Rashtriya Swamyamsewak sangh chief slams Chidambaram’s ’saffron terror’ remark

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Rao Bhagwat Tuesday slammed Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s “saffron terror” comment, saying it sends out “wrong message” to the world about India.

“The word saffron terror doesn’t exist for me. The Home Minister’s comment on saffron terror is sending out a wrong message to the world like Pakistan being called a rogue state. Do you want India also to be called so,” Bhagwat told reporters at the Indian Women’s Press Corps here.On Aug 25, Chidamabram, while addressing a conference in Delhi of police chiefs from different states, said: “There is this recently uncovered phenomena of saffron terrorism that has been implicated in many bomb blasts of the past.”
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Rahul Gandhi says he gets 5,000 letters a day

Officially just a Lok Sabha member and Congress general secretary, Rahul Gandhi gets 5,000 letters a day from people on varied issues.The young leader, who admits it is not possible to go through all the letters, said at an interaction here Tuesday that he was open to guiding those who write to him, suggesting solutions, projects and programmes for various problems.
Gandhi’s comments came during a lively 75-minute question-answer session with the students of Visva-Bharati University here. The media was barred from the session.Responding to posers from some research scholars of the university about how they should seek redressal for their problems like delays or stopping of grants when their petitions to the higher authorities do not yield any fruits, Gandhi said he got 5,000 letters a day and it was not possible for him to go through all of them.According to a source present at the interaction, Gandhi said he could not say anything about people writing to the “prime minister, chief minister or others”. That, he told the gathering, was “up to you”.“But if you feel that you have programmes, projects and solutions, then inform me. I will be with you. I will help you,” Gandhi was quoted as saying.The Congress leader Monday began a three-day visit to West Bengal to mobilise workers ahead of the assembly elections next year. This is his second visit to the state in less than a fortnight.
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16 killed in Kashmir violence

Sixteen people were killed across the Kashmir Valley Monday during protests initially triggered by reports of the Quran being desecrated in the US on a day India’s top cabinet committee on security deferred a critical decision on the demand for withdrawing the special powers given to the armed forces.The three-hour-long meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and attended by his core team, decided to convene a meeting here of all political parties on Wednesday to “elicit their views on the way forward” in Kashmir, an official statement Monday evening said.The meeting was expected to have taken a decision on withdrawing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Political parties and separatist groups in the state have demanded the repeal of the AFSPA and the freeing of political prisoners as a precursor to initiating a peace process in the state.The CCS meeting came in the backdrop of escalated violence Monday that left 16 people dead and some 70 injured two days after Eid. This has taken the death toll in the violence in the state since June 11 to 86.Monday’s violence flared up after Iranian TV channel Press TV reported late Sunday that copies of the Quran had been burnt in the US. A pastor in Florida, US, had threatened to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks but later called off the plan.The state government swung into action as protesters violated curfew — it was the second consecutive day of 24X7 curfew in towns in the Valley — in many parts of Srinagar.North Kashmir’s Tangmarg town witnessed the worst violence as mobs torched a Christian missionary school, the office of the social welfare department and a police vehicle.Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who rushed to Srinagar Monday from New Delhi, chaired a meeting of the cabinet and appealed for peace and harmony.State police chief Kuldeep Khoda told reporters in Srinagar that the police had evidence that Hurriyat leaders had incited Monday’s violence.The official statement issued in New Delhi Monday evening said:“The CCS has decided to convene a meeting of all political parties at New delhi on Wednesday and elicit their views on the way forward” in Kashmir.“The government hopes that following the all-party meeting, it will be able to engage the people of Jammu and Kashmir and take certain initiatives and measures that will build confidence among the people of the state,” the statement added.The statement was handed over to reporters by Home Secretary G.K. Pillai after the CCS meeting at the prime minister’s official residence.“The CCS is deeply distressed by the turn of events since Eid and specially the event that took place today following certain rumours. The CCS expresses its profound grief at the loss of life and offeres its sincere condolences to the brevered families.” the statement said.It said that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government believed in dialogue.“The government has always held the belief that the diaogue and discussion is the only way forward to find and honourable and lasting solution.“In the past too, the UPA government had taken several initiaves to hold the dialogue with different political parties and groups, including the Hurriyat,” the statement said.“Those efforts did yield some results,” it added.“It has and remained the intention of the UPA government to restart the process of dialogue,” the statment said, adding: “The dialogue can embrace all issues that agitate the minds of people of J and K especially the youth.”“The dialogue can address issues such as the trust deficit and governance deficit,” the statement added.“Meanwhile, the ccs appeals to the people of J and K, especially the youth, to refrain from violent protests and maintain peace and order. Every life that is lost and every person that is injured, beside casuing immense grief, add to the complexity of the situation,” the statement said,Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna also attended the CCS meeting.Meanwhile, US Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer appealed for calm, saying he was “dismayed” to see reports of a church and school in Kashmir and Punjab being attacked and destroyed by rioters.“One misguided individual” had desecrated the Quran by tearing pages from it Saturday, Roemer said here, condemning such acts as “disrespectful, intolerant, divisive and un-representative of American values.”
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Government appeals for peace, to hold all-party meet Wednesday

