Fanatic rioters enter Jammu city

New Delhi, August 14:

Three people have died in clashes in the Jammu region, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said today and added that the govern-ment will not allow any forced mi-gration from the area.Mr Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha that the situation in vio-lence-hit Jammu region has been brought under control.The Finance Minister said the time was not right for BJP leader Arun Jaitley to visit the area, and urged restraint from political leaders till the situation returns to normalcy."Two Muslims and a Hindu have died in the clashes. All of us are Indians. Three Indian lives have been lost and that is a matter of great regret," Mr Chidambaram said."We will not allow a repetition of 1990. We will not allow forced mi-gration. We will not allow forced resettlement. Everybody will be protected in the area in which he or she lives," he said.The exodus of Kashmiri pandits from the Valley started in 1990

soon after the outbreak of insur-gency in the state.Mr Chidambaram said that ar-rests have been made and the situation was under control after the Army took out a flag march on August 11. Tension in adjoin-ing areas is also under control, he said.His comments came as several

members, including Mr Jaitley, expressed fears that violence in Jammu may lead to a situation similar to 1990.As Mr Jaitley questioned his de-tention at the Jammu airport by the Jammu and Kashmir govern-ment, Mr Chidambaram defended the move saying the time was not right for the opposition leader's

visit."The district administration de-cided that the time was not appro-priate for the leader of opposition to visit (Jammu)," Mr Chidam-baram said.He said using Section 144 (of the Indian Penal Code that prohibits unlawful assembly of people) was at the discretion of the state gov-ernment and the district magis-trate.When BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad asked if a leader like Mr Jaitley should have been stopped, Mr Chidambaram said: "Section 144 is status-neutral, gender- and caste-neutral. The decision lies with the district ad-ministration"."Once the situation returns to normal, the government of Jammu and Kashmir will cer-tainly allow political leaders to visit and meet the people," he added.The Finance Minister was speak-ing after a discussion on last week's riots in Kishtwar town. He made the statement as Home Min-ister Sushilkumar Shinde was un-well.

Sajjad Kitchloo resigns as MoS HomeGovernor

accepts resignationSrinagar, August 12:

Minister of State Home Sa-jjad Ahmad Kitchloo ten-dered his resignation on Monday amid widespread communal violence in Kishtawar district. Kitchloo said his conscious-ness didn't allow him to head the police department since J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah had or-dered a judicial probe into the clashes.Kitchloo, before announc-

ing this resignation, in a hurriedly called press con-ference, said,“I take strong exception to the remarks made by Arun Jaitley, lead-er of opposition in Rajya Sabha. Did Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi resign after Godhra riots? Did Amit Shah - Modi’s principal poll campaigner, resign?” MoS home has been blamed by all political parties for the communal clashes in Kisthwar which claimed three lives.Following the violence, cur-few was implemented in all major towns of 10 districts in Jammu province and has remained so for the last three days.Kitchloo, representative of

National Conference from Kishtwar Assembly constit-uency, was induced in the cabinet early this year.

His resignation came about 12 hours after four police personnel were injured and vehicles were torched

by miscreants in Kishtwar town, 250 km from Jammu, late last night in defiance of curfew orders.

The situation in 14 towns of 10 districts of Jammu divi-sion continues to be tense.

See Resigns on Pg. 11

He turns to You Tube

Srinagar, August 12:

The government on Mon-day prevented Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani from holding a news con-ference here.A large contingent of po-lice personnel deployed in Hyderpora on the lane leading to Geelani’s resi-dence prevented media persons from moving ahead. “There are orders from the top not to allow any journalist to enter into the residence of Gellani, so it is better for you to leave the place,” a group of po-

licemen led by a Station House Officer told media men on the spot.Geelani had decided to hold a press conference after the eruption of com-munal violence in Chenab Valley and Jammu.Talking to CNS, Hurriyat (G) spokesman Ayaz Ak-bar said police barred Gee-lani from addressing news conference by preventing entry of media persons.“Geelani continued to remain under house de-tention and he was not al-lowed to speak before me-dia,” he said adding that Geelani Sahab was intend-ing to hold the press con-ference for peace but the government does not want peace to prevail in State.Akbar said today’s action

shows ‘height of govern-ment’s frustration by the popularity of Geelani.’ “After imposing curbs on his movement, they are now preventing him from speaking to the media to de-link him from the peo-ple. But these draconian acts cannot keep him away from the masses as he rules their hearts,” Akbar said adding that like Gool incident Omar Abdullah has expectedly now ex-onerated VDC’s for their communal role.“If Government can hold a senior leader like Geelani hostage on gun-point, the fate of common Kashmiris can be imagined,” he add-ed. Meanwhile, Octogenar-ian leader has used

See Geelani on Pg. 11

Jammu, August 12:

Authorities Monday sealed Lakhanpur En-try Point after Mus-lims in Jammu re-vealed that hundreds of Hindu zealot rioters from outside States are mulling to enter into Jammu city as they did in 2008 Amarnath agitation.A Muslim cleric from Jammu told CNS that hundreds of rioters have already managed to enter into Jammu city and they have

informed the govern-ment about this devel-opment and demanded an immediate crack down on them.“We have proofs that at least five hundred rioters are staying with the BJP, RSS and VHP leaders and it is they who are attacking our Masjids here. They must be identified and thrown out from the Jammu City,” one of the Jammu Muslim said adding that some top police officials

See Rioters on Pg. 11

CMYK

CMYK

CMYK

CMYK

TueSDAY August 13 | 2013 | 05 Shawal 1434 AH | PAGeS 12 | VOL NO: 3 | ISSue NO: 197 | RS: 2/- (AIR SuRCHARGe FOR JAMMu /DeLHI/LeH 50 PAISA)Pen For JusticeLargely Circulated, No. 1 Bilingual Daily of J&K

Will not allow repeat of 1990 in J&K: Chidambaram

Srinagar, August 12:

Peoples Democratic Par-ty president Mehbooba Mufti Monday said that ‘a dangerous game is go-ing on between National Conference and Bhartiya Janata Party’ and both the parties are hell bent to put the State on fire on communal lines. “Both these parties are hand in glove. Reaction and over-reaction on Kishtwar violence by the top lead-ers of these both parties makes their game plan clear. National Confer-

ence is going to lose noth-ing in Chenab Valley but it is the Congress which would suffer as this party

is dominant in Chenab,” she said.Addressing a press con-ference in Srinagar, Meh-booba Mufti condemned

the statement made by Chief Minister that two Muslims and one Hindu were killed in communal violence.“This statement on part of CM makes it clear that he wants to divide the people on communal lines. Why Muslims were not being compensated and why killers are being allowed to roam freely. Kishtwar people espe-cially the people living in Paddar area are suffer-ing and there are reports that most of them have

See Mehbooba on Pg. 11

Mehbooba alleges NC and BJP hand in glove

Jammu, August 12:

Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah today said that while the Government would take all measures to restore calm in the clash-hit areas of Jammu Division, the political leadership and the civil society as a whole

have an important role in bringing back normalcy and harmony in the affected areas.Chairing the All Party meet-ing here, the Chief Minister expressed satisfaction over the thaw in the situation and hoped that normalcy will prevail in shortest pos-sible time.Highlighting the role of civ-il society and political lead-ership in such challenging times, the Chief Minister

said that the Government and all political parties be-sides the civil society have to work together for restor-ing peace for the larger interest of the State and its people. He said the first tar-get in such crisis should be to safeguard the lives and property and bring back

peace in affected areas. Omar Abdullah said that Government has ordered time bound judicial inquiry into the Kishtwar incident by a retired Judge of the High Court. He said the Government has also an-nounced immediate relief to the maximum of Rs. 2 lakh each in favour of affect-ed house owners and shop-keepers whose houses have been gutted or damaged and shops looted in the clashes.

