Former law intern hints at filing police complaint against Justice Ganguly

NEW DELHI: A former law intern, who accused ex-Supreme Court judge A K Ganguly of sexual harassment, has hit back at him for denying the charges and hinted that she may file a police complaint.

"Those who have been spreading rumours and politicizing the issue, are doing so out of prejudice and malice to obfuscate the issue and escape scrutiny and accountability," the intern wrote on her blog on Legally India.

Her comments came a day after Justice Ganguly had written an eight-page letter to Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam, denying that he had sexually harassed the intern and alleging there was a "palpable design" to malign him because of the judgments he had given against "powerful quarters".

Indicating that she may lodge a police complaint, the intern said,"I request that it be acknowledged that I have the discernment to pursue appropriate proceedings at appropriate times. I ask that my autonomy be respected fully."

The intern said that any one claiming that her statements were false was showing disrespect not just to her but also to the Supreme Court. "I would like to state that I have acted with utmost responsibility throughout, keeping in mind the seriousness of this situation," she said.

Cong holds consultations with minorities on party's manifesto

NEW DELHI: Congress today held consultations with representatives from various minority communities, including Muslims, as part of its exercise to include demands and aspirations of sections of people in its 2014 election manifesto.

Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi and Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan, among the senior leaders, are holding direct interactions with the communities to incorporate their views and suggestions in the party's manifesto for the next Lok Sabha polls.

he exercise comes in line with Gandhi's call for "opening the doors and windows of politics" for common man in formulating policies and programmes of the government as the party sought to reach out to the people directly in the manifesto-making exercise by launching a website to seek direct feedback from the public.

As a prelude, Gandhi had held a meeting with representatives of Dalits, tribal and OBCs on December 13 to discuss the social, political and economic challenges before the communities and formulate programmes to address them.

Addressing the meeting of Dalits, tribals and OBCs, Gandhi had said that politics was so far being done from behind the closed doors and windows and the political process was restricted to some 500-odd people.

"It is a narrow elite, which constitutes the political establishment and each party is run by a narrower group," he had said, promising to open the system.

The consultation process called "Your Voice Our Pledge" has been started witha view to help shape the pan-India agenda of the manifesto.

Addressing the media after that meeting, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh had said that the manifesto will be ready by the first week of February and it will be open for public discussion for the next one-and-a-half months thereafter.

Five such consultations are being organised by the party with various sections including SC/ST/OBC, minorities, women and youth.

Virat Kohli loses top spot to AB de Villiers in ICC ODI rankings

Dubai:  Virat KohliStar batsman Virat Kohli lost his top position to AB de Villiers while most of his teammates, barring skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, also slipped in the latest ICC one-day rankings issued on Thursday after the 0-2 series loss to South Africa.

India, in fact, dropped two ratings points but held on to the top spot with 120 ratings points, while South Africa continued to be in fifth place with 110 ratings points, with a gain of three points.

Dhoni remained static at sixth but Shikhar Dhawan was down a rung to 10th, while Rohit Sharma found himself 18th after losing three spots. Suresh Raina, who was 19th in the previous list, is now out of top-20 and is currently placed at 23rd.

In the bowling charts, Ravindra Jadeja was pushed to the seventh spot, a loss of four positions, while Ravichandran Ashwin ended up 17th after slipping three rungs.

For South Africa, leading the way is de Villiers, who had started the series in second spot behind India's Virat Kohli, trailing by 17 ratings points on the rankings for ODI batsmen.

But now de Villiers at 872 has not only regained the number-one rank, he has also opened up a 13 ratings points lead over Kohli.

De Villiers, who scored 189 runs in three completed innings during the series, was the second highest run-getter on either side with a top score of 109 in the final match.

De Villiers, who was named in both the ICC Test and ODI Teams of the Year in 2013, now heads both the Test and ODI batting tables. De Villiers had also been shortlisted for the People's Choice Award this year.

De Villiers is the third batsman from South Africa after Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla to head the Test and ODI batting tables at the same time, and the ninth player overall.

Amla achieved the distinction in February this year when he topped the charts after the Johannesburg Test against Pakistan. Amla, on the other hand, has moved up a place to third in the batting list.

