Sachin rested, Yuvraj dropped, Tiwary new face in Asia Cup squad

New Delhi, Jun 7 (UNI) National selectors today dropped all rounders Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan, while Sachin Tendulkar was rested from the 15-member squad for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka starting next week.

Tendulkar had requested the BCCI not to consider him for the four-nation tournament saying that he needed to be with his family, and the selectors through their decision accepted the master blaster's request.

''Tendulkar requested the board not to consider him for the Asia Cup as he wanted to spend time with his children in view of the hectic cricket season ahead,'' BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni would lead the Indian side in four nation tournament involving Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh in Sri Lanka from June 15 to 24.

Continuous disappointing performances from Singh and Pathan left the selectors with no option but to axe them as they laid stress on fitness and form of the players.

Mumbai Indian's 20-year-old left-hand batsman Saurabh Tiwary was rewarded for his brilliant performance in the IPL-3 as he became the lone new face in the team. While Ashok Dinda, Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha were given another chance in the team.

Wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik and leg-spinner Amit Mishra failed to get berths in the Asia Cup squad.

Delhi's prolific batsman Virender Sehwag, who was out due to a shoulder injury and also missed ICC Twenty20 World Cup, made his return to the team.

''A lot of stress was given on the feilding and fitness of the players. We have gone through the record of last one year and put lot of stress on it. In recent past, we lost some matches or struggled in some because of poor fielding,'' chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth told reporters.

Srikkanth said that consistency also played a significant role in team selection.

''We have given lot of stress on consistent performance. Apart from the seniors, we have blooded some youngsters as well so that they know what international cricket is all about,'' he noted.

Skipper Dhoni also gave his inputs during the meeting, he added.

Seniors, who were rested during the tri-series in Zimbabwe - pacer Zaheer Khan, opener Gautam Gambhir and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh - were also included in the team.

Lanky medium pacer Ishant Sharma continued to evade selector's look.

Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar and Uttar Pradesh medium pacer Sudeep Tyagi who played against South Africa in a home series, also did not find favour from selectors.

Indian squad for Asia Cup 2010: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag (vice-capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Ashok Dinda, Ravichandran Ashwin, Saurabh Tiwary.

Congress inefficient in curbing price rise: Vijender Gupta

New Delhi, May 15 (UNI) A day after his appointment as the president of Delhi unit of BJP, Mr Vijender Gupta today lambasted the Sheila Dikshit government for its inefficiency in controlling the price rise and its insensitivity towards people.

''There is an arrogance in the conduct of the Congress government in Delhi. I would advise them to abandon this arrogance and work for the betterment of the people,'' he said at a press conference here.

Charging the state government of indulging in dirty politics while dealing with the MCD and other local bodies, Mr Gupta asked them to provide support and financial help to the same.

He alleged that the Delhi Government was not giving requisite support to MCD in pursuit of political gains, thus hampering the developmental work in the city.

''The politics of the government in dealing with the MCD has impacted developmental work and provision of facilities to the common man,'' he said.

Talking about his priorities as the chief of the Delhi BJP, Mr Gupta said his endeavour would be fight the war of the common man against the insensitivity of the Sheila Dikshit government.

Mr Gupta warned that if the CM continues with her attitude, the BJP would be forced to come out on streets.

The focus of the BJP would be on price rise of essential commodities in recent months, which he said was the biggest issue today.

Criticising in this context, the Rs four difference in the prices of Diesel in Delhi as compared to the neighbouring state Haryana, Mr Gupta said the hike was reflective of the Delhi government's callousness towards the common man.

Mr Gupta's alleviation to the post of Delhi BJP chief is being seen as an attempt to present the youth face of the party.

''His appointment as the Delhi BJP chief will lend more energy and vigour to the party,'' outgoing Delhi BJP chief O P Kohli said.

Though the decision raised many eyebrows in the party leadership and many senior leaders, including Vijay Goel and Nand Kishore Garg remained absent, it has also been seen by many as BJP's attempt to woo the youth towards the party.

Replying to a question about prevailing fractionalism in the party, Mr Gupta said the BJP always believed in working collectively and followed a democratic path in its conduct.

''I have been given this job only after taking seniors into confidence,'' he said.

''There will be no bossism in the party. I will work as a convenor and try to create a balance between seniors and youths in the party,'' he added.

He also said the women, Dalit, Minority, Backward Classes and other regional groups would be given preference.

Emphasising the need to do result-oriented work for the people, the newly appointed president said the performance of the activists would be the only criteria for giving higher responsibilities to members in the party.

The youth wing of party also welcomed the party's decision to give Delhi's command into the hands of a young leader. Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president Anuj Sharma and state general secretary Sunil Yadav noted that since the percentage of youths in the country was very high, appointment of a young president would attract youth towards the party.

Due to death of former Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the celebration at the party's state headquarters was kept to the minimum.

Hang Afzal, don't insult martyrs: BJP

New Delhi, May 19 (UNI) Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta today demanded that the process of execution of the Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru be expedited as any delay was an insult to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sovereignty of the country.

''Not hanging the terrorists like Afzal Guru is an insult to the security personnel who sacrificed their lives during the attack to save us and the sovereignty of our country,'' Mr Gupta said, addressing BJP Minority Morcha activists, who staged a protest demonstration at Parliament Street here on the issue.

Braving the scorching heat in the Capital, the activists raised slogans against the Delhi government, accusing it of delaying its reply on the mercy petition filed by Afzal.

He also claimed that it was BJP's 48-hour ultimatum that forced the Sheila Dikshit Government to file its reply.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Kumar Malhotra expressed concern over government's dilly-dallying on the issue.

He said, ''Giving an excuse that it will affect the law and order situation in the country is shameful.''

''They have lakhs of security personnel in the country to maintain the law and order situation. The only thing they lack
is will to take steps,'' he added.

BJP national vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, ''Terrorism has no religion and we should not see a terrorist as a Hindu or Muslim. If Afzal is hanged it will be the death of a terrorist not a Muslim.''

Saying that BJP does not look at terrorism through the prism of religion, Delhi BJP Minority Morcha president Atif Rashid alleged the Congress was sending a wrong message to people that Afzal is a Muslim not a terrorist.

''We will not give an inch of land for the burial of Afzal. His body will be sent to Pakistan, where he belongs to,'' Mr Atif stated.

Police was forced to use water cannons on the aggressive protestors as they tried to cross the barricades and detained many people for violating restrictions.

