Dalit | SilverScorpio.Com

PIL filed against Bahujan Samaj Party over 25th anniversary expenses

March 19, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Allahabad, Mar 19 (ANI): A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court asking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the expenses by the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on March 15 to mark the 25th anniversary of the party.

The PIL has been filed by three lawyers, who alleged that about Rs 175 crores was spent in the rally and around Rs 25 crores on the garland that was presented to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP supreme Mayawati.

The PIL is expected to come up for hearing on Monday.

Bahujan Samaj Party rival Samajwadi Party (SP) meanwhile, has demanded registration of an FIR against Mayawati for publicly accepting the garland made of currency notes.

Mujahid Kidwai, the secretary of Samajwadi Party has said the currency garland has made a mockery of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)”s mandatory guidelines on the country”s currency.

Despite being criticised over the currency garland controversy, Mayawati had on Wednesday defied the authorities by appearing again with a second currency garland.

She was severely criticized both inside and outside Parliament as the currency garland controversy sparked demands for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the source of money used to make the garland reportedly worth Rs 5 crore.

Income tax officials have reportedly been ordered to investigate the source from which the cash garland that was presented to Mayawati on Monday materialized.

The probe was ordered after proceedings in Parliament were suspended on Tuesday over the issue.
The Samajwadi Party and the Congress both have demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the matter, questioning the source from where the money had come.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh has accused Mayawati of misusing public money, and said that she is not the daughter of a Dalit, but the daughter of wealth.

Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev has also criticized her of doing business through politics.

The multi-crore garland was just a small part of the extravagant Rs 200 crore celebrations that marked the BSP”s 25th anniversary, and its founder Kanshi Ram”s birthday, with a massive rally in Lucknow. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 25th anniversary, allahabad high court, bank of india, cbi inquiry, cbi probe, central bureau of investigation, congress leader, crore, crores, currency notes, Dalit, digvijay singh, Mandatory Guidelines, Party Rival, public interest litigation, public money, Reserve Bank of India, samajwadi party, tax officials, yoga guru

Mayawati challenges Income Tax probe with another currency garland

March 17, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Lucknow, March 17 (ANI): Despite being criticised over the currency garland controversy, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Wednesday defied the authorities by appearing again with a second currency garland.

Sources said the garland was presented to Mayawati by her supporters and is worth Rs 18 lakhs.

A BSP legislator said, “The money for the currency garland was collected with the help of donations from 18 BSP party-units.”

Mayawati had earlier called for an emergency meeting of her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to discuss the currency garland controversy involving her.

The emergency meeting was called as the Income Tax Department is expected to begin an inquiry into the controversy.

The department is reportedly collecting photographs and video footage of the garland from various sources, including newspapers and TV channels that covered the event.

The Samajwadi Party and the Congress both have demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the matter, questioning the source from where the money had come.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh has accused Mayawati of misusing public money, and said that she is not the daughter of a Dalit, but the daughter of wealth.

Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev has also criticized her of doing business through politics.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 25th anniversary, bahujan samaj party, cbi inquiry, cbi probe, central bureau of investigation, Chief Minister, congress leader, criticised, Dalit, digvijay singh, legislator, Lucknow, massive rally, Money Currency, public money, rs 200, samajwadi party, Tax Probe, video footage, yoga guru

Mayawati calls emergency party meeting over currency garland controversy

March 17, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Lucknow, Mar 17 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati will preside over an emergency meeting of her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Wednesday to discuss the currency garland controversy involving her.

All BSP lawmakers have been informed about the meeting and have been asked to attend.

Mayawati was severely criticized both inside and outside Parliament as the currency garland controversy sparked demands for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the source of money used to make the garland reportedly worth Rs 5 crore.

The emergency meeting has been called as the Income Tax Department is expected to begin an inquiry into the controversy.

The department is reportedly collecting photographs and video footage of the garland from various sources, including newspapers and TV channels that covered the event.

Sources said the meeting will be held at Mayawati”s official residence in Lucknow and it is speculated that she would issue guidelines to her party members.

The Samajwadi Party and the Congress both have demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the matter, questioning the source from where the money had come.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh has accused Mayawati of misusing public money, and said that she is not the daughter of a Dalit, but the daughter of wealth.

Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev has also criticized her of doing business through politics.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 25th anniversary, bahujan samaj party, bahujan samaj party bsp, cbi inquiry, cbi probe, central bureau of investigation, Chief Minister, congress leader, controversy, Dalit, digvijay singh, massive rally, party members, public money, rs 200, samajwadi party, Swami, tv channels, video footage, yoga guru

Exhibition glorifying female Palestinian bombers generates outrage

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Jerusalem, Sep. 4 (ANI): Organizers of an art exhibition had to take down portraits depicting female Palestinian suicide bombers as the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus after the families of those killed or wounded in the attacks protested.

The controversial exhibition, which featured the work of artists Galina Bleich and Liliah Check, displayed a series of paintings of the bombers rendered to look like Renaissance-era portraits of Catholic saints, The Jerusalem Post reports.

The exhibition opened at Sokolov House press center in Tel Aviv agreed to take the portraits down, but another section – sand and dirt that had been taken from the scenes of the bombings and spread out across canvas – remained on the gallery’s walls.

The victims’ families expressed outrage over both the content of the exhibition and the fact that the headquarters of the Israeli Journalists Association, had agreed to show it.

Dalit Levy, whose 17-year-old stepdaughter Rachel was killed in a suicide bombing as she shopped at the Supersol supermarket in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Hayovel, arrived outside Sokolov House on Thursday afternoon with an Israeli flag draped over her shoulders.

“You want art?” she asked a group of reporters who had gathered around her. “Here’s art!” she said, before spilling a can of red paint next to a photograph of her stepdaughter and two memorial candles. “This is the blood of our children!”

