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Pranab Mukherjee Sworn in as 13th President of India

Pranab Mukherjee has been sworn-in as 13th President of India on Wednesday at 11.30 AM in the Central Hall of the Parliament, as scheduled earlier. The swearing -in ceremony commenced immediately after Pranab reached the Parliament accompanied by the outgoing President Smt. Pratibha Patil. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attended the ceremony along with a number of other dignitaries. The Chief Justice of India Justice SH Kapadia administered the oath of office and Pranab become the 13th President of india. The Armed Forces presented a '21-gun Salute' in honour of the new President. Later, speaking on the occasion, Pranab thanked one and all for electing him to highest post in the land. He said that it is everyones responsibility to protect the Constitution. And that he would strive to keep up the dignity of the august office as President of India. He gave call to the nation to come forward to drive away poverty from the country.      

Gali Bail Scam: Notices to Somasekhara Reddy, Suresh Babu

The Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) on tuesday issued notices to Gali Somasekhara Reddy and Suresh Babu in connection with Gali Janardhan Reddy bail scam. The investigating agency gave them three days time to appear before it for questioning. The ACB sleuths went all the way to Bellary and served the notices on Somasekhara Reddy and Suresh Babu. It is already known that the CBI has unearthed the sensational former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy's bail scam. Later the case was handed over to ACB for further investigation. The ACB has so far arrested eight accused in the case. The arrested are - CBI Judge Pattabhirama Rao, who granted bail to Janardhan Reddy, his son Ravichandra, retired judge Chalapathi Rao, two other judges Laxminarasimha Rao, Prabhakar Rao, junior lawyer Aditya, Gali Janardhan Reddy's relative Dasaratharami Reddy and a rowdey sheeter Yadagiri Rao, who mediated between the judges and Janardhan Reddy. All of them are now in judicial custody.  

Minister Pardhasaradhi Non Bailable Warrant Wthdrawn

The Economic Offences Special Court at Nampally on Tuesday has withdrawn the non bailable warrant issued against Secondary and Intermediate Education Minister Pardhasaradhi. The minister reportedly filed a re-call petition, which the court took into consideration and cancelled the warrant. The court has since ordered for the issuance of fresh summons to the minister. It is to be recalled that the economic offences court has issued a non-bailable warrant against minister pardhasaradhi on the complaint by the Enforcement Directorate. The ED had framed charges against him for violeting FERA Regulations in the year 2002, while Pardhasaradhi was the managing director of KPR Tele Products. The ED also imposed a fine of Rs. 3,00,000/-, which the minister neither paid so far nor attended the court since then. On ED's request, the court on Monday issued a warrant against the minister.

Polavaram Tenders Kick Off a Fresh Controversy

Kicking off a fresh contoversy, the tenders for much awaited Polavaram project have come under scathing attack by some leaders of opposition parties and also by a couple of state ministers. State ministers Danam Nagender and Mukesh Goud yesterday pointed out that the fresh tenders received for the project will cause a loss of 800 crores to the exchequer and demanded for cancellation of the same. However, responding to the ministers' demand, major irrigation minister P Sudarshan Reddy said that the tenders have not been finalized yet and it is not correct to say that they have been accepted by the government. The tenders will have to pass through a high level committee and then to the chief minister for approval. If it is found that the government will incur a loss, then these tenders will not be accepted. Meanwhile, YSRCP senior leader MV Mysoora Reddy on Tuesday said that the fresh tenders should be cancelled immediately as they show an increase of 10 percent in the estimated cost. Higher rates compared to earlier ones have been quoted. Above all, the Soma Company (Freshly qualified bidder) has been banned by the Nepal and Somalia governments in the past. "Involvement of officers in the CM Peshi is clearly visible in the processing of these tenders. Transparency should be maintained at all levels while processing the tenders," he said.  

Vijayamma Sircilla Deeksha: OUJAC Telangana Bandh Today

In protest against the police lathicharge on Telangana students yesterday during YSRCP honorary president YS Vijaylaksmi's 'Sircilla Deeksha', the Osmania University Students JAC has called for a Telangana bandh today. It is already known that the government has provided high security to Vijayamma and in the process several TRS and T-student leaders have been arrested by the police. TRS activists tried their best to obstruct Vijayamma from staging dharna at Sircilla to highlight plights of the handloom weavers. In spite of their protests, she has successfully completed her one-day deeksha. Though the YSRCP made it clear that the deeksha is meant only to protest gainst the government's apathy towards handloom weavers' problems and has got nothing to do with the contentious Telangana issue, the T-protagonists tried to block entry of Vijayamma into Telangana region. However, the OUTJAC called bandh is going on in the region and no ontoward incidents have been reported so far.  