Govt school teacher clears IAS exam against all odds

New Delhi, May 7 (UNI) Monica Rani, a school teacher who hadto balance between taking care of her three-year-old child and her job, now finds that she has cleared the Civil Services examination.

It is all the more commendable as she did it without any special coaching and took care of her child single-handedly asher husband is posted in Kolkata.

''It is amazing. It was a difficult journey for me. I have athree-year-old child to take care of. I did not take coaching,despite that the result is amazing,'' Ms Rani told UNI. It was her third and last attempt for the prestigious civilservices.

''Many a times it had come to my mind that I should abandon mypursuit as it was too demanding for me. But I continued and finally with god's grace I succeeded,'' she said.

A Commerce graduate and a Masters degree holder in Economics, MsRani teaches Economics to 11th and 12th standard in a GovernmentGirls School in Bijwasan here. She took up History and Philosophy as her subjects of preference for the Indian Administrative Service(IAS) examination.

''Actually I used to teach History to students of sixth to tenth standard till 2008. It consolidated my base for the history. So Idecided to take up History as one of the two subjects,'' Ms Rani stated.

And about the second subject she said, ''I got interested in Philosophy during my pregnancy. I used to read Philosophy books and found them very interesting. So this way I decided on Philosophy as second subject,'' she added.

The success was hard earned for the 29-year-old woman as she started her day early in the morning. After coming back from school in the afternoon, she took care of her child. After completing all her chores, she hardly got 3-4 hours to study in a day.

''Before the exams, I sent my child to my mother's place, took leave from school and studied for 12-14 hours a day,'' Ms Rani said.

Her husband works in an IT company and has been posted in Kolkatafor the last three years.

She was ranked 70 in the Civil Services examination but it hardlyshows the efforts and sacrifices she had put in her pursuit of success.

Discoms say running into losses, demand 'cost reflective tariff'

New Delhi, May 6 (UNI) The discoms today denied reports of their earning profit in the year 2009-10 and demanded from the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to provide them 'cost reflective tariff' so that their losses can be minimised.

A day after the reports of discoms (private power distributioncompanies) earning 'healthy surplus' emerged in the media, NorthDelhi Power Limited, BSES Yamuna Power Limited and BSES RajdhaniPower Limited today called upon a press meet to clarify how it wasbeing misinterpreted as the truth was that they were actuallyrunning into losses.

NDPL CEO Sunil Wadhwa explained, ''The figures were based on the accrued accounting system which included the yet to be recoveredrevenue through future tariffs to be fixed by DERC.''

The Rs 716 crore profit by NDPL during '09-10 included Rs 671 crore which were yet to be recovered. Thus, only Rs 45 crore is available with us to meet other expenses including employee costs and arrears paid for sixth pay commission, repair and maintenance expenses incurred, repayment of loans, interests and income tax, Mr Wadhwa said.

Replying to a question that what they want to communicate to the government, Mr Wadhwa stated, ''It is my duty to tell people that these could be the consequences and I would be grateful if you could tell me how to run this company at current tariff.''

Saying that due to non-completion of power projects on time, BYPL CEO Ramesh Narayanan said, ''We are buying expensive power from other distributors so that we can provide 24 hour power supply to our consumers.'' ''And we had a clear-cut instructions from DERC to buy power at higher rate,'' he added.

''The cost of purchasing of power for us was Rs 3.19 per unit but the tarrif given to us by the DERC was Rs 2.45 per unit. Based on Rs 2.45 per unit they are saying we have earned profit but we have actually spent Rs 3.19 per unit,'' Mr Narayanan said.

Demanding that the tariff should be cost reflective, he said ''if the government pay us on the basis of cost incurred by us then there would be no problem.''

''We have no money. We have it only on papers and the generator of power would not supply power on the basis of papers,'' the BYPL CEO stated.

Saying that it is difficult to run companies on present tariff, he asserted optimism that the government would definitely hear their plea and something would certainly be done in this regard.

Prithvi Raj Sawhney new Mayor; CWG, clean & green Delhi priority

New Delhi, Apr 30 (UNI) BJP councillor from Janak Puri (South) ward Prithvi Raj Sawhney today became Mayor of Delhi after defeating Congress' Tulsi Ram Sablania by a huge margin of 90 votes in a one sided contest.

Mr Sawhney secured 178 votes out of 275 total votes polled in the election while his nearest rival Mr Sablania managed only 88 votes. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Hari Chand Kardamwithdrew his nomination just before the commencement of the election procedure.

Mr Sawhney will replace his party colleague, the incumbent Mayor Kanwar Sain at the coveted post.

Mr Sawhney, a former teacher, has been holding the post of Chairman of Education Committee of Municipal Corporation of Delhi since his re-election in 2007.

He also remained Member of the MCD from 1997-2002 and heldvarious important posts including that of Chairman, Standing Committee,Conservancy, Sanitation and Engineering and Health Committee.

Before entering into politics, he had taught in Jammu College and in different schools of Directorate of Education for 30 years.

Addressing mediapersons, Delhi's first citizen MrSawhney said, ''I have been elected in a very important year not only for Delhi but also for the whole nation as Commonwealth Games will be organised in the Capital.''

Saying that the successful organisation of CWG is a question of prestige for the country, he urged the Delhi government to be more supportive.

''If needed, we will meet Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and LtGovernor Tajendra Khanna for their support to make the Gamessuccessful. Seventy per cent of the workin Delhi is to be done by the Corporation for which we expectsupport from the Chief Minister,'' he stated.

The Mayor also kept clean and green Delhi on top of his priority list as he asserted that it was the responsibility of the civic body and ''we will fulfill our responsibility.''

Congress-led UPA more interested in IPL than BPL: BJP

New Delhi, Apr 21 (UNI) Continuing its tirade against the murky IPL dealings, the BJP today criticised the Congress-led UPA government for ''being more interested in Cricket than the problems of commons''.

''The Congress-led UPA is more worried about IPL than BPL (Below Poverty Line). Their ministers are more interested in looking after Cricket than working for the uplift of poor in the country,'' Former BJP president Rajnath Singh said while addressing a huge gathering of people at Ramlila Ground here.

The government has become ''Incompetent Political League'', he added. Former Union Human Resource Minister Murli Manohar Joshi also took the government to task on the issue of involvement of itsleaders in the IPL.

''The leaders of the UPA government are busy in the game instead of necessary things which have direct relation with the lives of people,'' Mr Joshi said.