Meanwhile, South Africa's Quinton de Kock has made the biggest gain in the latest rankings following his three successive hundreds in the series, jumping 61 places to a career-best 14th with a best-ever 672 ratings points.

De Kock became only the fifth batsman in history to score three successive ODI hundreds, to thereby end as the highest run-getter in the series with 342 runs. Outside the top-20, the batsmen to move up include JP Duminy in 24th (up by three), David Miller in 45th (up by 12) and Ravindra Jadeja in 71st (up by one).

Meanwhile, South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn has continued his upward move in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers. Steyn has moved up three positions to second after claiming six wickets in the two ODIs that he played.

Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal continues to be number-one ranked on the rankings for ODI bowlers. The other two South Africa bowlers inside the top-10 are Lonwabo Tsotsobe in eighth (up by two) and Morne Morkel in ninth.

Meanwhile, Ryan McLaren has entered the top-20 of the bowling ranking for the first time, as he moved up two places to sit in 20th. Outside the top 20, the bowlers to advance up the rankings include Mohammed Shami in 43rd (up by seven) and Ishant Sharma in 51st (up by 16).

Market fire in China's Shenzhen kills 16

A fire in a farmers' fruit market in south China's Shenzhen has killed at least 16 people and injured at least three, officials say.

The fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday and spread to an area of around 1,000 sq m (0.4 sq miles), the local fire department said.

It took around two hours to extinguish the fire. Around 145 firefighters were at the scene, officials said.

Authorities said they were investigating the cause of the blaze. The fire started at 01:30 local time (17:30 GMT) at the Rongjian Farmers' Market in Shenzhen's Gongming District, the Shenzhen fire department and Shenzhen emergency management office said on their verified microblog accounts.

The city deployed 29 fire engines, and the fire was extinguished at 03:00 local time (19:00 GMT), they added.

Search and rescue and clean-up operations were still under way at 08:00, the fire department said.

The market remained shut on Wednesday morning, while a main road near the market was closed off in both directions, state-run broadcaster CCTV said, citing one of its reporters.

Protest over parole for Sanjay Dutt outside Pune's Yerawada jail

Pune:  A group of Republican Party of India (RPI) activists demonstrated outside the Yerawada Central Jail in Pune today, protesting against the likely release of incarcerated Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt on parole.

Waving black flags and banners, the RPI activists shouted slogans demanding that Dutt should not be granted parole and must be treated at par with any other prisoner.

Police deployment has been beefed up outside the jail since last night with the expected release of Dutt on parole, as his wife Maanyata Dutt is unwell.

Dutt, 54, had recently applied for a month's parole contending that he wanted to take care of his wife. The parole has been granted and he is awaiting release from the jail to return home to Mumbai.

However, Maanyata reportedly attended a film premier Thursday night and her pictures were splashed in various online media sporting a jeans and t-shirt.

This would be the third time that Dutt would come out on parole in the past three months.

Dutt had been granted a fortnight's parole for medical reasons Oct 1 which was extended by another 15 days. He returned to the jail on October 30.

The actor is presently serving the remaining 42 months of his five-year sentence for involvement in the March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.

Having served 18 months in jail as an undertrial, Dutt started his stint in the Yerawada jail May 16 this year. In the jail he has been employed in making paper bags which are sold outside through some NGOs.

Though he spent Diwali in jail along with the other inmates, he is likely to enjoy Christmas and New Year with his family.

Dutt has acted in movies like "Munnabhai M.B.B.S", "Lage Raho Munna Bhai" and "Agneepath" in the past few years.

Former Mysore ruler Srikantadatta Wodeyar dies

Bangalore:  Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar from the former royal family of Mysore and who was recently elected president of the Karnataka cricket association, died of a heart attack in Bangalore today.

Mr Wodeyar, 60, had the heart attack at his Bangalore home and efforts to revive him at a city hospital were not successful.

He was a former Congress MP from the Mysore constituency and also a fashion designer.

The son of the late Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, Srikantadatta was never officially a Maharaja, but many people in Mysore thought of him as one. He was a central figure in Mysore's celebration of Dasara and had participated in the festival in October this year.

Mr Wodeyar's wife Pramoda Devi Avaru is from the Bettada Kote Ursu family of the former princely state of Mysore. They have no children.

