By IANS,

Jammu : The BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi Sunday said his party would carry forward the initiatives in Jammu and Kashmir on the principles of "Insaniyat, Jamhuriyat and Kashmiriyat" as envisioned by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally of over 50,000 people at the M.A. Stadium in Jammu, Modi said: "We will carry forward the BJP's policy of 'insaniyat' (humanity), 'jamhuriyat' (democracy) and 'Kashmiriyat' (composite secular, eclectic Kashmiri culture) as envisioned by our great leader Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji towards Jammu and Kashmir."

Modi, virtually launching the BJP's campaign for the Lok Sabha polls, said the troubles the people in the state were facing were due to wrong policies and priorities of the Congress.

"The policies of Syama Prasad Mookerjee (BJP ideologue who died in a jail in the state in 1953) towards Jammu and Kashmir were right and the policies and plans of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru were wrong," Modi said.

"If Syama Prasad Mookerjee had not agitated against Nehru's policies, we would still need a permit to enter the state," Modi said.

Modi questioned the Congress' claims of people-friendly programmes like amendments to the Panchayati Raj Act and Food Security Bill, and asked people how many of central policies and laws were benefiting them.

He also criticised Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and said how could the National Conference claim to be protecting the rights of women when in their personal relationships the leaders of the party had failed to do so.

"Whether Article 370 has done anything good or bad should be discussed, but has Omar Abdullah's sister got the same right as him?" he said.

Abdullah's sister Sara Pilot is the wife of Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Sachin Pilot.

Modi praised the erstwhile Dogra maharaja of the state, Hari Singh, saying he had brought in a lot of social reforms by upholding the rights of the less privileged sections of the society.

The BJP leader compared the development in Jammu and Kashmir with that in Gujarat.

He said that despite huge natural resources, the state government has always been approaching the centre with a begging bowl.

"Corruption is rampant in Jammu and Kashmir. Should laws to prevent corruption be there in the state or not? The centre makes rules but these are not applicable in the state because of Article 370," Modi said.

Article 370 of the constitution grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP has always advocated for scrapping the article.

Modi quoted from the Ramayana, saying it were the Himalayas from where Hanuman had obtained the mythical herb while the government in Jammu and Kashmir was unable to exploit the tremendous herbal potential of the Himalayas in the state.

He also criticised the "soft attitude" of the union government towards border violations by Pakistan and incursions by China.

The M.A. Stadium with a capacity of over 40,000 was jam-packed during Modi's speech, and a large number of people also gathered on the roads around the stadium to listen to him.

This was Modi's first public rally in Jammu and Kashmir after he was declared the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.

By IANS,

Patna : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is set to seize the property of alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Tahseen Akhtar alias Monu, accused of involvement in bomb blasts, after he failed to surrender within the stipulated deadline, police said Sunday.

Akhtar, considered the mastermind of several bomb blasts, including in Delhi, Mumbai, Patna and Bodh Gaya, is a resident of Maniyarpur village in Samastipur district.

"The NIA team is likely to reach Akhtar alias Monu's village to attach (seize) his property on Monday as he failed to surrender after a special court asked him to surrender till Nov 30 or else his property would be attached," a district police official said.

According to district police officials, area police station is ready to help the NIA team attach his property. "Area police officials have prepared details of his father Wasim Akhtar's assets in the village sought by the NIA to attach property," the police official said.

Akhtar, said to be running Indian Mujahideen operations after the arrest of Yaseen Bhatkal, is also wanted by the NIA for involvement in other blasts.

Last month, a cash award was announced for any information leading to the arrest of Akhtar wanted for planning and executing acts of terrorism, including the July 7 Bodh Gaya and the Oct 27 Patna blasts.

The NIA has announced a cash reward of Rs.10 lakh for any information leading to his arrest.

Ten bombs exploded at Bodh Gaya's Mahabodhi temple in which two Buddhist monks were injured. Three live bombs were later recovered and defused.

The Mahabodhi temple - a Unesco World Heritage site - is where the Buddha, born in neighbouring Nepal, attained enlightenment around 2,550 years ago.

At least seven people, including a suspected bomber, were killed and nearly 100 injured in the blasts ahead of the Oct 27 Patna rally by the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

The NIA has arrested four people, including Mohammed Imtiyaz Ansari, in connection with the Patna serial blasts.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

Aligarh: A current student of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), who has been advocating for restoration of the minority status of the university has received threats.

Md Pervez Siddiqui, a B.Com student at the University and General Secretary of an independent AMU students’ organization “Sir Syed Minority Foundation of India,” found a sealed envelope in his room on Saturday afternoon that contained a letter threatening him to kill, if they do not postpone their proposed dharna at Janatar Mantar in New Delhi in December end.

Scanned copy of the letter.

Perwez, along with other students, has been meeting several political leaders across the country, under the banner of “Sir Syed Minority Foundation of India” to garner their support for the restoration of the minority status of AMU.

The letter addressed to Pervez Siddiqui (misspelled as Parwej Siddiki), has been sent by one Ranjeet Agarwal of Aligarh, through Indian post office. It reads, “Leave the issue of minority character of AMU. If you will do the dharna at Jantar Mantar and if you will not leave this issue then I can kill you.”

