Rajiv

Coincidence of May in
Rajiv assassination case

NEW DELHI, May 11: Rajiv assassination case was nothing less than a murder mystery, which the Special Investigation Team (SIT) cracked in less....more

Jackie Shroff

Cine star Jackie Shroff to float theme restaurant

NEW DELHI, May 11: Inspired by hollywood counterparts like Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone, bollywood ‘hero’ Jackie Shroff is contemplating to....more

Murli Manohar Joshi

‘Rediscover India’
through indegenous
technology: Joshi

NEW DELHI, May 11: Union Minister for Science and Technology Murli Manohar Joshi today urged the scientific community to tap the immense....more

A P J Abdul Kalam

Abdul Kalam for fighting ‘technology denial’

NEW DELHI, May 11: Eminent scientist and Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister A P J Abdul Kalam today called for fighting "technology...more

Sushma Swaraj

Sonia issue could be included in national
agenda: Sushma

LUCKNOW, May 11: Former Union Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj...more

Sonia toppled Vajpayee
Govt at foreign powers’
behest: VHP

NEW DELHI, May 11: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today..more

Close associate of
Dara Singh arrested

BALASORE (ORISSA) May 11: Madhu Mahant, a close...more

Dowry demon snuff
another victim

MIRZAPUR, May 11: A newly married girl was allegedly...more

Coincidence of May in Rajiv assassination case

NEW DELHI, May 11: Rajiv assassination case was nothing less than a murder mystery, which the Special Investigation Team (SIT) cracked in less than a year.

It all began in the hot and humid month of May as the former Prime Minister was assassinated by a human bomb Dhanu, an LTTE activist, on May 21, 1991. Fifteen others including nine policemen also perished with Rajiv while 43 were injured.

And month of May it is when the Supreme Court finally drew the curtain by deciding the fates of all the 26 accused, four of them sent to gallows, three ordered to serve life imprisonment and 19 acquitted of murder charges.

The SIT under the then Joint Director of CBI D R Karthikeyan filed the chargesheet exactly after one year on May 20, 1992.

Pre-trial proceedings against 26 accused, arrested by SIT, began at the high-security Poonamalle prison in Tamil Nadu on May 5, 1992.

The trial court after going through the evidence convicted all the accused of conspiring to kill Rajiv Gandhi and awarded death sentence to each. The accused appealed in the Supreme Court against the trial court verdict.

The Apex Court after hearing arguments on behalf of the accused delivered the judgement on May 11, 1999, drawing the final curtain over the eight-year old chilling murder story. (PTI)

Cine star Jackie Shroff to float theme restaurant

NEW DELHI, May 11: Inspired by hollywood counterparts like Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone, bollywood ‘hero’ Jackie Shroff is contemplating to float a chain of theme restaurants in India.

"It has been a pet project with me. I had been toying with the idea for some time now," Jackie told here.

Though the cine star has not fixed any time frame for the same, "I do want to go ahead with the plans."

Jackie, who presently holds a small stake in Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India Private Limited, said he had initially planned to float the restaurant a few years back. "It was planned in a partnership with fellow stars Salman Khan and Gulshan Grover. However, the idea bombed and we decided to shelve the project. But now, I am contemplating working on the idea again."

This, he said, is as part of his dreams to become a corporate. "I already have a small stake in SET India and I am a director on the board. Besides, I have also floated Jackie Shroff Entertainment Limited, and my first home production under this banner — Grahan —would hit the screen after the World Cup."

A few other cine stars from bollywood — Salman Khan, Govinda, Karisma Kapoor and Mahima Chaudhary — have already floated a theme restaurant under the brand ‘Planet Bollywood’.

With this, bollywood cine stars seem to changing tracks and turning corporates with Mithun Chakravarty leading the pack. Mithun had recently announced that he is planning a foray into the civil aviation sector through his Monarch Group, which presently has interests in the hospitality sector. Besides, the group would also be expanding its hospitality business, both on its own and through the franchise route.

The aviation venture would take off under the banner of Monarch Airlines and would have two divisions — one manning feeder service and the other, helicoper. Terming it as a dream project, Mithun had stated that being a maiden venture in the civil aviation sector, the group intends to lease aircraft and choppers. He had envisaged a project cost of around Rs 30 crore. (UNI)

‘Rediscover India’ through indegenous technology: Joshi

NEW DELHI, May 11: Union Minister for Science and Technology Murli Manohar Joshi today urged the scientific community to tap the immense potential of indigenous technological talent in the process of "rediscovering India".

Laying the foundation stone for a Rs 9 crore building complex for the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here, the minister suggested constituting an apex body to formulate future technologies and indigenous manpower requirements.

This, he said, needed shedding isolation and working in close cooperation with the industry, universities and individuals. The private sector should generate new technologies in a big way and the NGOs, laboratotries and research bodies should actively participate in this task.

