Delhi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi

Sep,02, Hundreds of people, including school children, in Delhi sang devotional songs and showered flowers and petals at Rajghat in tribute to Mahatma Gandhi Saturday on his 142nd birth anniversary.“I’ve been coming here (Rajghat) for the last three years to pay homage to Bapu (as Gandhi was popularly known). Me and my classmates sang bhajans and paid our tribute to Bapu,” said Moin Ahmed, a Class 8 student of Kendriya Vidyalaya in Gole Market.Mahatma’s memorial Rajghat was decorated with flowers and his favourite devotional songs like “Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram” and “Vaishnav Jan To” played in the background. The occasion was celebrated with fervour in the capital.President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance chairperson and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, US Ambassador Timothy Roemer, Bharatiya Janata Party senior leader L.K. Advani and many other political leaders also visited Rajghat to pay tributes to the Mahatma.The birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the ‘Father of the Nation’, is celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti cross the country with reverence. It is also marked as the International Day of Non-Violence around the world.Gandhi played a significant role for achieving independence for India from the British Empire, through non-violent struggle, living a simple, ascetic’s life.
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Notice to Satyam ex-chief on CBI’s plea to scrap bail

The Supreme Court Friday sought Satyam Computer Services Ltd (SCS) ex-chairman B. Ramalinga Raju’s response on a petition by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking cancellation of his bail granted by Andhra Pradesh High Court.A bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Deepak Verma issued the notice after it was told that the high court had erred on several counts in granting bail to Ramalinga Raju who was accused in a conspiracy of serious and grave nature involving fudging and manipulating Satyam’s accounts.In its petition, the CBI said that Ramalinga Raju’s release on bail at this stage of trial would lead to miscarriage of justice.The petition said that the high court had misread the apex court ruling on granting bail to an accused on the grounds of period of detention and the remote possibility of conclusion of trial.In this case, the trial court is already framing the charges, it said.Ramalinga Raju and other co-accused including his brother Rama Raju are accused of fudging Satyam’s accounts and records and manipulating the bank statements, fixed deposits receipts, the liquidity status of the company and other documents relating to the company’s finances.
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Follow path of non-violence: Patil

Greeting the nation on the eve of the birth anniversary of Mahatama Gandhi, President Pratibha Patil Friday asked people to follow the path of truth and non-violence as preached by the apostle of peace.“On the occasion of the Gandhi Jayanti let us take a pledge to follow the path of truth and non-violence and dedicate ourselves towards promoting peace, tolerance and harmony and work for the progress of the nation,” she said in a statement issued here.Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated Oct 2 every  year.“Gandhiji taught us to stand resolutely against fear, to understand the importance of truth and to work for the eradication of poverty, illiteracy and discrimination,” she said. Noting that Gandhi inspired millions to unite for the cause of freedom and independence, the president said: “Let us rededicate ourselves to reflect on the life, work and message of the Father of the Nation.”
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Bulk SMS, MMS ban extended till Oct 4

The government Friday extended the ban on bulk Short Message Services (SMS) and Multi-media Messaging Services (MMS) in the country for another three days till Oct 4. The ban is to make sure that peace is maintained after the controversial Ayodhya verdict.The ban on bulk SMS, which is mainly used for marketing, has affected various information-based services such as SMS alerts on cash withdrawal and debit card spending, balance enquiry and transaction details, share-trading alerts and SMS-based Internet banking.It has resulted in inconveniences to those air and rail travellers as they are unable to get updates on travel details.Earlier, the ban was till Sep 24 to check the spread of rumours or hateful messages, which was later extended till Sep 30 again after the Supreme Court deferred the Ayodhya verdict for a week. It was again extended by a day to Oct 1.
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Process begins for withdrawing Telangana agitation cases

Hyderabad, Oct 2 : The Andhra Pradesh government has initiated the process to withdraw cases against students and others who participated in the agitations for and against separate Telangana state last year, Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy said Saturday.She told reporters here that the process for withdrawal of cases has begun at the district level.The cases would be reviewed over the next 15 to 20 days and the number of cases to be withdrawn would be known only after the process is completed. "The government will issue an order withdrawing the cases," she said.According to Reddy, police filed 1,171 cases against 5,374 people from November last year to Aug 15 this year. She said while withdrawing petty cases would not be a problem, cases relating to serious offences like attack on police, damaging buses and other public and private property would be reviewed before a decision is taken on them.The state government started the process of withdrawing cases against Telangana and Samaikyandhra (united Andhra) agitators a day after Chief Minister K.Rosaiah held high-level meeting with Sabita Reddy, Director General of Police K. Aravinda Rao and former home minister K.Jana Reddy.The decision to drop the cases was taken on the recommendation of a committee comprising Sabita Reddy and Jana Reddy.This would meet a major demand of all the political parties and groups fighting for separate Telangana state. Congress leaders from the region had even petitioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram on this last month.It was Chidambaram who had announced Dec 9 last year that cases against students and others during Telangana movement would be withdrawn. However, the cases could not be withdrawn due to various legal issues involved.More cases were later booked in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions when students and other groups took to streets and resorted to violence, opposing the demand for a separate Telangana state.
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Ramalinga Raju discharged from hospital

Hyderabad, Oct 2 : B. Ramalinga Raju, disgraced founder and former chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd, was Saturday discharged from a government-run hospital here.Raju, the prime accused in the multi-crore Satyam fraud case who was granted bail by Andhra Pradesh High Court Aug 18, was discharged from Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS).NIMS doctors confirmed that Raju was discharged on his request but said his condition had improved. They advised him to visit the hospital once in 15 days for regular check-ups and treatment.It is after 20 months that the former IT czar, who fell from grace after admitting India's biggest ever accounting fraud in January last year, returned home.Raju, who underwent treatment at the hospital for Hepatitis C for 10 months, cleared the hospital bill of about Rs.8 lakh.Raju was shifted from Chanchalguda Central Jail to NIMS late last year and remained in the hospital under judicial custody till Aug 18, when the court granted him bail.Even after getting bail Raju had remained in the hospital for treatment and has been attending the trial as per the bail condition. Ever since he was admitted to NIMS, Raju has been avoiding the court, delaying the commencement of the trial.The 56-year-old Raju has been in jail since January last year when he admitted to a Rs.7,800-crore accounting fraud in Satyam Computer Services Ltd, which he had founded.While resigning as chairman of the firm, he confessed on Jan 7 that the company cooked up its books, resulting in an "inflated (non-existent) cash and bank balances" over several years.Two days later he surrendered before the police and was lodged in Chanchalguda central jail here.The CBI, however, told the court in November last year that the scam is of over Rs.14,000 crore and during the hearing on his bail petition in the High Court, the prosecution said the investors suffered a loss of Rs.24,000 crore.
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