The meeting among others was attended by the BJP members Jugal Kishore and Ashok Khajuria, National Conference representatives S. S. Slathia and Devender Singh Rana, Congress nom-inees Ravinder Sharma and Janak Raj Gupta, PDP member Ved Mahajan,

Peoples’ Democratic Front member Tej Ram Dogra, CPI(M) member Sham Prasad Kessar, Nationalist Congress Party representa-tive Thakur Randhir Singh, Samajwadi Party member Sheikh Abdul Rehman, Shiromani Akali Dal mem-ber H. S. Raina, President Bahujan Samaj Party Tulsi Dass Langeh besides rep-resentatives of other local parties.

See CM on Pg. 11

CM chairs All Party meetinghttp://www.zabarwantimes.com

Srinagar, August 12:

A complete shutdown was observed in South Kash-mir’s Pulwama district against the random arrest of youth in the district. Meanwhile, police during nocturnal raids arrested at least 9 youth including two brothers. Police sources told CNS that all the arrest-ed youth were involved in stone-pelting.Reports said that people in Pulwama district observed a complete shutdown against the random arrests of youth. Shops, education-al institutions and business establishments remained closed while traffic was off

from the road.People alleged that police randomly raided the houses during the dead of night and arrested various youth.Confirming the arrest of 9 youth, a police official told CNS that all these youth were involved in stone-pelting. These youth are re-sponsible for the injuries of some of our senior officers including Dy SO Moham-mad Sahfi.The arrested youth accord-ing to police sources have been identified as Amir Hansan Ganaie, Amir Bashir residents of Muran Pulwama, Feroz Ahmed Kumar, Mudasir Wali

See Shutdown on Pg. 11

Shutdown in Pulwama against random arrests

Govt bars Geelani to address media

Srinagar, August 12:

In connection with Inde-pendence Day celebra-tions, the ‘security’ has been beefed up with gov-ernment forces kept on high alert across Valley. Police have intensified frisking of motorcycles to avoid any security lapse with regards to August 15.The main function will be held at Bakhshi Sta-dium where Chief Min-ister Omar Abdullah is expected to hoist the flag ceremony in this summer

capital.A police official while talking to Srinagar based news gathering agency, GNS said the security has been put to high vigil. “We are maintaining a high vigil as part of prep-arations for the Indepen-dence Day celebrations in order to avoid any untow-ard incident.”“We have intensified checking of motorcycles so as to prevent any Hyderpo-ra like incidents in which motorcycles were used,” the official said, adding

that it is possible to escape on two-wheeler rather in a big car.Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar, Aashiq Hussain Bhukhari said, “Frisking and check-ing of identity cards are routine on August 15 as part of security prepara-tions. There is no specific input about any particular target of militants on this Independence Day.”Police and paramilitary forces have put up nakas at various locations across the city routes to intensify

searches of two wheelers and three wheelers.“For the I-Day celebra-tions we have made ample security arrange-ments,” a senior police official said, adding that the forces had made full preparations to deal with any eventuality.Security has also been beefed at the main venue Bakhshi Stadium where the rehearsals of various cultural programs and police parade would take place for the Independence Day function.

Ahead Of Independence Day Motorcycles Look ‘Suspicious’

Both parties hell bent to create a divide

Says situation is under control in Kishtwar

Appeals for upholding State’s rich traditions of communal harmony

Jammu, August 12: Former Minister of State for Home and MLA Kishtwar Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo, today blamed the opposition parties for trying to extract political mileage out of the prevailing law and order situation in the State. He also condemned those elements which are deliberately and in a planned manner trying to drag his name in the events that led to the violence in Kishtwar town on August 9.In a press statement issued here today, Mr. Kichloo has said

See Opposition on Pg. 11

‘Opposition dragging my name for political mileage’

Authorities seal Lakhanpur Entry-post

Islamabad, August 12:

Pakistani Finance Min-ister Muhammad Ishaq Dar said Monday that the government was not currently considering granting most favored nation trading status for India, despite hope that PM Sharif would move quickly on the is-sue once in office.Pakistan announced in 2011 that it would grant India most favored na-tion trading status, something India did in 1996. But domestic pres-sure from businesses worried about competi-

tion prevented the pre-vious government from following through. Now it appears that ten-sion with India could be causing the current gov-ernment to also put on the brakes. “Most favored nation status is not under im-mediate consideration,” Dar told a private news channel in an interview.The statement came when tensions have flared again in the heav-ily militarised Kashmir valley with the nuclear-armed neighbours both pointing the finger at each other.

Earlier on Monday, Pak-istan had summoned India's deputy ambas-sador to protest over the latest clashes in the dis-puted Himalayan terri-tory of Kashmir that left one civilian dead.The Pakistani military accused India of “unpro-voked firing” across the de facto border in the early hours of Monday morning, the latest in a series of violent con-frontations in Kashmir.The latest incident took place when “Indian troops resorted to un-provoked firing in the

See Pak FM on Pg. 11

MFN status for India is not under immediate consideration: Pak FM

Charge of I&C remains with CM Srinagar, August 12: According to Government Order issued here today by General Adminis-tration Department, the charge of the Ministry of Industries and Commerce (I&C) shall remain with the Chief Minister till further orders.

1 Dies, 4 Injured in road mishaps Srinagar August 12: One person died and four others were in-jured in different road accidents across the Kashmir Valley.A Motorcycle bearing regis-tration number JK01S/5599 driven by Mohammad Yaseen Sheikh resident of Kadlabal, Pampore collided with an unidentified Tavera near Samboora, Awantipora, in the jurisdiction of police station Pampore, resulting in injuries to Motorcyclist. The injured succumbed his injuries on way to hospital. A case has been registered in this regard.A Tavera bearing registration number Jk03C/9444 hit and injured a pedestrian Mst. Zarifa wife of Ghulam Rasool Dar resi-dent of Pazalpora, at Panzalpora in the jurisdiction of police sta-tion Bijbehara. The injured was shifted to Bijbehara hospital for treatment. A case has been registered in this regard.

See Mishaps on Pg. 11

Dr. Ashok Bhan meets GovernorSrinagar, August 12: Dr. Ashok Bhan, former DG Police and Member, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, met Mr. N. N. Vohra, Governor, at Raj Bhavan here today.The Governor, who is Chair-man of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, discussed with Dr. Bhan several matters relating to the infrastructure and other logistical facilities which are being established for meeting the requirements of the progressively increasing Yatra. Issues relating to security and disaster management were also discussed and Dr. Bhan accept-ed the Governor’s request to chair Committees which would view, interalia, the enforcement of security arrangements in the Yatra area and the management of the Sports Stadium Complex at Katra.

Mentally unsound boy missing in Ganderbal Srinagar August 12: Kaloo Bijran resident of Khanan re-ported to Ganderbal police that his mentally challenged son Mohammad Haneef Bijran age 16 years, height 5 feet 6 inch , wearing Khandress grey colour is missing since 08.08.2013.

Leopard kills a child in Handwara Srinagar August 12: A 10 year old boy was mauled to death by a leopard in village Karihama in Handwara.A leopard attacked 10 years old Basit Bashir son of Bashir Ahmad Lone resident of Hayan Trehgam when he alongwith other children were playing in village Karihama, Wani Mo-halla, Handwara in the jurisdic-tion of police station Vilgam. He suffered severe injuries in the attack and was shifted to the hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

Shop damaged in fire Srinagar August 12: Due to electric short circuit, fire broke out in the Computer Shop of Abdul Ahad Lone son of Ghulam Ahmad resident of Panzgam, at Panzgam, Kupwara, in the jurisdiction of police station Kralpora. The shop and the merchandize suf-fered damages in the fire that was brought under control by the locals. However, no loss of life or injury was reported in this incident.