Mr Wodeyar played university level cricket and maintained his links with the game. He was elected president of the Karnataka Cricket Association last month.

A friend, Dr Dayanand Pai, said, "He wanted to help cricketers from rural areas and give them a chance. He recently told me how he wanted at least one from Karnataka in the Indian cricket team."

When Karnataka was reeling under severe drought last year, Mr Wodeyar had reached out to farmers and conducted prayers at the grounds of his Mysore palace.

Karnataka Home Minister K George said, "His contribution to preserve the culture of the state cannot be forgotten. Not just that he loved sports. As a politician too, he was very committed."

"Our last connection with the Mysore family is lost. He was a sincere man," said former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa.

Telangana bill sent to President Pranab Mukherjee

New Delhi/Hyderabad: The central government Friday sent to President Pranab Mukherjee the draft bill for formation of separate Telangana state.

The union home ministry sent the draft Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill to Rashtrapati Bhavan, a day after it was approved by the union cabinet, official sources said.

The president, who is on a tour to West Bengal, will have a look at the bill after his return to the national capital Sunday.

He will then refer the bill under Article 3 of the Constitution of India to Andhra Pradesh state assembly to send it back with its views within a prescribed time.

The draft bill will then go the union cabinet, which will give it a final shape for tabling the same in parliament.

It was not clear whether the bill would be tabled during parliament's winter session, which concludes Dec 20.

Congress general secretary incharge of party affairs in Andhra Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh Friday said if the bill could not be tabled during the winter session, a special session would be convened.

Talking to reporters, he said whether the bill would come up during winter session or not would depend on the time the president would give to Andhra Pradesh assembly to respond with its comments.

"We can always call a special session," he said when asked what the government would do if the bill doesn't come up during the current session.

Mumbai court orders fresh trial in 2002 hit-and-run case against Salman Khan

Mumbai:  A Mumbai court today ordered fresh trial in a 2002 hit-and-run case against Hindi film actor Salman Khan.

Mr Khan had asked for a fresh trial after the charge against him was enhanced from "rash and negligent driving" to the more serious "culpable homicide not amounting to murder", which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail.

The court today said all evidence and witnesses in the case will be re-examined. The trial is set to begin on December 23.

The 47-year-old actor had told the court that the evidence presented earlier before a magistrate should be discarded as he was now facing a more serious charge. The prosecution had argued against fresh trial, saying it was a "stalling tactic."

In September 2002, Mr Khan was allegedly driving a Toyota Land Cruiser that ran over a group of people sleeping on the pavement outside a bakery in suburban Bandra. One person was killed and four others were injured in the accident.

The case has gone from court to court with arguments centred around whether Mr Khan was driving the car that day or not. The Mumbai police say they have enough evidence against him.

In 1998, Salman Khan spent three days in prison for killing a black buck, an endangered species of deer, in Rajasthan.

The actor has starred in many Bollywood blockbusters for two decades and is considered one of the biggest commercial draws at the box office.

Cong rejects Modi's call for debate on Art 370

New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) Dismissing his call for a debate on Article 370 of the Constitution, Congress today advised Narendra Modi to discuss the issue first with Sangh Parivar, saying there is already "clarity" in the ruling party about it.

    Party General Secretary Digvijay Singh also said that he "does not take Modi's statement very seriously" as the BJP's Prime Miisterial candidate "keeps changing" it from one place to another.

    Alluding to recent gaffes of Modi in rallies related to historical events, Singh said that the Gujarat Chief Minister is "unaware of history" and has been speaking "untruth" on many issues.

    "As far as my party is concerned, there in clarity on the issue (of Article 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir). If Modi wants to debate, he should debate it within BJP and the Sangh. We have no objection if Modi, BJP and the Sangh debate it within them. We have no objection if they want a public debate...," Singh said.

    In what appeared a somewhat softening of BJP's stand for scrapping Article 370, Modi had yesterday said that there should be at least a debate on whether or not it has benefited J-K.

    Addressing his first rally in Jammu after being named the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate, he had said his party wanted a discussion on various aspects of the constitutional provision.

    Union Minister Manish Tewari was quick to dismiss Modi's remarks, saying it reveals BJP's doublespeak.