Perwez told TCN, “We had announced a dharna at Janatar Mantar, but since AMU VC had written to the HRD Ministry on the minority issue, we were waiting for their response to finalize our date of protest.”

Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered and police in investigating into the matter.

By Saiyed Danish, TwoCircles.net,

New Delhi: Politics always shares a tumultuous married relationship with development where rhetoric reigns as the home-breaking mistress. But for the people of Okhla, the melodramatic and tempestuous speeches of Asif Mohammad Khan at a gathering in his constituency acquits him of all the things he has not done for his people. He had won the by-election from Okhla seat in 2008 on RJD ticket, and now has joined Congress party for his ability to win in the area.

“Okhla constituency has around 1,20,000 Muslim vote and 90,000 votes are of Hindus out of which 14,000 votes traditionally belong to Congress irrespective of who is contesting on the party ticket. We are strongly hoping for a total of 55,000-60,000 muslim voter turnout this time and that determines the result always,” says a party insider in the gathering. As far as the infrastructure is concerned 80% colonies in Okhla are unauthorized, 5% villages and only 15% authorized colonies.

Asif Mohammad Khan

In a gathering of 300 residents mostly youths and hardly any woman participation, Asif Mohammad seemed to be smartly replacing development agenda with his blistery with Modi as his hot topic like every muslim leader this election. “Modi can never win Muslims hearts as the community is in no mood to forgive him ever,” he shouted while standing on a chair to get better of the audience attention.

While addressing local issues, he makes a head-start by answering his opponents’ claim of forgoing Batla House encounter issue after joining Congress party. “I want to answer those who are saying that Asif will stop fighting for justice for the innocent boys who were killed in the fake encounter. Let me tell you that I cannot betray my people and the cause I have so long stood for. I have joined Congress party for better reach within the government and I will use the clout of Sandeep and Sheila Dikshit to ensure that the innocent boys get justice,” he said to the gathering.

He also indirectly mentioned other major Muslim candidates such as Amanatullah Khan (LJP), Irfanullah Khan (AAP), Shoaib Danish (JDU) and Ameeruddin (SP). “Every contestant wants to defeat me and nobody has any strategy on how to win. Their agenda is to make dent in my votes and that is a negative approach in my view,” he said.

Asif Mohammad Khan also hinted at intense infighting within the party by accusing the Congress Rajya sabha member Parvez Hashmi of giving Rs. 2 crore to each rival candidate in order to ensure he loses.

“I was told that Shoaib Danish was talking to somebody on phone and saying that Parvez bhai had sent BSP candidate Brahma Singh the money but not to me,” he taunted. “Do you want to give these people your votes?” he asked the public who roared unanimously, ‘No’.

He touched the issue of development in a hurry and said that multi-crore projects are soon to be given light for Okhla. “The government has sanctioned Rs. 1.2 crore for laying sewer lines for Vamiki samaj people living in Madanpur Khadar area and he would soon inaugurate the project,” he told TCN.

Like every Muslim candidate, he also hinted that his main fight is with BJP and BSP, indicating that among the six main Muslim candidates in fray he has already been chosen the ablest.

By Zaidul Haque, TwoCircles.net,

Kolkata: Viswa Hindu Parishad leader Ashol Singhal in a press conference at Kolkata Press club on November 30 that they will build the Ram temple at Ayodhya if the BJP comes to power in the coming Parliamentary elections.

He also said the media in the name of secularism are trying to defame Hindu saints like Shankaracharya of Kanchi.

VHP leader Ashok Singhal in Kolkata

He accused the UPA government and Sonia Gandhi of playing communal cards for vote bank politics.

He took a jibe at the TMC government in West Bengal as well, saying that because of their soft approach to Muslims, infiltrations from Bangladesh has increased.

On the same day, in another programme UP head of BJP and former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah addressed a public rally. He alleged that the TMC government is following the same policies of the Left government and is playing with the appeasement politics of Muslims for vote bank.

He also presented Gujarat as a model state where all communities and individuals get equal opportunities.

BJP rally in Kolkata attended by Amit Shah.

Shah also demanded that the New Town, at the suburb of Kolkata, be named after Shyama Parasad Mukherjee. The New Town was named as Jyoti Basu Nagar by the Left Front government but TMC government has decided to cancel the name

Presence of two Hindutva mascots in the city on the same day created flutter.

All Bengal Minority Youth Federation leader Md Kamruzzaman and All India Minority Forum leader Idris Ali said that after Amit Shah was made UP chief Muzaffarnaagr riots happened. Hence their visit to the state before the Parliamentary elections raises suspicions.

By Saiyed Danish, TwoCircles.net,

New Delhi: Mehrauli is known for its mutual co-existing syncretic tradition. The combined charm of the ancient heritage of Yogmata temple and the dargah of the Sufi saint Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki binds devotees of all faiths in one pious bundle. It is under the shadow of this culturally harmonious atmosphere that the battle of the Mehrauli Assembly seat is being fought.

