Togadia fails to appear before SIT

Summoned by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the 2002 post-Godhra communal riots, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international general secretary Pravin Togadia struck a defiant note when he sent in his proxy with a set of queries. The SIT turned down the plea and refused to accept the proxy appearance.Named in the petition submitted to the Supreme Court by Zakia Jaffri, widow of former congress MP Ehsan Jaffri who died in the communal killings at the Gulberg society in Ahmedabad, Togadia was summoned by the SIT to appear before it through a letter faxed to his office on April 19.On Saturday, instead of appearing in person Togadia sent his lawyers to the SIT office to enquire under what rule he had been summoned and what was the focus of the questioning he would have to submit to.Togadia’s advocate, Deepak Shukla, said Monday that he had sent two of his lawyer colleagues to the SIT office with Togadia’s letter raising the issues. But the SIT official did not accept the letterShukla charged that the SIT official had also insulted the two lawyers who had gone to the office.The petition filed by Zakia Jaffri names the chief minister, Narendra Modi, and 62 others as accused. The SIT refused to entertain Togadia’s lawyers and demanded that the VHP leader appear in person. The SIT also refused to accept from the lawyers some documents sent by Togadia.Shukla said that the SIT officer pointed out to the lawyers that even the chief minister had responded positively to the SIT summons and answered its questions for nearly nine hours in two sessions last month, and wondered why was Togadia reluctant to appear before it.Meanwhile, SIT chairman, R.K. Raghavan, arrived here Monday. He is due to submit the final report of the investigation before the apex court April 30.
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Congress not in favour of JPC probe into phone taps

The Congress Monday indicated it was not in favour of a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into allegations of phone tapping of senior political leaders.“It (JPC) does not have coercive powers possessed by regulatory agencies…. (The) history of JPC in terms of penal outcomes is not very encouraging,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.Singhvi said it was possible a JPC may inhibit ongoing investigations.“A final decision on JPC will be taken by the government,” Singhvi said while appealing to the opposition not to disrupt proceedings of parliament on the issue.The phone tapping issue rocked parliament Monday following a report in a newsmagazine that the government had tapped telephones of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Prakash Karat and Congress leader Digvijay Singh.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and some other opposition parties have demanded a JPC to look into issues concerning the Indian Premier League and the phone tapping row.The CPI-M has sought an independent inquiry into the phone tapping allegations.With the demands of grants of several ministries scheduled to be taken up in the Lok Sabha Tuesday, Singhvi appealed to the opposition allow parliament to function.“It is not necessary to disrupt parliament on demand for JPC,” he said. Referring to Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s statement in parliament refuting allegations about the government involvement in phone tapping, Singhvi said the remarks were “fair, balanced and pointed”.
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PM’s Statement to the Media at the Joint Press Meet With President Hamid Karzai

(PIB NEWS)Following is the statement of the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh at the joint press meet with the President of Afghanistan, Mr. Hamid Karzai:“It is a great honour for me to welcome His Excellency President Hamid Karzai to India on his first visit to India after his re-election as President. I have had extremely productive discussions with President Karzai. We discussed a broad range of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. We exchanged views on regional cooperation in the context of forthcoming SAARC Summit and our common vision of freer and more unfettered regional trade and transit. Greater economic integration has the potential of transforming our region. India and Afghanistan enjoy a strategic partnership based on unique historical and civilizational bonds and shared goals. I conveyed to President Karzai our deep admiration for his courageous leadership in difficult times, and our support to the Government and people of Afghanistan as they build a strong, peaceful, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan. India believes that this process should be led and owned by the Afghan people. We reviewed the development partnership between our two countries. India remains committed to assisting the Government and people of Afghanistan in their efforts towards the reconstruction and development of their country. I conveyed to the President that India is ready to augment its assistance for capacity building and for skill and human resources development to help strengthen public institutions in Afghanistan. We discussed the issue of terrorism, which threatens our region. President Karzai assured me that the Government of Afghanistan will take all possible measures for the security of Indians in Afghanistan. We were of the view that the attacks of February 26, 2010 in Kabul were the handiwork of those who do not wish to see the emergence of a strong, independent and pluralistic Afghanistan. I conveyed to President Karzai that the perpetrators of such attacks will not succeed in undermining India’s commitment to assist the Afghan people. I look forward to continuing to work together with President Karzai for further enhancing our close cooperation. This is in the interest of our two peoples and peace and stability in the region and beyond.”
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Three language formula for Linguistic Minorities