Almagor, The Association for Terror Victims in Israel, also issued a stern response to the exhibit, and threatened to take legal action if the portraits were not taken down.

“We’ve contacted the attorney-general and asked him to take legal action against the exhibition’s representatives. Any action that strengthens or praises the murderous acts of terrorism is violating the law and hurting the general public by legitimising the murders,” he said.

Indor said his group was worried the artists would try to show the exhibit elsewhere.

“We’ve been in contact with the artists, and made it clear that we want them to add information to the material so that people will understand that this is not promoting terrorism, but against it,” he said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: action, Acts Of Terrorism, afternoon, Almagor, ANI, art, art exhibition, association, baby, baby jesus, Bleich, blood, bombing, canvas, catholic, Catholic Saints, center, check, contact, content, Controversial Exhibition, Dalit, dirt, exhibit, exhibition, fact, flag, Galina Bleich, gallery, group, Hayovel, headquarters, house, Indor, information, Israel, israeli flag, Jerusalem, jerusalem post, jesus, journalists association, Kiryat, law, levy, Liliah, mary, material, memorial, Memorial Candles, Murderous Acts, organizers, outrage, paint, Palestinian Suicide Bombers, photograph, post, press, Public, rachel, Red Paint, Renaissance-era, response, sand, section, Sep, series, Sokolov, spilling, spread, stepdaughter, Stern Response, suicide, supermarket, Supersol, Supersol Supermarket, Tel Aviv, terror, Terror Victims, terrorism, Thursday, victims, Violating The Law, virgin, virgin mary, work

Delhi HC seeks CBI’s response on legality of summoning Buta Singh

August 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 26 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought response from the CBI on a petition filed by Buta Singh accusing the agency of illegally summoning him for questioning in connection with a multi crore corruption case.

Buta Singh, who holds a post of Cabinet rank, argued that the agency couldn’t question him without taking mandatory sanction from the Centre.

On this, Justice Geeta Mittal issued notice to the CBI and asked it to file its reply by Monday.

After accepting the notice, Advocate Harish Gulati, appearing for CBI, said he would take instructions from the agency on whether sanction was taken or not before summoning Singh.

Buta Singh’s son Sarabjot Singh was arrested by the agency on July 31 for allegedly demanding a bribe of three crore rupees from Nasik-based contractor Ramrao Patil.

Earlier, Buta Singh had stated: “Latest attack (by CBI) is an attempt to kill my whole political life and my political future.”

Patil had allegedly taken a loan of around 10 crore rupees from a cooperative society on behalf of over 100 persons from the Dalit community.

He allegedly pocketed the money following which a case was registered against him. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Advocate, agency, ANI, attack, attempt, Aug, behalf, bribe, Buta, buta singh, cabinet, Cabinet Rank, case, CBI, centre, community, connection, contractor, cooperative society, corruption, corruption case, Court, crore, crore rupees, Dalit, Delhi, Delhi Hc, delhi high court, future, Geeta, Gulati, Harish, High, July, justice, legality, life, loan, mittal, Monday, MONEY, multi, Nasik-based, New Delhi, notice, patil, petition, post, Ramrao, rank, reply, response, sanction, Sarabjot, Singh, society, son, Wednesday

CBI interrogates Buta Singh’s son in multi-crore corruption case

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug. 24 (ANI): Buta Singh’s son Sarabjot Singh was summoned to CBI headquarters on Monday for further questioning in connection with a multi crore corruption case.

Sarobjot Singh was arrested by the agency on July 31 for allegedly demanding a bribe of three crore rupees from Nasik-based contractor Ramrao Patil.

A CBI team is also about to question the chairman of the All India Commission for Schedule Castes and Sarabjot’s Singh father, Buta Singh.

Earlier report said Buta Singh is expected to be questioned within the next two days.

“We have to question Buta Singh by August 24. His statement will be recorded as a witness and not as an accused,” CBI Joint Director (West Zone) Rishiraj Singh said on Thursday.

Though it was not immediately clear where Buta Singh’s would be questioned, sources said it may take place in Delhi.

Earlier, Buta Singh had stated: “Latest attack (by CBI) is an attempt to kill my whole political life and my political future.”

Patil had allegedly taken a loan of around 10 crore rupees from a cooperative society on behalf of over 100 persons from the Dalit community.

He allegedly pocketed the money following which a case was registered against him. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: agency, ANI, attack, attempt, Aug, August, behalf, bribe, Buta, buta singh, case, castes, CBI, cbi team, chairman, commission, community, connection, contractor, cooperative society, corruption, corruption case, crore, crore rupees, Dalit, Delhi, director, father, future, headquarters, India, joint, July, life, loan, Monday, MONEY, multi, Nasik-based, New Delhi, patil, place, Ramrao, report, Rishiraj, s singh, Sarabjot, Sarobjot, schedule, Singh, society, son, statement, team, Thursday, west zone, witness

Khairlanji case hearing to begin today

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Aug 24 (ANI): Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court will start hearing the appeals filed by eight convicts of the Khairlanji Dalit killing case from today.

A division bench will comprise of Justices A P Lavande and P B Vairale.

In September last year, the trial court at Bhandara awarded capital punishment to six convicts, while two were given life imprisonment for killing four members of Bhotmange family.

The convicts are: Sakru Binjawar, Shatrughan Dhande, Vishwanath Dhande, Ramu Dhande, Jagdish Mandlekar, Prabhakar Mandlekar, Gopal Binjawar and Shishupal Dhande.

Three persons, Mahipal Dhande, Dharampal Dhande and Purushottam Titarmare, were acquitted for lack of evidence.