With a total voting strength of 1.5 lakhs, Mehrauli has 20,000 Muslim votes. They are concentrated in the area surrounding the dargah and Islam colony and usually indulge in small businesses. In a constituency where maximum votes polled last time to a candidate were 21,740, the strength of Muslim votes is bound to play a pivotal role. It is where the clerics come into the game.

Sitting MLA and Congress candidate from Mehrauli constituency, Dr. Yoganand Shastri.

In 2008, Congress and BJP candidates, Dr. Yoganand Shastri and Sher Singh Dagar respectively had put up a good show. While Shastri polled a total of 21,740 votes the number of voter polled in favour of Dagar were 20,632.

However, the circumstances have drastically changed this time as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been making foray into the assembly seat which is seen as Shastri stronghold. Narender Singh Sejwal is the AAP candidate from Mehrauli.

On the other hand, the young BJP candidate Parvesh Verma is also slogging it hard to hold and possibly surpass BJP’s last tally in his debut innings.

While Congress has teamed up with the Maulanas (clerics) and Imams of mosque and madrasas, the BJP has decided to directly hit the dargah community and has secured the support of the Peerzadah of the dargah. Earlier, the BJP, in their previous rallies in Mehrauli had teamed up with Maulana Rafaqat and Maulana Intezaar. Both the parties seem to be heavily depending on the clerics to call shots in Muslim settlements of the constituency.

“Maulanas who represented BJP have no base whatsoever in Muslim areas. No Muslim likes BJP or Modi after whatever has happened to us in Gujarat and Muzaffarnagar. Only cap and beard do not bring votes,” said Qari Neamatullah, the Imam of Masjid Inayatullah who stood by the Congress MLA Yoganand Shastri’s public meeting in Islam colony.

Syed Naser Ali, a retired government employee said, “The clerics pitted by BJP are only for their own interest as they have nothing to offer for the community.”

The BJP’s minority show of strength at the courtyard of dargah was also a sight not to miss. “I will make this dargah the most revered in the whole world,” claimed the BJP candidate, while addressing a gathering of local Muslims from there.

While invoking the tolerant culture of the dargah he said that without the votes of Muslim brothers he would be nothing. “I ask you to raise your hands in my favour to tell the world you are with me and not with Congress,” he says and everybody raises their hands in the air to cheer him up.

Parvesh Verma’s confidence is powered by the Peerzada, the head of the dargah who has come out in absolute support of the BJP candidate. “In the last 65 years Congress has taken our votes for granted and treated us as their default vote bank but now we want to prove that the political tide in Mehrauli is at the mercy of the Muslims here and we will teach the MLA a lesson,” said the head of the dargah.

However, Mohammad Sehar, a young voter of Mehrauli who attended the BJP’s dargah gathering said that personally he is confused between Congress and AAP while the BJP doesn’t stand a chance in the view of Muslims there.

Yoganand Shastri’s speech in Islam colony was full of promises if he was elected again. “I have sanctioned Rs. 1.60 crore for the development work in Harijan and Dalit areas of Mehrauli,” he said.

BJP candidate from Mehrauli Assembly constituency Parvesh Verma.

The Harijans of Mehrauli are mainly concentrated in Lado Sarai and Kusumpur Pahari camp. He claimed of installing UGRs in three area of Mehrauli constituency to solve water problem. He also poke of pension plans which benefitted women and old age people.

An old woman in the locality, however, differs. “I have been running post to poll for the last two years to get my pension but to no avail,” says Rampyari, an aged housewife.

People also claim that water bill has gone up. “We receive our water bill upto Rs. 10,000 which is just the double of the one we would get. Shastri ji is unapproachable for us,” said another dejected resident.

Ameer Hasan, an aged shopkeeper says that AAP’s wave is equally strong in the area. “When Congress and BJP conducts rallies they buy the audience with money and liquor, but in AAP’s programmes people participate as per their will and in greater number than in other parties’ rallies,” he says emphatically.

By TCN News,

Dubai: On account of 42nd UAE National Day Emirates India Fraternity Forum (EIFF) organized an annual sports meet at Hamriya Cultural and Sports Stadium, Hamriya Sharjah on 29th November, 2013.

Elyas Ahmed, in his inaugural speech, said that the sports meet will help in exposing the talent, developing unity, integrity and sportsmanship among the participants. Elyas Melkar who was overall in charge of the sports meet read out the rules and regulations to be followed in the sports meet.

The event was inaugurated with four participating teams were assembling in the ground with wearing four different color uniforms, in a fully crowded stadium with EIFF members from Deira Dubai, Bur-Dubai, Sharjah & Abu Dhabi. Separate competitions were organized exclusively for women and children.

The sports meet featured many activities and games such as 100 meters, 200 meters, 4X100 Relay, Kabbadi, Volley Ball, Football and Tug of War.

For the First Time by the collective efforts, The Bur Dubai team representing in red colour T-shirt grabbed the overall championship.

The 1st Place in Kabaddi and Volley Ball has bagged by Bur Dubai team with Red T Shirt., Sharjah team with Black T Shirt bagged 1st place in Foot Ball by defeating Deira Dubai in Penalty Shootout. And Abu Dhabi with Blue T. Shirt has bagged First Place in Tug of War in a sensational game by defeating Sharjah.

