Day: June 17, 2012

New Delhi, June 17 (ANI): The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has asked former Lok Sabha speaker and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader P.A. Sangma to withdraw his nomination from the presidential election.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee has been strongly pitching for former president Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam’s return to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Banerjee, who has been rejected by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and snubbed by Samajawadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav with regard to the presidential candidate, has launched a campaign on Facebook to bolster support for Trinamool Congress’s presidential candidate Dr. Kalam.
Sangma earlier today reiterated that he was still in the fray for the presidential poll as a tribal candidate, and said that he would appeal to his party boss Sharad Pawar to back him in the race for Raisina Hill.
“I have maintained right from the beginning that I am a candidate of the Tribal Forum of India, which is nothing to do with any political party. I am a candidate of the Tribal Forum of India. And, as a candidate of the Tribal Forum of India, I have gone across to all political parties appealing for support. This is the position. Therefore, it is very clear that I am not an NCP candidate,” said Sangma.
“Sharad Pawar is saying that he will appeal to me to withdraw. And I can tell you, I will appeal to him to support me,” he added.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar had earlier said that he would persuade Sangma to withdraw his candidature for the presidential poll.
The NCP has decided to back UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee for the prestigious post.
When asked whether he had also spoken to West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee with regard to his candidature, Sangma said: “I have talked to Mamata Banerjee day before yesterday late in the evening and I have appealed to her also to support my candidature. She was insisting on Dr. Kalam. I said Dr. Kalam had opted out of the race, therefore you should support (me).”
Sangma further said that he has made an appeal to all political parties to support his candidature for the coveted post.
“Since NDA meeting was scheduled for today, I spoke to many of the NDA leaders yesterday till late in the evening appealing them that they should extend their support to my candidature. Now, I have come to understand that the meeting has ended, but it has been inconclusive,” said Sangma.
“There have been little differences, which is quite natural in a democracy. They are still to sort out few things. They have to consult few chief ministers. So, I have nothing more to add as of now, except to say that I am still in the race,” he added.
Sangma, who has been campaigning on the ground that the country should have a tribal president, has so far met various political leaders including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran Lal Krishna Advani.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which met here today to decide on the presidential candidate, to firm up a position on the presidential poll as it was divided over opposing UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee and there was lack of clarity on extending support to P A Sangma.
“We will consult and deliberate with the chief minister of NDA-ruled states and leaders of other parties and would take final decision in next meeting,” Janata Dal-United (JD-U) chief and NDA convener Sharad Yadav told media here after the nearly-two-hour long meeting at Advani’s residence.
The presidential elections will be held on July 19. The vote count will take place on July 22.
Pratibha Devisingh Patil’s term as President ends on July 24.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/tmc-asks-defiant-sangma-to-withdraw-candidature/

Guwahati, June 17 NNN: After four years from now killings of animals by running trains in India may become a thing of the past.
On Sunday, Amruta Ubale who is India’s representative of Animal Equality said in Guwahati that this is possible due to a technology developed by Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi which will be in operation in 2016.
Animals mostly jumbos who are at risk of being run over by trains will be safe.
According to Amruta Ubale four-year timeframe set by two ministries to implement a wireless sensor device developed by Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Wild Animal Protection System is a device that works by detecting the presence of elephants and other animals on railway tracks and activating a signal to a station master for warning trains to slow down or stop.
The project to install this sensor device has been undertaken jointly by the ministries of Railway and Environment and Forests. This is the outcome of a campaign by Animal Equality, a global animal rights organization, which advocated the use of foolproof technology to save animals from being run over.
Amruta said his organisation had asked for the installation of radar sensors in trains for detecting animals in front of the train and on tracks. The organisation also had sought an auto-brake function that can be used to avoid any train accident.
The Animal Equality member then said sensor device is used by international car companies and is also used in some trains and ships. Such devices have proved useful in avoiding collisions. The pilot project of the sensor device specifically for wild animals is expected to be in place by 2016.
A report of August 2010 of Elephant Task Force said that 150 elephants were killed in train collisions since 1987. Assam tops the list with 36% of the total jumbo casualties followed by West Bengal with 26% and Uttarakhand with 14%. Most of these hits occurred during a 12-hour span between 6pm and 6 am.
Banarhat area of West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district earned the dubious distinction of killing the most elephants – seven – in a single hit (2010). Five elephants died in the following year.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/trains-killing-animals-a-thing-of-the-past/

