Telangana Rashtra Samiti rules out merger with Congress but Open to alliance.
- Supreme Court refuses to intervene to stop politicians from making hate speeches.
- Allahabad High Court orders Uttar Pradesh government to withdraw security cover of persons with criminal background within ten days.
- Heads of governments of BIMSTEC member nations to meet in Myanmar capital; Prime Minister holds bilateral meetings with Nepal and Myanmar.
- Sahara chief Subrata Roy to be produced before Supreme Court today.
- All England Open Badminton Championships gets underway at Birmingham this evening.
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The
Telangana Rashtra Samiti, TRS has ruled out its merger with the Congress.
However, the party is open to an alliance with the Congress for the coming Lok
Sabha elections. The TRS has decided to form a committee of senior leaders
headed by Keshav Rao to look into the issue of alliances. This was disclosed by
the Party President K Chandrashekhar Rao in Hyderabad last night after a day-long meeting
of the General Body of the party. Mr Rao said, the general body meeting
unanimously decided not to merge the TRS with the Congress. He also criticised
the Congress and the UPA government at the Centre for bringing in an ordinance
giving a special category status to the residuary state while denying the same
to the new state of Telangana. Mr Rao said, this is an undemocratic move which
will be challenged in the Supreme Court. He has also opposed making Hyderabad the joint
capital.
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Congress
President Sonia Gandhi has asked party MPs to go to the Lok Sabha polls with
confidence. Addressing MPs at a dinner she hosted at her residence last night,
Mrs Gandhi asked MPs to be battle ready for the next Lok Sabha polls. At least
100 MPs talked to Mrs Gandhi during dinner. Due to hectic engagements over Telangana
issue, Mrs Gandhi was unable to have an interaction with party MPs during the
just-concluded winter session of Parliament, as there was no valedictory dinner
meeting of the parliamentary party . It was, therefore, a kind of farewell
meeting with Lok Sabha MPs as Sonia and Rahul Gandhi walked up to the dinner
tables of MPs and chatted with them.
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Former
Supreme Court Judge K T Thomas has turned down the offer to head the Lokpal
Search Committee. Speaking to a news agency over the phone, Mr. Thomas said he
has written to the Prime Minister's Office, expressing his disinclination to
head the Lokpal Search Committee.
The
former Judge said, the Search Committee was to recommend names to the Select
Committee which may or may not accept those names. So, it was not worthwhile
having this Search Committee and that is the reason why he turned down the
offer.
I
don't have any ideological difference. I
thought work can be done by the Selection Committee directly, why should it be
routed through a search committee. I
also mentioned that inviting applications for this post is not appreciable by
me.
Meanwhile,
the BJP described the resignation of Justice Thomas from the Lokpal Committee
Search Panel as an embarrassment to the government. Refuting the BJP's
allegations the Congress said the resignation is in no way an embarrassment to
the Centre as the Lokpal is a statutory body not an executive one. Congress party spokesperson Abhishek Manu
Singhvi said Justice Thomas should have registered his resentment during the
last Parliament proceedings when the Lokpal structure was discussed.
Giving
or not giving consent has no connection or no comment on the government in any
manner, for the simple reason that if they were to say yes, they would be
numbers, not any government body, but over statutory body.
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Supreme
Court has said it will not intervene in the bid stop politicians from
delivering hate speeches. Hearing a PIL, the apex court said, India is a
country of 128 crore people and there may be 128 crore views. This is the
maturity of a democracy. For a person making such a speech, it may not be a
hate speech. The PIL had sought the Supreme Court's direction to the Election
Commission to stop politicians from making hate speeches and promises designed
to influence voters. The apex court said that an order from them on hate
speeches would amount to an infringement of the right to free speech.
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The
Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre and all the states on a PIL to
declare HIV affected children as disadvantaged group under the Right to
Education Act. The notices come in order to ensure that such children get
education without discrimination.
A
Bench headed by Justice B S Chauhan also sought a response from the government
on the plea of an NGO seeking framing of guidelines to prevent any kind of
discrimination towards students due to their HIV status or that of their
parents or guardians. The petition said, the confidentiality of the
HIV-positive status of the children is being routinely breached, leading to
violation of their right to privacy.
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The
Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has asked Uttar Pradesh government to
withdraw the gunners provided to all 288 persons with criminal antecedents
within ten days. The bench comprising justices Imtiyaz Murtaza and DK Upadhyaya
said that after withdrawal of security cover, separate orders may be passed for
those persons who have actual threat of any nature. Acting on a PIL, the court
advised the state government to refrain from giving security to those having an
arms licence. The court directed the state government to make its position
clear in the matter. The case will come up for further hearing on the 7th of
next month.
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Heads
of governments of BIMSTEC nations will meet in Myanmar's capital Nay Pyi Taw this
morning. They will adopt the 3rd BIMSTEC Summit Declaration. Three Memoranda of
Agreements are expected to be signed. These are establishment of a Permanent
Secretariat at Dhaka, establishment of a Weather and Climate Centre in India, and a Cultural Industries Commission in Bhutan.
Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and his Nepalese counterpart Sushil Koirala had a
bilateral meeting last evening. India
promised all possible assistance to Nepal in the areas of economic
development, institution building and consolidation of democracy. External
Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters that India
has offered to train the doctors at the trauma centre in Kathmandu
which is going to become operational very soon.