In athletic 100 Mtrs race Janab Gafoor Paringipet of Bur Dubai, Lathief Valachil of Sharjah and Shahil Nalliyadi was Winners of 1st, 2nd & 3rd place respectively. Janab Shahid Gangoly of Deira retained 1st place in 200 Mtrs race followed with Suhail Kolnad of Sharjah with second place and Anwar Ruwais of Abu dhabi with 3rd place. In 100*4 Mtrs relay by the final movement effort by Elyas Bailur of Deira Dubai along with Shahid Gangoly, Mukthar Sulya and Sarfraz Bajpe Deira Dubai has put in First place. Gafoor Paringipete, Jaleel Ujire, Sayyed Udupi and Naushad Belapu Bur Dubai has satisfied with second place.

Mohammad Shafi from Hubli was the chief guest who as distributed the Champions Trophy.

By TCN News,

Mumbai: Ideal Relief Wing and the Youth wing of Jamaat e Islami Hind, Kausa Mumbra, organized a Disaster Management seminar on November 30 in evening at Zam Zam Hall.

Shaukat Ansari explained in brief the meaning of disaster. Disaster Management program is a long term program and may take one to two years to acquire some expertise.

Santosh Kadam (Head-Officer Regional Disaster management Cell Thane Municipal Corporation) at the outset praised the initiative taken by the NGO Ideal relief wing and the youth wing of Jamaat e Islami Mumbra and the special efforts from Abdus Salam Malik.

He explained that although disasters are of 32 kinds, in Mumbra five are more prevalent. These are building collapse, excess rain water, road accidents and firefighting etc. and cause human, social and financial losses.

Communication and coordination is very important in tackling disasters besides the backup support given by various NGOs which work silently, he added.

Mr. Jadhav (Officer Regional Disaster management Cell Thane Municipal Corporation) emphasized that the NGOs and the team working under Disaster Management cell should provide their services voluntarily as this work cannot be forced upon people.

Mr. Parab a senior officer from Fire Department of Thane Municipal Corporation said that we are in a disaster prone zone as on one side we have mountains and on the other side we have creek. Further he said that we have a Bypass road and daily several heavy vehicles pass through it and we do not know what hazardous chemicals they carry and therefore we have to be an alert and responsible citizen.

He pointed out that Ideal Relief wing can play a very important role by creating an awareness amongst the masses of Mumbra and also by extending help in support services.

Mr. Zafar Ansari, Secretary, Training, Jaamat e Islami Hind, Maharashtra spoke on the significance of the social service to mankind in Islam and its rewards in this world and the hereafter.

By IANS,

New Delhi : The Delhi assembly elections on Dec 4 will see a slight increase in the participation of Muslim candidates from various political parties compared to the 2008 polls. The BSP has fielded the highest number of Muslim candidates along with Samajwadi Party,

Of the 810 candidates fielded for the 70 seats, a total number of 108 Muslims have been fielded - comprising 13 percent. In 2008, 92 Muslim candidates were fielded of the total 875 fighting the polls.

Muslims account for 11 percent of the 11.5 million voters in Delhi. The 70-member Delhi assembly has only five Muslim legislators.

"It is not just Delhi, but in all the state assemblies in the country Muslims have less representation," Sanjay Kumar, fellow at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and author of the book 'Changing Electoral Politics in Delhi', told IANS.

Of the five Muslim lawmakers, four are from the ruling Congress. They belong to areas with sizeable Muslim population, including unauthorised and resettlement colonies - and comprise a major vote share of the oldest party in the country.

Around eight constituencies in Delhi have Muslim population of around 30-40 percent. These include Okhla, Mustafabad and Seelampur in east Delhi and Matia Mahal and Ballimaran in the Walled City.

Fielding a non-Muslim candidate in these seats is considered to be suicidal.

Kumar pointed out that elections in these constituencies are fought on local issues.

This time, the Congress has fielded six Muslim candidates, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has given a ticket to only one Muslim.

But it is the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) which has given tickets to the highest number of 11 Muslims.

"We give representation to all communities, unlike other parties. In 2008, we fielded six Muslim candidates, this time we have fielded 11," BSP's Delhi in-charge Ram Achal Rajbhar told IANS.

Samajwadi Party's Delhi president Usha Yadav said: "We have fielded 11 Muslim candidates this time."

Congress minister Haroon Yusuf, the most well known Muslim politician of Delhi, will seek a straight fifth term as MLA from Ballimaran in the Walled City. Yusuf reasoned that it is the "absolute secular credentials" of the Congress which fetches the party Muslim votes.

"Congress is a secular party and it wins elections not because of the religion of the candidates but the work done by them," Yusuf told IANS.

Asif Mohammad Khan, MLA from Okhla who recently joined the Congress from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) told IANS: "It is due to my chances of winning that the Congress has given me a ticket."

Okhla constituency will see the maximum number of Muslim candidates. Of the total 18 candidates, 11 are Muslims.

Senior Congress leaders had expressed serious reservations over Khan being given the party ticket as he has several criminal charges against him. But the backing of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit got him the ticket, Congress party sources said..

