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Noted Squash coach Satinder Bajwa trains poor children

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Chandigarh, Sep.11 (ANI): Satinder Bajwa, an expatriate Punjabi, who is a squash coach, has set up an academy for the underprivileged children in Chandigarh to draw them to Squash.

These underprivileged children never thought about playing Squash. But, at the newly founded Squash Academy called ‘Mind, Body and Game – Connection’, they learn how to play it.

Satinder Bajwa, who has been the manager and mentor of eight times World Squash Champion Jansher Khan, has commenced this social business venture to promote the game here.

The Academy will nurture 30 children of ‘Khelshala’, a charitable trust, which serves underprivileged children through sports.

“Everybody wants to help his or her origins or the country that needs help. I am not a wealthy guy but I have something to give to kids in terms of a sport, so I thought how I give back to my country and I do a non-profit programme in the USA called Kids Squash and I thought may be its needed here in India and may be we can help kids through giving them something that they can use to help themselves,” said Satinder Bajwa, Founder of the MBG Ceonnection Academy in Chandigarh.

“You can give somebody money, money runs out but you give them something like this, may be if they are good at I, they can become very good, may be if they are good students, may be I can get them into some international university and few years down the roads, we might see some results which may enable people to help themselves,” said Bajwa.
He says the objective of the Squash Academy is to highlight that through exercise and play one can achieve a healthy body and mind for a fuller life experience.

The Academy will offer members a comprehensive set of world-class facilities including top of the line gym equipment and two squash courts, Bajwa adds.

Bajwa, who immigrated to the USA, is presently the chief coach of Squash at Harvard University. He felt the need to giver back to his homeland something valuable.

Many people in Punjab believe that Squash is a sport that has a future.

“The game is very nice. There is no age limit to play this game. Its very enjoyable and there are no chances of injuries,” said Manjit Singh, a trainee.

“We were little apprehensive in the first couple of days how may kids would be interested but we have had an amazing turnout and its been tones and tones of response from the kids and everyday more and more kids wanna come and play and its wonderful to see excitement and eagerness of all the kids ibn the village to come and play,” said Elizabeth Chaplin, a trainer in Massachusetts, US.

The MBG – Connection and Khelshala are a lifetime dream of Bajwa who also funded ‘kids squash’, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that promotes well-being through sports for children of all backgrounds.

Khelshala will also have an educational component as well as it will aim to leverage sports to help kids attain scholarships to private schools. By Sunil Sharma (ANI)

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Attempt to break Elvis impersonator world record bites the dust

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 1 (ANI): An attempt to have the most number of Elvis Presley impersonators bit the dust after only 29 people turned up.

Organisers of the event had their fingers crossed to beat a previous world record with 148 people dressed as ‘The King’ to sing ‘Viva Las Vegas’ at The Ship Inn at Par, Cornwall.

Pauline Giles, who ran the attempt, held the poor turnout on a combination of bad weather and the credit crunch responsible for the failed bid.

“It’s been raining all day which puts people off. Things are also a bit tight at the moment so all in all it was a slightly poor show,” the Telegraph quoted her as saying.

The existing record was set by 147 Australians eight years ago. (ANI)

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Taliban claim successful sabotage of Afghan presidential vote

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kabul, Aug. 29 (ANI): Taliban fighters say they have successfully sabotaged the Afghanistan presidential voting process without sending in a single suicide bomber.

A Globe and Mail report says that their claim that the mere threat of violence suppressed turnout enough to cast doubt on the credibility of the vote, which is being increasingly undermined by allegations of fraud.

“It’s like the election didn’t happen at all,” said one senior Taliban commander, who was instrumental in planning the insurgents’ strategy after the their leader, Mullah Omar, ordered the elections disrupted.

He spoke to The Globe And Mail by satellite phone after meeting with a dozen other senior militant commanders in a region bordering Pakistan to discuss the election.

“We have succeeded in our plan. Even in Kandahar city, most of the people were sitting in their houses. We showed the government could not do a good election,” said the commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

His claims were echoed by other, less senior Taliban fighters interviewed by The Globe in Afghanistan’s southern provinces, where turnout was particularly low – 10 per cent in some districts – and allegations of fraud are most pronounced.

