Tributes paid to martyrs of parliament attack
IANS - 07:33 PM

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) It was on this day eight years ago that the Indian Parliament was the target of an audacious terror strike in which nine people lost their lives while repulsing the attackers and saved the parliamentarians inside. But a memorial function held at the same place Sunday saw only 11 MPs joining in.


Guwahati film festival highlights different perspectives of terrorism

Guwahati, Dec 13 (ANI): The Guwahati Cine Club is staging a week long festival to highlight different perspectives of terrorism.

As many as 40 feature films and 15 short films on terrorism from all across the country will be screened in the '2nd Guwahati Film Festival 2009'.

Films from Iran, Hungary, France, Peru, Thailand, Poland, Algeria, China and Bulgaria would also be screened in the festival.

Organisers said that the festival aimed to look at terrorism through films.

"We think that terrorism as it is also relevant to India and Assam in particular so there is a need of artistic elucidation through film form for our viewers. How terrorism as an expression of artistic form is manifested in films of different countries can be caused by viewing different films that we have bought in the festival," said Ridual Kumar Das, treasurer of the Guwahati Film Club.

Barbara Lorey De Lacharriere, noted French film critic and also the chief guest of the fest hailed the film selection and hope that film buffs would discuss the films in depth.

"I know most of the films that are shown, it is a very-very good selection, it is very interesting and I really hope that lot of people will see these films and will have the possibility to discuss also in length about these films," she said.

The festival would also host a seminar on "Terrorism and Cinema."

The film fest is expected to seed new thoughts into young mind in the region where more than two dozen armed groups are either fighting for an independent homeland or more political autonomy. (ANI)
ANI
We have seen a PROACTIVE Governor to solve the Crisis in West Bengal which made the Peopel`s governor so Controversial! At last,Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopal Krishna Gandhi Sunday bade adieu as West Bengal governor by hosting the state's creme de al creme to tea after occupying the Raj Bhavan for five momentous years!

Cyclone Ward to cross Tamil Nadu coast Tuesday amidst Political Cyclone of Projected large Scale Etnmonationalism supported by so called mainstream Political Parties, Ambedkarites, Hindutva Forces and MAOISTS as well to handover Nature and natural Resources to LPG Mafia, NGOs, RSS, India Incs and MNCs to acomplish the MASS Detsruction Agenda of Galaxy Corporate War Economy as Promoted Free market democracy is all set to Convert Indian landscape and Human scape into pockets of Insurgency and Terror.We would NEVER Learn from History nor from the Contemporary world since we lost the VISION in Virtual Reality so overwhemlning. We may not dare to look into bleeding Pakistan! We always overlooked Middle East and South East Asia. We know nothing about East Europe, Americas and Africa. The Bloody Cyclone is all set to get us in its HOT Pot Black Hole and virtual 2012 is showcased, friends!

It does not mean that I do not recognise nationalities, Identities and the Autonomy and Sovereignty of different People in Plural geopolitics. In fact, Nationality Movement is all about the SOVEREIGNTY of Indigenous Aboriginal masses and their RIGHT to Natural Resources. Indian State Power has Never Addressed the Problems of nationalities, identifies, human resources and NEVER recognised the Sovereignty of the People. In Contras, the Game of Small States is all about ETHNONATIONALISM fascist in Nature which is not opposed to Corporate Imperialism! It is the infinite story of DIVIDE and Rule! Persecution! Repression! Corruption! Graft! Loot ! Industrial mafia! Illegal mining! Crime! Torture !Trafficking of labour, Woman and children! Exodus! Displacement! MO Economy! Destruction of nature and ecology! Deprivement of Aboriginal, Indigenous, De notified, Refugee, Minority Communities! The State Power in Small Power at best works as the Broker and Agencies for the MNCs, Builders, Promoters, Mafia, India Incs and even Criminals!

Divide Punjab, Divided Assam, Divided Uttar Pradesh, Divided Madhya Pradesh, Divided Bihar have never addressed the Problems of Aboriginal Indigenous masses who have been SUBJECTED to INDIAN Holocaust Continued since the Days of Mohanjodoro and Hrappa when VEDIC Ethinic Cleansing was introduced for the first time! But the Untouchables continued their Fight against Fascism as well Imperialism throughout Indian history and defended their RIGHTS to Natural Resources!