The main opposition BJP has fielded a lone Muslim candidate in Mohammad Nizamuddin, an advocate from Matia Mahal. which is the stronghold of four-time sitting Janata Dal-United legislator Shoaib Iqbal. Iqbal quit the Lok Janshakti Party to join JD-U in October this year.

Asked the reason for fielding just one Muslim, Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel told IANS: "We don't see religion, we see the winnability of the candidates. We give tickets to those who are deserving."

The fledgling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded six Muslim candidates in its debut year, including prominent party face Shazia Ilmi.

Ilmi will contest against Congress' sitting MLA Barkha Singh in R.K. Puram in south Delhi which has few Muslims.

With AAP creating ripples on the political landscape of Delhi, it would be interesting to see whether it can eat into the Congress' Muslim vote share.

By IANS,

Patna : A village panchayat in Bihar Monday ordered social boycott of four men accused of abducting and killing a five-year-old-boy in Gopalganj district.

The accused with their families were also asked to leave the village, police said.

"The village panchayat has decided to socially boycott the families of four accused as a punishment and appealed to villagers to have no connection with them," an officer said.

Sheru, minor son of Sher Mohammad of Pakhopalli village, was abducted Nov 26 and his body was recovered from a neighbour's house Nov 27, police officer Kamlakant Prasad said.

Accused, after abducting the boy, had demanded a ransom of Rs.five lakh from his father for release, said Prasad. It was revealed during investigation of the case.

Two days after Sheru was murdered, police arrested Mohammad Abid, Mohammad Hasan, Shahzad and Akhlak Ahmad. Another three people were detained for interrogation.

"We have requested people of the village and neighbouring villages not to drink water, eat food and have any social relation with the accused and their families," said a villager Naushad Alam.

This decision would send tough message for future, Alam told IANS over phone .

The Mukhiya of Barari Jagdish Panchayayat Ishwarchand Verma has confirmed the boycott.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

New Delhi: Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Naushad Ahmed Khan, who has been actively working for justice in the Muzaffarnagar riot cases, was attacked in his office in the afternoon on Monday in the national capital.

The incident happened around 2 pm on Monday, when Advocate Khan was getting CCT camera installed in his office premise in Lakshmi Nagar and sought permission to allow the installer to go to terrace to install the Dish antenna.

When Advocate Khan was going towards his office, one Dipaki Tyagi, a local builder mafia, pushed him so hard that he fell down, seriously injuring his hands. In no time, according to Advocate Khan, around 15-20 people surrounded him. Tyagi also made an attempt to kill him with a knife, he alleged.

According to Advocate Khan, he has been getting threats for his pro-active role in helping the Muzaffarnagar riot victims. Speaking to TCN, he said, “The local builder mafaia had been warning me for quite some time, and threatening me that he will call Muzaffarnagar youth to teach me lesson.”

Advocate Khan wrote the Home Ministry, Minority Commission, NHRC and Women Commission, besides Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi seeking their interventions in the Muzaffarnagar riots in September.

Khan was also part of the ANHAD fact finding team and is a co-petitioner in the Supreme Court in connection with the Muzaffarnagar riot cases.

Advocate Khan has filed a police complaint in the local police station against the attacker.

By Saiyed Danish, TwoCircles.net,

New Delhi: It takes a simple visit to the neglected, unhygienic and disease-prone localities in Madanpur Khadar area inhabited by the people of Valmiki Samaj which forms the lowest rung of the society to realise the neglect of the state machinery.

Their main occupation is in housing sector. Most of them are employed in plush housing societies as domestic help, sweepers, running errands, watchmen and sewer cleaners. The condition of their dwelling place is an awful sight for any one of us more fortunate people.

“This is a dry sewer pipe kept here for years. Some officials came back then and said they will install it to help us drain our wastes but no one came,” says Reena, a resident who works for MCD.

“We are considering not voting this time as no leader has visited our place because we are left-over people in the society,” complains Sonu who works in the Sarita Vihar as domestic help.

“We have arranged everything ourselves. We don’t have ration cards and no politician helped us with that. Whenever we go to ask for the procedures for getting ration cards issued they shoo us away,” he further adds.

Since they have no drainage system, the sewers which they have made themselves are filled with both garbage and human waste. They live at the bank of the Madanpur Khadar canal which runs alongside the colonies hosting Gujjars, Jats and Valmikis.

“We dug a sewer in the mud hoping that we could drain the waste in the canal but MCD people came and filled it with mud without lending an ear to any of our problems,” said Reena.

Lack of proper toilets forced them make rickety makeshift toilets. “We made the toilets for our mothers and sisters so that at least they don’t have to squat around this place like we do,” says Sonu.

As evening approaches, the mosquitos begin circling around the dirt and sit on the faces of the children with the promises of mosquito borne diseases. The toilets are made up of tin sheets tied together with ropes. “Still there is no privacy since the toilets don’t have roofs,” he said.

“Even the MCD doesn’t listen to us. We have sent 8 applications in the past few months but never received a replying letter,” adds another person.

Apart from that they are worried that their livelihood might soon be snatched from them as the housing societies they work at. “The authorities say that we are not required anymore for work as they bringing new people. We are going to protest against it soon and demand our rights,” said Saagar, who works in the parking lots of Sarita Vihar.