While the United Nations, American, Canadian and Afghan officials have praised the vote as a success, the Taliban’s new declarations of victory are finding growing resonance in official circles.

Tooryalai Wesa, the governor of Kandahar province, did not dismiss the Taliban’s claim of triumph. “The election was complicated,” he said.

“They did manage to give a sense that anything was possible. They did make it seem like they were quite a lot bigger than they were. I’d score it as a win for them,” the analyst said.

At least 30 people died on election day, including two people who were hanged from a tree near the Arghandab River. At least two others had their right index fingers cut off after they voted. Dozens of rockets fell on Kandahar and Helmand province.

However, the election was largely free of the massive scale of violence threatened by the Taliban, who promised to disrupt it at all costs. (ANI)

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Barbaric Taliban chop ink-strained fingers of Afghan voters

August 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug.22 (ANI): Afghanistan’s top election monitoring organization, the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, has claimed that the Taliban had chopped off thefingers of at least two Afghan voters during the presidential election which took place on Thursday (August 20).

Nader Nadery, the head of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, said Taliban insurgents attacked two voters in Kandahar shortly after voting on Thursday and cut off their ink-stained fingers.

Hundreds of Afghan voters exercised their exclusive right in the country’s second-ever direct presidential election earlier this week. However, the polling percentage remained low as compared to the 2001 elections, primarily due to the extremists’ threat.

While both Hamid Karzai and his rival Abdullah Abdullah have claimed to be ahead in the early voting count, the turn out in the southern part of the country was less than what was anticipated. The lower turnout in the south may dent Karzai’s aspirations of running a second term, as the region primarily consists of his fellowmen, the Pashtuns.

“If results show that more people voted in the north than the south, “then we will have an issue,” The Daily Express quoted Nadery, as saying.

He said the monitoring group also noticed large scale incidents of officials not being impartial and pressuring people to vote for a particular candidate. (ANI)

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Karzai camp claims victory in Afghanistan presidential elections

August 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kabul, Aug.21 (ANI): Supporters of incumbent president Hamid Karzai on Friday claimed victory in the second presidential elections held in Afghanistan since 2001.

Karzai cheered the “successful conduct” of the elections.

However, according to the Washington Independent newspaper and the Afghan news service Pajhwok, Karzai’s main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, said all of Afghanistan was awaiting a change for the better.

“All citizens are awaiting change and their votes won’t go in vain. I’m optimistic the final outcome will be as good as the initial one,” remarked the former foreign minister.

The Abdullah camp has said recently that it will not accept a Karzai victory as a legitimate outcome.

“A large number of our countrymen could not vote due to insecurity. This reflects the seven-year-old government’s failure,” observed the ex-minister.

Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah’s separate claims of victory came a day after officials said there was a historic 50 percent voter turnout, notwithstanding violence in the southern and northern parts of the country.

Despite a huge military presence, the day saw militants wantonly attempting to disrupt the polls even as some 300,000 Afghan and international troops patrolled trying to prevent the attacks.

The election followed a lively campaign period in which dozens of candidates are vying for the presidency.

The violent incidents across the country included an attack on a town in Baghlan, northern Afghanistan, which prevented the opening of polling stations, the BBC reported.

Foreign news agencies said at least eight died in ensuing clashes with police. The Taliban also set fire to a bus on the Kandahar-Kabul Highway in Ghazni, after offloading passengers and the driver, reportedly as punishment for violating a Taliban ban on using the road. Rockets hit houses in Khost and Kandahar provinces killed two women and several children. A civilian car hit a roadside bomb, killing one person and injuring three in Khost.

Two suicide bombers on a motorbike in Gardez, Paktia province, were killed before hitting their target, police said.

In northern Baghlan province, a district police chief was killed when Taliban militants attacked a police post.

In Kabul, the bodies of two alleged militants were recovered after a gun battle with police in a residential district – police said they were suicide bombers but it is unclear whether they blew themselves up or were shot dead.

The polls – which also see voters electing members to provincial councils – are the first organised primarily by the Afghans themselves.

