The Bombay High Court asked singer Lata Mangeshkar to file rejoinder to a Maharashtra government affidavit alleging that she had violated conditions imposed by authorities to regularise her scheme for reserving houses for people below poverty line on her land in Kolhapur. Mangeshkar denied allegations that she had violated conditions as stated by government, following which the court asked her to file a rejoinder within a fortnight.
The matter has been posted for hearing after two weeks before a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka. The court was hearing a petition filed by Mangeshkar challenging a notice issued to her on January 4 this year by a state body, saying that she had to obtain permission before selling immovable property on her land at Kolhapur. The government said in an affidavit that the time limit to implement the housing scheme proposed by the singer was to end on July 2011.
At her request, the state extended the time frame to October 2014. However, while extending the time limit, the state said that it had also penalised Mangeshkar by asking her to pay Rs 5 per square foot per year, from 2011 to 2014, on the underdeveloped land, but she chose not to pay, thus violating the condition. Her lawyer argued today that she had refused to comply with conditions since they were “unreasonable”.
He denied that the singer had “violated” them as alleged by the state. Thereupon, the court asked the lawyer to file a rejoinder within two weeks. The singer has sought quashing and setting aside the January 4 notice issued by the Competent Authority under the Urban Land Ceiling Act.
Mangeshkar owns land admeasuring 38,623 square metres in Kolhapur and wanted to give it to Vikesh Oswal to develop residential and commercial tenements. However, Competent Authority under the Urban Land Ceiling (ULC) Act had declared that 23,889 square metres land is “surplus”.
Mangeshkar then proposed a scheme under section 20 of the ULC Act which was approved by the authorities on July 2, 2007. The scheme envisaged giving some houses to the government at subsided rates, but she did not execute the scheme, since the ULC Act was repealed in November 2007, her petition said.
Thane Municipal Corporation in its Rs 2166 crore Budget (2014-15) today has proposed a 2 per cent surcharge on property tax to finance ‘Shelter Fund’ which is aimed at constructing tenements for residents of dilapidated buildings.
Municipal Commissioner Aseem Gupta presented the budget to the Standing Committee.
In his speech, Gupta touched upon various issues that went into making of the budget.
“We have not proposed any hike in the water charges but the charges will depend on spending on account of raw water, power bill and administrative expenses as of April 01, 2014,” the civic chief said.
This indirectly means that as components charges increase the water charges may also shoot up.
He said flat owners will have to pay additional 1% charge towards administrative expenses based on the annual tax.
Expenses proposed in the budget under various heads are: Public Health and Waste Management (Rs 459 crore), Roads, Bridges, subways (Rs 274 crore) Water supply (Rs 249 crore), Basic Facilities for economically backward (Rs 240 crores), Education (Rs 163 crore), Transport (Rs 149 crore), Sewerage (Rs 124 crore), Social Security (Rs 92 crore), and Development work in municipal wards (Rs 92 crore).
The budget envisages revenue of Rs 355 crore from developmental charges; Rs. 650 crore from LBT, Rs 302 crore from Property Tax; Rs 105 crore from Water Tax; Rs 44 crore from Fire charges and Rs 16 crore from PWD.
Apart from other projects, the civic chief also announced an integrated Crematorium development scheme, allocating Rs 9 crore per year.
He said those projects which aid in maintaining environment of the city will get sufficient concession in charges and taxes.
“Citizens opting for online payment of taxes and through ECS will also be given rebate of certain percentage in the taxes,” Gupta said.
“Each corporator would be provided with a tablet to make him techno-savvy and all correspondence and details including the notices of the meetings would be made available on these gadgets,” the municipal commissioner said.
In a noble gesture, the TMC has has decided to impart basic education to its Class-IV employees.
“They will be trained by certain agencies to identify letters for three months and when they take their salary for the fourth month they should be able to at least sign the papers,” Gupta said.
If they fail to sign, the corporation will deduct a sum of Rs. 100 from their salaries to be refunded only after they can sign the documents, he added.
