Ordinance issued to regulate micro finance firms in Andhra

Andhra Pradesh Friday issued an ordinance to regulate micro finance institutions (MFIs) in the wake of a spate of suicides due to harassment to borrowers.Governor ESL Narasimhan gave his assent to the ordinance, the draft of which was approved by the state cabinet Thursday. It provides for three years’ imprisonment and Rs.1 lakh penalty for agents or working directors of MFIs harassing the borrowers.
Rural Development Minister Vatti Vasantha Kumar told reporters that the ordinance would prove effective to check the MFIs from resorting to illegal methods to force borrowers to repay loans.The ordinance makes it compulsory for MFIs to register themselves with rural development authorities, The institutions will have to register within 30 days. The registration will be valid for one year and the same will be renewed only if the MFIs adhere to the rules and regulations.It has also been made compulsory for all MFIs to display the rate of interest on their boards. This has been done in view of the complaints by borrowers that MFIs were collecting higher rates of interest than those at which they agree to provide loans.
The minister, however, said the state government had no jurisdiction over fixing the rate of interest.He said with the issuing of the ordinance, the MFIs can’t send their agents to the houses of borrowers.“We will deal firmly with anybody who violates this order. He may be jailed up to three years and the registration of the MFI will be cancelled,” the minister added.Even as the minister made the announcement, unable to bear the harassment by an MFI, a borrower committed suicide in Warangal district.K.Ramesh, a daily wage earner, ended his life at Venkatadripet in Station Ghanpur mandal.More than 25 people have committed suicide due to alleged harassment by MFIs in the state during the last two months.
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Food security bill to be brought soon: Sonia Gandhi

Congress president Sonia Gandhi Friday said that the central government would soon bring forth a food security bill for the benefit of the poorest sections of society.

Addressing a Congress workers’ ‘Sadbhavna Rally’ at Sewagram in Wardha district, about 85 km from here, Gandhi pointed out that the government has already legislated the Right to Education to ensure education for all children, and the food security bill will be the next major public welfare policy measure of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.She also promised to address the issue of farmers in Vidarbha, the state’s eastern region that has seen thousands of farmer suicides in the past few years.Earlier, Gandhi felicitated thousands of Congress activists who marched from various villages in the state to Sewagram in a march called ‘Gram to Sewagram,’ and converged at the historic Sewagram Ashram.“I congratulate (you) for this achievement. With the presence of such people in this country, nobody can stop us from becoming the world’s strongest power,” the Congress president said, urging people to follow Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals of peace, non-violence and universal brotherhood to achieve progress.She warned people against forces that sought to divide the country on grounds of caste and religion and urged Congressmen to be prepared to fight them.At the beginning of her brief address, Gandhi apologised for reaching the venue nearly four hours behind schedule on account of some technical reasons.Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said that despite speculation in some quarters, Sonia Gandhi said that she would attend the rally.His comments came in the backdrop of an alleged ‘money-for-rally’ controversy that erupted Thursday with a taped conversation indicating that money was collected from Congress ministers to cover the rally’s expenses. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Manikrao Thakre, Mumbai Congress chief Kripa Shankar Singh, Union Minister for Heavy Industries Vilasrao Deshmukh and other prominent personalities were present on the occasion.
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Opposition tried to topple my government: Yeddyurappa

Much relieved after winning a second trust vote in four days, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa Thursday slammed the opposition Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) for trying to topple the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.“Attempts to destabilise my government by the opposition parties began soon after its formation in mid-2008. I hope they will desist from such attempts and allow us to complete our term to fulfil the promises made to the people,” Yeddyurappa told reporters after again winning the trust vote in the legislative assembly.He said by proving majority on the floor of the house for the second time in four days, history was created in Indian democracy as no government was asked to take the floor test again and yet win.Noting that as per the constitution, a government need not take another floor test in six months after facing one, Yeddyurappa said that he agreed to the trust vote again on the request of the governor (H.R. Bhardwaj) and advice of his party’s high command in New Delhi.“The political crisis over a week when the opposition parties tried to topple an elected government has dented the fair image of the state and the people are hurt by such unfortunate developments. I deeply regret for what all happened,” Yeddyurappa lamented.Asserting that his government would hereafter only work for the development of the state, the chief minister appealed to the opposition parties to forget the bitterness of the past and join him in the task of building a vibrant Karnataka.Claiming that he knew which lobby was behind the latest bid to topple his government, Yeddyurappa asserted that he would not yield to such pressure.Asked if he suspected the hand of the mining lobby in destabilising his 29-month-old government as he banned iron ore exports in late July, the chief minister declined to admit this or take names but left no one in doubt in replying to the query.“It is well known which lobby attempted to topple my government with hundreds of crores of rupees and who was behind the opposition parties in plotting to overthrow us,” Yeddyurappa said.On filling the vacancies caused by his dismissal of seven ministers, including five Independents and two BJP ministers for revolting against his government, the chief minister said he would think about it after the Dussehra festival and the Karnataka High Court judgment in the disqualification case of the 16 rebel legislators, including 11 from the ruling party.“As the case is sub-judice, I would not like to comment on both now,” he added.
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Presernve habit of letter writing: veteran journalist exhorts

