on Sunday, questioned the attitude of the state government.

“The Bengalis have their Bengal but what about us Gorkhas? Whenever Mamata didi comes here, her words make us feel aggrieved. She should choose her words carefully,” said Gurung here.

The GJM, which earlier had said it wanted to run the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA)- the autonomous hill council, did a volte face and claimed the attitude of the Banerjee government was a hindrance in running the council.

“Her attitude is not appropriate. What the police are doing is not acceptable. But what can we do? She is running the government. But how long can we tolerate? She asks us to run the GTA, but can the GTA be run like this with so much interference?” asked Gurung.

He also claimed that the Trinamool Congress was accommodating “Maoists” in its ranks.

“She calls us Maoists but it’s her party workers who are former Maoists. There is a need for investigation into this,” added Gurung.

-IANS

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The Uttar Pradesh government late on Sunday released a Rs.7 crore financial package for riot victims in Muzaffarnagar and nearby areas, an official said.

The financial aid would be used to give compensation for the losses to immovable and movable properties during the communal violence.

The benefit of the dole will be given to 1,054 people who have already been identified by district authorities. 

An assessment of damage to property and vehicles in Baghpat, Meerut, Shamli and Muzaffarnagar has already been done by teams of officials from the revenue, public works department and technical experts, a state government spokesman told IANS.

“After a close scrutiny of the extent of damage assessed by these teams that the financial package of Rs.6.84 crore has been disbursed,” the spokesman added. 

Officer on special duty to the communal control cell, Ashok Kumar Singh, said the state government had decided to give at par compensation to the losses.

A person who has lost property or immovable property between Rs.25,000-Rs.50,000 would be given Rs.50,000 as compensation by the state government and so on, Singh said.

The August-September communal violence in Muzaffarnagar had killed over 60 people and displaced more than 45,000. Communal clashes erupted in Muzaffarnagar on Sep 7 after simmering discontent over a molestation case of Aug 27 which subsequently led to three people being killed in a clash. 

IANS

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The ministerial panel set up to work out modalities for formation of a separate Telangana held its first meeting on Friday while Seemandhra started limping back to normalcy with electricity employees resuming work and teachers also calling off their strike though protests continued.

In Delhi, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu was on Friday taken to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital from the venue of his fast at Andhra Bhavan even as hundreds of his supporters tried to stop police from moving him. 

He seems to intend to continue his fast as he refused to accept a glucose drip.

The Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting in Delhi discussed a broad outline of issues on Andhra Pradesh’s against the backdrop of widespread protests over the union cabinet’s decision to carve out India’s 29th state.

“The GoM discussed the approach and methodology to be adopted by it,” said a home ministry statement.

Keeping in mind the large scale protests in Seemandhra (as the coastal Andhra and Rayalseema regions are jointly called), the GoM assured the state’s people that all issues and concerns would be addressed with “fairness and objectivity”.

It promised to take the “opinion of stake-holders on all important subjects while formulating its recommendations”.

According to the home ministry statement, the GoM will look into various aspects like water sharing, finances, law and order, and formulating a legal framework.

Information will also be sought from the state government on these issues and the process will start immediately, said officials.

The next meeting of the GoM, on Oct 19, will be a full-fledged one and will discuss the bifurcation’s parameters, said officials.

Andhra Pradesh secretariat employees from Seemandhra Friday called off their 38-day-long strike following talks with Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy in Hyderabad, saying he assured them the state would remain united as long as he was the chief minister.

Electricity generation and transmission was restored after five days as employees returned to work. They had Thursday agreed to call off their strike in view of the cyclone threat to the state. The storm from the Bay of Bengal is expected to hit land by Saturday night.

Over two lakh teachers also “temporarily” called off their strike after talks with the chief minister. The schools and colleges will reopen on Oct 17 after Dussehra and Eid holidays.

However, over six lakh government employees in all 13 Seemandhra districts continued their two-month long strike, with their leader P. Ashok Babu making it clear that the stir would continue till a clear assurance that the state would not be split.

Though employees of state-owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) are reportedly willing to end their strike, talks between their leaders and the chief minister did not take place Friday.

Various sections of employees ended their agitation after the chief minister assured them that the issue of formation of Telangana would be referred to state assembly twice, once for its opinion and the second time for voting.

He also assured that all legislators from Seemandhra would ensure the defeat of the Telangana state bill.

The employees’ leaders said the chief minister quoted Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh as saying that the issue would be referred twice to the state assembly, after Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s statement that the bill would be sent to assembly only for its opinion had created confusion among employees coming forward to call off the strike.

Protests continued in Seemandhra, with employees, students among others taking out rallies and formed human chains. 

In Delhi, hospital officials told IANS that Chandrababu Naidu’s condition is stable.

RML Hospital’s medical superintendent H.K. Kar told IANS that the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister refused to be administered a glucose drip but drank water. Efforts were on to persuade him, he added.

Earlier in the day, there was high drama as scores of Delhi Police personnel reached Andhra Bhavan, where Naidu was on fast since Monday, to air his protest at the arbitrary manner in which the Congress decided to carve out a separate Telangana.

Seeing the police approach, angry supporters formed a ring around Naidu, shouting slogans and also vandalising the Bhavan’s property.

A Delhi Police official told IANS that the supporters tried to stop police but Naidu himself stepped towards the ambulance, present at the Bhavan since morning.

At the hospital, a wheelchair was offered to him but he walked into the ward, said the officer.

IANS

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Electricity employees of Seemandhra on Thursday called off their five-day strike in view of a cyclone threat.

After talks with Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, leaders of Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Seemandhra electricity employees told reporters that they were temporarily suspending the strike on humanitarian grounds.

One of the leaders R. Saibaba said if necessary they would resume the strike to pressurize the Centre to keep the state united.

The chief minister appealed to the employees to end the strike as it was causing severe hardships to people and also in view of the threat to coastal region from severe cyclonic storm in Bay of Bengal.

IANS

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