UPA's wrong policies, bad governance led to price rise: BJP

New Delhi, Apr 21 (UNI) Calling the UPA a synonym of ''high inflation rate'', the BJP today held the wrong economic policies and bad governance of the Congress-led UPA Government the main
reasons for spiralling prices.

The party organised a massive opposition rally at the huge Ramlila Ground here in which more than two lakh people from across the country participated and registered their anguish towards rising prices of essential commodities.

Claimed by the BJP to be the biggest rally organised by any party in the country, the protest saw presence of people from all walks of life, including farmers, workers, labourers andex-servicemen, raising slogans and placards of ''Mehangayi rok do ya gaddi chod do'' (Stop inflation or quit).

The rally resulted in huge traffic jams in many parts of the city. Thousands of policemen were deployed to ensure it passes off smoothly.

Various senior leaders of the party including Nitin Gadkari, Lal Krishna Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi, Venkaiah Naidu, Anant Kumar, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, addressed the rally.

Party Chief Gadkari said the country's political history proves that whenever there had been Congress-led government, people have suffered the problems of price rise and high inflation rate.

''Although the Congress' slogan claims ''Garibi Hatao'' (remove poverty) the latest data by Planning Commission proves that the number of BPL people has risen to 41 crore. In addition, 75 per cent of this number includes the people from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes about whose welfare the government has given many assurances,'' he said.

He stated that the data obtained from nations all over the world showed that in other countries the inflation has increased by less than two per cent while in India it has crossed 11 per cent. ''It is the wrong economic policies and bad governance of the Congress-led UPA Government at Centre which are responsible for the woes of the common man,'' he said.

Chidambaram inaugurates tallest building of Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 22 (UNI) Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today inaugurated the new headquarters of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the tallest building in the capital.

The Rs 650-crore building, situated at the Minto Road-Jawaharlal Nehru Marg intersection, boasts of a completely moderninfrastructure, including two helipads, a 1000-seater auditorium, art gallery and restaurant.

Praising the newly-constructed Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Civic Centre for its world class standard, Mr Chidambaram said, ''This civic centre has been long overdue and we are truly proud of this magnificent building that will be a landmark for many years to come.''

The work of the civic centre does not stop with the inauguration and every road, school, hospital, electricity connection, parks in Delhi should be touched by quality, he added.

''Residents of a country take pride in world class things so there should be no compromise in quality,'' Mr Chidambaram opined.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani was the chiefguest on the occasion, while Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Delhi UrbanDevelopment and Finance Minister A K Walia and Leader of Oppostion in Assembly V K Malhotra graced the dias.

Mr Advani expressed happiness that the Civic Centre had beennamed after an able leader and patriot Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. The new 28-storey building will bring all the policy makers and offices of the corporation under one roof. The civic body looks after around 1400 sq km (96 per cent) of the Capital's area.

Many leaders in MCD hoped it would bring a change in the work culture of the corporation.

Sawhney emerges as a strong BJP candidate for mayor post

New Delhi, Apr 26 (UNI) Banking on the BJPs majority in the house, Pritivi Raj Sawhney who filed his nomination today, has emerged as a strong party candidate for the mayor post.

Amid air of discontent in the party, Mr Sawhney and Mr Rajesh Gehlot today filed nomination for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively as thenomination process came to an end this evening.

From the Congress, Tulsi Ram Sablania, councilor from Karol Bagh, and Saranjit Sharma, from Pandav Nagar, filed their nomination for Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has made the contest triangular by fielding its candidates. Hari Chand Kardam and Sanjay Gupta presented their papers for the two posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively from the party.

Though it seems to be a one sided contest with the BJP occupying 172 out of the 272 seats in the House, the Congress is hoping against hope and calculating its chances on the reported discontent in the BJP.

''We are in continuous contact with several BJP councilors who are not happy with the decision of theirleadership. There will surely be cross voting during election. If our calculations go right, Mr Sablania will be the new Mayor,'' Leader of Oppostion in the MCD Jai Kishan Sharma said.

Three candidates also filed nomination for the posts of member of standing committee, lying vacant. Mr YogendraChandolia and Ms Sarita Choudhary of the BJP and Mr Jai Kishan Sharma of the Congress filed their papers.

These candidates have virtually won the contest as there are only three nominations for the three posts. Though two of its councilors are not eligible for voting, the BJP controls 175 votes including five MLAs in the MCD house. The Congress has 73 councilors plus eight MLAs and MPs each in the House while BSP has only 16 votes.

Yoga imparted to youngsters in J&K

New Delhi, Apr 11 (UNI) Yogic principles are being imparted to youngsters in trouble-torn Jammu and Kashmir.

Besides yoga's proven mental and health benefits, the Chairman of Criminologists Society of Jammu and Kashmir (CSJK) Rameshwar Singh Jamwal is a firm believer in its powers to

prevent crime by altering the thought process of people.

The organisation is working on the project 'Safe J&K, Safe India' which aims "to create a force of millions of youngsters who believe in the rule of law and are ready to work to bring about change in the current scenario of J&K."

At present, the CSJK is working in the main Jammu city and its periphery in collaboration with the J&K Police. The CSJK is also educating school children in around 20 schools in Jammu city and its periphery.

"We teach them about the legal implications of their wrong doing as well as the moral aspect of their actions," Mr Jamwal said.

The group consisting of 22 people, mostly advocates, has taught around 500 teachers about Yogic Crime Theory (YCT).

"During my research I realised that most people get involved in criminal activities because they do not know about the legal implications. The fear of legal action against them works as a

deterrent with common people," he added.

He also claims that it can be effective in tackling the Naxal menace severely affecting the country. "Basically it works as a counter theory. For instance, the Naxal leaders also use

some kind of theory to influence these innocent tribals and manipulate their thinking process.

Similarly, the YCT manipulates the thinking process of these people for the betterment of

the society," Mr Jamwal explained.

Mr Jamwal is also Deputy Advocate General of J&K and has been working on curing the criminal behaviour of the people who have been involved in some kind of unlawful activity at some point in the past. He termed it as Yogic Crime Theory (YCT) and claimed to have cured 93 per cent of the people he had used the theory on.

He holds an invitation from United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for its 12th Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice to be held in Salvador, Brazil from

April 12 to 19. However, he regretted his inability to attend the Congress, being held after a gap of five years, due to visa related problems.

"I have not received my visa yet. It is supposed to reach me by Monday (April 12) only, which will increase the cost of the return ticket to Brazil by two times."

"I cannot afford such high expense. If I had got my visa by today I could have managed but I have not got it," he added.

