Politics

Vasundhara Raje takes oath as Rajasthan Chief Minister

Jaipur, Dec 13 (ANI): Vasundhara Raje, who spearhead BJP's spectacular comeback to power in Rajasthan, took oath as state Chief Minister on Friday. Governor Margaret Alva administered the oath of office and secrecy to Vasundhara Raje. Top leaders of the BJP including party patriarch LK Advani, party prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, party president Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu, Nitin Gadkari, Ananth Kumar, among others attended the ceremony. The BJP returned to power in Rajasthan after five years, winning a record 162 seats and leaving the Congress bruised with just 21 members in the 200-seat legislature.

Dec 16, 2013

Bangladesh celebrates execution of Abdul Quader Mollah

Dhaka, Dec 16 (ANI): Thousands of people in Dhaka participated in a rally to celebrate the execution of Islamist leader, Abdul Quader Mollah, who was convicted for war crimes committed in the 1971 liberation war. The rally also defied the strike called by the Islamist groups in the country. Many citizens celebrated the first ever execution of a Bangladesh war criminal, which took place late on Thursday (December 12) at the Dhaka Central Jail. Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami party had called for a nationwide strike on Sunday in protest of the execution of Mollah.

Dec 16, 2013

ASG writes to PM for removal of Justice AK Ganguly

Kolkata, Dec 16 (ANI): Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sought removal of former Supreme Court Judge AK Ganguly from the post of chairman of West Bengal Human Rights Commission. Addressing mediapersons on Sunday, Jaising stated that people who implement the law should live by the law. Ganguly has been accused of sexually assaulting a law intern who worked with him. The Supreme Court had set up a three-judge panel, which heard testimonies from both, the law intern and Ganguly and submitted its report to the Chief Justice of India, P. Sathasivam, naming Ganguly as the accused.

Dec 16, 2013

Candlelight vigil to bring jailed Captain Sunil James back

Lucknow, Dec 16 (ANI): Families of Indian sailors held peace march in Uttar Pradesh over release of jailed Merchant Navy Captain Sunil James from a month-long detention in Togo, for last rites of his son. Sunil James is facing charges of aiding pirates. The efforts are on for James' release so that he can join his family in Mumbai to perform the last rites of his 11-month-old son, who died this month. Several participants of the peace march, many of who were sailors themselves, sought Indian government’s intervention and demanded swift action to bring Captain James back.

Dec 16, 2013

Shahbaz Sharif visit Punjab, calls for peaceful relations with Pak

Jati Umra, Amritsar, Dec 16 (ANI): Shahbaz Sharif, chief of Pakistan's Punjab, called for peaceful solution of issues between India and Pakistan during a visit to his ancestral village and Golden Temple in India's Punjab. Addressing the villagers, Sharif called for fostering the bond of friendship and love between the neighbours. After visiting his village, Sharif offered prayers at the Golden Temple. Sharif was accompanied by his Indian counterpart Parkash Singh Badal and they are likely to ink an agreement to identify mutual areas of interest and cooperation.

Dec 16, 2013

Security beefed up on Delhi Gangrape first anniversary

New Delhi, Dec 16 (ANI): Security arrangements were strengthened in New Delhi on the first anniversary of the brutal gang rape case of a young physiotherapist on a moving bus. Police officers patrolled the city streets in a bid to avoid any repetition of the December 16 murder and rape of the 23-year-old girl that outraged the entire country. Even in the wee hours, policemen were seen checking every vehicle that drove past Munirika area of New Delhi, from where a tale of violence and insecurity had begun a year before. Meanwhile, social activist Annie Raja said that post the gang rape, government initiatives had just secluded women in the country rather than sending a strong message across people who indulge in crime against women.

Dec 16, 2013