The problems of Madanpur Khader is doubled as it falls within the Okhla constituency, comrpsing of 60 % Muslims, mainly in that Jamia Nagar area of Batla House, Zakir Nagar, Okhla Vihar and Abul Fazal Enclave. Politics surrounding the rhetoric of Muslims leave little space for the most downtrodden section of the society.

When TCN spoke to Okhla MLA Asif Mohammad, who now has joined Congress party on whose ticket he is contesting this time, said, “Delhi government has sanctioned Rs. 1.2 crore sewer line project for Madanpur Khadar area and it will be inaugurated when I will visit there.”

When asked whether they will prefer Brahma Singh, who is a candidate from Bahujan Samaj Party which has clenched power three times in UP championing the cause of poor, backward caste and Dalits, the disenchanted voters of the Valimiki Samaj said that even he did not pay any visit there.

“He only got Gujjars’ and Chauhans’ work done but not ours,” said an incensed Babita, a housewife in the colony.

By TCN News,

Aligarh: The President of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the B. Ed. course at the AMU Murshidabad Centre on Saturday, December 7, 2013 at 12 noon at Ravindra Sadan Auditorium, Jungipur, Murshidabad, West Bengal.

The President of India will also address the faculty members and students on this occasion.

Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Zameer Uddin Shah, Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University would welcome the President of India and present the report of the centre.

It may be mentioned that as a Union Finance Minister, Mr. Mukherjee laid the foundation stone of this centre on November 20, 2010 with 288 acres of land. The centre started functioning with two prestigious courses, MBA and BALLB in the academic year 2010-11.

By IANS,

Chennai : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Monday voiced her strong opposition to the Prevention of Communal (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2013, saying it trampled on the authority of the states.

She also asked the central government not to introduce the bill during the winter session of parliament.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the text of which was released to the media here, she said: "I would like to strongly reiterate, on behalf of the government of Tamil Nadu, that I am completely opposed to this bill which seeks to trample upon the authority of the states."

"With barely five months to go for the term of the present Lok Sabha to end and for general elections to be announced, any hasty attempt to bring in such legislation without wide consultation among all political parties and stakeholders would be a completely undemocratic move," she said.

Jayalalithaa urged Manmohan Singh not to move the proposed Prevention of Communal (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2013 in the winter session of parliament, which begins in New Delhi Dec 5.

According to her, the bill, as drafted, suffers "from too many lacunae and will not meet the intended objective of preventing communal violence."

"It would, therefore, be extremely unwise to pose the bill as a one size fits all solution to a complex problem that requires sensitive cooperation between the centre and states. In fact, the remedy proposed would end up being worse than the disease itself," Jayalalithaa remarked.

Stressing that law and order is the fundamental responsibility of state governments, Jayalalithaa said there should be functional cooperation and understanding between the centre and the states.

According to her, the present bill contains cosmetic modifications to the earlier bill of 2011. The revised draft bill contains many of the serious issues that were there in the earlier version.

By IANS,

New Delhi : It was on the night of Dec 2-3, 1984, that a toxic gas leak from the Union Carbide Corporation's pesticide plant in the Madhya Pradesh capital killed and maimed thousands of people. Nearly three decades later, victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy are still fighting for justice.

The victims have been waging legal battles demanding more compensation, better treatment facilities and removal of hazardous waste from the site, and jobs for affected people.

Various social groups fighting for justice for the victims of one of the world's worst industrial disasters are planning to hold a meeting in Bhopal Tuesday to reiterate their demands.

Most of the victims blame the state and central governments for not paying heed to their needs.

"In the past 29 years, we have been fighting with limited resources we had but nothing substantial has come out yet. Both the state and central governments have been eye-washing the world on the matter," Rachna Dhingra, a member of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action, told IANS.

Dhingra said 25,000 metric tonnes of toxic waste still lies inside the locked Union Carbide plant in Bhopal.

"So far, only 350 tonnes of waste has been removed and the rest continues to lie inside the plant with none having any answer to when will it be removed," she said.

"The Madhya Pradesh government has accepted about the contamination of groundwater in the region but no steps have been taken for its disposal," she said.

The Bhopal gas tragedy killed over 3,500 people in a single night. An estimated 25,000 maimed and diseased have died over two decades.

Balkrishna Namdeo of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Samiti said the worst part is that the culprits behind the tragedy are still at large and the government has failed to put them behind bars.

"The people who were responsible for the whole tragedy have gone scot free and our government did not take any action to punish those responsible for taking so many innocent lives," Namdeo told IANS.

Victims say the impact of the tragedy can be seen even today as hundreds of children born in the area even now suffer from disabilities.

"There are no jobs, victims are being given substandard medicines in hospitals and children continue to be born with disabilities of all kinds. We have been fighting and will continue for our rights," Rashida Bi, head of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, told IANS.

By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,

Bhopal: The members of five organizations of survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, the world’s worst industrial catastrophe, marched in a rally with torches on the eve of the 29th Anniversary of the disaster. The rally ended at the statue of the Bhopal Mother opposite the abandoned pesticide factory, where members paid homage to those killed by the disaster. Later the members collectively took oath of continuing with the battle for justice and a life of dignity.