Mr Jamwal said earlier attended the 11th Congress in April 2005 held in Bangkok, Thailand.

As he was participating in the UNODC Congress as an individual expert, he had to bear the expenses. A total of 88 top criminologists was expected to attend the Congress and

Mr Jamwal was the sole Indian representative to be invited.

Now, as his visit is ruled out, he has requested UNODC to accept his reasearch papers for publiction in its journal which happily for him UNODC has agreed to do.

Huge corruption in security system purchases: Harshvardhan

New Delhi, Apr 7 (UNI) Former Delhi BJP president Harshvardhan today alleged that the Sheila Dikshit government was ''bungling hundreds of crores'' in awarding tender for communication system to a private company ''disregarding'' security advice from various departments.

The Delhi government, he said, was compromising on the security of the people.

The government recently awarded the tender to telecommunication major Motorola for establishing a communication system between various security agencies and deliver 10,000 Tetra handsets for the Commonwealth Games, he told mediapersons at a press conference here.

Criticising the government for choosing an obsolete technology, Dr Harshvardhan asserted, ''Nobody is using this technology now. There are much better technologies available in the market to choose. This decision can be dangerous for the security of our country, sports and sportspersons.''

The senior leader also alleged that three conditions in the tender were relaxed to benefit the company. Even the Scientific Analysis Group (SAG), whose approval was necessary for any foreign purchase of security system, was also overlooked and no tests were conducted on the technology.

''China also used the same system during Beijing Olympics but it was tested for three years before the games, but nothing has been done here.''

Expressing apprehension about the vulnerability of the system, he pointed out that in the wake of threat from terrorists, naxalites, Maoists and other ''anti-India'' forces, the security of the country could not be given in the hands of private companies.

Dr Harshvardhan said the tender was given to the private company for Rs 99 crore, however, looking at the several discrepancies in awarding the tender and information, gathered through RTI applications and his sources, it was around Rs 230-300 crore.

He also demanded that a CBI inquiry be ordered into the whole issue of purchase of the security systems.

The former BJP President also demanded that an Expert Committee, comprising both government and non-government scientists, be formed immediately to scrutinise the system.

RTI on Batla House encounter:15 mths, 2 appeals, no reply

By Amit Chaudhary

New Delhi, Mar 29 (UNI) Even after 15 months of running from pillar to post, two appeals and one hearing, an RTI activist still awaits a ''satisfactory'' reply from Delhi police.

Afroz Aalam Sahil filed an application containing six questions on September 25, 2008, with Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the Delhi police seeking information together with the related documents regarding the Batla House encounter.

The Delhi police, however, is yet to provide the information sought under Right to Information Act, 2005, for which the maximum stipulated period is only 45 days.

Though the CPIO had already forwarded the application to the concerned departments -- CPIO/DCP of Crime Branch and CPIO/DCP Special Cell -- on October 10, 2008, for necessary action, it did not bear any fruit for the appellant.

''On October 31, 2008, the CPIO of Crime Branch responded to only one of the three questions concerned to its department, in which I had asked about the number of people killed in the encounter,'' Mr Sahil told UNI.

On the other queries, he was denied information by both the department, the Crime Branch and Special Cell, citing provisions of Section 8 (1)(h) of the RTI Act and Section 154 of Criminal

Procedure Code.

It was only after the second appeal by the appellant, the Central Information Commission (CIC) held a hearing on February 9, 2010, around 14 months after filing the application.

During the hearing, the Special Cell agreed to provide the information regarding the details about the people arrested and detained in connection with the serial bomb blasts in Delhi and the places from where they were arrested, which they had earlier denied saying that it would affect the investigation in the case.

Regarding details of evidence against the persons arrested or detained, the Information Commissioner (IC) Sushma Singh said, ''The matter is related to the concerned court. Hence, the appellant may approach the concerned court for this information.'' The IC also ordered the Crime Branch to provide a copy of the FIR filed by the police in Batla House encounter case minus the name of the informant.

Ms Singh has called another hearing about post-mortem reports on March 30. ''Surprisingly, for the copy of the post-mortem report I had asked in my application, the IC has called another hearing on March 30 saying the CPIO has not been provided an opportunity of hearing,'' the RTI activist noted.

''Interestingly, the post-mortem report has already been released to the National Human Rights Commission 12 days ago. If it has already been made public then why are they delaying the matter and not providing me a copy of it,'' Mr Sahil asked.

Mr Sahil also questioned the role of the CIC in ensuring the 'fundamental Right to Information' of the people. He pointed out, ''As per the rules, the copy of the orders is issued to all the

parties on the next day of the hearing.''

''But, the orders of the February 9 hearing were issued on March 12, more than a month later, which reached me only on March 27,'' Mr Sahil lamented.

However, CPIO/Crime Branch Sanjay Tyagi denied any such application lying pending with the Delhi Police or about any hearing with the CIC tomorrow.

Delhi budget rocked MCD standing committee meeting

New Delhi, Mar 25 (UNI) In an apparent role reversal, the BJP today stalled the proceedings of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCD) standing committee meeting bringing a condemn motion against the Delhi government for its ''anti-people'' budget.

Councillors of both the parties were shouting slogans against each other.

While, the Congress was demanding roll back of hikes in community centre booking charges, tax on generator sets, house tax, parking and others, the BJP was critical of the budget presented by the Shiela government particularly increase in VAT rates and diesel prices.

Standing Committee chairman Ram Kishan Singhal said, ''Nothing has been spared out of tax ambit not even scrap. VAT was increased by one per cent few months ago now again it has been increased by 7.5 per cent, which is astronomical for the common people reeling under high inflation rate.''

Standing Committee member Vijender Gupta stated that due to high inflation rate cost of living in Delhi has gone up, however, the facilities available of the residents of the Capital have not seen much upgradation.

On the other hand, Leader of the Opposition in MCD Jai Kishan Sharma counter attacked the BJP and stated that they have no moral right to criticise the Delhi government as they themselves have increased the tax rates of many things.

''They have their government in nine states and the tax rates in all those states are higher than Delhi,'' Mr Sharma claimed.

Between this hullabaloo, meeting ended just after 20 minutes without any business.

Oppn concerned over IPL, demands ticket window at Town Hall

New Delhi, Mar 25 (UNI) Raising serious questions over IPL matches in Delhi, Opposition leaders in MCD today expressed concern over the security of the cricket enthusiasts as ''MCD has no control over IPL operations.''