Entire Central India, Himalayan Zone and the North East, Coastal India have been permanent Torture Zone  of Exploitation! Free Market Democracy, NGOs, RSS, Media, CIA, MOSSAD, Mafia, Open Market and India Incs with Maoist Menace and CHIDAMBARM`s war against the People have to arouse ETHNONATIONALISM to Call a TSUNAMI to Annihilate our People branding as Terrorists and Extremists as they had been doing with our ancestors and justified ETHNIC Cleansing branding us as Demons of different genres as DAITYA, DANAV, ASURAS, RAKSHAS, NAG, KINNAR because the GODS have got KILLING License INFINITE and so AFPSA and Operation GREEN HUNT have to continue and the World bank and IMF agents create the STIMULUS in Ethnonationalism Inflames!

Hyderabad police Sunday arrested Lakshmi Parvathi, the widow of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N.T. Rama Rao, after she launched a one-day hunger strike here to protest the proposed division of the state.


 After her demand for trifurcation of Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Mayawati has now sought further partition of the state for carving out Purvanchal on the eastern part.

May anyone ask about the Resources the PURVANCHAL, Bundelkhand and the Harit Prdesh?  These three parts of UP are highly Agrarian. Sugar cane Crisis is not resolved! And we have seen the result of Green Revolution resultant in khalistani Movement , Operation Blue star and sikh genocide! The Ruling Class has destroyed Rural world in India and KILLED the Agrarian Economy and society. Now Ethnonationalism is delebrately HYPED In AGRECULTURAL Pockets best known as Suicide Zones under ACUTE Food Insecurity, CROP failure and Starvation! Further, entire purvanchal is included in the Demand Of BHOJPUR, again Agrarian! Vidarbh and Surashtra nown as DEATH Circle for Indian Peasantry! Without any sustainable resources why the mainstream Politicians want to CREATE so Many BHUKKHAD pradesh killing the traditional Home staets, I do not understand how creation of Bundelkhand, Vidarbh, Saurashtra and Bhojpur states would feed the Starving Peasantry! As Himalayan Zone and Central India divided in so many small states have become the most Troubled pockets of Insurgency and Teroor at best and never defend the Livelihood, land, life and Home of the BHUMIPUTRA!

Demand for Kosala state picks up in Orissa!he demand for a separate Kosala state, to be carved out of Orissa, has picked up momentum following the central government's decision to pave the way for the birth of a Telangana state.

The Kosala Kranti Dal, a political party which has been demanding separate statehood for 11 western districts of Orissa, has threatened to launch a massive agitation to press its demand.

The districts are Bargarh, Bolangir, Boudh, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Koraput, Nuapada, Sambalpur, Subarnapur and Sundergarh.

Known as the Kosala region, these districts suffer from poverty and backwardness, deaths due to malnutrition and high infant mortality rate.

'We will collect one lakh signatures by the end of January and submit a memorandum to President Pratibha Patil,' its president Pramod Mishra told IANS.

He also said that his party would undertake long marches and rail blockades.

'The central acceptance of Telangana state has given us a moral boost,' Balgopal Mishra, a leader of the Kosala movement and a former member of the state legislative assembly, told IANS.

Just see how RSS and Hindutav Forces devastate the Nationalities and Identities as Ram temple still in BJP''s priority list, Sushma Swaraj decalres during her Eelctioneering campaign in Jharkhand!

Medininagar (Jharkhand), Dec 13 (PTI) Ram temple would be constructed in Ayodhya if BJP is voted to power at the Centre next time as the issue still tops the party''s priority list, senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj today said. "If BJP forms a government at the Centre next time, Ram temple will be on the top of the priority list," Swaraj said while addressing a poll meeting here.

Swaraj said the Congress is an opportunistic party and did not think twice before snapping ties with allies. "In 2005 elections in Jharkhand, Congress rejected RJD and tied up with JMM. This time it ignored JMM and allied with Babulal Marandi''s JVM-P. Only Congress does such acts frequently," she said.

"Congress had supported the Madhu Koda regime to earn profits of crime," Swaraj alleged.

PTI

Mayawati, who Friday said she has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for creation of Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh states, has now asked for Purvanchal region to be given statehood.

She has said further partition of Uttar Pradesh would 'ultimately be in the larger interest of providing better governance, besides of course living up to the expectations of the people'.