Rashida Bi of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh said that the Bhopal survivors’ resolve to continue battling Union Carbide and Dow Chemical continue to inspire victims of corporate crime all over the world. She said that her organization has recently won a 23 year long legal battle for parity at work.

Bhopal gas tragedy survivors taking out torch light rally on the eve of 29th anniversary of the disaster.

Balkrishna Namdeo of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Morcha said that the struggle of the Bhopal survivors and their supporters has yielded significant results in the last several years. The people of Chakan near Pune have not allowed Dow Chemical to set up its R & D Centre. Dow Chemical’s subsidiary Dow Agro-sciences is currently facing criminal charges for bribery and Dow Chemical’s German subsidiary has had to withdraw from its joint venture with Gujarat Alkalis and Chlorides Limited at Dahej, Gujarat.

The Madhya Pradesh government has been made a respondent in a fresh suit filed in the US Federal Court by a group of 17 Bhopali plaintiffs according to Nawab Khan of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha. He expressed hope that the new government in the state would appear before the US Court and present the factual situation with regard to contamination of local soil and groundwater.

The leaders of the organizations condemned the governments at the centre and the state for their lackadaisical attitude towards providing adequate compensation to the survivors. “It is indeed a matter of great frustration that the curative petition for enhancement of compensation filed in December 2010 remains to be heard by the Supreme Court”, said Ms Safreen Khan, a founder member of the Children against Dow Carbide. “What is worse is that the governments have not cared to correct the figures of injury and death in the petition,” she added.

Rachna Dhingra of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action said that provision of medical care and rehabilitation to the people exposed to contaminated ground water, developing treatment protocols for treatment of survivors of the gas disaster with chronic illnesses and scientific assessment of the depth and spread of contamination were the three most important tasks that the government must carry out without delay.

It may be recalled here that on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984 Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing factory in Bhopal, the capital of central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, had spewed poisonous Methyl Iso-cyanate gas whereby 3000 people had perished virtually instantly and over the years more than 25000 have kissed death and the sad saga is still continuing uninterruptedly. About half a million are suffering from the side effects of the poisonous gas and several thousand people have been maimed for life.

Candlelight vigil

Meanwhile, earlier staff and volunteers of the Sambhavna Trust Clinic and survivors of the Union Carbide disaster paid homage to the people who have died as a result of the poisonous gas leak from the pesticide factory in a candlelight vigil at Iqbal Maidan on the eve of the 29th Anniversary of the disaster. Nitesh Dube, a member of the Sambhavna Trust Clinic, appealed for support to the Clinic’s effort to find ways of protection against poisonous chemicals and to provide free medical care to the survivors of the disaster.

It may be pointed out here that Sambhavna Trust Clinic’s unique feature is the integration of three different systems of treatment: modern medicine, Ayurveda and Yoga. The five physicians at the clinic have been able to develop safe, simple, inexpensive and effective treatments for the exposure induced ailments through a judicious mix of the three systems of healing. Funds for running the Sambhavna Clinic come from donations by over 15,000 people from India and UK. International bestselling writer Dominique Lapierre regularly contributes to the gynaecology clinic and the informal school run by Sambhavna.

Members of the Sambhavna Trust are actively involved in medical research on the long terms health impact of Union Carbide’s poisons and their treatment. Studies by Sambhavna have been published in international journals such as Journal of American Medical Association and American Journal of Industrial Medicine. An epidemiological study involving over 120 thousand people is currently in its final stages and the Clinic is about to begin research on detoxification through the Ayurvedic procedure of Panchakarma.

By Abdul Gani, TwoCircles.net,

Hojai (Nagaon): Prominent leaders from different walks of life especially of academics from across the country expressed their view on the importance of educating women for the development in the real sense who gathered at Ajmal CSR Education Conclave at Hojai in Assam.

They are a bunch of entrepreneurs who solely believe in providing power to women as they pronounced famous American leader Brigham Young’s quote, “You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.”

Managing Trustee of Ajmal CSR Badruddin Ajmal and Chairman Amiruddin Ajmal among others during the event.

“Educating the girls is more important and it can solve many problems in the society. India is such a huge country and development is not possible if we won’t be able to provide quality education to our women,” said Chairperson of the National Commission on Girls Education Shabistan Gaffar addressing the gathering at Ajmal CSR Education Conclave at Hojai in Assam.

The conclave which was organized by Ajmal group felicitated teachers, students and others who have been instrumental in bringing the mission of education and healthcare forward.

Appreciating the move of Ajmal group in providing education to underprivileged and especially girls, she said that the more girls get education the more society will step forward towards development.

Chairman of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Justice M.S.A.Siddiqui who was also a part of the event rued at the poor status of education among the minority communities in the country as a whole. Siddiqui who has also been the Registrar General of Supreme Court urged the people of the community to avail all the facilities given by the constitution to get their rights.

Rueing at the poor representatives of minorities at the parliament, former vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University Professor PK Abdul Aziz said that it does not reflect the population of the community in the country and this is due to lack of education.

Member of Parliament and the managing trustee of Ajmal CSR Badruddin Ajmal and Chairman Amiruddin Ajmal said that they are going to give special focus on women education in the state.