Oct 15 : Veteran journalist T Kutumba Rao who released the inhouse magazine 'Likitha' of postal staff of Eastern Region of Andhra Pradesh today pointed out that the written word stays forever.Speaking after releasing the magazine, he exhorted all to cultivate the habit of writing letters instead of sending message over mobile phones.Lauding the efforts of the postal department for delivering letters for the last half a century, he said he had received more than 100 letters, written to him by former Prime Ministers Jawarahlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. He had also received a number of letters written to him by AICC President Sonia Gandhi.''A Japanese TV channel came to my house for these precious letters for their documentary film on letters of prominent personalities,'' he said.Mr Kutumbera Rao, who is also an entrant into Guinness Book of World Records for delivering the maximum number of public speeches, also recalled that people used to wait for the postman for letters as it was the only mode of exchanging information in earlier days.Post Master General M Sampanth lauded the postal staff for their efforts in carrying forward one of the country's biggest public sector organisations.
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TV channel employees stage dharna

Hyderabad, Oct 15 : Demanding justice, employees of a news channel staged a dharna in front of former Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu's residence at Jubilee Hills here.The management of Studio-N, owned by Nara Lokesh, son of Mr Naidu, was said to has taken a decision recently about sacking of about 90 employees from the channel on the pretext of excess of employees in the channel.The employees yesterday demanded the TDP President to intervene in the matter. Some employees also alleged that the management of the channel was indifferent towards a section of employees and majority sacked employees were from the Telangana region.
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3 Govt employees in ACB net

Hyderabad, Oct 14 : The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) offcials today arrested three government employees on bribe charges.Mr Vanga Vilaya Raja, Village Revenue Officer, Rangapuram of Reddygudem Mandal, Krishna District was caught red-handed by ACB when he demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs 7,000 from the complainant for processing complainant`s application for issue of Pattadar Pass Books.The accused officer Raja will be remanded to judicial custody, an ACB release here said.In another case K Gandailah, Sanitary Jawan, office of the Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Rajendranagar GHMC, was caught red-handed by the A C B Officials when he demanded and accepted Rs 5,000 as bribe for processing the sanitary contract bill pertaining to Jai Santoshi Matha Dwakra Group, Budvel Village of Rajendranagar Mandal in R R District.Gandaiah will be produced before the Additional Special Judge for SPE and A C B Cases, Hyderabad, the release added. Pereddygari Narsimha Reddy (43) Senior Assistant, Board of Intermediate Education, Nampally, Hyderabad was caught red handed by the A C B Officials when he demanded and accepted Rs 5,000 as bribe from the complainant for processing the file and to change name and address of the college located at Ramanthapur. Narsimha Reddy will be produced before the Additioal Special Judge for SPE and ACB Cases, Hyderabad, the ACB release added.
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Lok Satta moots united fight to save farmers

Hyderabad, Oct 14 : The Lok Satta Party has called for an all-party conference on October 16 to organise a united fight against ''anti-farmer policies of State and Union Governments''.Announcing this at a media conference here today, Lok Satta Party President Jayaprakash Narayan pointed out that the Union government was harming farmers' interests by not permitting export of rice and allowing duty-free import of palm oil, while the State government looked on helplessly. Dr JP reeled off facts and figures to depict the grim situation the farmers were facing in the context of the kharif paddy harvest. India as of today has a buffer stock of 46 million tons of rice and paddy. Since FCI's storage capacity, including the leased ones, is only 27.3 million tons, it is forced to keep the remainder under open storage with the attendant risk of damage by rains and rodents. The stipulated buffer storage for the country in July is 27 million tons and in October 16 million tons.
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Police inspector jailed for raping minor

