Ahmedabad: Residents criticise the renaming of tea stalls

Ahmedabad: In a bid to highlight BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's tea seller background, party workers in Gujarat are renaming the tea stalls to 'Namo' tea stall. However, the move came under criticism in Naroda Patiya which was the worst hit area during the 2002 riots.
The residents of Naroda Patiya criticised the move and called it a cheap publicity stunt. Ahesan Shaikh said, "It is a cheap publicity stunt and I completely disapprove this."
A tea shop run by Zubair Shaikh in Odhav area was too re-branded as Namo tea stall by BJP activists. Zubair Shaikh, in his forties, is Qutubuddin Ansari's friend, the tailor whose photo became the face of Gujarat riots. He, however, said, "BJP workers came and asked whether I had any objection if they put up Modi's photo to which I said no, so it has been put up. "Qutubuddin too has no objection over renaming the shop," Zubair added.

Sensex up 128 points in early trade

MUMBAI | The benchmark BSE Sensex surged nearly 128 points in early trade on Friday, extending gains for the fourth straight session, on sustained buying by funds amid a firm trend on other Asian bourses.

The 30-share index, which had gained 101.48 points in the previous three sessions, rose further by 127.87 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 20,438.61, with stocks of healthcare, realty and metal sectors leading the rise.

All the sectoral indices were trading in the positive zone with gains up to 1.18 per cent.

Rajya Sabha elections to be held today, EC appoints special observers

New Delhi| : The stage is set for the biennial poll to the Rajya Sabha in four states on Friday. The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for the polls which will cover 18 seats.

The elections will be held for six seats in Andhra Pradesh, five in West Bengal, four in Odisha and three in Assam. They will be held in the respective State Legislative Assembly premises where the MLAs will cast their vote.

The polls for the Upper House is scheduled to be held between 9 am and 4 pm. The counting of votes will be done on Friday at 5 pm.

The EC has appointed four Chief Electoral Officers of other states as special observers of the commission for elections for which as many as 37 candidates from 12 States have already been declared elected unopposed.


The EC released a statement regarding the polls, which said, as quoted by IANS, “The duties of the special observers will be to keep a watch on electoral malpractices including role of money power. In case specific complaints are received, the same will promptly be looked into."

"The observers will also keep constant watch on the news and media reports related to biennial election. In case of any electoral malpractices, the same will be brought to the notice of the Commission," it added.

This is said to be one of the biggest biennial poll currently being held for 55 seats in 16 states for Upper House of Parliament. Maharashtra, seven seats, Tamil Nadu, six seats, Bihar, five seats, Gujarat, four seats, Madhya Pradesh, three seats, Rajasthan, three seats, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, two seats each and Himachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya, one seat each, have already completed the elections.

Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and Congress leader Murli Deora are among the seven candidates from Maharashtra who have already been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from.

Centre vs Aam Aadmi Party: new showdown over Arvind Kejriwal's Jan Lokpal Bill

New Delhi:  Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government seems ready for a confrontation over its pet proposal - the anti-corruption Jan Lokpal bill - after a top lawyer's advice that the Delhi government has to seek the Centre's approval before it tries to enact the bill.

The Chief Minister today said, "We will write to the Lieutenant-Governor about it." His party pointed out that they had consulted several senior lawyers who had told them that the Delhi government could go ahead with legislation without having to seek the Centre's nod.

Mohan Parasaran, the Solicitor General, has told Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung that before the Delhi legislature debates or votes on the bill, it must be cleared by the Union Home Ministry,  as the Lokpal or the ombudsman agency that is created by the bill will be funded at least in part by the Union government.

"It seems like a conspiracy against AAP. The Lieutenant-Governor needs to work for Delhi, not Congress," said AAP spokesperson Ashutosh.

Mr Kejriwal has declared that from February 13, the Jan Lokpal bill will be reviewed and then voted upon by the state's law-makers in a special four-day session at a city stadium, where people have been invited.

But the legal hurdle sets the stage for a new conflict between the Chief Minister and the Centre, whose top ministers he has repeatedly disdained as corrupt. Union minister Manish Tewari said, "If at all the solicitor has said so then it's our duty to protect the Constitution."

In 2011, Mr Kejriwal and his mentor, Anna Hazare, led a campaign to demand that Parliament pass the Lokpal Bill to create an independent agency to check graft among officials. It was not till December 2013, that the law was enacted. Mr Kejriwal has said that the law cleared by Parliament is so bland that it "can't even catch a mouse," and his version, the Jan Lokpal bill, is far more stringent.

Pervez Musharraf still under probe in Lal Masjid case

Islamabad:  Beleaguered former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is still under probe in the Lal Masjid case and the impression that he has been given a clean chit is "totally wrong", a top police official has said."The Islamabad Capital Territory police are still investigating charges against former president Pervez Musharraf in Ghazi Abdul Rashid (Lal Masjid cleric) murder case. The impression that ICT police have cleared him in the murder case is totally wrong," Sikander Hayat, Inspector General Police (IGP) Islamabad, told reporters.

Hayat said that the complainant had failed to produce witnesses against the accused (Musharraf) as promised earlier during the due course of time.This is what the police investigation team told the court that released the accused on bail, he said."The complainant could produce only two out of 20 witnesses as promised earlier," Hayat said yesterday, adding that the police were still investigating the case.Musharraf was released on bail by a court on Wednesday after nearly six months of house arrest and the status of his house as a sub-jail was de-notified.

Hayat said police commandos and the rangers were still performing duties at Musharraf's residence as it was the duty of ICT police to provide the former president foolproof security, The Nation reported.Musharraf, 70, has been living under house arrest in his farmhouse in Chak Shehzad, on the outskirts of Islamabad, declared sub-jail by the authorities.He has been under arrest at the palatial farmhouse, guarded by nearly 300 security personnel, including soldiers and snipers.