Tehelka founder editor Tarun Tejpal, who has been accused by his junior colleague of sexual assault, today alleged he has been framed because of “political vendetta.”
50-year-old Tejpal, who pleaded innocence, made the claim as he failed to get any relief from the Bombay High Court, which deferred hearing of his bail plea till next month, a day after he was charged with rape and sexual assault of the young woman journalist here in November last year.
“The charge sheet against me is out of political vendetta. I have done nothing wrong. I am innocent. I am not involved,” he told waiting reporters while emerging from the court.
“The entire truth is in the CCTV footage and it will be known to the world,” he said.
Dressed in a white kurta and grey trousers, Tejpal was brought in a police van to the court where he sat in the front row beside his lawyer Sandip Kapoor.
Tejpal has been charged with rape, sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of a woman journalist in the lift of a five-star hotel in Goa when they had gone to see off Hollywood star Robert de Niro to his room. De Niro was there to attend ThinkFest, an event organised by Tehelka.
Goa police yesterday filed a 2,846-page charge sheet against Tejpal, in jail since December 1, under sections 354, 354-A (sexual harassment), 341 and 342 (wrongful restraint), 376 (rape), 376(2)(f) and 376 (2)(k) (taking advantage of official position and raping a woman in custody).
Doctors at the Kalwa civic hospital gave a new lease of life to a seven-year-old girl, who had a tiny mouth opening since birth, rendering her incapable of consuming normal food.
Roshni Yadav was operated upon by a team of doctors led by Dr. Vivek P Soni (Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon) at the Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital during the weekend free-of-cost, hospital authorities said.
Her father Ghanshyam Yadav, a poor labourer, had lost hope for his minor daughter, who could not open her mouth until now due to left temporomandibular jaw ankylosis, a condition in which the lower jaw gets fused to the upper jaw and the patient is unable to eat a normal diet due to limited opening.
The Yadavs, who are happy to see their daughter limping back to a normal life after opening her mouth for the first time, could not thank enough the doctors for performing this complex operation.
According to a hospital spokesperson, the surgery will prove to be a boon for Roshni’s further growth and development as she would be able to consume normal diet.
Dr. Vivek was assisted in this rare surgery by Dr. Prabhavati M Jadhav, Dr. Pallavi A Khale, Dr. Ramya Premchandran, Mr. Pravin Poojary and anaesthetist Dr. Dilip Chauhan.
The Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of three men convicted of killing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to life in prison, rejecting the government’s view that an 11-year delay in deciding their mercy petition was not agony for them. The convicts, Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan, can also walk out of jail if the Tamil Nadu government grants them remission, the court ruled. The decision is a politically motivated one and ahead of the General election, due by May. The court did not accept the government’s view that the convicts did not deserve mercy. Tuesday’s verdict follows the Supreme Court’s January 21 order commuting the death sentences of 15 convicts, announcing that “inordinate and inexplicable” delays in carrying out executions were grounds for reducing their original punishment.
Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan were convicted in 1998 for Rajeev Gandhi’s assassination by a woman who greeted him with a garland and a bomb strapped to her chest during a rally in 1991. Their mercy petition was sent to the President, the last stage in the process of appeals, in 2000 and was rejected 11 years later. Their hanging was stayed in 2011 on the orders of the Madras High Court. That year, the Tamil Nadu assembly had passed a resolution urging the President to grant mercy to the convicts and consider “Tamil sentiment.” The ruling that the state government will decide whether to free them has inevitably taken a political turn.
The three convicts are locked up in individual cells between 6 pm and 6 am ever since they were lodged in Vellore Central Prison in 1998. Keeping prisoners in introverted imprisonment was a severe punishment as they would not be able to ventilate their feelings by way of interacting with others. Considering the steep rise in the number of psychological problems among prisoners, the Tamil Nadu government had appointed qualified psychologists in all prisons. The State Health Department had directed all psychiatrists attached to the DMHP to visit prisons once in a fortnight and provide treatment to the needy. He said prisoners suffering separation from family, friends and the society and those subjected to solitary confinement were likely to develop mental illness.