Jammu, August 12 - Stating that Jammu and Kashmir has been the abode of different re-ligions, faiths and cultures, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Monday impressed upon the promi-nent citizens in particular and common masses in general to strengthen the tradition of peace-ful co-existence between various sections of the

society existing in the State since centuries. “Let us all join hands to nurture harmony and build up bonds of amity”, he emphasized.

Expressing his concern and condemn-ing the violence in Kishtwar and other parts of Jammu Division, the Chief Minister underlined the need of weeding out the anti-social ele-ments and violence mongers who escalate ten-sion between various sections of the society for their self-ends.Chairing a meeting of the promi-

nent citizens of Jammu here this afternoon, the Chief Minister said that the civil society par-ticularly its prominent members have to render their special role to pacify situation and gener-ate goodwill between various sections. He said Government has already initiated measures in this direction and wants active involvement

and valuable participation of the prominent citizens of the society in helping the restoration of peace and harmony in the clash-hit area of Kishtwar and other parts of the Jammu Division.The Chief Minister heard viewpoints of various heads of the organizations and the unions and the prominent civil society members pres-ent in the meeting and shared with them the measures put in place by the Government to ensure return of peace in shortest possible time.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand, Ministers Raman Bhalla, Sham Lal Sharma, Ajay Sadhotra, Ministers of the State, Ajaz Ahmad Khan and Dr. Manohar Lal Sharma, Legislator and National Conference Provincial President, Jammu, Devender Singh Rana, Principal Secretary Home, Suresh Kumar,

Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Shantmanu, Director General of Police, Ashok Prasad and ADGP, P. L Gupta.The prominent citizens which participated in the meeting included Y.V. Shar-ma, President, Chamber, Commerce and Indus-tries, Jammu, Arun Gupta, General Secretary, Chamber Commerce and industries, Jammu M. K. Bhardwaj, President, Bar Association, Jammu, Vikram Singh, General Secretary Bar Associa-tion, Jammu, Yashpal Gupta, President All Trad-

ers & Retailers Association, Jammu, Niraj Anand, General Secretary, All Traders & Retailers Associ-ation, Jammu, Inderjit Khajuria, President Hotel and Lodges Association, Jammu, Ravi Mahajan, Paryatan Vikas Mandal, Jammu, M.M. Khajuria, Ex- DGP, J&K,, Mohammad Aslam Qureshi (Rtd IAS), Khalid Hussain, Ex- Dy. Commissioner, Masood Choudhary (Rtd IPS), Narayan Singh, President Rajput Sabha, Ved Parkash, President, Brahmana Sabha, Jammu, Vijay Lochan, Presi-dent Guru Ravi Dass Sabha, M.R. Bhagat, Presi-dent Megh Sudhar Sabha, Jammu, Anil Chopra, President Mini Bus Union, Jammu, Ashiq Hus-sain, Shia Federation, Jammu, Sudershan Singh Wazir, Baldev Khullar, President Raghunath Bazar Association, Jammu, Surinder Mahajan, Ex- President Raghunath Bazar Association, Jammu, Vinod Gupta, President Mahajan Sabha, Jammu, Rajiv Chuni, Chairman SOS Internation-al, Choudhary Shah Mohammad, Advocate, S. Surinder Singh, Advocate, Jugal Mahajan, Chief Warden Civil Defence and Talat Niyaz Qazi, Muslim Federation, Jammu, Anil Suri, President Bari Brahmana Industrial Association, Jammu. The civil society members appreciated the ini-tiatives taken by the Government to pacify the situation and ensure safety of life and property. The civil society condemned the violence and expressed grief over the loss of human lives and property in the clashes between the two sec-tions of the society in Kishtwar and other parts of Jammu Division.

Mega Lok Adalat to be held on August 17 at Anantnag

Srinagar, August 12:

Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Mr. Ali Mohammad Sagar has directed the officers to accelerate the developmental works undertaken by the Government for ensuring the sustained development of the Srinagar city.

The Minister was addressing officers during a review meeting convened to dis-cuss the status of developmental works undertaken for ensuring beautification and development of Srinagar.

Commissioner Secretary Housing and Urban Development Department, Mr. Jeet Lal Gupta, Commissioner Srinagar Mu-nicipal Corporation, Dr. G. N. Qasba and se-nior officers of different departments like LAWDA. UEED, R&B, PHE, PDD and district administration were present.

Mr. Sagar impressed upon the officers

to ensure timely completion of various projects so that the people living in the city get benefitted from these. He said that the government has undertaken several mega projects for ensuring sustained de-velopment of the Srinagar city and the ex-ecuting agencies and departments should ensure that they are completed within the stipulated time frame.

The Minister also directed the officers to take up the Khankah-i-Moulla beauti-fication project at an earliest so that the shrine can be renovated wherever required and the catchment areas of it be also taken up for development on heritage pattern. He said that the several historic areas have already been identified by the government for developing the same on heritage pat-tern so that the whole city comes up as a focal point for the tourists coming to visit the state which would also go a long way

in boosting the trade and other related economic activities.

Mr. Sagar also asked the officers to speed up the work on the city gate project being undertaken by the Srinagar Munici-pal Corporation. He further directed the officers to ensure that the name of impor-tant places of the city should be engraved which would serve as a reference point to the tourists coming to visit the historic city.The Minister also directed the con-cerned to undertake the work on various STPs being constructed so that the water bodies do not get contaminated and the ecology of the same and the areas around them are maintained. He also asked the officers to carry out the works on various connecting bridges in and around the Mis-keen Bagh and Bagh-i-Roopsingh for the general convenience of the people living in these areas.

Anantnag, August 12: Al-ternative Dispute Resolution in the District Court at Anan-tnag has gained momentum since the inauguration of ADR Centre by Judge, Supreme Court of India, Mr. Justice R.M. Lodha.A large number of cases have been settled through Lok Adalat and mediation.

According to the Chair-man, District Legal Services Authority, Anantnag, Mr. Ab-dul Rashid Malik, a mega Lok Adalat shall be held on August 17, 2013 to settle the cases and references arising out of Acquisition of Land under the Land Acquisition Act. All the references with regard to Land Acquisition will be taken up in the Lok Adalat at Dak Bungalow, Khanabal at 11 a.m on the said date.

Governor appeals to the people to maintain communal harmonySrinagar, August 12: Mr.

N. N. Vohra, Governor Jammu and Kashmir, deeply disturbed and pained by the happenings in the last three days, has ap-pealed to the people compris-ing all the communities in the State to maintain communal harmony and peace.

In a statement issued here today, the Governor has also appealed to the leaders of all the political, religious and so-cial groups and members of the civil society to urgently join hands to reinvigorate inter-community bonds and strengthen societal harmony.

Daily ZABARWAN TIMES NEWS Srinagar |TueSday 13 .8 .2013

Sagar asks officers to accelerate city development

CM chairs citizens meeting

Today you may be inspired to have a little fun with your looks, Libra. You may wish to change your haircut or experi-ment with different colors or styles of clothing. It would be fun to get out of your routine, even if it just means donning funky sunglasses or bright Hawaiian patterns. You will feel lighter and more flirtatious.

Today’s energy has you rethinking all areas of your life, Scorpio. If you aren’t as challenged by your job as you think you should be, perhaps it’s time for a change. The trick for you will be figuring out what it is that you want to do. You have a tremendous amount of creative ability. If you aren’t using these talents, why not explore a career that would let you develop them further?

