Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 27: In a drive to curb the rising crime against women, Police today arrested an eve-teaser from Janipur area of the winter capital.
A police spokesman said that, some locals informed police that a person is passing obscene remarks to the ladies in Janipur.
On getting information, police party from Janipur Police Station headed by SHO SI Hilal Azhar rushed to the spot and arrested the person, who has been identified as Sanjeev Kumar, son of Sham Lal, resident of Janipur.
A case under relevant Sections has been registered at Janipur Police Station and investigation started.
Eve-teaser arrested by Janipur police
Leela Karan to head State VHP
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 27: Leela Karan Sharma who led two month long Shri Amarnath land row agitation in Jammu during 2008 has been appointed as president of State Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). He will succeed Dr Rama Kant Dubey who will be the State Sangrakshak of the organization.
The decision to this effect was taken in the meeting of VHP here yesterday which was chaired by national spokesman of the organization Dr Surinder Jain. Mahavir Ji, its JK Prabhari and Karuna Parkash secretary VHP Northern Zone were also present in the meeting.
Dr Sham Lal Gupta was nominated as State general secretary of the organization while Hem Raj Khajuria was nominated as its working president. Dr Aadarsh Parihar, Nishu Gupta were nominated as State secretaries of VHP.
The activists of State VHP, Bajrang Dal, Matar Shakti Women Wing of VHP and Durga Vahini attended the meeting.
During the meeting Naveen Sudan was elected as convener BD, Rakesh Sharma, Sanjay Kumar and Karan Thakur as its co-conveners.
Reeta Sharma was nominated convener Matar Shakti while Kiran Rajput was nominated as Prant Prachark Durga Vihini.
Addressing the meeting Dr Jain said that all the organizations of the Sangh work like a family in unison for the national cause and stood together to fight the forces inimical to nation.
He said whether it was the Ram Mandir, Amarnath land row issue or Kishtwar issue these organisations showed a united face.
Dravid to mentor junior Olympic, Paralympic athletes
Bangalore, Jan 27:
Former Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid today announced his association with GoSports Foundation with an aim to contribute towards the development and mentorship of Indian junior Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
Dravid will join the Board of Advisors of sports non-profit organisation and will also institute the ‘Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme’.
The mentorship will involve Dravid and his team of experts personally advising select high-potential athletes at key phases in their careers, and also providing them access to scientific expertise, performance and injury management, and allied professional services, so as to provide specific and meaningful support to their young careers.
Speaking on the association, Rahul Dravid said, “Being a sportsperson, I realise the varied support every athlete needs in order to succeed at the highest level. Over the last few years, a lot of effort has been made to develop Indian sports, and our performances at international competitions have been steadily improving.”
“Winning at sport is as much about processes as it is about outcomes and I feel that we must put in place programmes that address the most important needs of young sportsmen and sportswomen as they prepare for competition. I have seen the pride and joy that success at sports brings and I want to participate in the lives and journeys of our young Olympians and Paralympians,” he added.
Dravid will bring his experience and knowledge of competitive sports, and his insights on management and administration, and will help the foundation execute high-impact athlete-centric programmes.
Dravid will be hosting a charity dinner event here at the end of February in aid of the programmes.
Later in the year, Dravid is slated to issue the keynote address at the GoSports Foundation Athletes’ Conclave 2014 – a platform for junior and senior athletes of all sporting disciplines to interact, share ideas and enhance their knowledge in the presence of successful sportspersons and industry professionals.
Dravid joins 2008 Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra on the Foundation’s Board of Advisors. (PTI)
Resonance felicitates winners of STaRT-2014
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 27: The grand ceremony of Resonance’s Scholarship & Talent Reward Test (STaRT) 2014 was organized recently at UIT Auditorium in Kota.
Dr Vinay Pathak, Vice Chancellor, Vardhman Open University was the chief guest of the ceremony while the function was presided by the Managing Director & CEO of Resonance, R K Verma.
The function was attended by students selected in stage-II of STaRT-2014, their parents and Principals and co-ordinators of participating schools across India.
This had been the 3rd season of Resonance STaRT- a National Talent Reward Test conducted for students studying in classes 5th to 12th. It is conducted in 2 stages.
This year more than 1.75 Lakh students participated in the stage-I examination. Format of question paper in both the stages is objective in nature.