The Government has informed the Rajya Sabha that the report of National Commission for Religious & Linguistic Minorities( NCRLM), inter alia, states that a three-language formula should be implemented everywhere in the country making it compulsory for the authorities to include in it the mother tongue of every child – including especially, Urdu and Punjabi. Giving this information in written reply to a question the Minister for Minority Affairs, Shri Salman Khurshid, informed the House that the report of NCRLM says that all necessary facilities, financial and logistic, should be provided by the State for education in accordance with the dispensation suggested by it.The Minister said that the recommendations of NCRLM are under consideration of the Government.
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Women Beggars and Prostitutes,

(PIB NEWS)The number of women beggars hauled up in NCT of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata during the last three years is 319, 1818 and 19 respectively.A study on Girls and Women in Prostitution in India conducted between 2002-04 with the support of the Ministry of Women and Child Development had estimated that there were about 1,50,000 to 2,00,000 prostitutes in 6 metro cities of Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. The Government is already taking a number of measurers for economic empowerment of women which help in prevention of such destitution. A scheme ‘Ujjawala’ is being implemented for prevention of trafficking for sexual exploitation and also for rescue and rehabilitation of victims. In addition, Swadhar Shelter Homes provide shelter and other facilities such as food, health care etc. to women in difficult circumstances including trafficked victims. The States also have their own schemes and programmes to prevent such destitution. This information was given by Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister of State(Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Women and Child Development in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
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PM’s Statement to the Media at the Joint Press Meet With President Hamid Karzai

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and the President of the Republic of Afghanistan, Mr. Hamid Karzai, at the joint press conference, in New Delhi on April 26, 2010.                          (Photo by PIB No.CNR -31404)
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(PIB NEWS)Following is the statement of the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh at the joint press meet with the President of Afghanistan, Mr. Hamid Karzai:“It is a great honour for me to welcome His Excellency President Hamid Karzai to India on his first visit to India after his re-election as President. I have had extremely productive discussions with President Karzai. We discussed a broad range of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. We exchanged views on regional cooperation in the context of forthcoming SAARC Summit and our common vision of freer and more unfettered regional trade and transit. Greater economic integration has the potential of transforming our region. India and Afghanistan enjoy a strategic partnership based on unique historical and civilizational bonds and shared goals. I conveyed to President Karzai our deep admiration for his courageous leadership in difficult times, and our support to the Government and people of Afghanistan as they build a strong, peaceful, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan. India believes that this process should be led and owned by the Afghan people. We reviewed the development partnership between our two countries. India remains committed to assisting the Government and people of Afghanistan in their efforts towards the reconstruction and development of their country. I conveyed to the President that India is ready to augment its assistance for capacity building and for skill and human resources development to help strengthen public institutions in Afghanistan. We discussed the issue of terrorism, which threatens our region. President Karzai assured me that the Government of Afghanistan will take all possible measures for the security of Indians in Afghanistan. We were of the view that the attacks of February 26, 2010 in Kabul were the handiwork of those who do not wish to see the emergence of a strong, independent and pluralistic Afghanistan. I conveyed to President Karzai that the perpetrators of such attacks will not succeed in undermining India’s commitment to assist the Afghan people. I look forward to continuing to work together with President Karzai for further enhancing our close cooperation. This is in the interest of our two peoples and peace and stability in the region and beyond.”
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No statement by PM as Lok Sabha adjourned for day

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day Monday as the opposition continued its protests over reports that politicians’ phones were tapped by government agencies. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was supposed to speak in the Lok Sabha over the allegations at 3.30 p.m.When the house reassembled after the lunch at 2 p.m., opposition MPs from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Samajwadi Party (SP) shouted slogans against the goverment and gathered near the speaker’s podium. They were supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Left party MPs.Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Raghuvansh Prasad Singh also raised the issue of the Indian Premier League (IPL) controversy.As the opposition continued its protest, Deputy Speaker Karia Munda adjourned the house for the day.Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had earlier told the house amid furious protests by opposition MPs: “PM is ready to speak in the house at 3.30 pm.”