Indicating several discrepencies in organising IPL matches, Leader of Opposition in MCD Jai Kishan Sharma asserted that people were not properly intimated about the distribution counters of IPL tickets forcing cricket lovers to buy them on exhorbitant prices from black market.

Mr Sharma asked the chairman of the Standing Committee to intervene into the matter.

He also asked the IPL organisers to bring ''transparency'' in their operations and set up more windows for the tickets including one at the Town Hall.

''MCD is the authority which provides No Objection Certificates (NOC) before any major event including IPL and the land also belongs to MCD, so it is wrong to say that it has no control over IPL operations,'' he exhorted.

Saying that if any untoward incident happens, the MCD is held responsible for that, the Opposition leader noted that the corporation has no record about how many tickets are being published for every match.

''There is a block in the stadium with the capacity of 2500 people which is reserved for the DDCA members. Around 600 more free passess have been distributed for the block. So it is dangerous to accomodate 3100 people in the block with the capacity of 2500 people,'' Mr Sharma said.

'' Who will be responsible for any untoward incident?,'' he asked expressing concern over the security of the people.

One window clearance for tower operators on April 15, 16

New Delhi, Mar 25 (UNI) Providing relief to all the cellular tower operators, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) today decided to stop its sealing drive till April 16 and give one window service to regularise the towers.

''Tower operators were coming to us requesting to give some more time as they were finding it difficult to get their towers regularise. So, we have decided to stop the sealing drive till April

16,'' Chairman of the MCD Standing Committee Ram Kishan Singhal told UNI.

There are around 1543 towers in the Capital which do not have requisite certificates from the appropriate authorities. In its drive, the Civic Agency sealed around 266 such towers in different zones.

The Civic Agency has also decided to provide one window service to all the tower operators on April 15 and 16 to get clearance.

''We have also decided to open one window service for the operators on April 15 and 16 at MCD Commissioner's office. It is an opportunity for all the operators to get the requisite clearance

from the corporation,'' Mr Singhal said.

Except dispensaries and schools all other buildings are permissible for installing towers provided they fulfil all the norms, he added.

AIIMS doctor provoked student to commit suicide: Family alleged

New Delhi, Mar 22 (UNI) The family of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) MBBS student, who had allegedly committed suicide earlier this month, today alleged a senior

AIIMS Doctor of provoking him to take such a extreme step and demanded CBI enquiry into the matter.

Father of the deceased, Gulab Chand Ahirwar alleged, ''My son became the victim of caste discrimination. He was mentally tortured for five years and finally he broke down and committed sucide.''

Talking to mediapersons here, he said his son, Bal Mukund Bharti, had told his family about discriminating behaviour of one of his professors Dr Krishan Anand.

Bharti did not perform well in his final year examinations and failed in a paper on Community Medicine, an optional subject, along with four other students. He also could not get minimum passing marks in the compartment examination.

However, his family alleged that he was ''deliberately failed by Dr Anand'' because he belonged to ''schedule caste.''

''We have asked the AIIMS administration to provide us the answer sheets of all the five students, including Bharti, who appeared for the compartment examination,'' Mr Ahirwar said.

''Despite three formal requests, we have been denied access to the answer sheets,'' he added mournfully.

According to his family, Bharti had also attempted to change his name twice just to get rid of this caste discrimination.

All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations Chairman Udit Raj said, ''Earlier, we did not want to make this an issue but after seeing laxity on the part of the police and this caste based discrimination against the deceased, we have to enter the scene and fight for the justice for this poor family.''

Calling AIIMS a ''centre of discrimination'', Mr Raj asserted that they would meet Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad and ask for his intervention not just for this case but for making AIIMS discrimination free.

Saying that there are several flaws in the police inquiry, Mr Raj and the family of the deceased demanded, ''An FIR should be registered and enquiry should be made by CBI in the case.''

The deceased had also attemepted suicide on February 18 by consuming excessive quantity of pills and been treated for depression for 15 days in AIIMS.

Bharti, hailing from Madhya Pradesh, got admission in AIIMS for MBBS in 2004 under Schedule Caste quota.

BJP protests milk price hike, leaders court arrest

New Delhi, Mar 20 (UNI) Police today used water cannon and mild force to stop hundreds of BJP activists from marching towards Parliament House against the hike in milk and CNG prices in Delhi and courted arrest in huge numbers.

While reiterating their demand to curb the price rise and give some respite to the poor and middle class people, Delhi BJP senior leaders asserted that the government was ''directly responsible'' for the skyrocketing inflation in the Capital.

''Despite getting Rs 28,000 crore package from the Central Government, there is no relief for the common man,'' leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijay Malhotra remarked.

Delhi BJP secretary Veerender Sachdeva stated the Chairman of Mother Dairy was appointed by the Delhi government and it also provided the land at throw away prices. So, the government should ensure that people get its products at lower than market prices.

''It is an attempt to revive the middlemen, who were eliminated with the introduction of such corporations,'' MLA Ramesh Bidhuri alleged.

Addressing the protestors, BJP All India General Secretary Vijay Goel asked the activists to take the issue to each and every street of the Capital and discuss it at every corner to spread awareness among people about their exploitation.

The agitators were led by Delhi BJP President O P Kohli. Former Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana was also present.

They asked the activists to be prepared for a huge rally on April 21.

Women Reservation Bill imminent, nobody can stop it: Javed Akhtar

New Delhi, Mar 20 (UNI) Asserting his support for the Women's Reservation Bill, noted lyricist Javed Akhtar today said it is imminent and nobody can stop it.

Addressing the agitators at Jantar Mantar here, Mr Akhtar noted, ''Whatever has to happen, has to happen and nobody can stop it, but it is mournful that this is happening so late.''

People from various social organisations gathered to support the 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and to condemn the ''disgraceful statements'' by some religious leaders.

Criticising the statement of Shia cleric Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawwad that women should become mothers of good leaders rather than try to be leaders themselves, the lyricist said this ''Talibani

mentality'' was unacceptable to the Muslims and 99 per cent of the community supported the Bill.

He said until it was not getting clearance in the Rajya Sabha, all such people were friends of women but as soon as the Bill was passed there, their enmity came to the fore.

''The demand of sub-quota for Muslim and backward class women is a conspiracy to stall the Bill and they are playing this game for the last 14 years,'' he opined.

Calling such people ''hypocrite'' and ''opportunist'' Mr Akhtar said if they cannot accept the progress of women, they better leave this country.

''I want to say to these people that whatever they feel about this Bill, the provision for representation of women will happen,'' he said firmly.