Seventeen million voters are eligible to vote. Polls opened at 7 a.m. local time and concluded at 5 p.m. local time. As well as presidential polls, voters choosing between 3,000 candidates for 420 seats in provincial councils

Official preliminary results are not expected for at least two weeks. (ANI)

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Polling ends in Afghanistan, 50 percent voter turnout despite violence, say officials

August 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kabul, Aug.20 (ANI): Polling was extended by an hour in Afghanistan’s second presidential election on Thursday and concluded a short while go. Officials said there was a historic 50 percent voter turnout, notwithstanding violence in the southern and northern parts of the country.

Despite a huge military presence, the day saw militants wantonly attempting to disrupt the polls even as some 300,000 Afghan and international troops patrolled trying to prevent the attacks.

The election followed a lively campaign period in which dozens of candidates are vying for the presidency.

The violent incidents across the country included an attack on a town in Baghlan, northern Afghanistan, which prevented the opening of polling stations, the BBC reported.

Two suicide bombers on a motorbike in Gardez, Paktia province, were killed before hitting their target, police said.

In northern Baghlan province, a district police chief was killed when Taliban militants attacked a police post.

The polls – which also see voters electing members to provincial councils – are the first organised primarily by the Afghans themselves.

Official preliminary results are not expected for at least two weeks. (ANI)

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Three suspected Taliban bank attackers killed in Kabul encounter

August 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kabul, Aug.19 (ANI): Afghan police have killed at least three gunmen who stormed a bank building in Kabul this morning.

A report by The Times said the police is conducting a search of the premises after engaging the attackers in brief gun battle inside the building.

The building is just a few hundred metres from the presidential palace compound where President Hamid Karzai lives.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack which followed a suicide car bombing yesterday that killed eight people and wounded more than 50 in Kabul. He also claimed that 20 armed suicide attackers wearing explosive vests had entered Kabul earlier this morning.

Police initially said the attack might have been a robbery gone wrong, but later confirmed that it was carried out by the Taliban.

“We have killed three of the attackers inside the bank,” The Times quoted Sayed Abdul Ghafar Sayedzada, the Kabul criminal investigation police chief, as saying, and added that “They were Taliban.”

The Taliban has pledged to disrupt tomorrow’s election by attacking polling stations, and cutting the throats or chopping off the fingers of anyone who votes.

That has raised fears that a low turnout, especially in the south, could encourage electoral fraud and undermine the legitimacy of an election seen as a test of international efforts to build democracy in Afghanistan.

But Afghan officials have been trying to negotiate truces with local Taliban commanders who may be reluctant to cause Afghan civilian casualties in their own areas.

The government has also ordered Western and domestic media to impose a blackout on coverage of violence during the poll to avoid scaring voters away.

International forces, meanwhile, have suspended offensive operations tomorrow and will not deploy any troops at polling stations so that they do not become a magnet for Taleban attacks. (ANI)

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Suspected Taliban storm central Kabul bank, surrounded by police

August 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kabul, Aug.19 (ANI): At least three gunmen, all reported to be members of the Taliban, stormed a central Kabul bank on Wednesday morning, and are currently surrounded by police.

A web site-W A Today-confirmed a short while ago that police have entered the building and were engaged in a gun battle with the attackers. It also said that dozens of security forces and intelligence agents have gathered in the area.

This morning’s attack came as the Afghan capital was converted into a virtual fortress, being placed under tight security ahead of Thursday’s presidential and provincial council elections. The increased security was necessitated because of a Taliban suicide bombing on Tuesday that killed 10 people, and a rocket attack on the presidential palace.

Interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said the three bank attackers were “robbers or thieves” and played down a Taliban claim that it was an insurgent attack.

“We don’t know whether these are Taliban or insurgents because when they entered the bank, they must have intended to steal,” Bashary was quoted, as saying.

“As they got into the bank, since we have very tight security in Kabul, police were able to get to the area in seconds and they (the gunmen) are surrounded by police,” Bashary added.

“The situation is under control,” he said. He did not comment on any casualties for the police.

The area is close to a bazaar and about 1.5 km south of the city centre, which was quiet with many businesses closed for a public holiday.