The winners of STaRT – 2014 of different classes, are ; Jeevesh Joon of Kota Ifza Parvin of Narendrapur, Swaraj Nandi of Bhubaneswar, Vinit Kr Yadav of Varanasi, Akansha Jain of Faridabad, Aryadeep of Varanasi, Ayushman Tripathy of Bhubaneswar, Aashi Bhati of Bikaner, Stuti S Khandwala of Surat, Yash Gupta of Kota, Shauryasikt Jena of Noida, Jatin Kumar Goyal of Kota, Tushar Agarwal of Bhopal, Chitrank Gupta of Jaipur, Sourav Sahoo of Bhubaneswar, Ashutosh Samal of Kharghar, Divyam Bapna of Udaipur, Abhisek Sahu of Bhubaneswar, Sharique Imbesat of Ranchi, Ayush Agarwal of Ghaziaba, Mudit Agarwal of Jaipur,
Kunal Bansal of Mandi Gobindgarh, Arnim Mathur of Kota, Pushpraj Sikarwar of Sheopur, Swapnil Tolia of Rajkot, Bhargavi Srividya Akella of Hyderabad, Anirudh Sarda of Ajmer, Charu Maheshwari of Surat, Ayush Gupta of Kota, and Vishesh, of Mahendragarh
The prizes of STaRT-2014 include 11-day tour to USA including 2 days educational trip to NASA for students securing All India Rank (AIR)-1; 9 days tour to Europe including visit to CERN for AIR-2 and 6 days tour to Singapore including visit to Science Centre for AIR-3. In addition to this various other prizes like branded laptops, tablet PCs, digital cameras & sport watch are awarded. The total number of prizes in STaRT-2014 comes out to be 2100 worth more than Rs 1 crore. Also, for students joining any of the Resonance courses there is a provision of more than 5000 scholarships.
People protest in Baramulla demanding release of truck drivers stranded in PoK. -Excelsior/Aabid Nabi
People protest in Baramulla demanding release of truck drivers stranded in PoK. -Excelsior/Aabid Nabi
BSF officers and Rangers exchange sweets at Octroi Post in R S Pura sector on Monday.
BSF officers and Rangers exchange sweets at Octroi Post in R S Pura sector on Monday.
In no hurry to withdraw support to AAP Govt: Cong
NEW DELHI, Jan 27:
Congress today made it clear that it was in no hurry to reconsider its support to the AAP Government in Delhi, but expressed disappointment over its functioning and also condemned the criticism by its minister Somnath Bharti of President Pranab Mukherjee’s speech on the eve of the Republic Day.
“While arriving at a decision (to support AAP), various factors were taken into consideration… It’s not that today we are extending support and tomorrow we will withdraw it.
“We do not decide such things in a light manner… We will keep patience,” senior Congress spokesperson Mukul Wasnik told reporters at an AICC meeting.
Wasnik stressed that Congress was aware of the situation in Delhi and would minutely observe the developments.
“No deadline as such has been given (to AAP to fulfil the promises made in its manifesto). We gave them support to form the Government because we wanted to avoid the burden of another election on the people of Delhi.
“Unfortunately, the speed with which they should have moved forward is not there,” Wasnik added.
Wasnik, meanwhile, refused to go into the controversy surrounding the expulsion of AAP MLA Vinod Kumar Binny, who today met the Delhi Lt Governor over issues which he claimed have not been addressed by the Kejriwal Government.
Binny is learnt to have also demanded action against controversial Law Minister Somnath Bharti.
Wasnik, however, condemned AAP when it was pointed out that Bharti had criticised President Pranab Mukherjee’s “populist anarchy” remarks.
“Various statements keep coming from AAP. It is unfortunate that somebody makes such comments even on the President’s remarks. We strongly condemn this,” he said.
Bharti had referred to the President’s comments in a tweet in which he appeared to juxtapose the recent agitation by AAP in Delhi with the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 and the post-Godhra riots of 2002 in Gujarat. The Delhi Law Minister later denied the post which has now been removed from his twitter.Com page. (PTI)
Murli Deora, Dalwai file nomination for RS elections
MUMBAI, Jan 27:
Former Union minister Murli Deora and ex-Maharashtra minister Hussain Dalwai today filed their nomination papers for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for February 7.
The Congress party, on Sunday, renominated Deora and Dalwai for third and second term respectively.
The two filed their nominations in presence of Chief Minister Prithivraj Chavan and state Congress president Manikrao Thakre among others.
Tomorrow is the last day for filing of nominations.
So far, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, eminent lawyer Majid Memon (both NCP), Rajkumar Dhoot (Shiv Sena) and Sanjay Kakade (Independent) have filed their nomination papers.
The elections are being held for seven seats from Maharashtra and 287 elected members of the Legislative Assembly form the electoral college. (PTI)
Chidambaram leaves on a 2-day visit to Saudi Arabia
NEW DELHI, Jan 27:
Finance Minister P Chidambaram today left on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia for a bilateral trade and investment promotion meeting.
Sources said the Minister will be participating in the 10th Joint Commission Meeting on Technical and Economic Cooperation (JCM) at Riyadh.
The Indian delegation, led by Finance Minister, would also include Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram.
Chidambaram would be back in India on January 29, sources said.
India-Saudi Arabia trade relations have witnessed steady and remarkable growth in the last few years. Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trade partner and the bilateral trade stood at USD 43.19 billion in 2012-13.
Saudi Arabia is also India’s largest supplier of crude oil, accounting for 17 per cent of the country’s requirements, and is one of the major markets in the world for Indian exports.
Saudi Arabia is destination to more than 1.86 per cent of India’s global exports and is also the source of 6.35 per cent of India’s global imports.
India also has a double taxation avoidance treaty with Saudi Arabia.
Several Indian companies have established collaborations with Saudi companies and are working in the Kingdom in the areas of designing, consultancy, financial services and software development.