Hyderabad, Oct 14 : A police inspector, accused of raping his colleague's 16-year-old daughter, surrendered Thursday before a city court after evading arrest for over a month.N.C.H. Rangaswamy, circle inspector of Madannapet police station in the city, surrendered before Ranga Reddy district court, which remanded him to judicial custody till Oct 28. He was taken to Cherlapally Jail on the city's outskirts. The accused claimed that he was innocent and the parents of the girl were trying to implicate him in a false case.Rangaswamy was on the run since Sep 1 when the Central Crime Station (CCS) registered a case against him for allegedly raping the daughter of a woman constable posted at the police commissioner's office. Hyderabad Police Commissioner A.K. Khan had suspended him soon after.Rangaswamy was a frequent visitor to the woman constable's house in Saroornagar. The inspector allegedly committed the act Aug 30, when he found her daughter alone. The girl's father returned home to catch the inspector red-handed.The Saroornagar police station refused to register the case, after which the girl's parents approached the police commissioner and lodged a complaint with the Central Crime Station.
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MFI offices attacked in AP

Hyderabad, Oct 13 : Offices of various Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) were attacked in different parts of Andhra Pradesh today for allegedly harrasing rural people in the name of lending money.The attacks were reported in Srikakulam, Chitoor and Anantapur districts where some offices of private MFIs were ransacked by a section of people.Meanwhile, Opposition party leaders and APCC president D Srinivas appealed to the state government to initiate immediate action to prevent the alleged harassment of the rural people by agents of MFIs in the state.Mr Srinivas said it was unfortunate that the rural people, particularly women, were committing suicides unable to withstand harrassment of MFIs and appealed Chief Minister K Rosaiah to take steps to curb such incidents Meanwhile,Chief Minister Rosaiah appealed to the Banks to come to the rescue of the rural poor and SHG members in a big way. He said it is the joint responsibility of the government and the banks to help the poor people in distress who were being harassed by the MFIs.
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Lok Satta credible alternative to collapsing parties: Dr Jayaprakash

Hyderabad, Oct 11 : Claiming that all traditional parties have collapsed in fulfilling the common man dreams and aspirations, Loksatta party president Dr Jayaprakash Narayan said today that his party has to emerge as an alternative to these parties.''Most politicians are concerned about their future and their children's future and not of the country and the people,'' he said adding that the people and the economy have ceased to be their concern except on the eve of elections. ''In contrast, the Lok Satta is committed to providing a platform for all those interested in building the future of the country,'' Dr Jayaprakash said.Addressing a 'Leadership summit' organised on the party's fourth anniversary, Dr JP expressed different political parties have been derailing growth and prosperity with their hypocritical policies. ''All parties claim to be pro-agriculture and pro-farmer but their actions belie them. Warehouses in the country are overflowing with 50 million tons of food grains, some of it rotting, while a buffer stock of 16 million tons will do. Yet the Government of India dithers on permitting exports and ensuring a remunerative price to the farmer,'' he said. Marking the 2009 floods in River Krishna, he said people devastated by the flood still continue to live in make-shift camps even as the dam on the Krishna and its tributaries remain vulnerable. ''With agriculture becoming a losing proportion, there is an exodus of the rural youth into urban areas. Yet the Government is not building small towns to serve as hubs of economic activity and promote livelihood opportunities, he said.
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South Central Railway, to run special trains between Secunderabad-Visakapatnam

Hyderabad, Oct 11 : South Central Railway (SCR) will run four Special Trains Secunderabad-Visakapatnam to clear extra rush of traffic.According to an SCR press release here Train No. 0866A Secunderabad-Visakapatnam Special Train will depart Secunderabad on October 14 and 21 at 2330 hrs and arrive in Visakapatnam at 1215 hrs on the next day. In the return direction, Train No. 0865A Visakapatnam- Secunderabad Special Train will leave Visakapatnam on October 13 and 20 at 1905 hrs and arrive Secunderabad at 0815 hrs on the next day. Enroute, these trains will stop at Secunderabad, Kazipet, Warangal, Khammam, Madhira,Vijayawada, Eluru, Tadepalligudem, Rajahmundry, Samalkot, Annavaram, Tuni, Duvvada and Visakhapatnam, in both the directions.
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Congress MLC Condemns TDP's attack on micro finance