A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahed, claimed that four of the militants were in the building in a standoff with police that had left several dead.

They were among around 20 Taliban who had entered the city and were waiting orders to attack, he told AFP by telephone.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s 17 million voters go to the polls on Thursday to choose a president for only the second time in its history.

The Taliban have threatened to directly attack the polling stations and warned voters not to cast their ballots.

The threats to sabotage the election have raised concerns that voter turnout could be low, compromising the legitimacy of the 223 million dollars exercise in democracy.

The government on Tuesday appealed for an Afghan and international media blackout on reporting any attacks Thursday “in view of the need to ensure the wide participation of the Afghan people”.

Earlier, the Afghan government appealed for a local and international media blackout on reporting extremist attacks during this week’s elections in a bid to maximise voter turnout.

Taliban insurgents have escalated threats to derail the elections, warning people not to vote and thereby make themselves a victim of attacks.

Dozens of extra foreign journalists have poured into the country in order to help cover the elections, which mark the second time in history that Afghans will elect a president. (ANI)

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Ruling UPFA wins Jaffna, but loses Vavuniya in Lanka post-war polls

August 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Colombo, Aug.9 (ANI): President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has won Jaffna but lost Vavuniya in the first polls after the civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) concluded in May this year.

According to the BBC, the turnout for the polls has been low and ballots are still being counted in the southern province of Uva.

The local elections came a day after the defence ministry said it had arrested the new head of the Tamil Tigers, Selvarasa Pathmanathan.

According to preliminary results, the UPFA secured 13 of the 23 seats available in Jaffna on Saturday. he Tamil National Alliance, a fractious but broadly pro-LTTE parliamentary grouping, came second with eight seats.

In Vavuniya, where turnout was 52 percent, the UPFA was pushed into third place, winning only two seats. The TNA came first with five of the 11 seats on the council, followed by a moderate Tamil grouping.

It was generally believed that the government would do well, having a broad coalition led in the north by a powerful and stridently anti-Tiger Tamil party, and having promised a “northern spring” of major development projects that would gradually return the region to normality.

As a result of its victory in the war, the government is expected to have done well in the Sinhalese-dominated southern province of Uva. (ANI)

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Jackson fans flood website handing out memorial tickets

July 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 4 (ANI): Nearly half a billion Michael Jackson fans flooded the website handing out tickets for the King of Pop’s funeral at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Fans were told to register on www.staplescenter.com to enter the draw for 17,500 free tickets to grab a chance to attend the two-hour funeral on July 7.

Devotees swarmed the site within hours of the shock draw news, leaving the website crashing a few times.

More than 8,000 fans will learn if they have been lucky enough to land a pair of tickets on July 5, after the registration closes on July 4.

“It is the family’s wish to create a service and a celebration that all of Michael’s fans around the world can be part of,” The Sun quoted Staples Center boss Tim Leiweke as saying.

Meanwhile, preparations were being made for the expected massive turnout outside the Staples Center for the ceremony, which will be broadcast live globally.

Jackson died aged 50 on June 25 at his Los Angeles home from an apparent cardiac arrest, which was believed to have stemmed from prescription drugs. (ANI)

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Hritik Roshan, Farah Khan pledge support for HIV/AIDS patients

May 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mumbai, May 20 (ANI): To express their solidarity with people living with HIV/AIDS, Bollywood actors Hrithik Roshan and Farhan Akhtar attended the 26th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial in Mumbai today.

Sponsored by the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), the Mumbai District AIDS Control Society had organized the event to pay tribute to those who lost their lives to the deadly disease.

Themed ‘Together, We Are the Solution,’ the programme was a part of the Global Health Council to spread awareness about HIV and AIDS across the world.

Hrithik Roshan, who was accompanied by wife Suzzane Roshan, floated a lantern in the air carrying the message, “Together we are the solution”.

Roshan, who had just returned from Cannes Film Festival to attend the campaign, took the pledge to create awareness and educate people about HIV and AIDS.

“This is not a one time thing, this has to go on. I am here to take my pledge to be a part of this and I will do whatever I can. Not only just come and give speeches but be personally present in places where I can pass on, embrace and educate people through visual medium,” said Roshan.