You’re ready for dramatic change in your life, Sagittarius. It isn’t that you’re dissatisfied with your career or personal life. Rather, you feel like you’re missing out on something great, if you only knew what. Be receptive to whatever op-portunities arise and explore them all. You may find the an-swers you seek through travel or more education. Bring a friend if you’re afraid to explore on your own.

Capricorn, expect to meet someone new who will be a tremendous influence in your life - probably in your career. If you’ve been frustrated by your lack of progress up the corpo-rate ladder, take heart. This new person may be able to show you another way up. In spite of your frustration, you should continue to work in your usual manner. You’re on the right path, even though you may doubt it now.

You’ve been on a wild ride for several months, Aquarius - all that excitement in your personal life and career! If ma-jor changes for the better haven’t yet occurred, know that they will. A promotion is in order, most likely accompanied by a raise. Don’t act so surprised - you’ve had this coming for a long time. Celebrate tonight with someone dear to your heart.

Foreign lands and new opportunities beckon today, Pi-sces! Keep your eyes and ears open as these opportunities may come to you from an unusual or unexpected source. You’re ready for a change of some kind in your personal or professional life. It’s up to you to take steps in whatever new direction you decide to go. Don’t rule out a few classes as a way to further your career.

Mind your manners today, Virgo. Make sure your charm is turned up high. Merging with the group is essential as you keep the momentum of the energy going. The more the mer-rier. Once you get the ball rolling in the right direction, there will be plenty of momentum to help it up the next hill. The important thing is that you take responsibility for your ac-tions.

Things may get a bit hostile today, Aries. No one wants to budge from his or her position. You could be caught be-tween mind and heart issues. Both sides are unforgiving and unwilling to give up control. Your best bet is to try to find compromise wherever possible. You may not get the exact solution you want, but you will get one that’s workable for all parties involved.

You may think that everything is perfect, Taurus, when suddenly, there’s a great surge of unyielding emotional en-ergy. Be on the lookout because such situations are likely to crop up and add intensity to your journey. Pool your knowl-edge with that of other people instead of trying to come up with all the answers by yourself.

Others are apt to play a big role in the events that unfold today, Gemini. It’s likely that closely communing with others will be very important. Despite this, you may still feel alone. Even within a large group, your heart may yearn to bond tightly with just one other person. Do your best to stay posi-tive regardless of the combative forces likely to be at work on a day like this.

You may be in a difficult position today, Cancer, as if you’re being pulled in two directions with little say as to how things are supposed to end. The acting forces could be ma-nipulative, so you should take special care that no one takes advantage of you. This may be easier said than done at a time like this.

It’s very possible that the best solution today is to simply give up control, Leo. When it comes to matters of the heart, other people may be in a whirl of turmoil. Trying to figure out their state of mind will be impossible so don’t even try. You may just want to let things ride and see where you end up tomorrow before making any major moves.

Shopian, August 12: The District Development Commissioner, Shopian, Mr. Bashir Ahmad Bhat reviewed the arrangements for celebrations of Independence Day here today.

The meeting was attended by all the District Officers including Police and Civil administration.The District Development Com-missioner expressed his satisfaction with the arrangements be-ing put in besides made via-a-via the security, barricading, traffic, seating, medical, fire and emergency and availability of necessary services.Regarding the celebrations on the Independence Day, the District Development Commissioner informed the meeting that the Day will start with Shahnai Wadan at 8 a.m. and would be followed by hoisting the tricolour at 9.05 a.m.

The chief guest shall inspect the parade at 9.45 a.m., which would be followed by cultural programmes.

Better drinking water facilities to be ensured:

ADC AngAnantnag, August 12: On the directions of Deputy Commis-

sioner, Anantnag, Additional District Development Commis-sioner, Anantnag today visited Bulbul Nowgam village to look into the reports of breaking out of Gastroenteritis in the area. The Ad-ditional District Development Commissioner was accompanied by the Chief Medical Officer, Anantnag, District Pollution Officer, Anantnag, Tehsildar Anantnag and Engineers of Public Health En-gineering department.The Additional District Development Com-missioner directed the PHE Engineers to take immediate mea-sures for cleaning and chlorination of the water reservoir located at village Sandoo.

Srinagar, August 12:

Minister of State for Information Technology, Power and Information has appealed the people to maintain peace and communal harmony so that

the forces trying to disrupt the peace-ful environs for their petty interests are defeated. The Minister was ad-dressing a large gathering of people, prominent citizens, social activists from Pogal Paristan, Maligam, Ukhral,

Almbas, Kochak, Nagare, Tolshal, Ram-soo and Magarkote of the Ramban dis-trict at Ukhral here today.

Mr. Vikar said that the people of the State have always believed in mu-tual brotherhood and co-existence

throughout the ages. He further ap-pealed them to maintain peace so that the ulterior motives of the vested interests trying to create an environ-ment of hatred and destruction are defeated.

The Minister said that the govern-ment has already passed instructions to deal with the miscreants trying to formant trouble and people should also come forward and contribute their bit in ensuring that the peace is

sustained. Mr. Vikar also constituted peace forums and appealed them to ensure that they should work collec-tively in a synergized manner for en-suring communal harmony and sus-taining peace.

Vikar constitutes peace forums, appeals for maintaining communal harmony

I-Day celebration arrangements finalized

at Shopian

Civil Society Calls for strengthening communal harmony, brotherhood

Ganderbal, August 12

Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal convened a meet-ing of officers to discuss the issues related to various as-pects of de-notification of the 10 villages of Fakh area of district Ganderbal from Srinagar Municipal Corpora-tion here today.

Among others, Superin-tending Engineers of R&B & PHE, Ganderbal, Assistant Commissioner Develop-ment, Ganderbal, Divisional Forest Officer Sindh Forest Division Ganderbal, Execu-tive Engineers of R&B, PHE & Irrigation Ganderbal, Chief Education Officer, Gander-bal, Chief Medical Officer, Ganderbal, Chief Agriculture Officer, Ganderbal, District Sheep Husbandry Officer, Ganderbal and Chief Animal Husbandry Officer, Gander-bal attended the meeting

The meeting was in-formed that the Forest De-partment shall ensure the revival of the concessional rates of timber in these ar-eas as per set norms of the Forest Department preva-lent in rural areas.

Accordingly, forest sale depots which were earlier existing in the said area may be restarted and allotment of timber and dumping may be made within a week’s time so that benefit reaches general public of these vil-lages.

The Rural Development department was asked to formulate a comprehensive plan for these 10 villages and submit the same to the Administrative Department so that various activities un-der MG NREGA Programmes are implemented in letter and spirit in these areas, the meeting was informed.

Speaker ap-peals people to maintain calm,

tranquilityThe Speaker Jammu and

Kashmir Legislative Assem-bly Mr. Mubarak Gul ap-pealed to the people of state to maintain calm and tran-quillity in the State.He said that all the sections of the society have lived in peace and togetherness in the past and they have to live like brothers in the future also.Mr. Gul said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir ex-hibit their commitment for peace, brotherhood, com-munal harmony and toler-ance which is the trait of people of the Jammu and Kashmir.

Extend support for

restoration of normalcy

JAMMU, AUGUST 12- The members of Chamber of Com-merce from Kashmir division who arrived here today to ex-tend support to Jammu Cham-ber of Commerce and traders to help normalization of situ-ation in Jammu division, this evening jointly met Chief Min-ister Omar Abdullah here and discussed prevailing situation in Jammu.

The meeting discussed matters relating to the resto-ration of calm and peace in

the clash hit areas in Jammu division and help return of normalcy. The trade bodies extended their support to the Government in its efforts to bring back peace and restore tranquility in the division.