    "The manner they speak about Article 370 and Article 371 makes me conclude that they neither read the Constitution of India nor they have cared about detail....

    They (Modi's remark) "completely reveal their (BJP's) doublespeak. 10 years ago, five years ago, one year ago you would hear BJP talking about abrogating Article 370. Now they are talking about debate on Article 370," he had said

லிபியாவின் சிறையிலிருந்து 40 கைதிகள் தப்பி ஓட்டம்

லிபியாவின் தெற்குப் பகுதியில் உள்ள சபா நகரத்தின் சிறைக்கைதிகள் 40 பேர் துப்பாக்கி ஏந்தி வந்த வெளிமனிதர்களின் உதவியுடன் தப்பித்துள்ளனர் என்று நேற்று வெளிவந்த ஊடகச் செய்திகள் தெரிவித்துள்ளன.

நேற்றுமுன்தினம் அதிகாலை அந்த சிறைச்சாலைக்கு அடையாளம் தெரியாத துப்பாக்கி ஏந்திய மர்ம நபர்கள் வந்துள்ளனர். சிறைச்சாலையின் முன்புறப்பகுதிகளில் கண்மூடித்தனமாக சுட்டுக்கொண்டே வந்த அவர்கள் அங்கு சிறை வைக்கப்பட்டிருந்த கைதிகளைத் தேடினர். அவர்களைக் கண்டுபிடித்ததும் அவர்களிலிருந்து பலரைக் கடத்திச் சென்றனர். சிறையின் இயக்குநர் நாசிர் ஷாபான் இத்தகவலைத் தெரிவித்தார். இவர்களில் பலர் மீண்டும் தாங்களாகவே திரும்பி வந்துள்ளதாகவும் அவர் கூறினார்.

லிபியாவின் காவல்துறையினரும், ராணுவத்தினரும் தற்போது பயிற்சி முகாம்களில் ஈடுபட்டிருப்பதால் அங்கு இதுபோன்ற சிறைத் தகர்ப்பு சம்பவங்கள் நடைபெறுவது சகஜமாக இருக்கின்றது. இவர்களின் பாதுகாப்பிற்கு அரசு, புரட்சிப் போராளிகளையே நம்பியிருக்க வேண்டியுள்ளது. கடந்த 2011-ம் ஆண்டில் லிபியாவின் அதிபர் முயம்மர் கடாபியைப் பதவியிலிருந்து இறக்க அரசு ராணுவத்திற்கு உதவி புரிந்த இத்தகைய தனியார் புரட்சி இயக்கங்கள் பல நேரங்களில் சட்டத்தினை மீறியும் செயல்பட்டுவருகின்றன. ஆனால், இத்தகைய இயக்கங்களை அரசால் கட்டுப்படுத்தவும் முடியவில்லை என்பதே பிரச்சினைக்குரிய விஷயமாகவும் இருக்கின்றது.

Andhra Pradesh bans online ticketing for private buses

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Transport Department's ban on online booking of tickets for private buses after two ghastly accidents killed more than 50 is set to hurt ticketing companies like Redbus and Abhibus. The transport department authorities claim that under Indian law, the private players are only given permission to ply group tours between places and are not allowed to sell tickets individually.

As a result, they have banned tickets being sold online. Already, hundreds of private buses have been taken off the roads for not complying with the safety requirements. In Andhra Pradesh, nearly 800 buses went off the roads. Similarly, authorities in neighbouring Karnataka have also seized hundreds of buses and booked about 4,000 cases against private bus operators. The clampdown on the private operators began after two accidents -- the first one killed 45 in Andhra Pradesh's Mahbubnagar and the second took place in Haveri (Karnataka), killing seven.

"It will impact the entire industry," said Phanindra Sama, chief executive of RedBus, India's largest online bus-ticketing player with amarket share of about 60%. He refused to give an estimate of the expected loss. However, a senior executive at Redbus.in, who did not want to be identified, said the impact could be about 30%. "The impact is mostly felt in Andhra Pradesh. Operations in rest of states are nearly normal," he said. Andhra Pradesh accounts for a fifth of the private bus market, which currently is at about Rs 15,000 crore. The total bus ticketing market in the country, including the share of various government-operated ones, is at about Rs 40,000 crore.