The government Monday appealed to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially the youth, to “refrain from violent protests and maintain peace and order” and said they are “re-starting the process of dialogue”.

The Cabinet Committee on Security, which is chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, hoped that dialogue would be able to “address issues such as the trust deficit and governance deficit”.“The CCS reiterates government intention to restart the process of dialogue with different sections of people of Jammu and Kashmir. Towards this end, the CCS has decided to convene an all-political party meet at New Delhi on Wednesday, September 15, and elicit their views on the way forward,” said a note issued after the three-hour meeting that met to review the situation in the state.“Government hopes following the all-party meeting, it will be able to engage the people of Jammu and Kashmir and also take certain initiatives and measures that will build confidence among the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” it said.The one-page note was handed out by Home Secretary G.K. Pillai after the three-hour- long meeting at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s 7 Race Course Road official residence.The meeting was held as the Kashmir Valley is on the boil again with 16 people killed in clashes with security forces Monday. With the latest deaths, 86 civilians, mostly teenagers and youth, have been killed in the cycle of violence of street protests and retaliatory firing by security forces since June 11.Noting that it was “deeply distressed by the turn of events since Eid and especially by the event that took place today following certain rumours”, the CCS “expressed its profound grief at the loss of life and offers its sincere condolences to the bereaved families.”“The government has always held the belief that the dialogue and discussion is the only way forward to find an honourable and lasting solution.“On the past too, the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government had taken several initiatives to hold the dialogue with different political parties and political groups including the Hurriyat those efforts did yield some results,” it added.“It was and remains the intention of the UPA government to restart the process of dialogue. The dialogue can embrace all issues that agitate the minds of people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially the youth. The dialogue can address issues such as the trust deficit and governance deficit,” it added.“Meanwhile, the CCS appeals to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially the youth to refrain from violent protests and maintain peace and order. Every life that is lost and every person that is injured, beside causing immense grief, add to the complexity of the situation.“Government sincerely hopes that the people of Jammu and Kashmir will heed this appeal and cooperate with the government in its efforts to ensure justice, dignity, honour and peace in Jammu and Kashmir,” it added.The meeting was attended by Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna.
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India too large a country for any alliance: PM