Hyderabad, Oct 11 : Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary and Member of Legislative Council(MLC) Gidugu Rudra Raju today strongly condemned the unwarranted remarks of Dr Mysoora Reddy, Rajya Sabha Member, Telugu Desam Party againest Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and CWC Member and AICC General Secretary Mr Rahul Gandhi with regards to microfinance.In a statement, Mr Rudra Raju said when issuing statement, Dr Reddy must think twice about the reforms made by Dr Manmohan Singh where almost all the countries across the world appreciated the efforts of the Prime Minister that his financial administration is stood for weaker sections and lower rungs of the society.He said, Dr Reddy don't know about the sacrifices and services made by Mr Rahul Gandhi towards the down-trodden and tribes of the society. Mr Rahul always thinks about the welfare of the weaker sections. Allmost all the leaders of different parties appreciated his selfless services partaining to his vision with regards to welfare activities.He said under the stewardship of Congress President Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the UPA Government broght many welfare programmes for the development of the SC/ST/BC and Minorities.The MLC said first time in India, in our State government has provided loan for the poor at the rate of 0.25 paise more funds for DWACRA.
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Protests against finance firms as two more commit suicide

Hyderabad, Oct 11: Two people committed suicide Monday in Andhra Pradesh after microfinance companies allegedly harassed them for non-repayment of loans. Opposition parties have urged the government to take action against the firms while a rights panel has asked police to submit the reports on suicides.While an auto driver committed suicide in Warangal district, a woman ended her life in East Godavari district. Another woman attempted suicide by consuming pesticides in Karimnagar district and was battling for her life at a local hospital.Their relatives alleged that microfinance firms were harassing them for nonpayment of loans.Meanwhile, the opposition parties have alleged that dozens of people had committed suicide in the state in the past few weeks. Expressing concern, Communist Party of India (CPI) state secretary K. Narayana has urged the state government to take immediate steps in this issue.The microfinance firms are accused of luring people with low interest rates. However, they later charge high interest rates, allege the parties.Meanwhile, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), taking suo motu cognizance of media reports on suicides, issued notices last week to the district collectors to submit their reports by Oct 29. Commission chairman Kakumanu Peda Peri Reddy also directed the superintendents of police to take action in this regard.
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TDP Leader demands referendum on Telangana

Vijayawada, Oct 10 : Former Minister and senior Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Kodela Siva Prasad today demanded a referendum in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad over the creation of a separate Telangana state. Addressing a press conference here. he said most of the people in Telangana in general and the twin cities in particular, favoured a ''United Andhra Pradesh'', but some vested interests were inciting innocent people.Commenting on the newly floated Telanaga Praja Front by popular revolutionary poet and singer Gadar, he ridiculed that a number of organisations launched by various people were demanding a separate Telangana state. But most of them were defunct now.Meanwhile, expressing anger over the state government's indifferent attitude to buy paddy from farmers, the former Minister demanded that the Rosaiah government must open godowns to store paddy bought from farmers.''Due to non-availability of godowns, paddy procurement had come to a stand still, pushing the farmers into debts. The farmers were incurring losses, unable to sell their produce,'' he alleged.Telugu Desam MLA Devineni Umamaheshwara Rao alleged today Congress MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy was forcing him to launch a ''malicious propaganda'' against the TDP President.
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CM asks TRANSCO to take extensive cultivation into consideration

Hyderabad, Oct 10 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah today asked TRANSCO to take into account extensive cultivation taken up by the farmers in all the districts again due to the availability of ground water.Dr Rosaiah cleared the proposal of power utilities to provide 1.5 lakh new power connections for agriculture motor pump sets which will provide benefit of free power supply during 2010-11. With today's decision of the Chief Minister, the long pending desire of farming community has been fulfilled. The Chief Minister said a Comprehensive Action Plan to ensure quality power supply to all sectors including agriculture and industries was almost ready. Earlier, the Chief Minister wanted the Power Utility in the State to prepare a concrete action plan for reliable and quality power supply to various sectors since the generation had vastly improved due to extremely good inflows into all the reservoirs in the state.The Chief Minister had a brief meeting over the issues of power supply with Chief Secretary S V Prasad, Principal Secretary to CM C V S K Sarma, Principal Secretary, Energy, Suthirtha Bhattacharya, CMD, AP Transco, Ajay Jain and other officials viz Sri Umesh Sharaaf, JMD, Sri K Ranganatham, Addl JMD, APTRANSCO. During the meeting, the Chief Minister directed the APTRANSCO/ DISCOMs to provide all these new power connections to farmers on war footing before March, 2011.
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Homeopathy, the effective treatment for allergies: Dr Bakshi