The CBI had filed an appeal seeking death sentence for Binjawar and Dhande, and reversal of acquittal of the trio.

The agency had said all the accused were convicted for same crime and hence deserve same punishment.

The High Court had asked the CBI to prepare a detailed chart-mentioning role of each of the accused in the case along with details of charges framed against them and supporting evidences produced before the trial court. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: acquittal, agency, ANI, appeal, Aug, bench, Bhandara, Bhotmange, Binjawar, bombay, Bombay High Court, capital, capital punishment, case, CBI, convicts, Court, Crime, Dalit, death, death sentence, Dhande, Dharampal, division, division bench, evidence, evidences, family, gopal, hearing, High, imprisonment, Jagdish, Justices A P Lavande, Khairlanji, lack, lack of evidence, Lavande, life, life imprisonment, Mahipal, Mumbai, nagpur, P B Vairale, Prabhakar, Prabhakar Mandlekar, punishment, Purushottam, Ramu, reversal, role, Sakru, sentence, September, shatrughan, Shishupal, three persons, Titarmare, today, trial, trial court, trio, vishwanath, year

BSP to Sonia Gandhi: Apologise to Mayawati in Parliament for Joshi slur

July 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lucknow, July 16 (ANI): The controversial arrest of Uttar Pradesh Congress unit chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi over her objectionable remarks on State Chief Minister Mayawati has taken the shape of a major political clash with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)-led State government here.

BSP State chief Satish Mishra on Thursday demanded that Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi apologise in the Lok Sabha for Joshi’s remarks against Mayawati.

Bahuguna’s house was set ablaze and some property at the premises was targeted by some unidentified hooligans here on Thursday.

The Congress party blamed BSP workers for the arson act.

Reacting to the incident, Congress party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said: “It’s a state-sponsored vandalism, hooliganism. We are certainly going to take a serious note of it and all possible legal recourse available to us.”

BSP leaders, however, claimed that Congress workers had set fire to Joshi’s house.

“Our workers did not torch Rita’s house. It was rather Congress workers who set it ablaze,” said Mishra.

State police later claimed to have detained four persons in connection with the incident.

Meanwhile, police prevented the burning of an effigy of Mayawati today. They also baton and cane-charged Congress workers and detained about a hundred of them while they staged a street demonstration against Congress leader Joshi’s arrest.

Police arrested Joshi on Thursday and a local court sent her to 14-day judicial remand for making remarks on Wednesday against the CM in an issue related to rape and murder of some Dalit girls in the UP.

The Samajwadi Party, the main opposition party in Uttar Pradesh State Assembly, blamed the police and offered the Congress party any proposal to carry out a joint protest against the state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh. They criticised the police for acting at the behest of State Government.

“Police are working on the directions of Mayawati Government,” said Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party’s U.P unit chief.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Maneka Gandhi demanded the dismissal of the Uttar Pradesh government.

“Time has come for dismissal of the UP Government. In my constituency, about 50 political workers are detained every week. I have never seen a situation like this in India ever,” said Maneka Gandhi.

Joshi was arrested in Ghaziabad en route to New Delhi. She was charged under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Mayawati.

Joshi, however, has denied having said anything to offend Mayawati or Dalits.

“It was at a meeting in Moradabad that I had simply sought to draw the people’s attention to the fact that Mayawati’s dole of Rs.25,000 to every Dalit rape victim was quite ironical as the state police chief was spending lakhs on the helicopter ride that he undertakes to hand over that paltry amount to the victim,” Joshi told media persons. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abhishek Manu, ablaze, act, akhilesh, amount, ANI, anything, apologise, arrest, arson, assembly, atrocities, attention, Bahujan, bahujan samaj party, bahujan samaj party bsp, baton, behest, bharatiya, BSP, burning, caste, Chief, Chief Minister Mayawati, clash, Congress, congress leader, congress party president, congress workers, connection, constituency, Court, Dalit, dalits, day, demonstration, dismissal, effigy, fact, fire, ghaziabad, Government, Government Police, helicopter, hooliganism, house, incident, India, issue, Janata, Joshi, judicial remand, July, leader, legal recourse, lok, lok sabha, Lucknow, main opposition party, Maneka, meeting, moradabad, murder, New Delhi, note, Objectionable Remarks, opposition, parliament, party, Party Spokesman, police, Political Clash, pradesh, President Sonia Gandhi, prevention, property, proposal, protest, rape, reacting, recourse, remand, ride, Rita, Rita Bahuguna, route, sabha, Samaj, samajwadi, samajwadi party, Satish Mishra, scheduled, shape, Singhvi, situation, slur, Sonia Gandhi, spokesman, state, state chief, street, Street Demonstration, Thursday, time, today, torch, tribe, unit, unit chief, UP, uttar, vandalism, victim, Wednesday, week, yadav

Radio Pakistan’s Dalit propaganda exposed

July 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Abohar, July 14(ANI): Radio Pakistan, in its recent Punjabi Durbar programme, has said Scheduled Castes (SCs) children are being denied admission in schools in India, but nothing can be further from the truth.

Shyam Lal Arora, the district president of the Recognised and Affiliated Schools Association, Punjab termed the report false and malicious propaganda.

“The Dalits are not being discriminated or ill treated here in India. The Dalit children have been given equal rights and status in every school, college, office and department. Pakistan is making such statements to create tension in this country,” said Arora.

“In villages also, Dalit children are being given admission without any discrimination. Pakistan’s statement that the Dalit community is being stopped from taking water from community taps in the country is completely wrong. Here, people of all religions and Dalits take water from the same tap,” Arora added.

Pakistan is trying to create a divide in this country by asserting that casteism is dominant in India.

Radio Pakistan’s propaganda on casteism in India stands exposed by the fact that since independence, the Indian Government has taken several initiatives to improve the socio-economic and literacy conditions of the less-privileged in the country.