The Chief Minister appre-ciated the trade bodies and said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir has always been protagonist of secularism, communal harmony and have worked for preserving the plu-ralistic ethos of the state. He

appreciated the two chambers for working in close coordina-tion with each other which will go a long way in restoring normalcy.

Those who participated in the meeting included Jammu

Chamber of Commerce led by Y.V Sharma, Hamid Punjabi President Kashmir Chamber of Commerce, Anil Suri, Presi-dent Bari Brahmana Industrial Association, Yashpal Gupta, President Retailers Federation Association, Jammu.

DC Ganderbal for the implementa-tion of MG NREGA programmes

J&K Chambers of Commerce meet CM

E ++HHEAAL L HH5 ZABARWAN TIMES

TUESDAY | 13 AUG 20138 ZABARWANTIMES

‘Chewing betel leaf may help fight cancer’

Chewing ‘paan’ or betel leaf could help fight a form of bone mar-row cancer, a group of Indian re-searchers say. A molecule derived from betel leaf may be beneficial to patients suf-fering from a cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many white blood cells and the body refuses to respond to common drugs, said a study by scientists in Kolkata and Mumbai. An alcohol-ic extract of the betel leaves helps patients suffering from chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) -- the most common form of leukae-mia in adults in India -- holding out hope of improved treatment. The research was carried out by the Indian Institute of Chemi-cal Biology (IICB), the Institute of Haematology and Transfusion Medicine, Kolkata, and Piramal Life Sciences, Mumbai. “We have conducted a study and seen that the compound hydroxychavicol

(HCH) is the major component of the alcoholic extract of the betel leaves and it might contribute, at least in part, to the observed anti-CML activity of the leaf extract,” Santu Bandyopadhyay of the de-partment of Cancer Biology and Inflammatory Disorders at IICB, an institute under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, told us. The research was based on a 2011 report in journal Fron-tiers in Bioscience (Elite Edition). According to the study, published this year in the Cancer Science journal - the official journal of the Japanese Cancer Associa-tion - HCH and its analogues not only induced killing of the cancer-ous CML cells but also led to the death of the drug-resistant cancer cells with minimal harm to normal human peripheral blood mono-nuclear cells (PBMC). PBMC are blood cells that are an important component of the immune sys-

tem. CML is principally an adult disease with a yearly incidence of one in 100,000 in India. Men are affected more often than women. The slow-progressing blood and bone marrow disease usually oc-curs during or after the middle age, and rarely occurs in children. The leukaemia cells can build up in the blood and bone marrow. So there is less room for healthy white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. When this happens, infection, anaemia or easy bleed-ing may occur. So far, the drug imatinib has been used success-fully to treat CML, but mutations have made the leukaemic cells un-responsive to the medicine. None of the available approved drugs has been effective in dodging the responsible mutation - called T315I. According to the report in Frontiers in Bioscience (Elite Edition), the alcoholic extract of paan leaves causes the imatinib-resis-tant cells to undergo a self-destructive process called apoptosis. The extract also shows activity against T315I mutation, the report said. Chewing ‘paan’ or betel leaf could help fight a form of bone marrow cancer, a group of Indian researchers say. A molecule derived from betel leaf may be ben-eficial to patients suffering from a cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many white blood cells and the body refuses to respond to common drugs, said a study by scientists in Kolkata and Mumbai. An alcoholic extract of the betel leaves helps patients suffering from chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) -- the most common form of leukaemia in adults in India -- holding out hope of improved treatment. The research was car-

ried out by the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), the In-stitute of Haematology and Trans-fusion Medicine, Kolkata, and Pi-ramal Life Sciences, Mumbai. “We have conducted a study and seen that the compound hydroxychavi-col (HCH) is the major component of the alcoholic extract of the betel leaves and it might contribute, at least in part, to the observed anti-CML activity of the leaf extract,” Santu Bandyopadhyay of the de-partment of Cancer Biology and Inflammatory Disorders at IICB, an institute under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, told us. The research was based on a 2011 report in journal Fron-tiers in Bioscience (Elite Edition). According to the study, published this year in the Cancer Science journal - the official journal of the Japanese Cancer Associa-tion - HCH and its analogues not only induced killing of the cancer-ous CML cells but also led to the death of the drug-resistant cancer cells with minimal harm to normal human peripheral blood mono-nuclear cells (PBMC). PBMC are blood cells that are an important component of the immune system. CML is principally an adult disease with a yearly incidence of one in 100,000 in India. Men are affected more often than women. The slow-progressing blood and bone marrow disease usually oc-curs during or after the middle age, and rarely occurs in children. The leukaemia cells can build up in the blood and bone marrow. So there is less room for healthy white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.

Cut down on red meat, save the planet!

Cutting out on consump-tion of red and processed meat consumption would not only prompt a fall in chronic diseases, but our carbon footprint would shrink by 28 million tonnes a year, a study suggests.Food and drink accounts for a third of all green-house gas emissions at-tributable to UK consum-ers, with livestock farming accounting for around half of this proportion, owing to the large quantity of ce-reals and soy imported for animal feed.Even when imported foods are taken out of the equa-tion, the government's 2050 target for an 80 per-cent cut in the UK's carbon footprint will be "unattain-able" without a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from live-stock farming, the authors, citing the Committee on Climate Change, said.Previously published evi-dence shows that the risks of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and bowel cancer rise by 42 per cent, 19 per cent, and 18 per cent respectively, with every additional 50 grams of red and processed meat eaten daily.The authors used respons-es to the 2000-2001 Brit-ish National Diet and Nu-trition Survey to estimate

red and processed meat intake across the UK pop-ulation and published data from life cycle analyses to quantify average green-house gas emissions for 45 different food categories.They then devised a feasi-ble "counterfactual" alter-native, based on a doubling of the proportion of survey respondents who said they were vegetarian—to 4.7 per cent of men and 12.3 per cent of women—and the remainder adopting the same diet as those in the bottom fifth of red and processed meat consump-tion.According to the survey, those in the top five of con-sumption list, ate 2.5 times as much as those in the bottom fifth.Therefore, adopting the diet of those eating the least red and processed

meat would mean cut-ting average consumption from 91 to 53 grams a day for men and from 54 to 30 grams for women.The calculations showed that this would significant-ly cut the risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes, and bowel cancer by be-tween 3 and 12 per cent across the population as a whole.And this reduction in risk would be more than twice as much as the population averages for those at the top end of consumption who moved to the bottom end.Furthermore, the expected reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would amount to 0.45 tonnes per person per year, or just short of 28 million tonnes of the equivalent of CO2 a year.

6 Habits that give you a paunchTOI lists out the things that contribute to your burgeoning waistline.We tend to overlook on certain habits that affect our life. We list down seven such habits that give you a belly pudge and how you can get rid of the unwanted fat gathering around your increasing waistline...Skipping mealsWhen you skip meals, you end up overeating later and the fat inevitably finds a way to your midsection. Make it a point to eat small to medium-sized meals every three to four hours daily. Says nutritionist Jivesh Shetty, "We have to trick our body into having smaller meals every two to three hours to keep our metabolic rate high, not making us feel hungry and binge later."Binge drink-ingWhen you binge-drink, you are inviting flab to set-tle down on your mid-sec-tion. Alcohol contains lots of calories and you often tend to feel hungry while you are drinking. If you want to go out drinking

with friends, make sure you opt for red wine — it helps fight paunch. Nutritionist Namita Nanal, says, "The consumption of alcohol in moderation is fine during weight maintenance. You can choose to have wine as it is a rich source of antioxidants."Crazy about crunchesSit-ups tone the muscles and does not af-fect the layer of fat cover-ing them. Doing 50 or 100 crunches will not make your jeans fitting loose. In-stead of doing 50 crunches a day, it is advisable to jog or brisk walk in the park or

on the treadmill for half an hour daily to get rid of the belly pudge. Nanal says, "Only doing too much of crunches will not help. A proper combination of a good workout along with diet will help you to lose the fat faster."Consuming 'lite' productsRemember that opting for sugar-free sweets, yoghurt, low-fat snacks or diet so-das will not help in the long run. These artificial sweeteners trigger your metabolism to increase the storage of fat.Staying away from bread