Disclosing this at a press conference here Sunday, Mayawati's blue-eyed Additional Cabinet Secretary V.S. Pandey said, 'The chief minister today sent such a letter to the prime minister.'

Distributing copies of the letter, Pandey said: 'The chief minister has sought to draw the prime minister's attention to her past correspondence in which she had not only expressed her preference for smaller states, but also for carving out Purvanchal out of the state's poverty-ridden eastern districts.'

In her letter, Mayawati has said, 'No sooner we receive your nod for creation of Purvanchal than we will go ahead to adopt a resolution to that effect in the state assembly.'

She has also sought to remind Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about her already 'long pending' demand for a special economic package for the development of the highly backward Purvanchal region. 'My demand for sanction of a special economic package of Rs.80,000 crore for the development of the backward Purvanchal region has been pending with you for a long time,' she pointed out.

Citing her earlier letter to the prime minister of March 15, 2008, she has said, 'Then too I had made it loud and clear that I was in favour of smaller states.'

'And subsequently on Oct 9, 2007, I had declared at a public rally in Lucknow that I was ready for creation of Purvanchal and Bundelkhand.'

She continued: 'Considering the regional imbalances in a state like Uttar Pradesh and keeping in mind the sentiments of the people, besides of course in the larger interest of providing better governance, I would once again implore upon you to give your consent in principle for creation of a eastern state of Purvanchal; a formal resolution by the UP assembly will follow.'

Administration's apathy increases plight of homeless in Kolkata

The plight of over one hundred thousand homeless people in the city remains invisible, as the state administration fails to trace their identification in the records.

The absence of identification papers and address proofs forces them to live on the pavements, beneath flyovers, along railway tracks and canal banks of the city.

According to the 2001 census, there were about 67,000 homeless people in the city but the figure has now risen to about one hundred thousand.

Most of these people are migrants and have been living in the city for about 30 to 35 years now, but they still don't possess any Identity card, ration card, Voter ID card or Below Poverty Line (BPL) card.

"We have been living here for about 30 to 35 years now. We work and earn money here only. We earn our livelihood by picking rags or working as domestic helps. We have no land or property back in our native place, which is why we have come here," said Ashra Bibi, a homeless woman.

According to Pramila Pavamani, Director of Kolkata Samaritans, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), which works for the cause of these homeless families, it is impossible to get hold of their identification papers and prove them as citizens of India.

She added that till now Kolkata Samaritans has only managed to get only Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards only for 15,000 homeless people in the city. (ANI)

Gandhiji's grandson demits office as West Bengal governor

The 64-year-old former IAS officer and diplomat, who took over as governor Dec 14, 2004, found his tenure coinciding with the most volatile period the state has seen in three decades - peasant unrest fuelled by the opposition parties in Singur and Nandigram as well as largescale political clashes.

He responded to each of the events in a polite but firm manner, while never compromising on his dignity.

Gandhi's hard-hitting statements after the police lathi-charge on protestors in Nandigram, the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist's (CPI-M) bid to regain the turf through violence, as also escalating political violence after the April-May Lok Sabha election prompted angry reactions from the Communist-led Left Front government.

The Marxists questioned his impartiality and accused him of playing politics.

In the middle of last year, Gandhi took an unprecedented decision to switch off power supply to the Raj Bhavan by two hours daily to share the plight of the people reeling under power cuts. This prompted the Marxists to call him 'publicity hungry'.

However, it was his efforts to broker a solution to the vexed Singur issue that earned him many admirers.

He persuaded the warring Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to talk. But in the end the talks failed and Tata Motors shifted the Nano car project to Gujarat.

Setting aside their differences, political leaders, cultural personalities, sports stars and other eminent persons assembled at the Raj Bhavan Sunday for the farewell tea party thrown by the governor.

Bhattacharjee, Banerjee, union and state ministers and other political top guns, film director Aparna Sen, danseuse Amala Shankar, painters Jogen Chowdhury and Olympian footballer P.K. Banerjee were among the 600 guests present at the Raj Bhavan.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi called on nonagenarian communist leader Jyoti Basu at the latter's residence.

'I have been quite happy with you,' said Basu, who was chief minister for over 23 years from 1977 to 2000.

'I am leaving tomorrow. I am returning to Chennai. But I could not go without coming and saying goodbye to you,' Gandhi told the ailing Basu.