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Bill on punishment for torture introduced in Lok Sabha

A bill proposing punishment for torture inflicted by public servants or torture inflicted by someone with the consent of public servants was introduced in the Lok Sabha Monday. Introducing the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said: “The proposed legislation, inter alia, defines the expression ‘torture’, provides for punishment to those involved in the incidents of torture and specifies the time limit for taking cognizance of the offence.”
He said an amendment of the existing laws such as Indian Penal Code (IPC) or bringing in a new legislation was necessary for India to ratify the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment adopted by the United Nations General Assembly Dec 9, 1975.
“Ratification of the Convention requires enabling legislation to reflect the definition and punishment for ‘torture’. Although some provisions relating to the matter are existing in the IPC, yet they neither define ‘torture’ as clearly as in Article I of the Convention nor make it a criminal offence as called for by Article 4 of the Convention,” the home minister said.Chidambaram said the matter was examined “at length in consultation with the Law Commission of India and the Attorney General of India”.“After considerable deliberations on the issue, it was decided to bring in a standalone legislation so that the Convention can be ratified,” the minister said. =======================================================

Heatwave in Telangana, rain in coastal AP, Rayalaseema

Hyderabad, Apr 26 : Heat wave conditions prevailed over the districts of Adilabad, Karimnagar and Warangal of Telangana, while isolated rain was reported in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema.The maximum temperatures changed little over the state. They were significantly above normal at a few places over the remaining districts of Telangana and above normal at a few places over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema. The highest maximum temperature of 45 degrees Celsius was recorded at Ramagundam, Met department said today.Heat wave conditions may prevail over the districts of Adilabad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Warangal of Telangana during next two days. Isolated rain/thundershowers would occur over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rayalaseema. Kalakada in Chittoor District recorded a rainfall of one cm.Thunder clouds would develop towards evening/night in the city.The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 41 and 26 degrees respectively, it added.
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AP Governor launches Census 2011 in AP

Hyderabad, Apr 26 : Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan today launched the commencement of house-listing operations of census of India 2011 by providing details at Raj Bhavan here.A team of officials visited the Governor's bungalow and obtained the details from him. Later, the Governor called upon the people to extend their cooperation by providing all the details sought by enumerators as this was very much needed for implementing the welfare schemes effectively for the benefit of the poor people.''Census of India is perhaps the largest administrative exercise in the entire world and has an enviable tradition of achievement and competence. The first Census was taken way back in 1872, in the then British India, and the first Census in Independent India was conducted in 1951,'' he said.''The decennial Census is a landmark event in the socio-economic history of our country. The data will provide the basis for the formulation of sound socio-economic policies at all levels,'' he said.Director of Census operations in State Y V Anuradha said the exercise would be carried out in two phases-- house-listing and housing census Operations -- from today till June 10, this year and population enumeration from February 9 to 28, next year. She said the details collected would be the foundation for all developmental programmes in the state. About 1.6 lakh enumerators and 26,000 supervisors were engaged in the exercise and each enumerator would cover 120 to 150 households.State Ministers of respective districts too launched the programme in the districts.
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Cartoonist Subhani Shaik to receive Yudhvir Memorial award

Hyderabad, Apr 26 : Noted cartoonist Subhani Shaik has been selected for the 19th Yudhvir Memorial Foundation Award for his contribution in the field of cartoon journalism.The award, comprising a citation and a purse of Rs 50,000, would be given to him by Andhra Pradesh Information Minister J Geeta Reddy at an impressive function here on April 30.Awards won by Mr Subhani, now serving as Cartoon Editor in Deccan Chronicle, included ''Award of Success'' in the second FCW International Cartoon Festival, China in 2004 and Special prize in the Leng Mu International Cartoon Festival in China.Previous recipients of the Yudhvir award, instituted in memory of eminent freedom fighter, journalist and founder of daily Hindi Milap, included Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, classical musician Pandit Jasraj, Space scientist U R Rao and eminent filmmaker Shyam Benegal.
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Muaythai Championship - from April 30th to may 2nd at LB Stadium Hyderabad,

Hyderabad,April-26, Muaythai Association of Andhra Pradesh an Affiliate of Muaythai India(MTI)National Federation(recognized by Indian Olympic Association)is organizing its Andhra Pradesh State Junior and Sub Junior Muaythai Championship will be held from April 30th to may2nd at Boxing hall of Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad. Mr M.H.Abid,National President(MTI) Addressing the media at Hotel Grand Plaza Nampally today,Hafiz Mohammed Salahuddin Jaweed,State president Muay Thai Association of Andhra Pradesh, (MTA-AP),Mr Aziz Ahmed (Bangalore) also be seen.(PHOTO BY R S J THOMAS)***********************************************************************************