Saudi Arabia is also emerging as a big investor in India. (PTI)
Modi factor propels rise of BJP, RSS in Bengal
KOLKATA, Jan 27:
The Narendra Modi wave seems to have reached the Bengal shores, indicated by the more than two-fold increase in the membership of the BJP’s State unit.
A BJP leader in West Bengal claimed that the total membership has increased from three lakh in 2011 to more than seven lakh in 2013.
Two lakh new members have enrolled in the last six months, which party leaders have attributed to Modi’s anointment as the prime ministerial candidate.
The ABVP, youth wing of the BJP, too witnessed a surge in its membership with the enrolment of 45,000 new activists in the last one year, BJP spokesperson and co-in-charge of the party’s Bengal unit Siddhinath Singh told reporters.
He further claimed that the BJP’s minority and women’s wings too witnessed a 50 per cent jump in membership.
Singh said, “Two factors are responsible for the expanding BJP membership in West Bengal: Declaration of Modi as PM candidate by the party and the lack of an opposition worth the name in the state.”
The senior BJP leader noted that such enthusiasm had previously been witnessed on two occasions. First, during the Ram Mandir agitation in the early 90s and during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s rule at the Centre.
“The charisma of Modi working in the entire country is also having its impact in Bengal and we will prove it during Modi’s rally in Kolkata on February 5,” Singh asserted.
The BJP and the RSS have traditionally never been able to make much of an impact in West Bengal, though the party’s former avatar Jan Sangh was co-founded by the son of the soil, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
The 27 per cent Muslim community in the State, which wields a considerable influence in at least 140 Assembly constituencies out of 294, plays a key role in the power sweepstake, courted aggresively by all frontline political parties.
With a real Opposition missing in West Bengal after the fall of the mighty Left in 2011, the BJP has been slowly working to make its presence felt, especially in the rural areas of south Bengal taking help of Modi’s rising graph.
This was reflected in the 2012 Lok Sabha by-poll in Jangipur in Murshidabad district where the BJP candidate polled an impressive 85,867 votes, nearly 10 per cent of the total votes cast representing an eight per-cent rise over votes polled in 2009.
While President Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit won by a paper-thin margin of 2,500 votes in the by-poll, the BJP candidate stood third.
This was significant considering the constant 3-6 per cent votes it had bagged over the last two decades, except in 1991-92 when the vote share of the BJP dramatically rose to nearly 16 per cent riding piggyback on the Ram Mandir issue.
BJP State president Rahul Sinha said, “The vote share of the BJP decreased after it allied with the Trinamool Congress in 1998-99. But after the Left parties suffered a rout in the 2011 Assembly election, voters are looking for a new Opposition which can checkmate the Trinamool Congress.”
The panchayat and the municipal polls in 2013 are also marked by a rise in the BJP’s vote share and narrowing down of the margins of loss of BJP candidates.
A breakthrough was the defeat of Left candidate and Mayor Mamata Jaiswal at the hands of BJP’s Gita Rai in the municipal polls in Howrah.
The popularity of the BJP can also be sensed from near about 425 applicants from various strata of society who have expressed their desire to contest as BJP candidates in 42 Lok Sabha seats in the coming Lok Sabha polls.
BJP’s ideological twin RSS too has been making steady inroads in south and north Bengal with the grievances and alleged minority appeasement policies of the ruling party playing a role.
He cited the instance of grant of allowance to 30,000 imams of the State, which has been termed by the Calcutta High Court as unconstitutional.
The expansion of the RSS was first noticed by a three-day youth workshop of the organisation in the state last year after a gap of 20 years under the leadership of its chief Mohan Bhagwat, followed by an increase in the number of shakas/branches in every part of the State.
An RSS official said, “The RSS has been growing in the last two and a half years. In south Bengal now we have 280 sakhas and in north Bengal we are presently having more than 700 branches.”
The BJP and RSS expansion has been grudgingly admitted by both the ruling Trinamool Congress and Left parties.
CPI leader A B Bardhan said, “Yes, there is a rise of BJP and RSS in West Bengal.” He, however, sought to put the blame for it on the TMC and its “soft” approach towards the saffron party and a “covert” pact with the communal forces.
He dismissed the contention that the BJP was trying to fill the space left vacant by the retreating Left parties.
“We also have reports of increase in the support base of the BJP and RSS in Bengal, but that is not due to absence of a strong opposition,” CPI(M) central committee member Basudeb Achariya said.
He referred to both BJP and TMC’s soft-pedalling each other, asking “can you show a single issue on which the BJP has run a campaign against Trinamool?”
TMC MP Sultan Ahmed, however, claimed, “CPI(M) supporters are switching over to the BJP as their mother party is in a disarray thus explaining the BJP and RSS’ rise.”
State Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya told reporters, “I don’t agree with what BJP is claiming. It will be proved in the coming Lok Sabha election.” Muslim cleric Maulana Barkati agreed to the contention that lack of a strong opposition in West Bengal is resulting in the rise of the BJP and the RSS.
“The state is ruled by a secular Government and not by atheists like the communists; so the BJP and other parties with religious leanings are having their space. It is a good sign for democracy,” Barkati said. (PTI)