Backing the modernisation of defence forces, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday underlined his commitment to preserving India’s “strategic autonomy” and stressed that it is too large a country to be boxed into any alliance.“We have always prided ourselves on preserving our strategic autonomy, and this is an article of faith for us,” Manmohan Singh told the combined commanders’ conference in the capital.“India is too large a country to be boxed into any alliance or regional or sub-regional arrangements, whether trade, economic or political,” he said.Putting India’s economic transformation at the heart of the country’s foreign policy and strategic orientation, Manmohan Singh said in order to sustain 9 to 10 percent growth rate and to modernise its infrastructure, India needs to “maintain healthy relations with all major powers”.Commending the armed forces for their contribution to the country’s security, Manmohan Singh said: “Our Armed Forces deserve the best and I wish to assure you that the government will make every effort to ensure this. No country can make progress without ensuring its security and territorial integrity”.The prime minister also strongly endorsed the growing demand for much-needed modernisation of defence forces. “As our economy grows and our technological capabilities expand, we must set higher standards for the modernisation of our defence forces,” he said.“It is not enough for us to keep pace with change. When it comes to defence capability, we must be ahead of the technology curve,” he stressed.Defence modernisation, the prime minister said, must involve the full chain starting with updating war fighting doctrines to meet new threats to security, preparation of appropriate staff quality requirements and creating a broad-based production and delivery infrastructure on the ground.
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US condemns violence in Kashmir, Punjab

The United States Monday said it was “dismayed” by reports that a school and a church in Kashmir and Punjab had been attacked by rioters. It also condemned reports that a “misguided individual” in the US had desecrated the Quran, terming it “disrespectful, intolerant, divisive, and un-representative of American values”.

“The deliberate destruction of any holy book is an abhorrent act,” US Ambassador Timothy Roemer said in a statement here.An Iranian TV channel reported that the Quran had been desecrated in the US, triggering violent protests in the Kashmir Valley. Rumours that copies of the Quran had been desecrated in Michigan, US, had led to curfew in Punjab’s Malerkotla town.
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Heavy rains in Coastal Andhra Pradesh for next 48 hours

Hyderabad, Sept 14: Isolated heavy rain would occur over Rayalaseema and in the districts of East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore of Coastal Andhra Pradesh during next 48 hours, the Met officials said here today.

For subsequent two days no large change was expected. Moderate to rather heavy rain or thundershowers would occur at many places over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema. Light to moderate rain or thundershowers would occur at a few places over Telangana over the next two days.The sky condition for Hyderabad and neighbourhood over the next two days would be generally cloudy with onne or two spell of rain or thundershowers would occur in parts of city. Maximum and Minimum temperatures would be around 32 and 23 degrees Celsius respectively.Observations recorded at 0830 hours today rain occurred at a few places over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rayalaseema.The following stations recorded heavy rainfall in cm Sullurpet (Nellore dist) 12 , Puttur (Chittoor dist) 11 , Ongole 10 , Miryalguda and Nagarjunasagar Dam (both Nalgonda dist) 9 each, Machilipatnam 8, Ramannapet (Nalgonda dist) 7. The other chief amounts of rainfall recorded in cm are Macherla (Guntur dist), Palamaner (Chittoor dist), Tada (Nellore dist) 6 each, Tirupathi AP, Addanki and Darsi (both Prakasam dist), Alampur and Shadnagar (both Mahabubnagar dist), Pakala (Chittoor dist) 5 each, Bapatla, Devarakonda (Nalgonda dist), Kandukur and Podili (both Prakasam dist), Kunavaram (Khammam dist) 4 each, Nandyal, Rentachintala, Bhimavaram (West Godavari dist), Srungavarapukota and Terlam (both Vizianagaram dist), Yerragondapalem (Prakasam dist) 3 each.
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Rly Recruitment Board scam: CBI files charge sheet

Hyderabad, Sep 14 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has, in a record 89 days, filed a charge sheet against 14 people, including the then Mumbai Board Chairman N Sharma in the Railway Recruitmet Scam (RRS) a CBI statement said here today.