Whole-grain breads and cereals allow insulin to rise and gradually reduce the chances of adding fat to your belly. Make it a point of include wild rice, whole wheat chappatis and oat-meal in your meal plan once a day. Says Shetty, "Bread made from whole wheat and other processed grains have usually more fibre and are usually no different from homemade chapattis. It is healthy to have some amount of car-bohydrates to help in the digestion process."Fatty foods: a big no-noNot all kinds of fats are unhealthy. Monounsaturated fats are good for you. Nutritionists opine that if you consume one-quarter of an avocado either in your sandwich or salad, you will lose the fat around your belly soon. Nanal adds, "Good fats are essential for your body. For example, you can have nuts, healthy oils like sun-flower and olive oil. Avoid-ing them completely will not benefit your body com-pletely.

Daily dose of walnuts boost sperm qualityEating 2.5 ounces of walnuts per day improves semen quality in healthy young men, researchers say. According to a new study by UCLA researchers, eating 75 grams of wal-nuts a day improves the vitality, mo-tility, and morphology of sperm in healthy men aged 21 to 35. Dr. Wend-ie Robbins and her colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles decided to investigate whether in-creasing polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are critical for sperm maturation and membrane function, would increase sperm quality in men consuming a Western-style diet. The best sources of dietary PUFAs in a Western-style diet include fish and fish oil supplements, flax seed, and walnuts, the latter of which are rich sources of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a natural plant source of ome-ga-3. With support by the California Walnut Commission, Dr. Robbins' team selected 117 healthy men be-tween the ages of 21 and 35 who ate a Western-style diet and split them into two groups: one (58 men) who would avoid eating tree nuts and another (59 men) who would eat 75 grams of walnuts per day. Previous studies had indicated that 75 grams of walnuts would be a dose at which blood lipid levels would change, but at which healthy young men would

not gain weight. Before the experi-ment began and then again 12 weeks later, the men's semen quality was analyzed according to conventional parameters of male fertility, includ-ing sperm concentration, vitality, motility, morphology, and chromo-some abnormalities. After 12 weeks, the team found no significant chang-es in body-mass index, body weight, or activity level in either group. The men consuming walnuts, however, had significantly increased levels of omega-6 and omega-3 (ALA) fatty acids and experienced improvement

in sperm vitality, motility, and mor-phology. Those eating walnuts also had fewer chromosomal abnormali-ties in their sperm following the wal-nut dietary intervention. The control group, on the other hand, experi-enced no changes. Although this re-search indicates that eating 75 grams of walnuts per day can positively affect a young man's sperm qual-ity, it is still unknown whether the benefits would apply to young men with fertility problems and whether they would actually translate into in-creased fertility.

Keep your skin glowing during monsoonAfter a hot and sweaty summer, the monsoon comes as a relief but the humid and damp weather takes a toll on the skin and eyes. Experts advise how small changes in the skin care routine during the season can keep the skin glowing and eyes fresh.Monsoon brings humidity and it's bad news for all type of skins:Oily skin: The skin type is mainly the result of genetically deter-mined hormonal changes. To treat oily skin one needs to remove ex-cess oil by cleansing it twice or thrice a day, but not more than that."Limit washing your face to two or three times a day as too much washing will stimulate your skin to produce more oil. Avoid heavy cleansing creams. Scrub your face on a regular basis. This will help unclog the pores and remove the layer of dead cells from your skin," cosmetic surgeon Anup Dhir said.It is advised to use warm water while washing face as it dissolves skin oil better than lukewarm or cold water.Other than that, one also uses mud-pack. Homemade pack made with "Chane ka atta and raw milk" can help in keeping skin refresh-ing and glowing.

Dry skin: Dryness is a sign of de-hydration and lack of skin repair-ing vitamins. During monsoon the problem worsens. One requires cream based cleanser, says Dr. Geetika Mittal, medical director of the International Skin and Anti-Aging Centre (ISAAC)."A moisturizer increases the wa-ter content of the outer layers of the skin and gives it a soft, moist look and it is always advised one with dry skin opt for alcohol free toner," said Mittal.Also, apply glycerin and rose wa-ter mixture to keep skin soft.Combination skin: This type of skin is characterised with the T-portion as oily and the cheeks are usually normal or dry in condition. Since it combines both the oily and dry skin it should be treated as if it were two different types of skin, said Dhir."The dry area requires gentle cleansing and regular mois-turizing. The oily part needs to be deeply cleansed and toned with regular scrubbing," Dhir said.Moonsoon also brings skin infec-tionsFungal and bacterial infections are common during rainy sea-son. Moist and damp skin leads to these infections. Also, one can get rashes and ringworm and even

skin gets discoloured.Dhir advises keeping the body dry is the basic tip to tackle the infections."Switch to cotton clothes as they allow your body to breathe. Allow damp hair to dry before you tie them again. To circumvent al-lergies from mosquito bites, wear full-sleeved clothes and use a mos-quito repellent cream and head for air-conditioned rooms. Bathe twice a day to keep the problems at bay," he added.Eye infectionWith rains come puddles of dirty

water and eye infections soar. But, with a bit of prevention, you could stay safe, says Mahipal Sachdev, chairman and medical direc-tor, centre for Sight group of Eye Hospitals."Close your eyes when you decide to get soaked in the rain as it screens off atmospheric pollutants. While the rain water is reasonably clean, but you need to be wary of the rain water if you stand under a tree or a building, as it can be contaminated with pol-lutants, which could increase eye infections," said Sachdev.

While FMCGs are hap-pily focusing on the teens and youngsters to sell their goodies, it's the 40 plus consumer that has emerged as the clear win-ner in the beauty and skincare arena! Cosmet-ics makers such as Hin-dustan Unilever, L'Oreal and Procter & Gamble too are now focusing more on this graying, but ambitious segment. TOI gives you a lowdown on the way salons are treating this new-age royalty...Age-defying tac-ticsA FICCI report on the beauty industry released late last month says, India, with an increasingly afflu-ent population, is likely to witness 'fast' growth from higher age segments. "In the quest to look good, we have many swish Nag-purians coming to our sa-lon for botox injections, fillers, stem facials and hair treatment," says Sap-na Saxena of VLCC, and adds, "Fillers, which cost Rs 30,000 onwards and botox treatments, which start from Rs 10,000 on-

wards, have many takers. After all, in this day and age, 40s are the new 20s and nobody wants crow's feet or lines on the face."Regal pampering"Since, skin is the first victim of ageing, people are ready to splurge on its mainte-nance," says Shruti Rajput of Lakme Salon, adding, "Sixty five percent of our clients in skincare seg-ment are 40 plus women, whereas in haircare, we have 50 percent women in this age-bracket. To have a hydrated, sup-ple skin, they are ready to spend Rs 2500 onwards for each sitting. And the treatments last for two to three sittings on an av-erage. Right from anti-pigmentation treatment to under eye treatment, Nagpurians today want the very best!"Holistic ap-proachIt's not just the skin or hair-related problems, but also the need to stay well-groomed at all times, that's responsible for these regular pilgrimage to the salons, says Satnam Kaur

of Kutz- the Salon. She goes on to add: "From pedicure to mani-cure, to regular hair colour-ing, 40 plus, upwardly mo-bile people today have a holistic approach towards beauty. And it's a myth that women alone have a penchant for beauty treat-ments. We have so many men coming over for expensive facials, hair colouring, manicures and spas."Vast marketAccording to Mubarak Kanoje of Bellezza, there are three major players, and in all, 100 players Nagpur, which are cater-ing to the beauty and skin-care needs of Nagpurians. "In our eight centres here, we get around 6000 cus-tomers every month, out of which 40 per cent (ie 2400) fall in the 40 plus category. And they are pretty cool about spending Rs 3000-Rs 5000 a month on anti-wrinkle treatments, skin whitening, global hair colouring, facials etc.