Speaking to mediapersons after the five-minute meeting, Gandhi said: 'It is a privilege for me to know Jyoti Basu. It has been a great pleasure to have the benefit of his presence and guidance on many matters over these years, and particularly the last five years. I have come to take his leave before I return.'

Government acted in haste on Telangana issue: Karunanidhi

Chennai, Dec 13 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Sunday criticised the manner in which the central government handled the Telangana issue which has resulted in severe protests and violence in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Responding to a reporter's question on the central government's handling of the Telangana issue, he said: 'From this, one can understand that delayed announcement and hasty decision should not be taken.'

He also ruled out any division of Tamil Nadu, though some organisations have started voicing such a demand.

'The DMK party or the people of Tamil Nadu do not have any such views,' he said.

Karunanidhi, who inspected the construction of the massive Anna Centenary Library here Sunday, told reporters that the library will be ready by next May.
Indo Asian News Service

Andhra, Rayalseema ministers decide to resign

The political crisis in Andhra Pradesh deepened further Saturday with all the ministers from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions deciding to resign to protest the central government's decision to form a separate Telangana state.

All 20 ministers from the two regions held a meeting at a hotel here and decided to submit their resignations to Chief Minister K. Rosaiah.

Minister for Municipal Administration Anam Ramnarayana Reddy told reporters that they would meet Rosaiah to convey their decision and submit the resignations.

'There is pressure on us from the people to join the movement for a united Andhra Pradesh and hence we have decided to quit,' he said.

There are 13 ministers from Telangana region. Rosaiah, a member of legislative council, also hails from Andhra.

As many as 130 legislators from the two regions have submitted their resignations to assembly speaker. They include 76 legislators from the ruling Congress party.

Declare Bihar famine-hit: Lalu, Paswan

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and his LJP counterpart Ram Vilas Paswan today demanded that the Bihar Government immediately declare the entire state ''famine-hit'' in the wake of severe drought condition. "People are dying of hunger and the state government is not doing anything for reaching them relief," Prasad told reporters here.

The government should immediately declare the entire state famine-hit in the wake of severe drought condition, the RJD leader said. Voicing a similar demand, LJP leader Paswan said the government should immediately arrange foodgrains for BPL households and ensure that it had adequate relief materials in the stock.


Hyderabad will be capital of Telangana state: TRS chief

Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao Saturday asserted that Hyderabad would be the capital of the proposed Telangana state, and rejected suggestions of making it a shared capital with Andhra Pradesh.

Rao, whose 11-day hunger strike forced the central government to agree to the demand for a Telangana state, told NDTV news channel that Hyderabad cannot be made a joint capital on the lines of Chandigarh.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, said: 'Hyderabad can't be compared with Chandigarh. It is not a new bifurcation. Telangana state existed earlier with Hyderabad as capital while Andhra state had Kurnool as its capital.'

KCR also pointed out that Hyderabad is geographically located in Telangana. 'How can they (Andhra) claim Hyderabad. Does it make any sense?' he asked.

The TRS chief also assured people of other regions of Andhra Pradesh settled in Hyderabad that they could continue to live here in peace after the formation of the new state.

He also said there was no question of going back on a separate Telangana state, and added that the protests in other regions against it were stage managed and sponsored by vested interests who had invested money and acquired lands illegally in Hyderabad.

KCR said passing a resolution in the state assembly was not necessary to carve out Telangana. He said he had full faith in United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that they would take the necessary measures for formation of the state.

'I have lot of faith in Sonia Gandhi. And Manmohan Singhji, who is at the helm of affairs today, is a fairly good person. Having made an announcement on behalf of the Government of India, it is up to them to solve the problem,' Rao told the channel.

Rao said he had been invited to New Delhi for talks.

'They have invited me to Delhi for talks soon after my recovery. I said that I can come only after a week or 10 days. I am not even able to come out of my residence. I with difficulty went to the balcony and waved to the people,' Rao said.

'Hyderabad is such a place ... such a good society. It allows everybody, absorbs everybody,' said Rao.

'In Hyderabad, not just Andhras, but Maharashtrians, Kannadigas and Kayasths from north India live.'

He accused the Andhra Pradesh people of 'exploiting' the employment opportunities of Telangana region.

'Ultimately our people were pushed to go to the Gulf countries. The agony of Telangana is that 35,000 Telanganas are in jails in Gulf countries,' Rao said.