The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi occurred as a result of a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, on 21 May 1991. At least, 14 others were also killed. It was carried out by Thenmozhi Rajaratnam, also known as Dhanu. The attack was blamed on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist organisation from Sri Lanka; at the time India had just ended its involvement, through the Indian Peace Keeping Force, in the Sri Lankan Civil War. Subsequent accusations of conspiracy have been addressed by two commissions of inquiry and have brought down at least one national government. Rajiv Gandhi was campaigning for the upcoming elections. On 21 May, after successfully campaigning in Visakhapatnam, his next stop was Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. About two hours after arriving in Madras (now Chennai), Rajiv Gandhi was driven by motorcade in a white Ambassador car to Sriperumbudur, stopping along the way at a few other election campaigning venues. When he reached a campaign rally in Sriperumbudur, he got out of his car and began to walk towards the dais where he would deliver a speech. Along the way, he was garlanded by many well-wishers, Congress party workers and school children.
At 22:21, the assassin, Dhanu, approached and greeted him. She then bent down to touch his feet and detonated an RDX explosive-laden belt tucked below her dress.
Gandhi, his assassin and 14 others were killed in the explosion. The assassination was caught on film by a local photographer, whose camera and film was found at the site though the photographer himself died in the blast. Don’t forget that Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination came at a time when the Indian state was facing its worst-ever period, even an existential crisis. Many enemies of the state and their foreign collaborators were hyperactive in 1991 in trying to dismember India; but we know nothing about this, thanks to our media’s relative blindness on such issues.
Perarivalan did one mistake. The conspirators gave him (he was just 19!) money and told him to buy them batteries, which he did. He did not know who they were or what their intentions were. For this, he lost the best years of his life and his health. He was brutally tortured during the investigation in those years. Those police officers are still being held in high regard. Meanwhile, Rajeev Gandhi’s assassination is a bit mysterious, no one has been punished. With our government commuting the death sentence previously awarded to the terrorists who plotted the death of Rajiv Gandhi, we are setting up a dangerous precedence which would encourage other anti-national elements and terrorists to commit more heinous crimes against the citizens of this country. Is this move meant to condone the activities of the LTTE or is it aimed at trying to garner a few votes from Tamil Nadu for the UPA, one is tempted to ask. However, no Indian with self -respect can forget the way our sentiments were betrayed by the Lankan Tamils when the assassinators killed Rajiv Gandhi and two thousand army personnel in the 1980’s. What about the families of the victims, who waited for decade to see the culprits hanging? It was not their fault that justice has been delayed. Who will provide justice to them?
Moreover, if the Supreme Court has commuted the death sentence on the ground of delay in deciding on the mercy petition then what is the accountability of the president who was putting the decision in cold storage? Moreover, along with Rajiv, some 15 innocent people had lost their lives. Who will give them justice? Agreed, these three convicts have suffered a lot in jail and that too in solitary confinement but they had committed a brutal crime. However, the atrocities done by Sri Lankans in the war and post war were genocide with the help of Indian Army. Who was responsible for that?
Belgium has become the first nation to permit euthanasia for terminally ill children of any age. The landmark legislation was passed by the lower house of parliament. Anyway children who are in their imaginary world of fairy tale will never understand the concept of suicide. Of course, euthanasia is quite a dramatic issue to debate as the decisions are made by heart and emotions and instead of using brains. Some parents are pleased with the legislation while some others are not happy with it as it doesn’t resolve the issue. Which parent would like their children to die?
In a statement preceding the upper house vote in December, the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic movement of lay people, said it expressed concern that sick people, especially the young, may choose to die as they don’t want to become a burden for others. But how would a child even realise whether he or she would become a burden for others. Instead their expectations from their parents would be high.
Since childhood, children are taught to fear about death and most of them don’t even know about it. In such circumstances who would take the decision pertaining to mercy killing? No doubt a child suffering hazardous pain and illness like chemo, aids, cancers etc won’t be aware how his or her phenotype is under attack.