Citing the example of child education activist Malala Yousafzai, noted author Bedabrata Sharma said that Islam has always advocating education for women. “Some-anti social elements in the name of religion try to suppress women in the society. But Malala has proved in front of the globe. We have to take revenge against all the injustice done to us by taking books instead of guns,” Sharma said. There is a chain of educational institutes for higher education and others besides several health care centres are run by the group.

By Saiyed Danish, TwoCircles.net,

New Delhi: Seelampur is place of odds and contradictions and the politics of this place is even more. Chaudhary Mateen Ahmad has won the Seelampur legislative assembly seat since 1993, but slowly people seem to be getting weary of him.

In 1993, Mateen Ahmed won on Jantar Dal ticket and won for the first time. In In 1996 he had joined Congress, but was denied ticket and contested as independent and won again. In 2003 and 2008, he contested on the Congress ticket and won both the times riding on the promises of better infrastructure and education. Mateen Ahmed is up again for the fifth consecutive term.

Mateen Ahmed

After five years of his reign in the area as its MLA his ground stand on matters appears to be shaky and his future blurred.

In the last MCD elections, Congress lost all 4 seats by rival parties in which two was grabbed by the BJP and one each to independent and BSP on whose ticket Shakeela Begum had won from Jafrabad ward, the locality from which Chaudhary Mateen Ahmad himself hails.

However, a confident incumbent MLA Mateen Ajmad appears to be unfazed by the poor show of Congress in MCD elections. When asked if its results could possibly spoil all the fun for him he said, “It will fail to create any impact on the election as we had lost MCD elections in 2008 also but see how I won last time.”

Speaking in a function organized by coaching centres based in the area to felicitate the bright Muslim students who made it to premier institutions of higher education in the city, he said that he has always given education of youth the highest priority above every other issue.

“Ask any of them and you will know about my assistance given to the poor kids so that they could fulfil their dreams,” he told TCN. Seelampur has a voting population of 147484 people out which 60% strength is of the youth. The minority votes in the constituency are 50%.

In the gathering Ch. Mateen Ahmad stressed that individual character building is the only foundation for society and nation building. Then he made an overstatement about life’s luxuries by saying that having air conditioner at home and travelling by air and eating in expensive places “must be common for you all” hence this should not be the goal of life.

However, by equating his personal luxuries with the uphill struggle Seelampur people have to go everyday was something not well received by the crowd. The MLA forgot that in the past five years the lack of basic amenities and the graph of crime, both has gone up which has an invertly proportional relation with his popularity graph going down.

“The MLA has done nothing about the problem of traffic and water logging in the area. It becomes real problematic for us to commute every day,” says a Naeem Khan, a resident of Seelampur.

“Another resident who runs a restaurant in the area says, “Filth attracts so many mosquitos over here that I do not get customers after sunset.” The situation of security is far from being commendable as the recent shootouts in the localities of Seelampur have shown that it is not a place for the businesses to prosper.

“Last year’s gruesome shootout which killed a man in Seelampur still frightens me and presence of the Thak Thak gang makes theft of almost everything possible. The MLA has never addressed these issues,” says Rashida Khatoon, a school teacher.

Posters have sprung up in the area by the opposition claiming that he paid no attention to issues of poor drainage which is the crown of all the problems in the constituency.

Kaushal Mishra is the BJP candidate from the area while Masood Ali Khan is the candidate on AAP ticket.

“It is his prerogative if he wants to claim about his so called development but let me assure you that the youth will vote in good numbers this time and even the Muslim dominated localities in the Seelampur have given encouraging response to our call for change. We also have Jain and Sikh votes rallying for us. Change in the air,” says Kaushal Mishra.

Although there seems to be huge anti-incumbency against him, but he still enjoys popularity, particularly amongst the lower-middle class Muslim pockets, and their support may once again help him clinch victory.

By IANS,

Aligarh : President Pranab Mukherjee will address faculty members and students at the Aligarh Muslim University's Murshidabad campus Dec 7.

The president will also inaugurate B.Ed course at the campus in West Bengal.

As the union finance minister, Mukherjee had laid the foundation stone of the campus Nov 20, 2010 in a 288-acre plot of land.

AMU Vice Chancellor, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Zameer Uddin Shah, would welcome the president and present the report of the centre, which began functioning with two courses - MBA and an integrated BA-LLB - in 2010-11.

By IANS,

Jammu : Former union minister and Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Saifuddin Soz Monday challenged the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to a debate on Article 370.

Reacting to Modi's statement here Sunday that Article 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir needed to be debated, Soz told a media conference here Monday: "I challenge Modi to a debate on Article 370 and I send this challenge to him through the media."

The head of the state Congress said Modi has no knowledge of either the constitution or the history of the country.

"He has become used to saying whatever comes to his mind without having any knowledge of either the country's constitution or its history," Soz said.

On the security arrangements made by the government in Jammu during Modi's rally and whether the arrangements were made to keep people away from the rally, Soz said: "The BJP has been making all sorts of noises about threats to Modi's rally."

"The central and the state governments did not want anything untoward to happen during the rally and that was why elaborate security arrangements were made in Jammu."