Actor-cum-director Farhan Akhtar, who also attended the event, said that he was glad to see such a huge turnout of people for such a noble cause.

“Whether it’s voting or HIV or any other serious issue it’s (awareness) always a good thing and I am glad that people come forward and do it,” said Akhtar.

Sujatha Rao, Director General of NACO, A V Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, author Shobha De also attended the event among others.

Choreographer Sandeep Soparrkar accompanied by model Jesse Randhawa put up a dance presentation. (ANI)

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BJP sweeping polls in Himachal Pradesh

May 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Shimla, May 16 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in all the four parliamentary constituencies of Himachal Pradesh.

The four seats – Shimla (reserved for Scheduled Castes), Mandi, Hamirpur and Kangra – saw 59.17 percent polling May 13.

The main contest is between the Congress and the BJP. There are 31 candidates, including nine independents, in the fray.

The high-profile Mandi seat is being contested by five-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh (Congress) and Maheshwar Singh (BJP). This constituency saw the maximum voter turnout of 64 percent.

The Congress fielded sitting MPs Dhani Ram Shandil and Chander Kumar in Shimla and Kangra respectively against the BJP’s Virender Kashyap and Rajan Sushant.

In Hamirpur, the Congress has fielded BJP rebel Narinder Thakur against the BJP’s sitting MP Anurag Thakur, the son of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

The Congress had won three seats in the 2004 general elections, while the BJP had one seat. (ANI)

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Meghalaya celebrates Elvis Presley 75th anniversary

May 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Shillong (Meghalaya), May 15 (ANI): To mark the 75th birth anniversary of Elvis Presley, the legendary figure in the history of rock and rolls, recently a concert was organized by his fans in Meghalaya.

The Elvis Presley fan club in Shillong has over 10 members.

Although Presley’s birthday falls on January 8th, the fans performed the evergreen Elvis hit number on stage to revive the old glory of the rock star among the Elvis fans and people in the city.

Another objective of the concert was to aid a voluntary project, ‘CHILDLINE’, as a part of extending support to the organization for the welfare of children in distress.

Donboklang Dohling, member of the fan club feels glad with the present turnout and expects a huge response to such Presley concerts in future.

” I am glad with the turnout we are getting. So we hope that the interest will grow again like it was earlier. I do hope for a bigger response. Of course this is our first show, which our club is doing. We will try to make our show grander in future,” said Donboklang Dohling, fan and mimicry artist of Elvis Presley.

The concert also attracted several international Elvis fans that were cheering among the crowd.

” When I heard of the concert of Elvis Presley here, I directly flew here to look at the concert because I am like a fan of Elvis Presley,” said Mutita Soontornvipat, an audience from Thailand.

Elvis Presley may have died 32 years ago but there are music lovers in Shillong who can sing like him with a voice and music that is more or less like the ‘King of Rock and Roll’. Shillong is also home to the Elvis Presley imitators. By Hempi D. Henpilen (ANI)

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Security beefed up ahead of vote counting day

May 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi/Chennai, May 15 (ANI): The Election Commission has made elaborate security arrangements ahead of vote counting day on Saturday.

Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla said 1,080 counting centres have been set up throughout the country.

He said 60,000 employees have been pressed into service for the purpose.

The counting of votes for 543 Lok Sabha seats will start from 8.00 a.m.

The Commission has also made arrangements for the media to acquire details of every round of counting to them through its websites www.eciresults.nic.in.

Two boards will also be set up at the Commission office for displaying results.

Security has also been beefed up in Chennai. The policemen are keeping a strict vigil on vote counting centres.

The three counting centres in the city wore the look of a fortress on Friday with a large number of security personnel guarding them.

“Elaborate security arrangements have been made even though we don’t have much issues or any threat on these counting centres. We have done lighting arrangements. We have been continuously watching the area in continuous vigil. The counting will start at 8:00 a.m. We will continue till the whole counting process is over,” said Rajesh Lakhoni, Commissioner, Chennai Corporation.