Hyderabad, Oct 10 : The Andhra Pradesh chapter of 'Appreciating Homeopathy' initiative today organized a seminar in the city to discuss the latest advancements in the field of Homeopathy.Venerated expert, world-renowned Homoeopath Dr S P S Bakshi, President of Homoeopathic Medical Association of India, former President of Central Council of Homoeopathy and CMD, Bakson's Group Ltd, enlightened the fraternity about the distinct new approach for the manifestations and management of allergy on the muscoskeletal system, gastrointestinal system, respiratory system and skin.Speaking on the occasion, Dr Bakshi said ''This initiative is a step towards increasing the acceptance of Homeopathy and allows an exchange of ideas on recent developments in the field. Allergy is a 100 headed monster that affects one in every three Indians at least once in their lifetime but not many are aware that Homeopathy offers an excellent line of treatment as it addresses the problem by naturally strengthening the immunity of an individual.''
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Gaddar's Telangana outfit to chalk out plans Oct 14

Hyderabad, Oct 10 : The steering committee of Telangana Praja Front (TPF), floated by Maoist sympathiser Gaddar to fight for separate statehood to Telangana, will meet Oct 14 to chalk out its future course of action.Gaddar told reporters Sunday that the meeting would take key decisions to take forward the Telangana movement.The steering committee, headed by Gaddar, comprises 85 members - three representatives from each district and activists of different organisations.The revolutionary balladeer called upon people to join TFP, saying the front would bring all pro-Telangana forces on a common platform.Gaddar, elected president of TFP at its first meeting here Saturday, said he would bow before no power except people's power. He confirmed that Vimala, wife of Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist (Janashakti) secretary Amar, was a member of TPF.The only agenda of TPF was to force the government to table a bill in parliament for formation of a separate Telangana state, he said.The meeting Saturday had passed a resolution to build a movement for introduction of a bill in the winter session of parliament. The TPF will mount pressure on MPs from the region for tabling the bill.The meeting also decided to hold protests in villages to keep the Telangana demand alive and build the movement on the basis of social justice.Though Gaddar stressed that the goal of Telangana can be achieved only through mass movement and not through elections, the steering committee is expected to take a decision on whether the front should contest polls.The leaders who addressed the meeting Saturday expressed divergent views on the issue. Some student groups wants TPF to stay away from elections, pointing out that the parties formed on the slogan of a separate Telangana gave up the movement after their leaders were elected to parliament and the assembly.
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Maoist sympathiser Gaddar takes up Telangana cause

Maoist sympathiser and revolutionary balladeer Gaddar Saturday formally launched his new outfit Telangana Praja Front (TPF) to advocate a separate state of Telangana.Stating that mass struggle is the only way to achieve the goal, he said the TPF was not a mere political party but would develop into a strong political force.Addressing the first meeting of the TPF, Gaddar, born and known a Gummadi Vithal Rao, announced that the immediate goal of the TPF would be to put pressure on the central government to table a bill in the winter session of parliament for granting statehood to Telangana.“The ball is in the centre’s court,” said Gaddar, who is likely to wrest the leadership of the Telangana movement from Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao.Gaddar vowed not to rest till the goal is achieved, and said the movement to be launched by the TFP would bring the state and central governments to a standstill.The day-long meeting, attended by representatives of over 60 organisations from various parts of the region, will finalise the aims and objectives of the TPF.“We want our Telangana, self-rule and self-respect. We don’t want anything else,” said Gaddar, who also sang songs in his inimmitable style.Without naming the TRS or its leader, Gaddar said electoral politics alone cannot achieve separate Telangana. “Delhi, which was unmoved by the electoral wins (of TRS), was rattled by the mass movement,” he said, referring to the protests by students and other groups late last year.He pointed out that for 60 years the parties fighting for Telangana could not achieve anything because their struggle was not mass-based.Gaddar, who had actively participated in Telangana movement of 1969, declared that the TPF would try to bring all forces working for a separate Telangana and who are above selfish politics on a common platform.Gaddar accused the Congress of betraying the cause of Telangana. Gaddar said the TPF had not born overnight and pointed out that the consultations with various mass organisations were going on for over a year.Telangana comprises 10 districts of Andhra Pradesh, including Hyderabad. It was after a nine-day fast by TRS chief in December last year that the central government decided to initiate the process for formation of a Telangana state.The government later constituted the Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee to look into the issue after angry public reaction in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.The committee is scheduled to submit its report to the government by Dec 31.
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Shiv Sena attacks Rahul Gandhi, Omar Abdullah