Dr
Manmohan Singh also held meeting with Myanmar's President Thein Sein. Dr.
Singh reiterated the priority and importance that India
attaches to its relations with Myanmar.
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Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has harshly criticised threats of sanctions and
boycotts over his country's role in the crisis in Ukraine. Mr Lavrov said at the
opening of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva
that those who try to interpret the situation as a type of aggression and
threaten sanctions and boycotts, are the same ones who have consistently
encouraged Ukrainians to refuse dialogue.
Meanwhile, US Vice President Joe Biden called on Russian
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The Vice President urged Russia to pull back its forces, support the
immediate deployment of international monitors to Ukraine, and begin a meaningful
political dialogue with the Ukrainian government.
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India has made oral polio
vaccination immunization mandatory for travellers coming from seven polio
affected countries with a view to prevent
polio virus from entering the country.
These countries are Afghanistan,
Ethiopia, Syria, Kenya,
Somalia, Nigeria and Pakistan. An official release said,
all travelers coming from these countries to India would need to take the Oral
Polio Vaccine six weeks before departure from their country.
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In Uttar Pradesh, the agitating medicos have
refused to end their stir unless cases slapped against doctors are withdrawn
and action against SSP Kanpur and MLA Irfan Solanki is taken. A court in Kanpur had granted bail
to all the arrested doctors on Monday. More from our correspondent.
Due
to ongoing strike, twenty six patients have reportedly lost their lives in the
state so far because they could not get medical aid on time. More than three
hundred serious patients had to return from King
George Medical
University of Lucknow on Monday where OPDs and operation
theaters were locked by junior doctors. The stir is all set to intensify more
from today as private doctors and Indian Medical Association have said to shut
down the services in solidarity with their agitating counterparts. With the
report of Merajuddin from Lucknow, this is Vasundhra for AIR News .
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Sahara chief Subrata Roy will be produced before the Supreme
Court at 2 PM today. He was brought to Delhi
from Lucknow
yesterday for this purpose. The order to arrest Roy was issued on February 26
for his failure to appear before the apex court in a contempt case arising out
of non-refund of 20,000 crore rupees to investors by two of his companies. Roy surrendered last
Friday and was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police.
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The
government has set up a tribunal headed by Delhi High Court Judge Justice
Suresh Kait to examine the validity of the ban imposed on the Student Islamic
Movement of India, SIMI. As per the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the
ban has to be approved by a tribunal headed by a sitting High Court Judge
within six months of the government notification. The first hearing is
scheduled today in the Delhi High Court. The tribunal will travel across the
country to examine evidence against the organisation. The government has said
that the SIMI cadres are involved in anti-national activities in Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
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The
prestigious All England Badminton Championships begins at the National Indoor
Arena in Birmingham
today. Saina Nehwal is the only Indian to be seeded in the 400,000 US Dollar
Super Series Premier tournament. Saina will look to do one better after her
semifinal finish in last year's Championships, in which her campaign was cut
shot by Thailand's
Ratchanok Intanon.
Saina,
seeded seventh, is confident of a good show as she opens her campaign against
Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland.
Saina's younger colleague, P V Sindhu will begin with a clash against Yu Sun of
China.In the men's singles, Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth got a direct
entry into the main draw.
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Sri Lanka have booked their place in
the final of the Asia Cup cricket tournament, now under way in Bangladesh.
Playing their third match at Mirpur yesterday, Sri
Lanka defeated Afghanistan by a huge margin of 129
runs. Set to score 254 for a win, Afghanistan were all out for 124 in
38.4 overs.
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NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
- Most newspapers this morning highlight the blow to the government after the Supreme Court Judge K. T. Thomas rejected the offer to head the Lokpal panel. This is the second exit after Fali Nariman who also refused the position earlier.
- The Oscar ceremony with photographs of prominent hollywood personalities is the other major headline in most newspapers. The movie '12 Years As A Slave' won three Oscars including the best picture.
- After ordering a CBI probe into the alleged kickbacks, and the use of unauthorized commercial adviser by Rolls Royce, the Ministry of Defense put on hold all deals with the British Engine manufacturer, writes the Hindu. "Rolls Royce admits to paying kickbacks", writes the Pioneer.
- After a protracted legal battle, Veteran Congress Leader N.D. Tiwari accepting his biological son, is another major story covered by most newspapers this morning with photographs. "With a hug Tiwari accepts his son" writes the Indian Express.
- The Reserve Bank of India has extended the deadline for exchanging pre 2005 currency notes to January 2015 from the existing deadline of March 2014. The Times of India, Business Standard and other papers have highlighted this story.
- The Time of India writes that data from the National Bomb Data Centre shows, that there were 212 bomb blast in India in 2013 - more than double the blasts in Afghanistan, making India 3rd amongst the most dangerous countries in the world only next to Iraq and Pakistan.
- And finally, as part of the new list of measures initiated by the Nepal Government to rid the worlds highest peak, Mt. Everest of tons of garbage accumulated over the years, every climber, who ascends beyond the base camp from April, will have to bring back at least 8kg of trash besides his own waste, writes the Hindustan Times and Asian Age.
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