London, Jan 27:
Former England captain Michael Atherton has openly criticised the move by the cricket boards of England, India and Australia to take control of the International Cricket Council and also enjoy bigger share of the revenues of the governing body.
“…The end of the notion that a fair and principled and just body can govern cricket in the interests of all. It is an ideal, of course, that has never been grounded in any kind of reality under the guise of the ICC, but if you cannot be idealistic about sport, what can you be idealistic about?” Atherton has questioned in his column for the ‘Times’.
Atherton gives some credence, if reluctantly, to the view that England and Australia feel they have no choice but to grant India power in a way that will encourage them to run the world game responsibly – and even suggests India has now been affected with the arrogance of old colonialism.
“The tone of the proposal is so arrogant and high-handed as to recall an earlier age when the organisation began as the Imperial Cricket Conference,” Atherton wrote.
Atherton was very critical of ICC’s governance.
“No one doubts that the status quo, as far as the ICC is concerned, is unacceptable: two full-member countries are thought to be corrupt; four are essentially broke; most rely on India’s largesse to keep going, while the BCCI is disgruntled that the distribution of revenues does not reflect its provenance.
“Politics, race and personalities interfere with decision-making at every turn. Incompetence is a given; at a recent ICC meeting, I was told of one director who took to snoring through an anti-corruption presentation.”
Atherton said that the recommendations of the Woolf report to place power in the hands of an independent executive – a solution championed by the former ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat, who was soon removed from office – would have been the most idealistic solution.
“The best that can be said for this deal, indeed the only thing that can be said for this deal, is that India become a fully engaged and interested party to world cricket. Inside the tent and happy for the moment, rather than prowling outside and angry.” (PTI)
Former England captain Atherton criticises BCCI, ECB move
Army jawan’s murder case solved, cousin among four held
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 27: Khour police today worked out a murder case of an Army jawan and arrested four persons including cousin of the deceased.
A police spokesman said that, on the intervening night of January 23 and 24, Reeta Raina, wife of Rocky Raina of Rattanpur Jourian, presently residing at Arya Samaj Mohalla Akhnoor filed a written complained that some unknown persons have murdered her husband who was working as Army jawan in 25 Punjab presently posted in Chennai.
On this, a case under FIR number 7/14 under Section 302 RPC was registered at Khour police station and investigation started.
Based on reliable source, it was found that white Alto car bearing registration number JK02AW-5176 was parked at the scene of crime on the evening of Jan 23.
Working on clues and other technical leads, police quizzed the first cousin of the deceased namely Vikash Raina, son of Rattan Lal of Durga Nagar, Bantalab.
During interrogation Vikash Raina confessed to his involvement in the murder along with his three associates namely Gagandeep, son of Subash Chander, Rajeev Kumar, son of Wakil Chand and Parvinder Kumar, son of Yog Raj, all resident of Durga Nagar Bantalab.
These four persons came to Akhnoor in Vikash’s Alto car and called the victim near Fowhara Chowk, Akhnoor through phone and when the deceased reached there on his motorcycle number JK02AP-9436, the accused asked him to accompany them to Khowara to buy a motorcycle.
The deceased agreed and sat in the car, where as his motor cycle was driven by one of the accused Gagandeep upto Khowara, where the accused persons murdered the victim with stones and a ‘kirch’.
All four accused persons have been arrested and weapon of offence including ‘kirch’ was recovered on the disclosure of accused Vikash Raina.
Further investigation of the case is going on to.
Birthday of Swami Vishwatma Nandji celebrated
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 27: Describing educational institutes and teaching fraternity as the fountains of prosperity and development, the Minister of State for Health, Shabir Ahmad Khan has said that educational institutes have pivotal role in reforming and shaping of the society.
The Minister was addressing at the birthday celebration function of Swami Vishwatma Nand Saraswati Ji Maharaj at SVS Charitable Trust Shiv Kashi, Sunderbani.
Shabir said that Shri Swami Vishwatma Nand Saraswati Ji Maharaj is a great Sanskrit Scholar, a saint with Divine Powers, a reformer & a preacher in true sense, moving from place to place on foot to convey his message to the people suffering from innumerable miseries & agonies of life. He said Swami Ji in a true sense working meticulously for the last 30 years for the upliftment of the mankind. He is true philanthropist who has also been working for the cause of education.
The Minister said that Swami Ji has set up not only an Ashram in Sunderbani but also has set up a number of educational institutions apart from Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya for mental upliftment of the ignorant & illiterate masses. Through the educational institutions Swami ji endeavors to lengthen the mental horizon of the people of the region, irrespective of the cast, creed & colour. He said that Swami ji left his family for the sacred cause and his Ashram at Sunderbani speaks of his aesthetic & spiritual sense.
Eve-teaser arrested by Janipur police
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.
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)