'Why should Telangana suffer. And Hyderabad city?' he asked.

'We used to have an airport much before the formation of AP (Andhra Pradesh). Today's all railway stations have been constructed by the Nizam. All the hospitals, educational institutions have been built by the Nizam,' Rao said.
Indo Asian News Service

Gopal Krishna Gandhi - a people's governor

Kolkata, Dec 13 (IANS) On the last day of his five-year term as West Bengal governor, Gopal Krishna Gandhi Sunday called on Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu, who said 'I have been quite happy with you'.

The nonagenarian Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader's expression of satisfaction with the stint of Mahatma Gandhi's grandson at Raj Bhavan here is significant since his party frequently criticised the governor for his forthright comments on the state's burning issues.

As sober former IAS officer and diplomat demits office, the public impression of a governor being either a rubber stamp and without a mind of his own or a bully sent by the central government with a political agenda lies challenged.

While political parties are divided in their opinion on whether Gandhi can be called the best governor the country has ever seen or one who did not do justice to the hallowed office, for the man on the street he was a 'people's governor' who would be remembered for providing humane and sensitive touches to the administration.

Giving lift in his convoy to a father-daughter duo lumbering down a flyover with heavy baggage, or ticking off a policeman for misbehaving with a poor man and then proceeding to provide succour to the victim by hosting him at Raj Bahvan -- these are a couple of snapshots of the kind and humble approach that was the hallmark of Gandhi's public dealings.

The 64-year-old, who took over as state governor Dec 14, 2004, found his tenure coinciding with the most tumultuous period the state has seen in three decades - peasant unrest fuelled by the opposition parties in Singur and Nandigram and largescale political clashes. However, he responded to each of the events in a polite but firm manner, while never compromising on his dignity.

On March 14, 2007, after the death of 14 people in East Midnapore district's Nandigram when police opened fire on those protesting a proposed chemical hub, Gandhi came up with a statement that 'the news of deaths by police firing has filled me with a sense of cold horror'.

That was the beginning of the state's first citizen's frequent run-ins with the ruling Left Front. The CPI-M accused him of being partial and turning a blind eye to the lawlessness prevailing in the region and the atrocities let loose by the agitators.

In mid-2008, Gandhi ordered that Raj Bhavan lights be switched off for two hours daily as he wished to share the plight of the ordinary citizens reeling under frequent power cuts.

The announcement prompted another wave of attack by the CPI-M, which alleged that he was playing politics and seeking publicity. The party still holds that view.

'No doubt he is scholarly and erudite. But as governor, he got involved too much in politics. He also sought publicity by switching off Raj Bhavan lights daily for two hours,' CPI-M Central Committee member Shyamal Chakraborty told IANS.

However, for many, Gandhi would be best remembered for his sincere efforts at brokering a solution to the vexed issue of Singur by persuading bitter foes Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and opposition Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to sit face-to-face at the discussion table.

Prompted by Gandhi, the duo held two rounds of talks, but ultimately the negotiations failed in the quagmire of Bengal politics and the state lost the Tata Motors' small car Nano project to Gujarat.

Industrialist Pawan Ruia paid rich compliments to Gandhi. 'He will be remembered forever for his sincere efforts towards rapid industrialisation of the state,' said the Ruia Group chief.

Opposition Trinamool Congress also showered praise on Gandhi. 'People of West Bengal are not only sad but disheartened too because he has won the hearts of lakhs of people of the state,' union Minister of State for Shipping and Trinamool Congress top gun Mukul Roy told IANS.

Congress legislative party leader Manas Bhuniya called Gandhi a true democrat. 'He was a true custodian of the constitution. He always stood by truth and justice'.
Indo Asian News Service

Cong playing game of political opportunism: RJD/LJP
Garwah (Jharkhand), Dec 13 (PTI) RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan today accused the Congress of "playing the game of political opportunism" and charged the Centre with failing to curb price rise. "The Congress is playing the game of political opportunism instead of controlling price rise," the leaders alleged during their speech at a poll meeting here.

"Congress is surrounded by sycophants," Paswan said further. Prasad said, "Whenever Congress came to power prices of essential commodities touched the skies, leaving the poor in a miserable condition.

" Both Prasad and Paswan have been campaigning jointly during all the five phases of polling in Jharkhand making price rise as their main plank. Garwah is among the sixteen seats which goes to polls for the final phase of polling on December 18.