On the other hand, what if parents are fully ready to support and go that extra mile to let their child live an abnormal life. Even though children stay with parents but they become a burden on them.
Once again how can anyone allow their child to undergo unbearable pain when there is no relief and death is certain anyway?
Of course, young children may not understand about this issue but do you? Do you become smarter just because you are old? If a child has been suffering with no end in sight, why shouldn’t he be allowed to take a decision about his life? I hear about parents ask children to undergo endless treatments so that the former don’t feel guilty. Maybe the child is tired of the bearing the pain.
Also why should parents lose their lifetime savings and see their child undergoing relentless pain dying a slow death that seeps through their body steadily taking them away?
It is often said that if you smile, the world smiles right back. This holiday season, perhaps the most important thing you can wear is your smile. Here points out the dos and don’ts of keeping your smile at its sparkling best and dazzle everyone at the party.
Brush and floss daily: Everyone knows that we need to brush our teeth twice and floss daily, but you’d be surprised at the number of people who don’t follow this advice regularly. While brushing, don’t forget to scrape your tongue to remove any food residue stuck in its folds or taste buds.
For people with braces, crown bridges, diastema (space between their teeth) or periodontally compromised teeth (excessive gap between gums & teeth) should utilise special interdental toothbrushes, which are specially designed for these conditions.
Snack right: While healthy foods help you avoid unwanted weight, they are also beneficial in maintaining oral hygiene. Munching on a stick of celery, carrot, or an apple cleans sticky food off your teeth. Chewing on parsley and mint leaves acts as a deodorizer. It increases the flow of saliva in your mouth, washing away bacteria that cause bad breath.
Don’t drink: Drinks are an inseparable part of any party, especially in the North. You should, however, avoid aerated drinks (diet included), black tea or coffee, and red wine, as these cause teeth stains. Drink water instead – it doesn’t stain; it rinses away any food stuck in your mouth and also keeps you well hydrated.
Fluoride Mouthwash: Mouthwash with high alcohol content can actually worsen bad breath. Instead, choose to rinse your mouth with a few drops of peppermint oil mixed in water. Chewing on sugarless candy/gum causes salivation, which washes bad bacteria away.
By Dr. Rashika Vijan
(Writer has been practising dentistry since the past decade. She is also known as the dentist of choice for celebrities like Vivek Oberoi, Ashish Choudhary and Upen Patel to name a few. She also practises Paediatric Dentistry at her dental clinic, Dr. Rashika Vijan’s Dental Studio in Bandra. )
In an unprecedented move, live telecast of Parliament proceedings was stopped as the Lok Sabha passed the controversial bill that seeks to create a Telangana state by dividing Andhra Pradesh.
The bill was passed unanimously, with the support of the main opposition BJP, but the party says it was not aware of the TV blackout.
Speaker Meira Kumar told that the telecast was stopped due to a problem. “There was a problem, so we couldn’t show the live telecast,” she said. Her staff said it was a technical problem. The remarks did nothing to end speculation about the controversial blackout.
The BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, who is the Leader of Opposition in the house, said she was not aware that the telecast had been stopped. The party, however, did not walk out of the house and stayed to pass the bill.
“It is daylight murder…the murder of democracy. The Speaker is acting as an agent of the Congress. More than 50% of the house is at the Well. They should have suspended the entire house and passed the bill,” said a TDP MP who was stopped from entering the house. All entrances to the visitors’ gallery were also shut.
The government distanced itself from the blackout. “Such things keep happening. I have been around for 40 years,” said Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who presented the bill for discussion amid protests in the morning.
The Left and the Trinamool reportedly protested inside Lok Sabha over the manner in which the bill is being taken up for passing. “Today democracy has been killed in spirit,” said Trinamool member Dinesh Trivedi.
Lagadapati Rajagopal, the expelled Congress MP who used pepper spray on fellow parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha last week, said he had decided to resign and quit politics.