Tamil Nadu recorded a voter turnout of 68 per cent in the final round of elections, which according to officials is quite high, considering the low voter turnout recorded from other states. (ANI)

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Chidambaram expresses confidence about UPA forming govt

May 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Sivaganga (Tamil Nadu)/ Kolkata/Dehradun, May 13 (ANI): Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday expressed confidence that the UPA will form the next government in the country.

After casting his vote in the Sivaganga constituency of Tamil Nadu, Chidambaram said, “In this constituency, we will record a very gratifying victory and all over the country. We will record a victory that will enable the UPA to form the next government,” he said.

Chennai saw a large turnout with voters braving all odds to queue up and cast their votes.

In Kolkata, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee expressed hope that the Left would play a proper role in the post poll scenario.

“Nobody is ignoring the left. Left has to be in the forefront. I hope it plays a proper role,” said Chatterjee.

Voters also thronged polling stations in Haldwani in Uttarakhand to cast their votes.

Contesting as a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Dehradun, ace Indian shooter Jaspal Rana expressed confidence about his win.

“We have worked really hard. All the BJP workers have worked hard. I’m sure all the hard work will pay off,” said Rana.

The outcome of the polls will be known on Saturday. (ANI)

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Separatists continue poll boycott efforts in Kashmir

May 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Srinagar, May 9 (ANI): Separatist leader and Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference or APHC, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq have again urged voters to boycott the fifthnd last phase of general elections.

Addressing a large gathering at the Jama Masjid on Friday, he urged the people of north Kashmir, who will be casting their votes on May 13, in the last and final phase, to stay away from the polling process.

“We expect that during last phase of polls, our brothers in north Kashmir regions of Sopore and Baramula will boycott the polls,” Farooq said.

Earlier three phases of polling in Kashmir witnessed a low turnout compared to high polling during last year’s assembly elections.

The boycott call is seen as a bid by the separatists to deny New Delhi any credit for holding an election in Kashmir.

Hurriyat’s decision came after United Jihad Council (UJC), a Pakistan-based amalgam of 13-militant groups fighting Indian troops in Kashmir, asked it to support their boycott call. (ANI)

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Repolling underway in West Bengal

May 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kolkata, May 3 (ANI): Repolling is underway in six booths spread across three Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal on Sunday.

Of the six booths, two are located under the Jhargram Parliamentary constituency, two under the Bishnupur Parliamentary constituency and another two under the Darjeeling Parliamentary constituency.

According to the State Chief Electoral Officer Debasish Sen, the Election Commission on Saturday had ordered repolling in the state on different grounds such as failure of polling personnel to reach booths in Maoist-hit Salboni in Jhargram and a technical snag at Siliguri in Darjeeling.

In Bishnupur, repoll would be held at two booths in Tarkona Free Primary School, two in Kuliana Primary School in Jhargram and one booth each in Bharati Hindi High School and Shishu Bidyapith in Darjeeling.

Sen said that arrangements were being made to ensure foolproof security for the next two phases on May 7 and 13 when elections to 28 seats of the 42 in the state would be held.

The opposition parties had also demanded a repoll in the Keshpur Assembly segment where widespread rigging was alleged.

However, the Election Commission did not agree to the demand.

In the third phase, the state had reported more than 50 per cent voter turnout. (ANI)

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Residents ignore militants’ threat against polls in Assam and Manipur

May 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Guwahati/ Imphal, May 2 (ANI): Defying militants’ threat against participation in the ongoing parliamentary elections, residents in Assam and Manipur demonstrated their faith in the democratic set-up of governance.

In Assam, the voter turnout was 62 %. This was a considerable increase of 16.2 per cent over the last general elections in 2004.

The huge voter turnout in the 15th Lok Sabha Elections indicated people’s faith in democratic institutions and rejection of militancy.

People came out in large numbers to exercise their franchise, despite militant threats. Voters made a beeline outside to exercise their franchise.

Be it men or women, young or the elderly, all voted with a hope for a better future.

“This says clearly that people have complete faith in the Indian Democratic system and they like to identify themselves as Indians. We don’t want a sovereign Assam, we have faith in the Indian democracy and we are making good progress,” said Priyanka Devi, local resident of Assam.