For instance, the strategy of the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP), which was evolved in 1979, is one of the most important interventions through the planning process for social, economic and educational development of Scheduled Castes and for improvement in their working and living conditions.

As far as reservation of seats in educational institutes are concerned, the Central Government has reserved 27 per cent of higher education seats, and individual states have been given freedom to legislate further reservations.

In 2008, the Supreme Court had upheld the law that provides for 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in educational institutions supported by the Central Government, while ruling that the creamy layer among the OBCs should be excluded from the quota.

This shows that the caste system as it existed in the past has been formally abolished.

Radio Pakistan, therefore, needs to study the Indian Constitution before airing baseless allegations about India. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: abohar, admission, affiliated, Affiliated Schools, ANI, Arora, association, backward, caste, casteism, castes, cent, Central Government, college, community, constitution, country, Court, Dalit, dalits, department, Development, discrimination, district, District President, divide, durbar, Education, Educational Development, educational institutions, fact, Freedom, Gove, improvement, independence, India, India Radio, India-Pakistan, Indian, Indian Government, instance, institutes, interventions, July, July 14, lal, Lal Arora, law, layer, literacy, nothing, OBCs, office, Other, Pakistan, past, plan, planning, president, process, programme, propaganda, Punjab, punjabi, quota, radio, radio pakistan, recognised, report, reservation, ruling, scheduled, school, schools, SCS, SCSP, Shyam, statement, status, strategy, Sub, supreme, system, tension, truth, water

Radio Pakistan now comes to the aid of Dalits in India

July 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Abohar, July 6 (ANI): Radio Pakistan in its Punjabi Durbar programme has taken up the cause of Dalit community in India.

The Radio Pakistan has said that the Dalits in India do not have even basic rights.

The allegation has been rubbished by Babu Ram Chawla, General Secretary of All India Khatik Samaj and Mangat Ram Chayal, Vice Chairman of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (Schedule Caste department).

“The statements of Pakistan radio about schedule castes in India are illogical. For, people of schedule caste have gained all rights in India from Government and the society. They have been given reservation in jobs, educational institutions, and a number of them are Members of Parliament. So the statements by Pakistan Radio are malicious and we should not believe it,” said Babu Ram Chawla, General Secretary of All India Khatik Samaj.

“Pakistan wants to mislead us. There are special welfare programs in politics, administration for the people of schedule castes. The schedule castes have positioned themselves from Gram Panchayat to the designation of President, the highest position in India,” said Mangatram Chayal, Vice Chairman of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, Supreme Court Department.

Broadcasters of Radio Pakistan will do their listeners a good service by first keeping themselves update about India through newspapers and other news sources.

As they must also remember that only recently all Member of Parliaments unanimously chose Meira Kumar as the head of Lok Sabha, who besides being a highly educated and experienced parliamentarian, comes from a schedule caste community. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is also one of the most popular personalities which inspires the Dalits across the country.

India has a history of individuals from schedule caste or Dalit community occupying highest positions in all walks of life without prejudice.

In jobs and education, all socially backward or schedule caste people today have reservations to encourage their participation in mainstream.

Moreover, the Right to Equality is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution of India. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ''cause, abohar, administration., aid, allegation, ANI, babu, caste, Castes In India, chairman, Chawla, Chayal, Chief Minister Mayawati, committee, Committee Schedule, community, Congress, congress committee, constitution, country, country india, Court, Dalit, dalits, Dalits In India, department, designation, durbar, Education, educational institutions, equality, general, Government, gram panchayat, head, history, India, July, Khatik, life, lok, lok sabha, mainstream, Mangat, Mangatram, mayawati, Meira Kumar, member, Member Of Parliaments, members of parliament, mislead, NEWS, number, Other News Sources, Pakistan, parliament, parliamentarian, parliaments, participation, position, pradesh, prejudice, president, programme, Punjab, punjabi, radio, radio pakistan, ram, reservation, right, sabha, Samaj, schedule, secretary, service, society, supreme, today, uttar, vice, walks of life, welfare, welfare programs

Andhra Pradesh Bank Association to approach state HRC on ‘Slapgate’

July 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Hyderabad, July 2 (ANI): The Andhra Pradesh Bank Association on Thursday announced that it would approach the State Human Rights Commission (APHRC) to look into the “Slapgate” case involving Congress and Dalit Member of Parliament M. Jagannath.

It may be recalled that Jagannath, an MP representing the Congress party in the Nagarkurnool constituency of Andhra Pradesh’s Mahabubnagar District, slapped Ravindra Reddy, the manager of a local bank, for allegedly denying loans to Dalit applicants.

The President of the AP Bank Association, B Ravikant, confirmed the bank’s decision to approach the APHRC.

“We are approaching the Human Rights Commission in connection the incident of the MP slapping a bank emplyoee. We are also going to review decicions to not give loans to government sponsored schemes,” he told a television channel over the phone.

“We are going to ask the human rights commission to take strict action and also to protect the interests of employees,” he added.
Ravikant’s move comes even as M Jagannath has been summoned by the Congress leadership to New Delhi to explain the scandal that has left most in the nation shocked.

Jagannath was caught on camera slapping the bank manager. He will meet Law Minister and party general secretary in charge of affairs in Andhra Pradesh Veerappa Moily and party President Sonia Gandhi.

Jagannath has already met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Reddy and explained his conduct.

Jagannath has denied slapping the manager. He claimed his hand only touched the cheek of Reddy, a manager of a AP Grameen Vikas bank branch, when he tried to put it round his shoulder.

Employees of grameen banks in the Congress-ruled state were up in arms and staged protests in several districts and stopped disbursal of loans under government schemes. The bank branch where the incident happened has threatened to go on strike from today.

