Howrah News Service - Latest news and headlines on Howrah and West Bengal

V-P, PM tributes to Ambedkar

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:20:17 -0400

By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, April 14: Vice-president Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday paid tribute to Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar on his 117th birth anniversary.

Mr Ansari paid floral tribute at the statue of Dr Ambedkar on the Parliament House premises where hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects to the iconic dalit leader. Dr Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi offered floral tribute to Dr Ambedkar in the Central Hall of Parliament. Mrs Gandhi distributed gifts to Buddhist monks who rendered prayers on the occasion. Mr Shivraj Patil and Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit also paid homage to Dr Ambedkar.

Rebellion brews in Bihar BJP

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:17:38 -0400

By MANISH ANAND

New Delhi, April 14: The Bihar unit of the BJP is gripped with rebellion after chief minister Nitish Kumar carried out a Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday. Thirty BJP MLAs on Monday held a meeting at the residence of Mr Chandramohan Rai, an MLA from Rampur who lost out his ministry in the reshuffle, to put forth the demand for change in the party leadership in the state.

Senior BJP leaders from Bihar have spoken to party chief Rajnath Singh, senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi and party in-charge for the state Kalraj Mishra and have demanded the replacement of deputy chief minister Sushil Modi, who leads the party in the NDA alliance.

Sources said that the 30 dissident MLAs have asked the ministers in the Bihar Cabinet, Ashwani Choube and Nand Kishore Yadav, to take up their cause with the Central leadership. The party workers loyal to the dissident MLAs on Monday ransacked the party office in Patna as well.

"The dissident MLAs have come together to ask for the change in the leadership after the Cabinet reshuffle was effected without consulting any of the leaders.

"The ministers from the BJP in the Cabinet came to know of their portfolios only after they got the notification from the Raj Bhavan. Though performance was made the criteria for the reshuffle, we were not told who judged the performance and neither the core committee of the BJP was consulted," said a Bihar Cabinet minister from the BJP.

Mr Janardan Singh Sigrewal, an MLA from Chapra, who lost out his ministry in the reshuffle, said: "I have spoken to party chief Rajnath Singh and apprised him of our dissatisfaction. He has promised that the matter would be looked into seriously."

Another Bihar Cabinet minister from the BJP said: "The party has 11 MLAs from the dalit community and not even one got a chance in the reshuffle. Similarly, there is just one minister from the Brahmin community. The party is in complete disarray and if the leadership change is not effected things could be worse when the parliamentary election is held."

Sources added that the dissident MLAs have decided that if the Central leadership does not intervene at the earliest the MLAs would move to Delhi and seek the intervention of senior leader L. K. Advani in the matter.

"The MLAs would be holding a series of meeting to keep a check on the developments. In a day or two we would decide our course of action to meet the demand of complete restructuring of the party in the state," said another minister in the Bihar Cabinet from the BJP.

Dalai threatens to quit govt-in-exile

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:19:26 -0400

Silicon Valley, April 14: The Dalai Lama has ruled out any more "concessions" to China on Tibet and threatened to resign as leader of Tibet’s exiled government if violence in his Himalayan homeland went "out of control."

"If violence goes out of control then my only option is to resign," the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader told reporters on the sidelines of a five-day conference on compassion in Seattle.

"If the majority of people commit violence, then I resign," the 72-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate said on his first visit to the United States since the recent Chinese crackdown on dissent in Tibet.

The Dalai Lama said he was fully committed to his "middle way" approach to Tibet’s relationship with China. "I am fully committed to middle approach; further more concessions, I don’t know," he said.

"Our struggle is with a few in the leadership of the People’s Republic of China and not with the Chinese people," the Dalai Lama said in a statement.

However, he expressed fears that suppression in Tibet may increase if the present situation continues. "I am very much concerned that the Chinese government will unleash more force and increase the suppression of Tibetan people," he said.

The Dalai Lama also said his representatives were holding "private talks" with Beijing following the eruption of protests in Tibet last month against the Chinese rule. Describing the talks as "some efforts" through "private channels", the Dalai Lama said, the talks were "still in full mystery. I don’t want any speculation", the Seattle Times reported.

However, he said he himself had no direct contact. The Dalai Lama said he supported the Beijing Olympics and was saddened by recent anti-Chinese protests that marred the traditional torch relay through the streets of London, Paris and San Francisco.

"Everyone knows I support Olympic Games," he said, declining to say whether he believed world leaders should attend the opening ceremony scheduled for August 8.

"I really feel that’s up to the individual," he said. "As for me, I don’t think I will get an invitation. The most important question is not invitation, but is the situation inside Tibet," he said.

The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in India since a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. (PTI)

India must back Tibet, says RSS

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:19:38 -0400

By AMIT AGNIHOTRI

New Delhi, April 14: Expressing solidarity with the Tibetan protesters, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leader K. Govindacharya said it is in India’s interest to back the Tibetan cause.