On being nominated in the Rajya Sabha, he expressed his gratitude towards the people who commissioned his name for the post.

Besides, he felt that it was a very responsible job. ''I will not sit idle and will try to contribute for the society I belong to,'' he promised.

Women Reservation Bill imminent, nobody can stop it: Javed Akhtar

New Delhi, Mar 20 (UNI) Asserting his support for the Women's

Reservation Bill, noted lyricist Javed Akhtar today said it is

imminent and nobody can stop it.

Addressing the agitators at Jantar Mantar here, Mr Akhtar noted,

''Whatever has to happen, has to happen and nobody can stop it, but

it is mournful that this is happening so late.''

People from various social organisations gathered to support the

33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and to condemn the

''disgraceful statements'' by some religious leaders.

Criticising the statement of Shia cleric Maulana Syed Kalbe

Jawwad that women should become mothers of good leaders rather than

try to be leaders themselves, the lyricist said this ''Talibani

mentality'' was unacceptable to the Muslims and 99 per cent of the

community supported the Bill.

He said until it was not getting clearance in the Rajya Sabha,

all such people were friends of women but as soon as the Bill was

passed there, their enmity came to the fore.

''The demand of sub-quota for Muslim and backward class women is

a conspiracy to stall the Bill and they are playing this game for

the last 14 years,'' he opined.

Calling such people ''hypocrite'' and ''opportunist'' Mr Akhtar

said if they cannot accept the progress of women, they better leave

this country.

''I want to say to these people that whatever they feel about

this Bill, the provision for representation of women will happen,''

he said firmly.

On being nominated in the Rajya Sabha, he expressed his gratitude

towards the people who commissioned his name for the post.

Besides, he felt that it was a very responsible job. ''I will not

sit idle and will try to contribute for the society I belong to,''

he promised.

Americans also divided over women reservation

New Delhi, Mar 10 (UNI) Only Indians are not divided in their opinion about

the Women Reservation Bill, a bunch of students from University of Texas

made it felt that such issues also stir the bases in America while some

finds it “demeaning” and “disservice” to woman, others contradict.

A delegation of 30 MBA students from University of Texas in Austin is in

India on a study tour during a interaction with mediapersons expressed their

varied views on the women reservation.

When the students were asked how they look at the Women Reservation Bill,

the question brought out a ‘warfare of ideas’ among the students itself..

“For me it would be a tremendous success to actually have more

representation of women in the government. The reason behind this is that

the woman brings lot of different perspective which man may not be able to

bring on the table,” a Texas University student from Columbia Monica said.

Ms Monica was immediately confronted by a second year student at Texas

University, Catherine, asserted that women of her generation in always

believe that they do not deserve any special treatment just because they are

women.

“For me to stipulate a certain number of parliament members have to be women

is actually, in some ways, a disservice to women,” she said.

“I find it demeaning because I don need help. I can do it on my own

regardless of what my genetic make up is,” she added.

“Hilary Clinton, who ran for the presidency, is a realy interesting

demonstration of that because she belongs to that part of generation which

realy did not have a fare share,” Ms Catherine explained.

However, another student, Danialle, contradicted her and said, “I have to

respectfully regret what you have just said because you are a woman but you

are a western women and the history behind the role the Indian women played

over the year is very different.’’

“Though I feel it will help India in next 20-25 years but certainly I think

it’s a step in right direction,” she added.

Danialle also joined the corus which demanding more than one-third

reservation and said, ‘’It will not be enough.”

“There are so many young girls in this country who needs representation and

role model at a very high political level and this is where it get to start

and it is a great idea,’’ she said.

Congress encouraging people to convert: Jaitley

New Delhi, Mar 11 (UNI) Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley today alleged that the Congress was ''encouraging people to convert'' by providing reservation to the converted Muslims and Christians.

''By providing reservation to the people who convert from Hindu to other minority religions, the Congress is encouraging people to convert and reap the benefits of reservation as well as of minority,'' Mr Jaitley said.

Mr Jaitley was speaking at a protest demonstration against Rangnath Mishra Commission Report, which recommended inclusion of minorities under the Backward Class, organised by 'Anusuchit Jati Arakshan Bachao Manch' at the Parliament Street.

He stated that the provision for reservation was made to promote the people who were denied fair share of opportunities for years and it was that it would not be provided on the basis of religion.

The Constitution has separate provisions for the minorities, he added.

The BJP leader asserted that if someone converts to another religion which is a casteless society and sets himself free from the bounds of backwardness then the benefits of reservation should not be given to him. What applies to a minority should be applied on him.

''But Mishra commission says if someone converts from Hindu to other religion he should be given both rights, reservation as well as minority rights'' Mr Jaitley said.

The Mishra Commission was formed to divide the society within the society and confiscating the rights of weaker sections promised to them in the Constitution, he opined.

BJP to oppose Ranganath Mishra Commission report

New Delhi, Mar 11 (UNI) The BJP today said it would oppose the Ranganath Mishra Commission Report, which recomended reservation for the minority communities, as its implementation would disintegrate the society.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said,''It is a conspiracy that the Congress has been planning for a very long time and the BJP will not let them do this injustice to the backward people.'' ''We would fight for the rights of the backward classes both inside and outside Parliament,'' she added.

She was addressing a gathering of thousands of people who came to the national capital from all over the country to oppose the Mishra Commission Report under the banner of 'Anusuchit Jati Arakshan Bachao Manch'.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley alleged the Congress of encouraging people to convert.

''By providing reservation to the people who converts from Hindu to other minority religions, the Congress is encouraging people to convert and reap the benefits of reservation as well as of minority,'' Mr Jaitley said.

Both the leaders asserted that the provision for reservation in the Constitution was made to promote the people who were denied fair share of opportunities for years and it was decided that it would not be provided on the basis of religion.

''Those who converted to reap the benefits of being a member of minority community now wants to snatch the few benefits reaching the backward classes after a long struggle,'' Ms Swaraj opined.

Calling this move an ''irony'' for the nation, former BJP president Bangaru Laxman said,''They are providing reservation to those communities which never had any caste system.'' Mr Jaitley said the Constitution had provided several other provision for the minority communities and inclusion of the minorities in the Scheduled Caste category would be an injustice to the people who faced difficulties for hundreds of years.

They should not be given two rights -- reservation and minority rights, he added.

Mishra Commission was formed to divide the society within the society and confiscating the rights of weaker sections promised to them in the Constitution, he opined.