The police has booked a case against the MP on charges of assault and use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty and said investigation was on. Dalits have filed a counter suit against the bank manager alleging violation of various acts that protect and safeguard the rights of the socially underprivileged.

Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari has described the incident as regrettable and unfortunate, and added that in-house mechanisms will be used to deal with the incident after a report is submitted. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: action, andhra, Andhra Pradesh, ANI, APHRC, assault, association, B Ravikant, bank, branch, camera, case, channel, charge, cheek, Chief Minister, Chief Minister YSR Reddy, commission, conduct, Congress, Congress Leadership, congress party, Congress-ruled, connection, constituency, Dalit, dalits, decision, disbursal, discharge, duty, emplyoee, force, general secretary, Government, government schemes, Grameen, Grameen Bank, Grameen Banks, hand, HRC, human, human rights commission, Hyderabad, incident, investigation, July, law, law minister, leadership, local bank, M. Jagannath, Mahabubnagar District, manager, manish, member, member of parliament, Moily, move, Nagarkurnool, nation, New Delhi, parliament, party, party President, Phone, police, pradesh, President Sonia Gandhi, ravindra, reddy, report, rights, scandal, secretary, Servant, shoulder, Slapgate, slapping, Sonia Gandhi, spokesman, state, strict action, strike, suit, television, television channel, Thursday, tiwari, today, use, veerappa, Vikas, violation

Money for statues should have been used for the poor: Congress

June 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, June 29 (ANI): The Congress party on Monday said the money used for installing statues of Dalit icons by Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister Mayawati could have been used for upliftment of the poor and backwards in the state.

Stating that the party was not against installing statues of national heroes, Congress said, but it was against “overdoing” it.

“We feel the money (spent on statues) could have been used for upliftment of the poor and backwards in the state,” Shakeel Ahmed, Congress spokesman said in the national capital.

“We are not against memorials for national heroes…But when it is overdone, it becomes problematic,” Ahmed added.

Meanwhile, reacting on Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s comments of bulldozing the statues if he could, Ahmed said this could be his (SP chief’s) thinking but certainly not that of the Congress party.

When asked Congress party’s reaction to Mayawati’s comments stating making Meira Kumar the Speaker of Lok Sabha would not help Dalits, the Congress spokeman said: “If someone cannot understand the importance of the post of the Speaker, what can we say?” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ahmed, ANI, cannot, capital, Chief, Chief Minister, Chief Minister Mayawati, Congress, congress party, Congress Spokesman, Dalit, dalits, Icons, importance, June, June 29, lok, lok sabha, mayawati, Meira Kumar, Memorials, Monday, MONEY, money spent on, Mulayam, national heroes, New Delhi, party, party chief, post, pradesh, reaction, sabha, samajwadi, Shakeel, Singh Yadav, someone, speaker, spokeman, spokesman, state, stating, statues, upliftment, uttar, Uttar Pradesh, yadav

Supreme Court issues notice to UP government on statues issue

June 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, June 29 (ANI): A vacation bench of the Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh Government for allegedly misusing public money to install statues of prominent Dalit leaders like herself, Dr B R Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram and the party’s elephant symbol.

The vacation bench heard a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati. The PIL is seeking a stay on the further inauguration of these statues on July 3.

The petitioner has alleged that the multi-crore projects of installing statues are being carried out as part of state policy, which is arbitrary and violates Article 14 of the Constitution.

The PIL also sought the removal of statues of Mayawati and all party symbols from public places.

Mayawati had unveiled 15 statues, which include that of party founder Kanshi Ram and six of herself on June 25.

Delhi-based lawyer Ravi Kanta, who filed the PIL, said every action taken by the Uttar Pradesh Government must be seen to be in the public interest. The arbitrary actions of the State Government must be invalidated, he added.

Mayawati, her party and the state’s Chief Secretary were named respondents in the PIL. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: action, ANI, Article, article 14, B R Ambedkar, bench, Chief Minister, Chief Minister Mayawati, chief secretary, constitution, Court, Dalit, Delhi, delhi-based, Dr. B R. Ambedkar, elephant, elephant symbol, founder, Government, inauguration, interest, July, June, Kanshi, Kanshi Ram, Kanta, lawyer, litigation, Monday, MONEY, New Delhi, notice, part, party, Party Founder, Party Symbols, petitioner, pil, policy, pradesh, Public, public interest litigation, public money, ram, Ravi Kanta, removal, respondents, secretary, state, state government, statues, stay, supreme, supreme court issues, symbol, uttar, uttar pradesh government, vacation

Meira Kumar’s brief profile

May 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 30 (ANI): Congress leader Meira Kumar, popular known as the daughter of the former Deputy Prime Minister and prominent Dalit leader, Babu Jagjivan Ram and freedom fighter, Indrani Devi, hails from Bihar.

Born in Patna in 1945, Meira Kumar has been law graduate and holds a Masters in English literature.

Meira joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1973 and served at embassies in Spain, United Kingdom and Mauritius.

Meira Kumar entered electoral politics in 1985 and was elected from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh. She became Member of Parliament in the 11th and 12th Lok Sabha by contesting from Delhi’s Karol Bagh constituency.

In 1999, she lost her seat but was able to get re-elected with a record majority from her father’s former constituency of Sasaram in Bihar.

In 2004, Meira was inducted into the Manmohan Singh cabinet, as Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.

On May 29, 2009, Meira assumed charge as the Union Minister for Water Resources in the newly elected United Progressive Alliance government under the leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh.