NATION DAILY ZABARWAN TIMES

7 SRINAGARTuesday, 13 August,2013

Govt introduces Bill to keep political parties out of RTI ambit

New Delhi: A Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday to keep political parties out of the ambit of the RTI Act and negate a Central In-formation Commission (CIC) order to this effect under the transparency law.

The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2013, seeks to insert an explanation in section 2 of the Act which states that any association or body of individuals registered or recognized as political party under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, will not be considered a public authority.

The CIC order had termed the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India-Marxist as political authorities.

“The expression authority or body or institu-tion of self-government established or constituted by any law made by Parliament shall not include any association or body of individuals registered or recognized as political party under the Repre-sentation of the People Act, 1951,” the explana-tion reads.Referring to the CIC order of June, the

Bill also makes it clear that anything contained in any judgement, decree or order of any court or commission will not affect the status of political parties recognized under the Representation of the People Act.

Since the CIC order on six major political par-

ties came on 3 June, the amended Act will come into force with retrospective effect from 3 June.

“...with a view to remove the adverse effects of the said decision,” the Bill states that it is nec-essary to give “retrospective effect” to the pro-posed amendment.

Andhra Pradesh’s Health Minister Kondru Murali Mohan, Forest Minister Satrucharla

Vijayarama Raju quit over TelanganaHYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Health

Minister Kondru Murali Mohan and Forest Min-ister Satrucharla Vijayarama Raju today resigned from their posts protesting the proposed bifurca-tion of the state.

this, the total number of ministers who re-signed in favour of a unified state went up to 11.

Kondru and Satrucharla met Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy at the camp office this af-ternoon and handed over their resignation letters.

“The political parties that gave letters in sup-port of the bifurcation should withdraw them,” the two demanded, adding that they would continue all efforts to ensure the state remained united.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister came to his of-fice in the Secretariat after a gap of about 15 days.

Kiran stayed away from the Secretariat ever since the Congress Central Working Committee on July 30 resolved to divide Andhra Pradesh and confined himself to the camp office.

The Chief Minister was said to have cleared some pending files in the four hours he spent in his office cham-ber.

Finance Minister Aanam Ramanarayana Reddy, prior to talks with AP NGOs Association leaders, met the Chief Minister and discussed the proposed indefinite strike by government employees opposing the state bifurcation, sources said.

Jyotiraditya Scindia is likely to be next CM, says Kamal Nath

In a statement which could complicate political equations in the faction-ridden Congress ahead of Madhya Pradesh assembly elec-tions, Union Minister for Urban Development Kamal Nath on Sun-day said Jyotiraditya Scindia would become the next Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

“When I visited Guna for the first time, Congress General Sec-retary Digvijaya Singh became a minister in Madhya Pradesh. Now, when I have come again, Union Minister of State for Energy (Independent Charge) Jyotira-ditya Scindia would become the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh,” Nath told reporters after a function.

Nath arrived in the city to inaugurate a power project and was accorded a warm welcome at Scindia’s constitu-ency. However, Nath later clarified that what he had said was merely his personal opinion, adding that normally, Chief Minister’s post goes to a person as per party policies.

Jyotiraditya Scindia is like-ly to be next CM, says Kamal Nath

Jyotiraditya Scindia is like-ly to be next CM, says Kamal Nath

He also denied stating that he wanted to become Chief Minister of the state and added that he had merely answered in the affirmative, while re-sponding to a query whether he would accept the post if it was offered to him.

He also alleged that rampant corruption by the sand and liquor mafia was flourishing under the leadership of Mad-hya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s BJP rule.

Addressing a function earlier, Nath said he wished that in the coming assembly polls, the Congress flag would fly in the MP Assembly and Scindia should hoist it in all con-stituencies, including Bhopal.

Ishrat encounter case: SC rejects PP Pandey’s anticipatory bail plea

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of senior IPS officer PP Pandey, against whom a non-bailable warrant has been issued, in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, saying his conduct in remaining absconding dis-entitled him for the relief.

“Your conduct itself makes you dis-entitled for this plea (bail),” a bench headed by Justice BS Chauhan said while referring to Pandey’s behaviour of not submitting to the jurisdiction of the trial court which had issued a non-bailable warrant against him.Senior advocate Jaspal Singh, appear-ing for Pandey, raised questions on the impartiality of the CBI in the case but the bench refused to give credence to his contention. The bench also expressed its anger over such high-profile persons approaching the apex court for seeking relief which consume a lot of time at the cost of poor litigants who have to wait for justice. Ishrat case: SC rejects PP Pandey\’s anticipatory bail plea “Your conduct itself makes you dis-entitled for this plea (bail),” a bench headed by Justice BS Chauhan said.

“This court has become a safe haven for such people. We have not been able to hear criminal appeals pending before us for years. It’s a sorry state of affair. I am willing to say it on oath,” Justice Chauhan observed. The bench further raised question on the maintainability of Pandey’s peti-tion in view of his being an absconder in the case.

Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising, appearing for the CBI, ve-hemently opposed the plea saying he has become an absconder for the

second time in the case and his whereabouts are not known. “Let him disclose where he is and we will pick him up,” she said.

Additional DGP Pandey, a 1982-batch IPS officer, has been named as an accused in the 2004 fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan and three others. The apex court had on August 8 refused to grant interim protec-tion from arrest to Pandey till Monday.The trial court had on August 7 rejected his plea for exemption from personal appearance and issued a non-bailable warrant against him after he failed to appear before it. Pan-dey, who was declared absconder, had appeared before the special CBI court in Ahmedabad on July 29 on the direction of the apex court.

The apex court had on July 26 directed Pandey to appear before the trial court on July 29 and had restrained the CBI from arresting him till then. The High Court had on July 1 dismissed Pandey’s plea for quash-ing of FIR against him in the fake encounter case. It had also declared him an absconder in the case.Pandey, as the Joint Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad, was heading the Crime Branch when Ishrat, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an encounter allegedly with Gujarat Police on the city outskirts on June 15, 2004.Police had then claimed the four were terrorists on a mis-sion to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. However, according to the CBI’s charge sheet filed in July, the encounter, a joint operation by Gujarat Police and Intelligence Bureau, was stage-managed.

Aircraft carrier ‘INS Vikrant’ raises hackles in China

BEIJING: The launch of INS Vikrant has raised hackles in China, with Chinese defence experts say-ing the aircraft carrier would have great significance for India as it would allow the Indian Navy to wade into the Pacific Ocean - which Beijing considers as its backyard.

“This bears great significance to Indian Navy. It makes India only the fifth country after the US, Russia, Britain and France to have such capabili-ties,” senior captain Zhang Junshe, vice-president of China’s Naval Research Institute, told the state-run CCTV on Monday.

The Indian Navy will have lead over China as it will have two aircraft carriers by the end of this year with INS Vikramaditya, the refitted carrier from Russia joining INS Viraat, which is already in service even though Vikrant was expected to be operational by 2018, he said.

“Which means by the end of this year India will become the only country in Asia to have two aircraft carriers. This will enhance the overall capabilities especially the power projection capabilities of the Indian Navy,” Zhang said.