Like India, US also differs over women reservation

Kashmir Times
New Delhi, Mar 10 (UNI) It is not only Indians who are divided in their opinion on the issue of giving 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and state legislatures, Americans also share similar views over the matter.

A visiting students group from University of Texas, at a media interaction, felt that such issues also stir debate in the US as some find it ''demeaning'' and a ''disservice'' to woman whiles others hail it as a ''step in the right direction.'' The delegation of 30 MBA students from University of Texas, Austin, is in India on a study tour.

Asked how they looked at the Women Reservation Bill, they came out with various shades of opinion.

''For me it would be a tremendous success to actually have more representation of women in the government. The reason behind this is that women bring different perspectives on an issue, which men may not be able to bring on the table,'' Monica, a student from Columbia said.

She was immediately confronted by Catherine, a second year student who asserted that women of her generation always believe that they do not deserve any special treatment just because they are female.

''To stipulate a certain number of Parliament members have to be women is actually, in some ways, a disservice to women. ''I find it demeaning because I do not need help. I can do it on my own regardless of what my genetic make up is,'' she said.

She pointed out that Ms Hilary Clinton, who ran for the presidency, provided an interesting demonstration of this view as she belonged to that generation which really did not have a fair share like the present day. But she still managed to reach at that level.

Another student, Danielle, however, said her colleague was viewing it from a western women's perspective. The history and role the Indian women played over the years is very different, she added.

''Though I feel it will only help India in the next 20-25 years, but certainly, it is a step in the right direction,'' she said adding that she felt one third reservation will not be enough.

Underlining the need for empowerment of women, she said, ''There are so many young girls in this country who need representation and role model at a very high political level and this is where it gets to start and it is a great idea,'' she said.

Chidambaram asks CISF to set up R&D unit

New Delhi, Mar 10 (UNI) Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today asked the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to set up a small Research and Development (R&D) unit to keep up with the growing security threat in the country.

''It is important to have latest of science and technology for securing vital installations like airports, atomic energy establishments and iconic establishments of the country,'' Mr Chidambaram told mediapersons on the sidelines of the 41st CISF Day.

He said in view of varied responsibility from airports to atomic energy establishments and from VIP security to fire fighting, it was important that the paramilitary security force harness science and technology.

''The CISF should set up a small R&D centre within the force to look for new ideas and build them,'' he stated.

''A small unit of highly qualified physicists and engineers needs to be established, which should look all over the world how important establishments elsewhere are being protected,'' he added.

During his address to CISF personnel, the Minister appreciated their efforts in securing vital establishments in the country.

''Laying their lives for the country is a testimony of the standard of courage and determination the CISF personnel have,'' he observed.

Paying homage to Martyrs and their families, Mr Chidambaram assured them that next to the kin of the Martyrs would be provided jobs.

He also criticised the ''hostile forces'' for attempting to destabilise the country. ''Hostile forces seek to undermine the security and stability of our country,'' he asserted.

''Terrorism and militancy are trying to hinder our economic growth,'' he added.

Underlining the importance of CISF, he said, ''Our growth depends on our infrastructure and our infrastructure will grow only in a secured environment and this is where the crucial role of CISF comes to play in.'' He also assured that Private Sector would be treated on par with the Public Sector.

''The private and public sector will be treated on par. We will not compromise on providing security to the public sector undertakings, while extending the same to the private sector,'' Mr Chidambaram said.

''We have been receiving large number of requests from the private sector for the deployment of CISF. They are being examined and the force will be deployed in order of priority,'' he informed.

The security force came into existence in 1969 with an initial strength of about 3,000 personnel to provide security to industrial establishments and has since moved on to new areas like airports, government buildings, monuments, disaster management, VIP security and Delhi Metro Rail, with a strength of 1,22,000 personnel.

It is providing security cover to over 290 units including 57 airports spread all over the country.

With the growing threat of terrorist outfits, over 100 private sector industries approached the government to get CISF cover.

Only 1% disabled children are in mainstream schools

New Delhi, Feb 13 (UNI) Suraj, a 12-year-old physically disabled child from

Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh, was among the hundreds of children with

disabilities, who marched to Parliament today demanding their Right

to Education.

His mother carrying him on a wheelchair hoped that her child will get proper education and health treatment to be able to lead a normal life.

They were part of a movement, initiated by All India Parents Association (AIPA) and supported by many NGOs working for children to ensure more than two crore
disabled children their Right to Education.

AIPA president Ashok Aggarwal said, ''Even after 62 years of Independence, only one per cent out of two crore disabled children are in the mainstream schools.''
Saying that the children with disabilities are grossly deprived of all fundamental rights, Mr Aggarwal told UNI

''There is a need to enact a national law specifically for the children with special needs and enforce all the authorities to implement it.''

He also mentioned that there was a dearth of staff in schools to take care of their educational needs, which shows the government's apathy towards the educational needs of such children.

The AIPA on behalf of all other human rights organisations wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into the matter.

In the letter, it was demanded that all the government schools in the country should be upgraded to the minimum level of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan
(KVS) schools.

Articulating that there was a widespread exploitation of parents of disabled children by private schools, General Secretary of Summer Fields Public School Parents Association Bipin Arora noted, ''Commercialisation of education should be immediately curbed.''

Reiterating Mr Aggarwal's demand of national law, he stated that a lot of things were missing in the existing laws so enactment of new law was necessary.

Director of Chetnalya, an NGO, Father Susai Sebastian pointed out few necessary things for all the schools in India to educate special children.

He said, ''Basic facilities like resource centre and special ramp are must for every school to support children with special needs.''

He also urged the parents and the whole community to support and work for these children.

During the ninth national meeting of State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities here two days ago, Union Minister for Social Justice and
Empowerment Mukul Wasnik accepted that lakhs of disabled children were yet to identified.

There is a need to identify such children across the country especially in the rural areas as more than 75 per cent of the disabled lived there, he observed.

Kashmir Times

Commodity exchanges are scam, Govt working for MNCs: Gadkari

New Delhi, Feb 10 (UNI) BJP president Nitin Gadkari today attacked the ruling UPA Government alleging that commodity exchanges are a scam and the government is working for big corporates and multi-national companies.

''People sitting in rooms are selling essential commodities on papers. There is a huge difference between speculated and actual amount of commodities, which is creating false sense of availability leading to price rise,'' Mr Gadkari said during a protest against price rise at Jantar Mantar here.

''It is a scam of around Rs 2.8 lakh crore and the UPA Government is also involved in this,'' he added.

He also accused UPA Ministers of passing the buck and opined that the Congress, including allies of the UPA, was responsible for inflation in the country.