Pranab Swearing in as 13th President of India Tomorrow

Former Union Finance Minister and President elect Pranab Mukherjee will be swearing in as the 13th President of India tomorrow, on 25 July 2012. The Supreme Court Chief Justice, Justice S H Kapadiya will administer the oath of office on Pranab Mukherjee at 11.30 AM in the Central Hall of the Parliament. According to Home Ministry communication, the prestigious swearing-in ceremony of the President will be attended by Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and many other VVIPs. The ceremony will be declared started with arrival of the outgoing President Smt. Pratibha Patil accompanied by the President-elect Pranab Mukherjee. The home department release also states that the Armed Forces will Salute the new President by firing into air 21-times as soon as he President takes oath of office. Later, as mark of respect, the new President will accompany the outgoing President Pratibha Patil to her Tughlak Road residence. According to Rashtrapathi Bhavan release, Smt. Pratibha Patil will relinquish her offices as the President of India today. She will be addressing the nation at 7PM today on Doordarshan and Radio, All the DD channels and All India Radio stations will broadcast the program, both in English and Hindi languages.

Gali Bail Scam Takes a Curious Turn

One of the accused in Gali Janardhan Reddy bail scam, supended judge Laxminarasimha Rao made some sensational statements on Monday. He is currently facing interrogation by the ACB pertaining to the case. Laxminarasimha Rao wrote letters to the High Court, SHRC and ACB DIG complaining against ACB Joint Director Sampath Kumar. He alleged that Sampath Kumar had abused him during questioning and the investigating agency had deliberately didn't involve the state Law Minister Erasu Prathap Reddy, who is a relative of OMC Mining Company owner and the prime accused in the case, Gali Janardhan Reddy.

NBW Issued Against Minister Pardhasaradhi

The Economic Offences Court at Nampally issued a non-bailable warrant against Secondary & Intermediate Education Minister Pardhasaradhi on Monday for violating FERA regulations in the year 2002. The minister Pardhasaradhi had committed some irregularities as managing director of KPR Tele Products in 2002 that violated FERA regulations and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a case. After probing the case, the ED has mposed some fine on the minister. The ED complained that the minister has neither paid the fine nor co-operating with the investigation and sought for the warrant. The court accordingly issued non-bailable warrant against him.

TRS Dharna in Secretariat

Protesting against police siege around Telangana Bhavan, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi staged dharna in fornt of chief minister's block in the Secretariat. TRS leaders alleged that the police exhibited undue enthusiasm in laying siege to the T Bhavan in the wake of YSRCP hon. president YS Vijayamma's one day deeksha at Sircilla. They also alleged that the government is encouraging police to behave inhumanly with the TRS cadre. TRS MLAs Jupalli Krishna Rao, Chennamaneni Ramesh and Koppula Eashwar participated in the dharna. They submitted a memorandum to the chief minister about the police excesses on TRS cadre. However, the police arrested the TRS MLAs and the activists as well stating that they have not sought prior permission to state dharna and shifted them to Saifabad Police Station.

High Court Stays Venkatram Reddy Sweaing in

The swearing in of Venkatram Reddy as Congress MLC has again postponed further with High Court's stay order. TDP's incumbent MLC Narasa Reddy, who was in London, reached the Council Chairman's chamber equipped with the stay order copy. Chairman of Legislative Council Chakrapani held talks with both TDP's Narasa Reddy and Congress' Venkatram Reddy in his chambers and postponed the swearing in till further orders of the court.

Captain Lakshmi Sehgal Passes Away

Captain Lakshmi Sehgal, who was part of Subhash Chandra Bose's 'Azad Hind Fouz' (Indian National Army), passed away this morning in Kanpur at the age of 97 years. Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, who served as the commander of INA's Rani Jhansi Regiment and minister of women's affairs in the Azad Hind government suffered a cardiact arrest on Thursday last. She was admitted to Kanpur Medical Centre and was in a critical condition since then. Her daughter and CPM leader Subhashini Ali said her mother has been kept on life support system since Friday and breathed her last this morning. The 97-year-old revolutionary, Captain Lakshmi Sehgal was a doctor by profession. She was working as a medical practitioner and a social worker. She was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 1998. In 1942, during the surrender of Singapore by the British to the Japanese, Sahgal aided wounded prisoners of war, many of whom who were interested in forming an Indian liberation army. In 1971, Sahgal joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and represented the party in the Rajya Sabha. During the Bangladesh crisis, she organised relief camps and medical aid in Kolkata for refugees who streamed into India from Bangladesh.

ABVP Students Lay Siege to Ministers Quarters

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyardhi Parishad (ABVP) students on Monday tried to lay siege to the ministers' quarters protesting against Kiran Kumar Reddy government's failure in enforcimng Right to Education (RTE) Act. The students protest that thoiugh the Act has been passed in 2009 itself, the conecutive governments are not enforcing the act in the state. Moreover, concerned minister and the chief minister are indulging in false propaganda. The police arrested the students who broke the barricades and tried to enter the ministers' quarters premises. The students alleged that though we are staging protest against the genuine problems, the government is trying to suppress the issues by using police force instead of solving the problems. The demanded for immediate resignation of Primary Education minister for not keeping his word to enforce the Act from beginning of this academic year.

Prez Poll: Counting Updates

4 PM: Counting of votes in the Prez poll is still continuing. UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee is leading with huge majority. He is all set to be next President. All MP votes have been counted. Pranab clinched the majority MP votes, while NDA backed PA Sangma is trailing behind hopelessly. In BJP ruled Karnataka, large scale cross-voting has taken place to the disadvantage of PA Sangma. In Karnataka Pranab got 117 votes, while Sangma could only get 103. In Kerala Sangma didn't even get a single vote, while in Arunachal Pradesh he got only 3.