"India should lead and innovate and not follow foreign technology and this required a network of laboratories and academic institutions so that the country became an exporter of technology", Dr Joshi said.

Taking technology to masses needed a "work culture and national vision besides a strict monitoring system to identify the pitfalls", Dr Joshi said. Though India had the biggest scientific manpower in the world, the country continued to face problems relating to reaching education and water to millions of people and basic health of the rural masses.

Praising the role of the TIFAC, Dr Joshi suggested identifying and encouraging homegrown technologies like Kerala’s metallic mirrors (Aranmula Kannadi).

The minister later released a farmer-friendly technology of rapid diagnostic kit for poultry and cattle and CD-ROM series on Indian science and technology during the last 50 years besides launching of INFAC internet site.

Eminent scientists including Dr Kasturirangan of ISRO, Dr Kakodkar of Bhaba Atomic Research Centre and Dr Mashelkar, Director General of CSIR were present on the occasion. (UNI)

Abdul Kalam for fighting ‘technology denial’

NEW DELHI, May 11: Eminent scientist and Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister A P J Abdul Kalam today called for fighting "technology denial" by development of indigenous technology.

Participating in the first ever "Technology Day" being celebrated in the country to mark the historic Pokhran II nuclear explosions, Dr Kalam urged the scientific community to transform developing India into a developed country. He said technology is a tool which can be used for both warfare and development of any nation.

Despite technology denial by the United States India, Dr Kalam said, developed its own technology and succeeded in several hi-tech missions such as missiles and satellite launching, battle tanks and aircraft as part of its major indigenisation programme.

Technology, he said, was a god given gift to humanity, generated out of science and its use as a tool for warfare and healthcare depended on its user. The carbon-carbon core composite material used in re-entry technology of Agni missiles could be well utilised for manufacturing light weight calipers which can help millions of polio and physically handicapped patients, he said.

Referring to the major achievements of the Technology Infor-mation, Forecasting and Assessment Council(TIFAC), of which he was chairman now, Dr Kalam said the council had conducted more than 150 studies encompassing a broad technology spectrum on materials, chemicals, environment, manufacturing industries, information technology and sugar technology to benefit the masses at large.

The TIFAC, he said, had prepared 25 mission documents in order to encourage homegrown technology which had resulted in development of high-energy magnets and use of flyash besides generating 50 export oriented products. There was every need for encouraging the indigenous technology, he added. (UNI)

LUCKNOW, May 11: Former Union Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj today said the issue of a foreigner becoming Prime Minister could be included in the national agenda after taking the allies into confidence.

Talking to newspersons here, she said the BJP was strongly opposed to any foreigner being elevated to the post of Premier. The issue was raised by Samata Party leader George Fernandes and the party had endorsed his view, she said and indicated that her party’s election campaign would highlight the projection by the Congress of Ms Gandhi as Prime Minister.

Even the Congress was divided on this issue, Mrs Swaraj claimed.

She was here in connection with the resurgence day being celebrated by the party on the first anniversary of the Pokhran nuclear tests.

When it was pointed out that the constitution had no provision, to bar a person of foreign origins from becoming Prime Minister, nobody had then imagined that such an eventuality could arise.

She said Ms Sonia Gandhi, being the widow of a Prime Minister and the leader of the Congress, should be respected but the fact remained that she was an Italian citizen and adopted Indian citizenship 14 years after her marriage.

She said the BJP would be seeking a mandate in this election for a coalition and not for an absolute majority. Her admission came in reply to a question whether the BJP, by declaring to contest elections on a common national agenda had already conceded that it was not going to form a Government on its own.

She said "we are contesting for the coalition as the incomplete work of Atal Behari Vajpayee-led coalition has to be finished".

The former Delhi Chief Minister said the BJP had only suspended temporarily the issues of Common Civil Code, construction of Ram temple and deletion of Article 370 in Kashmir, and it would strive to convince allies in this regard.

Ms Swaraj strongly reacted to the allegations of the Congress about some underhand deal between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party. "Whatever Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav has done in Ayodhya cannot be forgotten" she said while vehemently denying any direct or indirect truck with the Samajwadi Party.

Asked why the BJP was avoiding ordering inquiry into Sukhoi planes purchase which took place while Mr Yadav was Defence Minister, she said any allegation should be corroborated with at least prima facie evidence. Because of categorically denying that the BJP was not ordering inquiry some understanding with the SP she said: "There is no proof of any irregularity in the Sukhoi deal".

Mrs Swaraj said the dissidents would have to forget their grievances in view of the Lok Sabha elections. "It is time to forget the differences,solution will come later."

She said everything was in the knowledge of the party high command and any decision in this regard would be taken in the larger interests of the party.

Asserting that there were no serious problems in the state, she said there was perfect coordination between the state party chief and the Chief Minister. (UNI)