Stating that India and Tibet had over 2,000 years of spiritual connection, the RSS ideologue said, "We share our history with Tibet which has a long cultural tradition." Praising the Tibetans for their courage in carrying the upsurge so far, Mr Govindacharya said he supported the protesters. "I am with you," he told the gathering at Jantar Mantar.

Earlier, cricketer Ajay Jadeja too addressed the protesters and said he was all for the cause of Tibet. "I would have run for the Olympic torch in support of Tibet but I am not in New Delhi on April 17," Jadeja told an exciting group of Tibetan protesters.

Continuing with their practice of observing black Mondays, the Tibetan protesters staged a mock street play showing the five rings of the Olympics smeared with the blood of the Tibetan people.

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Chinese detain 5 Tibetans

Beijing, April 14: The Chinese police has detained five people, possibly Tibetans, whose "suspicious re-marks" prompted the return of their flight half an hour after take-off, the local media reported on Monday.

China has tightened security of its airways ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August and says it foiled a plot last month by Muslim Uighur separatists to blow up a plane. The flight was from Shenzhen to Chengdu. (Reuters)

Don’t disrupt session: Vayalar

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:14:20 -0400

By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, April 14: Parliamentary affairs minister Vayalar Ravi on Monday appealed to the Opposition not to disrupt proceedings as the government is ready for a discussion on price rise.

He made the appeal on the eve of the Parliament Session and in the wake of reports that the BJP-led Opposition, and even Left parties, are planning to bring an adjournment motion on this issue.

Mr Ravi, who had earlier called on Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani as a courtesy, also spoke to the Opposition Leader in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Jaswant Singh, after taking charge of the ministry of parliamentary affairs. During the day he met the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

When his attention was drawn to whether the BSP is still backing the Manmohan Singh government, he said, "Yes."

BSP supremo and UP chief minister Mayawati had earlier threatened to review her party’s outside support to the Centre on the issue of her security. But she has renewed her attack on the Nehru-Gandhi family, charging it with making no contribution to giving rights to dalits.

On the other hand, RJD chief and railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is trying to keep the Samajwadi Party in good humour despite the fact that the latter is part of the UNPA.

Ambedkar Jayanti gets bigger

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:05:26 -0400

By OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Lucknow, April 14: It was, without doubt, the biggest celebration of late Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar’s birth anniversary in Lucknow.

UP chief minister Mayawati’s dream project, called the Dr Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal, was finally dedicated to the people.

The sthal, earlier known as Ambedkar Udyan, underwent a massive renovation in the past 10 months with an average of 3,000 labourers working round-the-clock to complete the red sandstone structure that sprawls over 25-acre land in the posh Gomti Nagar locality of the state capital.

The Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal, whose cost is estimated to be more than Rs 7 billion, has been envisaged as a pilgrim centre for dalits and the monument chronicles the struggle by oppressed sections for their political and social rights.

The sthal includes two fountains, reportedly worth Rs 3 crores, and 64 elephants sculpted in sandstone, costing around Rs 38.44 crores.

More than 350 artisans from Rajasthan artisans have worked for several months on the project.

Chief minister Mayawati announced on Monday that henceforth, no public rally or function would be held in the Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal that would be treated as pilgrim centre of sorts, enabling people to offer their homage to Dr Ambedkar.

The gateways to the sthal are marked by statues of Dr B.R. Ambedkar and his wife Ramabai Ambedkar on the one side, and late Kanshi Ram and Ms Mayawati on the other.

Meanwhile, Lucknow was illuminated as never before for the 117th birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar on Monday. While all the road railings and footpaths were painted in shades of blue and yellow, blue lights lit up all monuments of dalit significance, including Ambedkar Chowk, Parivartan Sthal, Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal and Smriti Upvan.

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J&K: BSP rebels form new party

By OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Srinagar, April 14: BSP rebels in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday launched a separate political party to be called National Bahujan Party coinciding with the 117th birth anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar.

Making an intense attack on the style of functioning by "dictator" Mayawati, BSP rebel leader K.K. Manhotra urged his supporters to strengthen the hands of Dr Sat Pal, one of the BSF founders sidelined by the UP chief minister.

Mr Pal, along with several thousand supporters, demonstrated his strength over the Mayawati loyalists in Jammu and Kashmir when they held a rally in Jammu on Monday.

Chinese song mocks ‘biased’ coverage

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:00:36 -0400

Beijing, April 14: Chinese people, frustrated at what they say are biased Western media reports of recent unrest in Tibet, now have a new source of succor — a song circulating online called Don’t be too CNN.

Written and performed by someone by the name of Mu Rongxuan and backed by a music video showing, among other things, supposedly biased media dispatches, the song’s lyrics attack what it says are distorted reports by the Western media.