She is married to Manjul Kumar, who is presently a Supreme Court lawyer. The couple have three married children. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: alliance, alliance government, ANI, babu, Bihar, Bijnor, cabinet, charge, Congress, congress leader, congress-led, constituency, couple, Court, Dalit, daughter, Delhi, Deputy Prime, deputy prime minister, devi, Dr. Manmohan, Dr. Manmohan Singh, electoral politics, empowerment, english, english literature, father, fighter, foreign, Freedom, freedom fighter, Government, graduate, Indian, Indrani, Jagjivan, justice, karol bagh, kumar, law, Law Graduate, lawyer, leader, leadership, literature, lok, lok sabha, majority, Manjul, manmohan, Manmohan Singh, Masters, mauritius, May, Meira, Meira Kumar, member, member of parliament, minister, New Delhi, parliament, Patna, pradesh, profile, Progressive, progressive alliance, ram, record, sabha, sasaram, seat, service, Singh, social, Spain, supreme, Supreme Court Lawyer, union, Union Minister, United Kingdom, uttar, water

Dalits in India find sponsors in Pakistan Radio

May 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Abohar, May 29 (ANI): In its latest Punjabi Durbar programme the commentators have come up with the argument that Dalit leaders in India have been accepting the directives given to them from Brahmin leaders.

The programme has been attacking the integrity of Dalit leaders, who have been accused of forgetting the welfare of people of their community.

Radio Pakistan has alleged that Dalit leaders who have won elections in the past forgot to work for their community and accepting the diktats of ‘Brahmin’ leaders. Apparently the reference is directed to Mayawati, Chief Minister of U.P., who has an upper caste Advisor.

Villagers, living in the border areas, are amused.

Inderjit Singh Baserke, a Congress leader from Dalit community, however rubbishes such allegations. He points out that Dalits had reserved seats during the elections for Legislative Assembly and the Parliament. They have become MLAs and MPs. The children of Dalits have also got reservation in educational institutions and later in government jobs at all levels.

“I am proud of our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. The first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru provided reservation to the children of Dalits and today they proudly hold posts of IAS officer, IPS, and PCS, oficers.

Many leaders of the Punjab state Congress party are Dalits. People of Dalit society are never ill-treated in Punjab. This is the land of our Gurus. Today, the Dalits enjoy an equal status with higher castes,” said Dalit leader Inderjit Singh Baserke, the general secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress, Punjab.

“Radio Pakistan wants to provoke the Dalits in India. We have to be careful,” Baserke added.

The Constitution of India offers to its all citizens six fundamental rights– Right to equality, right to freedom of speech and expression, right against exploitation, right to freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights and right to constitutional remedies.

The rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India are fundamental rights and are enforceable in a court of law.

But who can enlighten the broadcasters of the Punjabi Durbar programme of Pakistan radio, who are presently finding it difficult cover items relating to the activities of the Taliban in their programmes. They seem to think that talking about Dalits in India is the answer. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: abohar, advisor, ANI, answer, argument, assembly, border, border areas, brahmin, caste, Chief Minister, community, Community Radio, Congress, congress leader, congress party, constitution, constitution of india, Court, cover, Dalit, dalits, Dalits In India, diktats, Dr. Manmohan Singh, durbar, equality, exploitation, expression, first prime minister of india, Freedom, freedom of religion, Government, ias, Inderjit, India, integrity, ips, jawahar, jawahar lal nehru, Lal Nehru, land, law, leader, legislative, Manmohan Singh, May, mayawati, MLAs, mps, officer, Pakistan, Pandit, pandit jawahar lal nehru, parliament, party, pcs, pradesh, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan, prime minister of india, programme, Punjab, Punjab Radio, punjab state, punjabi, radio, radio pakistan, reference, religion, reservation, right, secretary, Singh, Singh Baserke, society, speech, state, State Congress, status, Taliban, today, UP, upper caste, villagers, welfare

Prakash Singh Badal asks people to be calm

May 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Amritsar, May 27 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal has appealed to the people not to allow miscreants to disturb peace in the state.

“I appeal to the people of Punjab that these miscreants are enemies of the country as well as enemies of Punjab. After a lot of difficulty, peace and prosperity returned to Punjab and they want to disturb that. We should not let them fulfill their vested interests,” Badal said.

Punjab was engulfed in a spate of violent protests over the killing of a Sikh preacher in Austria.

Thousands of Dalits torched trains, cars and shops on Monday to protest against the murder of a leader of a religious sect in an attack on a temple in Vienna, prompting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to appeal for calm.

The preacher who died was from the Dera Sach Khand, which has a large Dalit following among lower caste Sikhs and Hindus in India.

At least 16 persons were hurt in the violence in Vienna on Sunday when six armed men attacked two preachers visiting from India during a temple ceremony.

Austrian police said they did not know yet about the motives for the attack.

Sikhism officially rejects caste but social hierarchies still prevail. Dera Sach Khand has gained many followers from the Dalit community in Punjab and is opposed by many mainstream Sikhs. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Amritsar, ANI, armed men, attack, Austria, Austrian Police, calm, caste, ceremony, Chief, community, country, Dalit, dalits, dera, difficulty, hindus, hindus in india, India, Khand, killing, leader, lot, mainstream, manmohan, Manmohan Singh, May, miscreants, Monday, murder, peace, police, prakash singh badal, preacher, prime minister manmohan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, prosperity, Punjab, punjab chief minister, Religious Sect, sach, sach khand, sect, sikh, Sikhism, sikhs, Singh, Social Hierarchies, spate, state, sunday, Temple, Temple Ceremony, Vienna, Violence, violent protests

Sikh diaspora condemns violence and appeals for peace

May 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Amritsar, May 27 (ANI): Sikh leaders and diaspora across world have condemned the violence in Vienna and in Punjab.