Musharraf was army chief when he took power in a 1999 coup and later became president. He stepped down after the Pakistan Peoples Party won the election in 2008.Besides the Lal Masjid case, Musharraf has been granted bail in three other cases over the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the killing of Baloch leader Akbar Bugti in a 2006 military operation and the imposition of emergency in 2007.

The cases were filed after he returned to Pakistan from self-exile in March to revive his political career. However, a court barred him from contesting polls for life.Musharraf is still on the Interior Ministry's Exit Control List which bars him from travelling out of Pakistan and his party has claimed he will return to active politics.After Musharraf recently submitted surety bonds to the Supreme Court and came closer to possible release, Islamabad Police arrested him last month in the Lal Masjid case.Musharraf, who was then army chief and President, had ordered the crackdown on extremists holed up in the Lal Masjid in 2007. About 100 people, most of them extremists, were killed in the operation.

On the orders of the Islamabad High Court, a case was registered against Musharraf on September 2, charging him with the murder of the cleric and his mother.The case was filed after the cleric's son filed a complaint with police and approached courts.

Sensex down 157 points to two-week low on Fed tapering concerns

MUMBAI: The benchmark sensex dropped 157 points to the lowest level in almost two weeks as overseas stock markets turned weak on expectations that the US Federal Reserve would start tapering its stimulus programme sooner than expected.

Consumer durables, banking and refinery sector stocks declined, while realty and capital goods shares attracted buying. HDFC, Maruti Suzuki, ONGC and Bajaj Auto were the major losers on the index.

A weak trend prevailed in Asian and European markets on concerns the Fed would reduce its bond-buying programme earlier than anticipated following initial signs of strength in the US economy. Cautious investors booked profits, leading to a fall in stocks globally, including in India.

Shami reverse-swings India to fabulous win

KOLKATA: Pacer Mohammad Shami gave an awesome exhibition of reverse swing to cap a dream debut with five second innings wickets as India inflicted an innings defeat on a hapless West Indies inside three days in the first Test to mark a fabulous start to the Sachin Tendulkar farewell series on Friday. Scorecard Shami followed up his 4-71 performance in the first innings with a 5-47 show in the second to claim an enviable match haul of 9-118 -- the best ever by an Indian pacer on debut. Shami's performance propelled India to an innings and 51-run victory in the first Test at the iconic Eden Gardens. Offie Ravichandran Ashwin followed up his exploits with the bat (124) with admirable figures of 3-46. Needing 219 runs to escape the ignominy of an innings upset, the West Indies collapsed like a pack of cards in the final session -- 98 minutes into the post tea session -- to be bundled out for 168. Veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul (31 not out; 101 b, 2x4) put up a gritty resistance, but in the end ran out of partners. In the morning, Ashwin struck his second Test ton (124) and extended his seventh wicket stand with Rohit Sharma (177) to a staggering 280 to enable the hosts finish at a mammoth 453.

 The visitors had notched up 234 in their first innings. Beginning their second knock in the post-lunch session, the West Indies raised the promise of a fightback by reaching 101/1, courtesy a 68-run second wicket stand between Darren Bravo (37; 78 b, 4X4) and Kieran Powell (36; 83 b, 5x4), but Ashwin began the Caribbean demolition by foxing Powell with a flighted delivery that hit the batsman on the pad plumb in front of the stumps. Shami - after a listless effort in his first spell - returned with a vengeance close to tea, and saw the back of Marlon Samuels (4) with one that reversed and got him leg before. In the second over after tea, Bravo tried to cut Ashwin, who had pitched outside the off stump, and the ball dipped into the hands of a diving Rohit Sharma at point. The West Indies were then 120/4. Shami then jagged one back after pitching on a length just outside the off stump, inducing an inside edge from Windies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin (1), which was lapped up by his Indian counterpart. With half the side gone, Chanderpaul (23) and skipper Darren Sammy (8) tried to put up resistance briefly, but they crumbled in Shami's 11th over - the 49th of the innings. The Bengal pacer again pitched on a length outside the off stump, and got the ball to reverse, uprooting Sammy's middle stump.

 Two deliveries later, Shane Shillingfored got a similar ball which unsettled the off stump by breaking through the gate. There was a further tragedy for the Caribbeans after the next delivery. Shami again extracted reverse swing, and Veerasammy Permaul (0) was struck on the pads. As the Indian fielders appealed, Permaul took a few steps out of the crease, but the alert Dhoni was quick to throw down the stumps to get a run out decision. The writing on the wall was more than clear, and the West Indies were reeling at 152/8. The formalities were soon completed with Ashwin claiming Tino Best (3) and Shami castling Sheldon Cottrel (5). Earlier, Resuming at 354/6 overnight, Ashwin and Rohit batted fluently to notch up a stand of 280 - an Indian highest for the seventh wicket - which catapulted the hosts to a strong position. Ashwin, who had taken the partnership to 200 in the morning's second over with a streaky boundary off Best, brought up his delightful 100 in the fourth over by pushing the same bowler through the sweeper cover. Reaching the three-figure mark, a visibly ecstatic Ashwin punched the air as Tendulkar clapped in appreciation in the dressing room balcony. The landmark was reached off 159 balls. All the four wickets in the morning session were equally shared by the visiting spinners on a track which played slow but gave turn. Shillingford (6-167) claimed his fifth five-wicket haul in 11 Tests. Left armer Veerasammy Permaul (2-67) was the other successful bowler. Rohit finally departed as he deliberately padded an offering from Permaul which pitched around the off stump and turned away. Aswhin was claimed by Shillingford with a flighted delivery which beat the batsman and dislodged the middle stump.