"CNN solemnly swears that everything on it is the truth, but I’ve gradually discovered this is actually a deception," the female singer croons, at times the emotion appearing to affect her pitch.

As the song continues, images shown repeatedly in the Chinese press of burnt-out shops and smoke rising over Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, are flashed up on to the screen.

"Don’t think that repeating something over and over again (means that) lies become admonitions," another lyric runs.

A version of the song, along with the music video, can be found on Chinese state television’s website (http://video.cctv.-com/opus/subplay.do?opusid=84523).

The Chinese government has called the foreign media’s reporting on Tibet a "textbook of bad examples", even though it has largely sealed the region to outsiders, especially journalists.

The Chinese websites and chat rooms have blasted the Western press reports on Tibet, accusing that newspapers and television stations there are ignoring the "real situation" and purposefully demonising China. (Reuters)

Olympic torch now in Oman

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:01:14 -0400

Muscat, Oman: The Olympic torch arrived Monday in Oman amid tight security and expectations of a smooth relay of the flame on the Middle Eastern leg of its twenty-nation tour that has been marked by chaos and protests.

Oman officials said the flame arrived at Oman International Airport from Tanzania at 4.30 am and was received by Omani sports minister Ali bin Masoud al-Sunaidy.

Oman is a Muslim country at the southern end of the Arabian peninsula with a booming tourism. (AP)

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‘Olympics must not be politicised’

Beijing, April 14: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf criticised attempts to politicise the Olympics and said Monday that efforts have been taken to ensure the torch relay through Islamabad this week will be successful. "We think that politics must be kept out of sports," President Musharraf said in a speech to students at the elite Tsinghua University in Beijing. "Sports generates brotherhood. Sports generates closeness. If we bring politics into it, then the whole idea of sports is killed." (AP)

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Boycott of no use: Fifa

Frankfurt (Germany), April 14: Fifa president Sepp Blatter opposes a boycott of the Beijing Olympics in the belief nobody would benefit from such a move, the German Football Federation (DFB) on Monday reported the head of world football’s governing body as saying.

"A boycott has never benefited anybody — athletes in particular," the DFB quoted Mr Blatter as saying in an interview published on its website.

"If one wants to help the Chinese people — then the athletes should be there." (AFP)

Tibetans in Delhi to run parallel torch relay

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:01:25 -0400

New Delhi, April 14: As the Beijing Olympics torch relay takes place in the capital on Thursday, protesting Tibetans will run a parallel torch relay for a "free Tibet" on the other side of the city at the same time.

To be run from Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial, to the Jantar Mantar observatory, a major tourist landmark in the heart of Delhi, the Tibetan torch relay will have an estimated participation of nearly 5,000 people, its organisers claim.

Tseten Norbu, of the Tibetan Solidarity Committee (TSC) that is organising the relay and other anti-China protests, said that the "other torch relay" will be run to protest "Chinese atrocities in Tibet".

"Nearly 5,000 people, both Indians and Tibetans, will take part in the Tibetan torch relay to protest against the Chinese atrocities in Tibet and to protest against the Beijing Olympics torch relay here," Norbu said.

"Among the Indians, well known writer Arundhati Roy (winner of the Booker prize) and politician George Fernandes (former defence minister and socialist leader) will take part in the relay," he added.

Jantar Mantar, where the relay will conclude, will be transformed into "little Tibet" by the protestors on that day, Nordu said. "Amid all the barricades, we will put up Tibetan tents, replicas of yaks and flowers, have religious congregation and create a little Tibet in the heart of Delhi," Nordu said.

Monday morning saw more than 600 Tibetans in exile in India sit for a relay hungerstrike at Jantar Mantar, raising slogans for "free Tibet" and protesting against the Beijing Olympics torch relay.

The protesters sat in the heat sans any food or water. (IANS)

‘Firearms in monastery’

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:04:53 -0400

By Ben Blanchard

Beijing, April 14: Chinese forces found firearms hidden throughout a Tibetan temple in an ethnic Tibetan area of southwestern China which has been the scene of anti-Chinese riots in recent weeks, the state television said.

The police, responding to what they said was a tipoff from the public, found 30 firearms in the monastery in Aba prefecture of Sichuan province last month, the state television said in a report, a transcript of which was posted on its website (www.cctv.com).

"At the time these firearms were scattered around, some were found at the place where the monks keep the scriptures," policeman Lan Bo told the programme.

"They were modified semi-automatic weapons," he added. Aba has seen confrontations between police and Tibetan protesters who, along with Tibetans in Tibet, have been protesting against China’s rule and calling for the return of the exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama. Protesters have also disrupted the global torch relay for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but the torch passed through Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar Es Salaam, peacefully on Sunday.

The official People’s Daily newspaper accused Western media of distorting protests against the relay and playing up their scale.

It also lashed out at the European Parliament for failing to condemn the "Dalai clique". (Reuters)