Sudhakar Reddy Chirra, founder and chief executive officer of Abhibus.com, which reported Rs 140 crore of business last fiscal, said business at his firm was down by a fifth. "Since we have many other software products which are given to the public transport organisations for booking tickets online, the impact is less on us." B Venkateswarlu, joint transport commissioner with Andhra Pradesh's Transport Department, said as many as 500 buses were voluntarily withdrawn by their owners.

"About 900 buses were seized by us. We have booked over 1,200 cases after the accident as against 1,500 cases booked during the last one year." The bus owners are worried that if the clampdown continues, it will kill their sector. UP Chhattisgarh Model may Hold Solution

H Subhash Chandra Bose, the president of Andhra Pradesh Private Bus Operators' Association, said nearly 90% of the private buses were off the roads now. "We fail to understand why Andhra Pradesh is the only state in the country which finds online ticketing illegal and is forcing us not to sell tickets even offline to individuals ," said Bose, who owns SVR Travels, an operator of luxury buses with a fleet of 120.

HT Ramakrishna, president of Kesineni group, which owns 110 luxury buses, urged the AP government to come with a solution that is similar to the one implemented in states like Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In those states, the private buses are hired by the state-owned Road Transport Corporations on a revenue-sharing model. "If that model is not accepted, then they should allow us to run our buses as usual," he said.

இந்தியாவில் முழு உடல் ஸ்கேனர்களை இரண்டு விமான நிலையங்களில் நிறுவ முடிவு

ஏர்போர்ட்ஸ் அதாரிட்டி ஆப் இந்தியா நிறுவனத்தின் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் மொத்தம் 125 விமான நிலையங்கள் இயங்கிவருகின்றன. இவை தவிர 5 தனியார் விமான நிலையங்களும் இந்தியாவில் உள்ளன. இவற்றுள், மெட்ரோ அல்லாத இரண்டு விமானநிலையங்களில் சோதனை முயற்சியில் தொழில்நுட்ப முழு உடல் ஸ்கேனர்களை நிறுவுவதற்கு இந்நிறுவனம் முடிவு செய்துள்ளது.

இவற்றை நிறுவுவது குறித்து பயணிகளின் கருத்தும் தெரிந்து கொள்ளப்படும் என்று நிறுவனத் தகவல்கள் தெரிவித்தன. இந்த ஸ்கேனர்கள் எங்கு நிறுவப்படுகின்றன என்ற தகவலோ அதற்கான காலக்கெடுவோ தெரிவிக்கப்படவில்லை. இந்தியாவின் வடக்கு மற்றும் தெற்குப் பகுதிகளில் உள்ள இரு விமானநிலையங்களில் இந்த இயந்திரங்கள் பொருத்தப்படும் என்றும் விரைவில் அந்த நிலையங்கள் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்படும் என்றும் மட்டுமே அதிகரிகளால் குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

கடந்த 2009-ம் ஆண்டில் அமெரிக்காவில் உள்ள டெட்ராய்ட் விமான நிலையத்தில் நடைபெற்ற உள்ளாடை குண்டு சம்பவத்தைத் தொடர்ந்து புதுடெல்லியில் உள்ள உள்நாட்டு விமான நிலையத்தில் 2010-ம் ஆண்டு முழு உடல் ஸ்கேனர் ஒன்று நிறுவப்பட்டது. ஆனால் இதில் தங்களின் பிரைவசி பாதிக்கப்படுவதாகப் பெண்களிடமிருந்து பெரும் எதிர்ப்பு கிளம்பியதை அடுத்து இந்தத் திட்டம் கைவிடப்பட்டது.

தற்போதைய மில்லி மீட்டர் தொழில்நுட்பத்தில் பிரைவசி பாதிக்கப்படாத வண்ணம் பொதுவான உருவப்படம் மட்டுமே தோன்றும் என்று ஏர்போர்ட்ஸ் அதாரிட்டி நிறுவனம் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளது. எனினும், பயணிகளின் சம்மதமும், ஒவ்வொரு இயந்திரத்திற்கும் ஒரு கோடி திட்ட மதிப்பீடும் இடப்பட்டுள்ளதால் கால அவகாசம் தேவை என்று அந்நிறுவனம் தெரிவித்துள்ளது.