In a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over their recent controversial utterances, the Shiv Sena Saturday said both “crown princes” needed to get their “heads examined at mental hospitals”.In a no-holds barred editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamna, the Sena has said that the manner in which the two youthful leaders have been shooting off their mouths, they pose “a threat to the nation’s integrity”. It said that both “need to get their heads examined at government expense in government mental hospitals”.Starting with Rahul Gandhi, the editorial said that he has completely lost his mental balance and must be immediately shunted to his “mother’s land” (Italy). It suggested that there they could carry out a research on his brain for its “rotten thinking” and the utterance that there is not much difference between the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI ) and the Rahtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).The editorial said that the SIMI has been banned for indulging in terrorist and anti-national activities with its involvement in many terror incidents around the country, including Mumbai.“It is functioning like a ‘chhote miya’ (junior) of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Al-Qaeda in India. On the other hand, the RSS is the fountainhead of nationalism, the Sangh symbolises sacrifices and selfless service to society – How could Rahul compare the two?” the editorial demanded.Hinting at a hidden agenda, the Sena said that Rahul is trying to please the Muslim vote-bank by his utterances.“It will be better if the Muslims themselves put an end to his statements. The difference between SIMI and RSS is the same as the difference between Italian scamster Quattrochi and Shahid Bhagat Singh, or the distance between India and Italy,” the editorial noted sarcastically.In a below-the-belt remark, the editorial pointed out that the reason Rahul is making such statements is he is not getting settled in life though he is 40, though his younger cousin Varun’s marriage has already been fixed.Going on to tackle Omar Abdullah, the edit said that the statements of this crown prince also could not be ignored by anybody.Terming as “kiddish” Omar’s reported remark that Jammu and Kashmir was compelled to join India and that India and Pakistan must discuss the Kashmir issue, the Sena demanded his outster.“His (Omar’s) views are blatantly anti-national and he deserves to be kicked out as the chief minister,” the edit thundered.It reminded how Indian soldiers have been waging a war against Pakistani infiltrators and terrorists on the borders since the past 60 years and over 25,000 Kashmiris have laid their lives so far.“Someday, Pakistan will have to pay the price for all this,” the editorial warned.
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Chandrababu Naidu raises hand on tribal woman

Hyderabad, Oct 9 : Did former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu assault a tribal woman during a meeting in East Godavari district? Yes, says a television channel, which repeatedly telecast the scene but Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) denies it.The visuals show TDP chief raising his hand to beat a woman, snatching the mike from her and even hitting her on her arm to force her to sit down. The main opposition party, however, clarified that Naidu was only trying to restrain her.The incident took place late Friday at Prattipadu in East Godavari district when Naidu was meeting people after visiting laterite mines in Vantada village.During the interaction, a woman supporting the mines criticised politicians for frequently visiting the area. She snatched the mike from another woman to express her views. Fuming at her action, Naidu admonished her and raised his hand as if to hit her. The leader of opposition then snatched the mike from her and hit her arm to force her to sit down.Sakshi television channel, owned by Congress MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, repeatedly telecast the visuals, claiming that Naidu attacked a tribal woman. It said Naidu lost his cool as the woman wanted to pose a question to him.Leaders of the ruling party demanded Naidu's arrest and that he be booked under the Scheduled Castes/Schedukled Tribes Atrocities (Prevention) Act. They also demanded that Naidu immediately resign from the post of leader of opposition."It is shameful for a man who served as chief minister for nine years and leader of opposition for over six years to raise his hand on a woman," said state Minister for Tribal Welfare P. Balarju.Congress legislators and tribal leaders demanded action against the TDP chief.The TDP, however, clarified that Naidu was only trying to pacify two groups of women who were quarrelling with each other. TDP leader Ramesh Rathod alleged that the television channel spread false propaganda against Naidu as the latter was on a campaign to expose illegal mining.
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