Talking from San Francisco, Dr. Pritpal Singh, the convener of the American Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (AGPC), said:

“Violence has never been a solution of any problem. If there are any differences, they should be solved through dialogue.”

He said Sikhs were having strong relationship with the “Dalit Samaj” and this brotherhood should continue. He appealed to the Government of Punjab to take appropriate measures to restore peace in the state.

After 9/11 in US, Sikhs living in US and other parts of the world were mistakenly identified with Arabs due to similarity in appearance. Sikhs leaders opine that such acts of violence give a jolt to the peaceful Sikh community worldwide.

Ranjit Singh Masuta, a Sikh leader in Switzerland, said the Government of Punjab should strongly take action against those who have disrupted public life over the last few days.

“We already have been victimizing for mistaken identity of the Sikhs. Such incidents could further damaged the image of the Sikhs living outside India,” a worried Masuta said. r. Rajwant Singh, the Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE), in Washington DC, said: “We condemn the violence which took place in Vienna, Austria. He said it need to be categorically condemned by all Sikhs without going into the merits of the issue. No issue requires taking law into your own hand no matter what the provocation is. We are saddened by this terrible tragedy. We appeal everyone to maintain peace and calm at all cost.”armjit Singh Sarna, the President of the Delhi Sikh Management Committee (DSGMC), said there are many other ways to tackle the problems besides violence.

He said that those who follow Sikhism should also know the Sikh code of conduct as evolved by the Akal Takht Sahib, the high temporal seat of the Sikhs. He appeals to the people of Punjab to maintain the peace that has comes after long time.

Alleging that the Government of Punjab has failed to restore peace in Punjab, he said a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry should be conducted against the Punjab Government..xpressing concern over the present Sikh issue, Ragubir Singh, a Sikh leader from France said that such incidents undoubtedly cause a major setback to Sikh interests at the international level.

He said that we already have been working hard day and night to convey the European Government about the peace loving Sikh community. He said that we must keep larger interest of the community when we confront with various differences within the community.t is pertinent to mention that in France and in other European countries Sikhs have been facing problem like wearing Turban and their other religious symbols.

Meanwhile, the Jathedar Akal Takht, Gyani Gurbachan Singh, has expressed sympathy and solidarity with the victims of Vienna incident and urged their followers in Punjab to maintain peace and tranquility. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: action, acts of violence, AGPC, Akal, akal takht, alleging, American, Amritsar, ANI, appearance, armjit, Austria, brotherhood, bureau, CBI, central, chairman, code, committee, community, concern, conduct, convener, cost, Council, Dalit, day, Delhi, dialogue, diaspora, Dr. Pritpal, DSGMC, Education, European, everyone, France, Government, Government Of Punjab, Gurbachan, Gurudwara, Gyani, hand, identity, image, incident, India, inquiry, interest, investigation, issue, Jathedar, jolt, law, leader, level, life, management, Management Committee, matter, May, mistaken identity, night, opine, Parbandhak, peace, place, president, Pritpal Singh, problem, provocation, Punjab, Ragubir, Rajwant, Ranjit, Ranjit Singh, Ravinder, relationship, religion, sahib, Samaj, San Francisco, Sarna, score, seat, setback, sikh, Sikh Code, sikh community, sikh leader, Sikh Leaders, Sikhism, sikhs, similarity, Singh, Singh Masuta, Singh Robin, Singh Sarna, solidarity, solution, state, Switzerland, sympathy, takht, time, tragedy, tranquility, turban, US, Vienna, vienna austria, Violence, Washington, world, worldwide

Curfew relaxed briefly in violence-hit Punjab, Badal calls for all-party meet

May 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Chandigarh, May 26 (ANI): Curfew was relaxed for a brief while in some parts of Punjab on Tuesday, though there were reports of sporadic violence.

On Tuesday, the atmosphere in the northern state was still tense, a day after two protestors were killed in large-scale violence and arson sparked by the killing of a leader of a Sikh sect in Vienna, Austria. Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal will preside over an all-party meeting that will take stock of the overall situation and make appropriate recommendations.

The state government had to call in the army in four cities — Phagwara, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana and Jalandhar to bring the situation under control. No traffic is being allowed into Ludhiana till 2 p.m.

At least 45 persons including 20 policemen were injured as followers of the Dera Sachkhand Ballan Sikh sect and various Dalit organisations fought pitched battles with security personnel and indulged in vandalism.

Rail and road traffic were badly hit while trains were stranded in several stations in the state. Police said that in all there were 86 incidents of violence in Punjab.

The protesters torched four bogies of Jammu-Kanyakumari express at Jalandhar but the passengers left the train leaving behind their luggage’s to protect themselves from the violent mob.

On Monday night, an SAD municipal councillor killed a protestor allegedly in self-defence after being attacked in Jalandhar district where authorities relaxed curfew for two hours on Tuesday.

A mob allegedly attacked SAD councillor Balbir Singh Bittu and burnt his car. Bittu opened fire at the mob in which Vijay was killed.

Jalandhar is a stronghold of the Dera Sach Khand, a Sikh sect comprised of mainly Dalits who took to the streets in protest against the death of one of their gurus Sant Raman Nand during a clash between rival Sikh communities in a Vienna Gurudwara.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said the situation was under control and claimed violent incidents was limited only to a few pockets in Jalandhar and its surrounding areas.

“The situation is normal, there is no violence at this moment and some incidents which took place today were limited to a few pockets, mostly in Jalandhar,” Badal and his deputy and son Sukhbir Badal, who is also the SAD president, said while condemning the Vienna incident.