The CBI, Hyderabad filed the charge sheet on September 13 in the Court of Special Judge for CBI cases.The case was filed against AK Jagannadham (A-1), the then Chief Executive Officer, Hassan-Mangalore Rail Development Corporation, Bangalore, J Sahreen Kumar (A-2), private person P Srinivasa Rao (A-3), Fitter, Rayanapadu Wagon Work Shop, Vijayawada, P Ashok Kumar (A-4), private person, Kumaraswamy Jagannadham (A-5), Dy Statistical Officer, Municipal Corporation, Kurnool, Jagannadham Ramesh (A-6), private person, Jagannadham Tirupathaiah (A-7), private person, MRSN Murthy (A-8), private person, Vivek Bharadwaj (A-9), son of S M Sharma, Srujan Jagannadham (A-10), son of A K Jagannadham (A-1), Advocate, SM Sharma (A-11), the then Chairman, RRB, Mumbai, G Sethy (A-12), Sr Divisional Personnel Officer, O/o DRM, Raipur, Manish Patesaria (A-13), Railway Contractor, Mumbai, Ashim Roy (A-14), Railway Contractor and S Vijay Shankar (A-15), private person u/s 120-B, 409, 418, 420 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 7, 8 and 13 (2) r/w 13 (1) (c) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The accused were charge sheeted for offences of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, cheating with knowledge that wrongful loss may ensue to person whose interest offender is bound to protect and causing disappearance of the evidence, receiving of illegal gratification and criminal misconduct. The CBI has filed a 182-page charge sheet and cited 310 witnesses and 384 documents. The entire documentation runs into 5,000 pages.
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Hyd safe for investment, full protection to Industry: Andhra Pradesh CM

Hyderabad, Sep 14 : Notwithstanding the Telangana issue spurring the political temperature, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah today reassured the captains of industry of total protection saying Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh remained the ''safest place for investment'', Chief Minister K Rosaiah said.The government had taken steps to ensure that the current phase of agitation for separate Telangana would not impact industry, he said. The Telangana agitation was ''only a phase'' the Chief Minister Rosaiah told the meeting of the National Excutive Committee of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) not to any doubts as it the agitation, should not come in the way of the developmet of the state.Mr Rosaiah recalled that his government had, early this year, provided protection to the IT-ITES sector in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam when some of the companies wanted to re-locate their operations outside Andhra Pradesh because of the agitation.Responding to the apprehension expressed by a senior office bearer of FICCI, the Chief Minister said '' this type of agitation should not come in the way of development, let us think of development. Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh is safe place for investment.He remained the industrialists that the demand for separate Telangana is not new. This demand had came earlier also.
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Rosaiah assures protection to industry as Telengana hots up

Hyderabad, Sep 14 : With the Telangana issue hotting up again, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah Tuesday assured full protection to the industry.Addressing the captains of Indian industry, Rosaiah said Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh were safe places for investment. He said steps would be taken to ensure that the agitation for a separate Telengana state does not come in the way of development. "You need not entertain any sort of doubts. Government always prepared to extend all support to the industry. We stand by industry," he told the national executive committee meeting of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Rosaiah was responding to the apprehension voiced by Harsh Mariwala, chairman and managing director of Marico Limited, in the background of statements by pro-Telangana groups that a massive movement would be launched after Dec 31. "This type of agitation should not come in the way of development. Let us think of development. Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh is safe place for investment," the chief minister said. He pointed out that his government provided protection to IT/ITES sector in Hyderabad and Visakhaptanam when some of the firms were planning to shift their operations out of the state due to the agitation early this year. Rosaiah said the government of India would take a decision in the larger interest of the country after receipt of the report of the Srikrishna Committee, which it constituted to study the problem and look into different angles. "The government of India after listing to various sections and after conducting a through study through Srikrishna Committee will take a decision. Everyone must respect the final decision of the government of India," he said. The five-member panel constituted by the government in February this year is expected to submit its report by Dec 31. Rosaiah told the industrialists that demand for separate Telangana state was not new. "Earlier also this demand came. There were agitations but ultimately the government of India announced a package and kept the state united," he said.
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