Delhi Steaming up With AP Politics

With the presidential poll over and Pranab Mukherjee's win being almost certain, now the Delhi bosses are getting busy with Andhra Pradesh politics. Many a crucial things will take place in the capital, say political observers. This forecast by observers is also substantiated by the fact that APCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana is having hectic discussions with the seniors at the Center. Though Botsa didn't make any statement or disclosed whom he met and what has been discussed for the past two days, it is expected that there would be formidable changes in the state leadership. According to reliable sources, the PCC chief had met the party state affairs incharge Gulam Nabi Azad, Sonia Gandhi's political advisor Ahmed Patel and senior leader Vayalar Ravi nad had lengthy discussions. And none of them have come out with a statement about what they discussed. Only Vayalar Ravi has given a statement that there won't be change of guard in the state in near future. But he too didn't say anything about pending issues like separate Telangana, central minister post for Chiranjeevi and filling up of PCC posts etc. However, sources close to Botsa Satyanarayana maintain that he has come to Delhi accompanied by his wife Jhansi Lakshmi to shop for their daughter's engagement and also to extend invitations to party colleagues and to 10 Janpath as well.  

Suspence Over Swearing in of MLC Venkatram Reddy

Suspense is still continuing on swearing in of Congress MLC Venkataram Reddi. Complying with the judgement of AP High Court, Venkatram Reddy reached the Legislative Council on Saturday to take oath of office as MLC. At present TDP's Narasa Reddy is representing Nizamabad local bodies constitution in the Council. Venkatram Reddy had filed a case in the high court contending that Narasa Reddy's election was not proper and sought recounting of votes. The court conducted recounting twice and finally declared Venkatram Reddy as victorious by 9 votes. Since chairman of Legislative Council was not available at the time Venkatram Reddy reached there and he could not take the oath. Though congressmen insisted that in absemce of the chairman, deputy chairman can administer the oath, but the Council officials were not able to take any decision. As of now it is not clear, when Venkatram Reddy will be sworn-in as MLC.  

Juhu Rave Party: IPL Stars Test Positive For Drugs

Reeling under the Indian Premier League scandal, where five uncapped cricketers were allegedly caught indulging in corrupt practices, including spot-fixing, Indian cricket's image suffered another blow when leg-spinner Rahul Sharma tested positive for recreational drugs after a rave party in Mumbai.   Rahul, who is part of India's limited-overs squad in Sri Lanka, and his Pune Warriors teammate Wayne Parnell were among the 94 people detained by the Mumbai police after a raid at a rave party in a Mumbai suburb on May 20. Rahul and Parnell are part of the 44 whose test results were awaited. Earlier, of the 46 samples that were tested in the first batch, 44 had tested positive.  

TDP Suspends 4 Rebel MLAs

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Friday suspended 4 of its rebel MLAs for indulging in anti-party activities. The suspended MLAS are - Harishwar Reddy, Venugopalachary, Chinnam Ramakotaiah and Balanagi Reddy. It is already known that five TDP MLAs defied party diktat and participated in the Presidential Poll yesterday. The fifth one Kodali Nani, who switched his loyalties to YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy,  has already been suspended last week. Reacting to their suspension, Parigi MLA Harishwar Reddy said "I have submitted my resignation from the Party one and a half years ago in protest against party's ambiguous policy on Telangana issue. TDP has not suspended me, it is me who have suspended the party." Nuziveedu MLA Chinnam Ramakotaiah said that he didn't resort to any anti-party activities but was compelled to leave the party. The other two Balanagi Reddy and Venugopalachary were not available for comment.

Shooting in Denver Cinema Hall: 14 Killed, 40 Injured

Indiscriminate shooting by two masked men in a cinema hall at Denver in USA on Friday has left 14 killed and over 40 people injured. The gunmen opened sudden fire on the audience while the premier show of latest Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises" was in progress. According to immediate reports, the scene at the spot is still active and the police have very little information about the incident. It is not yet known who were the perpetrators of the crime and what is the reason behind it. A bomb disposal squad too has reached the spot and further details are awaited.         

Major Breakthrough in Congress, NCP Talks

A major breakthough has been achieved in talks between the UPA allies Congress and the NCP after the media reports that NCP chief Sharad Pawar and senior NCP leader Praful Patel both have resigned from the Union Cabinet this morning. Speaking to media after the meeting, Praful Patel said "NCP will continue to be part and parcel of UPA. NCP has also been one of the strongest allies of the UPA. There have been some political problems in the recent past. Sections of the Congress feeding wrong information through media. NCP has communicated certain views to the government and things have not been resolved. Issue of number 2 being blown out of proportion, Sharad Pawar sits next to Sonia Gandhi in Parliament, issue of number 2 is totally absurd. Our party will meet again on Monday to discuss our issues, we will communicate our decision after that meeting." However, still there is no confirmation on whether Sharad Pawar merely offered to quit or has already resigned.