“I believe that the mass participation of the people in the election has sent a message to the insurgent groups that their ideology has failed. They had earlier appealed for a boycott of voting but the people have sent a message that the ideologies of the militants are not good for them. The people have shown faith in the democratic system,” said Dhruva Das, local resident.

The efforts made by the government and the security agencies were reflected in the increase in the voting figures.

The increased participation of the people in the electoral process is a clear indication of the fact that that they want normalcy, peace and development in the state.

“It is a clear indication that the people of Assam have complete faith in the democratic process. The insurgent groups who are demanding for sovereignty they should learn a lesson from this election process,” said Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam

In Manipur too people displayed their faith in democracy and against militancy.

Rejecting the poll boycott call by militant groups, people turned up at polling booths.

A 17-hour bandh called by the Joint Action Committee against killing of one sub-divisional officer and two others coincided with the polling. However, it failed to affect the voter turnout.

“Even if the militants boycotted the elections, as the government is ruling the state the boycott was not a success. And since the MPs are elected once in five years, we did not want to waste our vote,” said S. Indra Singh, local resident of Manipur.

“According to me, the citizens want peace and harmony in the state so they’ve cast their vote,” said Kh. Achou Singh, another local resident in Manipur.

Large participation of the voters in two major States of the northeast region of the country has demonstrated that people want peace. .

They wish to live under a democratic set up under a people’s government which can protect the residents from militancy and pay attention to development and resolve issues (ANI)

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Icelanders head for polls, swing to left seen

May 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Reykjavik – Voting began Saturday in the general election in Iceland, one of the country’s most ravaged by the global economic meltdown amid survey indications of a strong shift to the left in the country’s electorate. The current interim government of social democratic Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir is favourite to retain power, in coalition with their Green party partners.

The Morgunbladid newspaper published a Gallup poll showing that more than 57 per cent of those surveyed aimed to support the social democrats and Greens. Two years ago, the two parties won only 41 per cent of the vote.

The previous grand coalition government under Geir Haarde, 58, resigned in January, after Iceland’s economy imploded under the pressure of the collapse of three of its over-stretched banks, and mass street protests.

Haarde did not run for re-election, amid survey findings that his Conservative party would lose more than one-quarter of its support amid the country’s financial meltdown. The conservatives had previously won 30 per cent.

Political observers were expecting a lower turnout among the 277,000 eligible voters on Saturday, and that possibly an unusually higher number of ballots would be returned blank in a form of protest against the established parties.

Sigurdardottir, 66, became the world’s first openly lesbian head of government when she took over as caretaker prime minister.

The financial collapse has forced the tiny north Atlantic country of 300,000 inhabitants to consider applying to join the EU.

The collapse of the country’s banking sector led to a plunge in the currency and an emergency bail-out from the International Monetary Fund.(dpa)

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Lalu Prasad alleges rigging in third phase of elections

May 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Patna, May 1 (ANI): Railways Minister Lalu Prasad has alleged that voting was rigged in Bihar in the third phase on Thursday.

Eleven out of Bihar’s 40 constituencies went to polls in the third phase of parliamentary elections.

“We have information of voting turnout between 25-55 per cent. In Badhaiya block of Munger district, there have been reports of rigging in. We have tried to contact the observers there and also the Senior Superintendent of Police,” said Lalu.

Munger, Banka and Kishanganj districts are considered to be pivotal constituencies for Lalu’s rival and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party, Janata Dal United.

Meanwhile, Shekhar Suman, actor-turned-politician and a candidate of the Congress Party campaigned in Patna Sahib of Bihar from where he is contesting.

Suman’s son, Bollywood actor Adhyayan Suman along with wife Alka Suman, also campaigned for the actor.

“I have told them that I haven’t come here to play politics as I could have done it being in a different party which could have easily given me a winning seat,” said Suman.

Patna votes in the fourth phase on May 7.

There is a three-cornered contest involving Suman, another former Bollywood actor Shatrughan Sinha on Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) ticket and RJD’s Vijay Sahu.

The remaining fourth and last round of polls in Bihar will be held for three seats on May 7. The first and second phases in 13 seats each were held on April 16 and April 23.

The outcome of the five-stage elections will be known on May 16. (ANI)

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