Ruling out any race for more carriers in the re-

gion, Zhang defended India and China having more carriers since they have vast coasts and huge popu-lations and the importance of defending the sea lanes far from home due to dependence on external trade.

Last year China has launched its first aircraft carrier, Lioning. Its hull was imported from Ukraine and refurbished in China.

China also subsequently launched J-15 aircraft to operate from its deck. The ship with over 50,000 tonnes displacement will have about 30 aircraft on its deck.

China is reportedly building two more aircraft carriers but their schedules are not known yet.

Zhang earlier told the state-run China Daily that with Vikrant, the Indian Navy will be more capable of patrolling distant oceans.

“India’s first self-made carrier, along with rein-forced naval strength, will further disrupt the mili-tary balance in South Asia,” he said.

India is very likely to quicken its pace to steer eastward to the Pacific, where the US and China are competing to dominate.

The launch of the Vikrant as well as the first nu-clear submarine Arihant also aroused the curiosity and concerns among analysts from different state-run thinktanks in China.

“The new indigenous carrier will further strengthen India’s naval power and also add some bargaining chips with the world’s major military vendors such as Russia,” Wang Daguang, a research-er of military equipment based in Beijing said.Song Xiaojun, a military commentator in Beijing, said the Vikrant uses technology from the 1980s and thus serves as an experiment for the Indian Navy to set technical standards for future vessels.

Cash-at-door: CBI court defers framing of charges against Justice Nirmal Yadav

A special CBI court on Monday deferred framing of charges against former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Nirmal Yadav in the 2008 ‘cash-at judge’s door’ case, with the agency terming her plea for exemption from personal appearance on health grounds as a “sham”.

While the rest of the accused, barring Justice Yadav, were present in the court on Monday, special CBI public prosecutor Anupam Gupta strongly opposed the application moved by Ya-dav’s counsel on her behalf, seeking exemption from personal appearance on the health grounds.

“The plea of ill health or illness is a sham, it is a pretence and an enquiry should be ordered against the doctors who have granted any medi-cal certificate to Justice Yadav,” Gupta said. “Jus-tice Yadav is acting as if she is above the law. A former High Court judge is not expected to obstruct the administration of justice in this fash-ion,” he said. Cash-at-door: CBI court defers framing of charges against Justice Nirmal Yadav

Cash-at-door: CBI court defers framing of charges against Justice Nirmal Yadav

The court allowed Justice Yadav two weeks time after which the case was adjourned to Au-gust 27 for framing of charges. All the accused were directed to appear personally on that date.

Justice Yadav abstained from personally appear-ing in the court on previous hearing on July 31, citing health reasons.

Special CBI Judge Vimal Kumar had made it clear that all the accused involved in the case will be charged as per the chargesheet filed by CBI in March 2011 and the actual framing of charges against them was supposed to take place on Monday.

Meanwhile, responding to the oral plea by the counsel of the accused that they need some time to challenge the Special Judge’s order of July 31 in the High Court, Gupta said, “It is their right to challenge the order in the HC, but the framing of charges cannot be deferred for that reason.”

Govt files review petition against SC ruling on convicted MPs, MLAs

New Delhi: The government has filed a review peti-tion in the Supreme Court on disqualifi-cation of convicted MPs and MLAs.

In a landmark judgement that could cleanse Par-liament and As-semblies of crimi-nals, the apex court had in July struck down a provision in the electoral law that protects a con-victed lawmaker from disqualifica-tion on the ground of pendency of ap-peal in higher courts. Under Sec 8(3) of the RPA, a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified for that and a further six years after release.

The following sub-section 8(4) says a law-maker cannot be disqualified for three months from the conviction and if in that period he or she files an appeal against till its disposal by a higher court.

Govt files review petition against SC rul-ing on convicted MPs, MLAs

Political parties had opposed the Supreme Court’s order and had voiced their dissent in an all-party meeting.

Political parties had op-posed the Supreme Court’s order and had voiced their dissent in an all-party meeting, which took place just a few days before the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Concerns were expressed by parties that the supremacy of Parliament must be maintained and if re-quired amendments must be brought in the constitution, Parliamentary Affairs Kamal Nath had said after the meeting.

Can Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy survive the biggest crisis in his political life?

The CPM and its left allies will not settle for anything but his blood, and they have laid siege to his headquarters with a vow not to leave until he resigns.

Oommen Chandy. AFPOommen Chandy. AFP

The CPM and its allies have fielded 1,00,000 of its cadre around the govern-ment secretariat building in the state capital and have made elaborate ar-rangements for a long drawn out battle.

The secretariat, although the most common target for protests and fasts, hasn’t seen such a siege in its history.

The present imbroglio, that the lo-cal media calls a “war”, is the culmina-tion of the opposition’s attack against Chandy in the solar scam, a cheating-racket run by a couple. The crux of their allegation is that his office had been used by Saritha Nair, the woman involved in the racket. There is direct evidence against his secretary, who is now in jail, and against his bodyguard (gunman in local parlance), who has since been sus-pended, but not arrested.

Right from the beginning, the CPM and left parties wanted a judicial enquiry into the scam and Chandy to resign.

Chandy’s argument has been that his office had been misused without his knowledge and that the guilty will be punished. According to him, the op-position has hatched a conspiracy using a criminal case which was being inves-tigated by an additional general of po-lice. It was a cheating case in which the government lost no money and charges would soon be framed, he said.

But the opposition said a police in-vestigation couldn’t be fair because Chandy himself was implicated and his police would not be able to investigate their boss.

The weakest spot for Chandy is in fact not his secretary who is in jail now, but the bodyguard — “gunman Salim Raj”. Not averse to hitting below the belt for political gains, opposition leader VS Achuthanandan tried to link him to Chandy’s family in the assembly, but the speaker foiled his attempt.

However Achuthanandan has been able to spread the word that Chandy certainly has some vulnerability when it comes to Salim Raj.

To make matters worse the gov-ernment asked the Kerala high court, which heard a land-deal case against Salim Raj, not to divulge his telephone records. This provided timely ammuni-

tion to the CPM and Achuthanandan. If Chandy had nothing to hide, why was he anxious about his gunman’s call details, they asked. They said his phone records would reveal Chandy’s role in the scam.

On Monday, as his party cadres gath-ered near the secretariat, Achuthanandan went a step ahead with his wordplay saying that in Chandy’s constituency, Salim Raj is known as “gunmon” (Mon in Malayalam means son) and not as “gunman”, insinuating that the man was like a son to Chandy.

Although there have been rumours linking Salim Raj with Chandy’s house-hold, the mainstream media has been restrained in carrying any gossip; but Achuthanandan kept harping on the same point, making Chandy vulnerable. That he was not arrested and the advo-cate general of the government opposed

the land case in the high court made his charges appear credible.

Creating further embarrassment for Chandy, the CPM-run People TV chan-nel on Sunday telecast a photo of Saritha Nair speaking into Chandy’s ears at a public function. CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that the photo confirmed how close she was to Chandy and therefore he had to step down and face a judicial enquiry. Many of the cadre who are taking part in the secre-tariat-siege carried blown-up pictures of Saritha Nair with Chandy.

While the CPM and its allies pre-pared for their all-out war over the last few days, Chandy over-reacted. He said the opposition’s attempt was to desta-bilise a democratically elected govern-ment and to paralyse its institutions. He called in central forces and threatened the agitators with stern action.

On Monday, three gates of the Sec-retariat have been blocked by the party cadres while the police ensured that one gate was open to ministers, staff and general public.

This is undoubtedly the biggest chal-lenge in Chandy’s political life. At this moment of crisis, unfortunately, his al-lies and some sections of his own party are not fully backing him.

Solar scam: How will Oommen Chandy survive this siege?