Anti-Telangana politicians in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh vowed to move petitions in the Supreme Court against the new state.They have also called a shutdown.
Celebrations erupted among pro-Telangana politicians in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh who cheered and distributed sweets, but those against the new state slammed the “undemocratic manner” of the bill’s passing.
Unusual security arrangements had been made for the Telengana bill discussion in Parliament after Mr. Rajagopal’s pepper spray act. Lawmakers had to walk to the Parliament building this morning with the main entrance blocked for vehicles. Their bags were checked and they were barred from filming videos or taking photos in the house. Riot police were deployed.
Politicians from the Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh, including Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, oppose the bifurcation; Seemandhra is worried about a smaller share of water, power and revenue from Telangana once the new state is created. The Chief Minister will resign tomorrow, say sources.
Slamming the way the contentious Telangana Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, YRS Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy said on Tuesday that it was a ‘black day’ in the history of the country.
Talking to the media in the national capital, Reddy said that the bill was passed undemocratically. “We were not let in the House. The bill was passed undemocratically.”
“The way the proceedings took place, it showed as to how democracy could be killed. This is a black day in the history of the country,” he added.
He also said that the YSR Congress was planning a bandh in Andhra Pradesh.
Jagan Reddy’s YSR Congress is against the creation of a separate state of Telangana and has been protesting for a united Andhra Pradesh.
Tearing into the Congress, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the party has been left without any belief and ideals ever since ‘fake Gandhis’ took over the reins from Mahatma Gandhi.
Apparently referring to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Modi said, “A Congress leader says Congress is a thought. When Gandhi ji was alive that time it was so, but after fake Gandhis came, the party was left in thought.”
Addressing a massive rally – 2.5 lakh people as per party estimates – Modi said that the Congress leaders are adept in “coming out of a pond without getting drenched”.
“A Congress leader came to Karnataka recently and he said that there is no high command in the Congress. The whole party is in the hands of the one family. The whole country knows from years that there is not a trace of democracy in the Congress. They don’t have any trust in democracy. For them democracy has only one meaning and that is to capture power at all costs,” he said.
“I wonder why Madam Sonia and Rahul ji come to the south. They don’t have the time to go to Andhra Pradesh. People of Seemandhra and Telangana need to be healed, but the Congress, which has given them wounds, doesn’t have two kind words for them,” he said.
“It was the people of Andhra Pradesh who gave them power at the Centre but they can’t speak even two words for them. Politics can’t be this hard-hearted,” he added.
Referring to the continued ruckus in Parliament over the Telangana Bill, he said, “What is happening in Parliament? Who is creating the chaos? Even Ministers are creating chaos in Parliament.”
Rubbing it in, Modi said, “They don’t care for the common man, should we care for such a Congress? Should they be punished?”
“Now Congress can’t be dealt with small punishments. That’s why if we have to save the country, if we have to care for the future of the country, then there is only one mantra and that is to free the country of the Congress…it is such a disease that grows very rapidly and destroys the country,” he said.
“They think only they have ideas and we are empty headed. They should look within before they make such allegations,” Modi said.
“A Congress leaders says India is a honeybee, our belief is that India is our mother. Your idea is that poverty is a state of mind; we believe that service of poor is akin to serving God. The PM says money doesn’t grow on trees, our belief is that money grows in the fields and farms and grows in strength with the sweat of farmers,” he said.
Thane Municipal Corporation in its Rs 2166 crore Budget (2014-15) today has proposed a 2 per cent surcharge on property tax to finance ‘Shelter Fund’ which is aimed at constructing tenements for residents of dilapidated buildings.
It is often said that if you smile, the world smiles right back. This holiday season, perhaps the most important thing you can wear is your smile. Here points out the dos and don’ts of keeping your smile at its sparkling best and dazzle everyone at the party.
In an unprecedented move, live telecast of Parliament proceedings was stopped as the Lok Sabha passed the controversial bill that seeks to create a Telangana state by dividing Andhra Pradesh. 