New Delhi, June 17 (ANI): With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) deferring the decision on their presidential candidate, the Congress Party on Sunday expressed hope that leaders of various political outfits would back UPA nominee for the coveted post of President of India.
“NDA have the right to hold consultations with their allies. Sonia Gandhi has appealed to the leaders of various political outfits to back UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee. He is a very capable and competent candidate for the president’s post,” said Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi.
“We expect that all the political parties will take all these into account and support Pranab Mukherjee for the president’s post,” he added.
The rift within the NDA over the presidential candidate emerged clearly on Sunday, after they failed to arrive at a consensus on their candidate for the July 19 presidential polls.
“NDA will meet again to zero in on a presidential candidate,” Janata Dal-United (JD-U) chief Sharad Yadav told media here after the nearly-two-hour long meeting at BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani’s residence.
Yadav said that Advani would be holding parleys with the NDA leaders once again on the issue.
Advani is expected to hold consultations with the chief ministers of NDA-ruled states to discuss the apt candidate for the presidential poll.
He further said that right now the focus of the NDA was on the presidential poll and not on the election for the post of vice president.
Leaders of the Shiv Sena were not present in the meeting that was held now.
Top BJP leaders Lal Krishna Advani, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj and Ananth Kumar had met here earlier last night to decide on the party’s stand on the presidential candidate.
Moreover, BJP MP Ram Jethmalani has expressed his eagerness to contest against Mukherjee. The noted criminal lawyer has said that he will not let the UPA nominee become the President unopposed for he has failed to disclose the names of those having black money stashed abroad.
The backing of former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma has also left the NDA in a tizzy, as it does not want to lose its ties with the allies. Sangma, who has so far been urging the leaders of various political outfits to back his candidature for the coveted post, has been campaigning on the ground that the country should have a tribal president.
“Our leaders such as Advani, Sushma and Gadkari talked to NDA leaders on telephone and talks are going on. We will take final decision after consulting everybody in the meeting that will be held tomorrow at 11 (a.m.),” BJP leader Ananth Kumar told media after the party’s Core Group meeting here last evening.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/congress-hopeful-of-pranab-getting-support-from-all/

Aizawl, June 17 NNN: Mizo National Front (MNF), the main opposition party of Mizoram, accused the Congress government in the state of giving order to primary and middle schools to furnish a false report as receiving two uniform sets by each student in the state.
The MNF, in a press communique alleged that recently the Congress government issued an order to all the primary and middle schools to prepare a false report in which they should mention that all the students of their respective schools got two school uniform sets each. The MNF said that the students did not get two sets of school uniforms. The government is trying to act with false means is abominating and unacceptable, the MNF said.
The MNF said that when chief minister Lal Thanhawla went to Delhi for Annual Plan discussion, he took the Education Minister Lalsawta along with him and when they returned to Mizoram they had immediately instructed the primary and middle schools to prepare the false report. “This was done because they want to change the response they had given to the Human Resource Ministry who asked through RTI Act about the lapse of fund in SSA”, the MNF claimed.
Further, the MNF said that afraid of the Court’s notice to the Mizoram Government regarding the lapse in SSA fund, following the PIL submitted to the Guwahati High Court by one Rualkhuma Hmar, the Congress Government is using false means, by giving order to the school authorities.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/mnf-accuses-congress-govt-of-preparing-false-report/