Meanwhile, police in Vienna said investigations are still on. The Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said that he has assured the Indian Government that the culprits involved in the attack would be brought to book. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, army, arson, atmosphere, attack, Austria, Austrian, Balbir, Ballan, Bogies, brief, briefly, car, Chandigarh, Chief, clash, control, councillor, curfew, Dalit, dalits, day, death, deputy, dera, district, fire, foreign, Government, Gurudwara, Hoshiarpur, incident, Indian, jalandhar, jammu, Kanyakumari, Khand, killing, leader, ludhiana, luggage, May, meeting, Minister Michael Spindelegger, Minister Parkash, mob, moment, Monday, municipal councillor, Nand, night, parkash singh badal, Phagwara, Pitched Battles, place, police, policemen, prakash, prakash singh badal, preside, president, protest, protestor, Punjab, punjab chief minister, rail, Raman, road, road traffic, sach, sach khand, Sachkhand, sad, sant, sect, security, security personnel, sikh, Singh Bittu, Singh Badal, situation, situation under control, son, Sporadic Violence, state, stock, stronghold, Sukhbir, today, traffic, train, Tuesday, vandalism, Vienna, vienna austria, vijay, Violence

Old Dailt woman accused of witchcraft stripped and beaten

May 24, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Wadegaon (Maharashtra), May 24 (ANI): In an unusual event in Wadegaon village of Maharashtra, a seventy year-old Dalit woman, Ruddha, was accused of practicing witchcraft. She was stripped and beaten by the villagers before being paraded astride a donkey.

The locals claimed that she was doing sorcery on one of the neighbours with lemons.

However, Ruddha denied the charges and claimed that she was being harassed. “They beat me. Ladies beat me. Men folk beat me. They dragged me out of my home onto the streets and thrashed me for nothing,” said Ruddha.

She further said that the villagers tore her blouse and even robbed her of Rs.2000.

Police have detained 11 persons including four women for further investigation.

“Further investigation and necessary legal proceedings will be followed,” said N Z Kumbhare, Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Akola.

He also mentioned that on learning about this incident, the police personnel rushed to the village and saved Ruddha from further humiliation. She was taken to a hospital for treatment. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: akola, ANI, beat, blouse, Dailt, Dalit, divisional, donkey, event, folk, four women, home, hospital, humiliation, incident, investigation, ladies, legal proceedings, lemons, locals, Maharashtra, May, may 24, Men, N Z Kumbhare, neighbours, nothing, officer, Old, police, police officer, Practicing Witchcraft, rs 2000, Ruddha, seventy, sorcery, Sub, treatment, village, Wadegaon, Witchcraft, woman

Rahul says, Congress will always stand for ordinary person

May 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Amritsar, May 11 (ANI): Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that his party would always stand for the ordinary man unlike the National Democratic Alliance, which ignored various sections of society, including the poor, the farmers and the Dalits during its tenure.

“When the Congress government came to power in 2004, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and we all made just one promise that we will work for the ‘aam admi,’ farmers of Punjab, mazdoor (labourers), Dalit and it will be there government. We functioned as per our promise,” he said, slamming the NDA for “thinking” about the rich and upper classes.

Rahul said the opposition parties made a new promise daily. He ridiculed NDA’s slogan of ‘India shining’ during the Lok Sabha elections in 2004, by terming the English slogan intended for the privileged.

Gandhi lampooned the BJP leaders for telling the entire country that India was shining. “But they did not go to the houses of the poor, the farmers, the Dalit and other weaker sections. They just went to the houses of the rich. You (voters) then showed them the door,” Rahul said.

He claimed that the biggest achievement of the UPA in its five-year rule was employment guarantee scheme, providing for 100 days of assured employment during the year.

Rahul Gandhi said that the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was the “pride of Punjab and the country” who took the country forward in all spheres.

“Manmohan Singh is pride of Punjab and India,” said Rahul Gandhi while sharing a stage in any election rally for the first time with the prime minister Dr. Singh.

During his earlier visits to the state on 5th and 9th May, Rahul addressed election rallies at Barnala, Mohali, Ludhiana, Moga and Hoshiarpur. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Aam, achievement, admi, alliance, Amritsar, ANI, barnala, bjp, bjp leaders, Congress, congress government, country, Dalit, dalits, Democratic, door, Dr Singh, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Election, Election Rallies, election rally, employment, english, general, Government, guarantee, guarantee scheme, Hoshiarpur, India, Lampooned, lok, lok sabha elections, ludhiana, man, manmohan, Manmohan Singh, May, Mazdoor, minister, Moga, Mohali, Monday, national, national democratic alliance, nda, opposition, opposition parties, ordinary man, Ordinary Person, party, person, pride, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan, promise, Punjab, Rahul, Rahul Gandhi, rally, rule, sabha, scheme, secretary, Singh, slogan, society, Sonia Gandhi, stage, state, tenure, the, time, upa, year

PIL filed against Bahujan Samaj Party over 25th anniversary expenses

Mayawati challenges Income Tax probe with another currency garland

Mayawati calls emergency party meeting over currency garland controversy

Delhi HC seeks CBI’s response on legality of summoning Buta Singh

CBI interrogates Buta Singh’s son in multi-crore corruption case

Khairlanji case hearing to begin today

BSP to Sonia Gandhi: Apologise to Mayawati in Parliament for Joshi slur

Radio Pakistan’s Dalit propaganda exposed

Radio Pakistan now comes to the aid of Dalits in India

Andhra Pradesh Bank Association to approach state HRC on ‘Slapgate’

Money for statues should have been used for the poor: Congress

Supreme Court issues notice to UP government on statues issue

Dalits in India find sponsors in Pakistan Radio

Sikh diaspora condemns violence and appeals for peace

Curfew relaxed briefly in violence-hit Punjab, Badal calls for all-party meet

Old Dailt woman accused of witchcraft stripped and beaten

Rahul says, Congress will always stand for ordinary person

Search More News

Technology News

Ads