Commenting on the UPA Government's claims that the country was going to achieve double digit economic growth very soon which was an indication of development, the BJP leader said, ''The country may or may not achieve double digit growth but inflation is definitely growing in double digits.'' Pointing out the Congress' reiteration that the saffron party was communal, he said inflation was not related to religion or caste, it was related to the wrong policies of the government.

Despite numerous programmes announced by the UPA to reduce poverty, population of the poor has increased and they had become poorer and poorer, he stated.

Expressing disappointment over agriculture, Mr Gadkari said Minimum Support Price given to farmers in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab last year was Rs 9.5 per kg for wheat and imported at Rs 19 per kg from foreign countries.

He said in fact, the imported wheat was of worst quality which was used to feed pigs in those countries.

Saying that government policies were helping big corporates and multi-national companies in exploiting the poor, Mr Gadkari exhorted people to stand up and ask the government to control the sky-rocketed prices or step down.

''This is a struggle and we have to fight against government.

We welcome all the people and parties who want to join us in this struggle,'' the BJP president announced.

Kalam views books building blocks of country

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Delhi, Feb 4 (UNI) Emphasising the importance of reading and its effect on youth, former President A P J Abdul Kalam here today said it helps children viewing the past, experience the present and dream about the future.

Speaking at the International Conference on Children's Libraries - Building a Book Culture, organised by the Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children (AWIC) with an aim to discuss the potential and scope of libraries in strengthening the book culture, the former president said every school should have libraries as they stimulates the reading habit in children which creates an urge to learn new things.

''Learning gives creativity, creativity leads to thinking, thinking in turn leads to knowledge and knowledge makes us great,'' Dr Kalam said and added that this is the purpose of libraries.

The former President said the dreams and aspirations of the children shapes the future of any country.

Though many educationists and thinkers believes that the technological advancement has eroded the book reading culture, Dr Kalam thinks otherwise and advocates the need to provide book content in electronic form also.

''Knowledge content especially for the urban children should be in electronic form. Computer books have provided a new arena for book reading,'' he added.

Advising that everybody should allocate at least an hour everyday to read quality books and parents should develop a library at their homes Dr Kalam asserted that home library would help children gain the knowledge what their parents had gained through those books.

Children learn through their environment so it is imperative for the parents and teachers to present an inspiring and ideal behaviour, he advised and added that their questions should be answered with earnest.

He also said that libraries must try to keep themselves updated with the latest books from all around the world so that children get an exposure to different countries, cultures and religions.

''There should be books about national heroes,'' he mentioned.

SAD to NHRC: Treat '84 riot victims at par with Godhra

New Delhi, Feb 2 (UNI) Activists of Delhi unit of Shriomani Akali Dal (Badal) today marched to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) office here and demanded its intervention in the 1984 Riot cases, wherein thousands of Sikhs were massacred.

Asking why NHRC had not treated 1984 Riot victims at par with those of Godhra Riots in, SAD Delhi unit President Manjeet Singh G K said, ''The magnitude of 1984 massacre was much higher than the Gujarat riots.''

''Without any disrespect to Godhra victims, we want to specify that in Gujarat only around 800 people were killed but in 1984 riots more than 2700 Sikhs were butchered by the mob,'' he added.

''Why NHRC, even after 25 years of riots, has not taken any step to uphold the human rights and the rights of the victims,'' Mr Singh questioned.

Reiterating their demand for penal action against Sajjan Kumar and other accused, SAD National General Secretary Avtar Singh Hit said, ''We want to ask why are we being ignored.''

''Until all the accused persons are booked under law and victims not given justice this movement will continue,'' he added.

BJP candidate from Jangpura in 2008 Delhi Assembly Elections Manjinder Singh Sirsa said he has no hope of justice as the Congress, which had orchestrated these riots, was currently
holding power at the Centre.

The SAD had submitted a memorandum before the NHRC on Novemeber 4, 2009 but NHRC had not done anything in this regard, Mr Singh said.

''So, we request the NHRC to intervene in this matter and approach the High Court for appointment of a monitoring committee to monitor these cases,'' he urged.

Delhi Govt on lookout for 50,000 student volunteers during CWG

New Delhi, Jan 29 (UNI) Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said the Delhi Government was on the lookout for 50,000 students to act as volunteers during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

''We will need at least 50,000 student volunteers during the Games. The Education department should start identifying students of 11th and 12th standards for it,'' Ms Dikshit stated at the inauguration function of first CWG Wrestling venue here.

Out of 50,000 students, 10,000 will be needed for the opening and closing ceremonies of the CWG, she explained.

''These ceremonies are a reflection of country's culture and are crucial in creating a good image,'' the Chief Minister observed.

''Participation in such a huge event is in itself a big thing for every student,'' she added.

No excuse for non-completion of CWG venues to be tolerated: Sheila

Kashmir Times, January 30

-------------------------------------------------------------

New Delhi, Jan 29 (UNI) Warning administrators and all other parties involved in organisation of the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG) that no excuse would be tolerated for non-completion of Games venues, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said ''now, there is no time to make excuses.''

''We have very less time to complete the construction work for CWG, so rain, heat, draught or anything cannot be taken as excuse for non-completion of work. We have to finish all the work well before time,''Ms Dikshit said today at the inauguration function of first Wrestling venue of CWG.

The Ludlow Castle Wrestling training venue for the participants of CWG was inaugurated at Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidayalaya at Shyamnath Marg near Civil Lines in the presence of Chairman Of the CWG Organising Committee Suresh Kalmadi, PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, Delhi Education and Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely and other dignitaries of Delhi government.

Calling it the first step of a long journey, the CM asserted, ''We need to work hard not just for completing the games but also creating a good image of the city and the country.''

Congratulating the people responsible for completion of this venue in a very short period, Mr Chauhan said, ''Its an achievement to complete the venue in such a short period of 11 months and that too at the cost of just Rs 13 crore as against the estimated expenditureof around Rs 20 crore.''

He said two more such stadiums, Chhatrasal and Tyagraj, would be ready by March. As these three sites come under the Education Department, these will be given back after the CWG and students will be able to use these stadiums to hone their skills.

The fully air-conditioned multi-purpose Wrestling training venue can accommodate six wrestling mats and is equipped with all the latest and essential technology the athletes require.

LINKS:

http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-40645.html

http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20100129/1434976.html

http://oneclick.indiatimes.com/article/09JV2ti1Fk3J6?q=Commonwealth+Games