Three days after former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, her son Bilawal has been named the chairman of the Pakistan People's Party.
The decision comes after a high-level meeting of the PPP members in Larkana, where the post funeral services took place for the slain leader.
Bhutto's husband Asif Zardari and Abdul Makhdoom Fahim, deputy leader of PPP have been named co-chairmen of the party.
Speaking at an emotionally charged press conference, Zardari said that Benazir had named him as her political successor.
However, Zardari said he wanted his son Bilawal to take charge of the party.
Zardari said Fahim will be the prime ministerial candidate of the party. He also urged Nawaz Sharif not to boycott elections.
''From now on my son's name will be Bilawal Bhutto Zardari,'' he said.
Putting forward a composed look, 19-year-old Bilawal said, ''My mother used to say democracy is the best revenge.''
Amid loud sloganeering by Bhutto supporters, Zardari sought an international probe into the murder of the two time prime minister.
In a telling statement, Bilawal added his mother's surname to his own and is now to be addressed as Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Meanwhile, while all eyes are on Bilawal Bhutto, his estranged cousins Fatima and Zulfikar Bhutto junior are slowly building up their political profiles.
The children of Benazir's brother Murtaza have often been publicly critical of Benazir's politics.
Managing Editor Barkha Dutt in Larkana in Pakistan, Fatima Bhutto said she mourned her aunt as a family member but would express her political differences through her writing instead of party politics.
Just a few days after the former Prime Minister of Pakistan -- Benazir Bhutto -- was assassinated, speculation is rife about who will be the possible successor to take over the PPP's reins. Benazir Bhutto, the charasmatic leader and an international figure, who perhaps was the only one who could actually give Musharraf back a challenge at the elecions, has left the party rudderless as she was symbolic with the Pakistan's People Party.
However, the moot question of Benazir's successor might be answered on Sunday (Dec 30) when her son -- Bilawal -- will read Benazir's will, which might throw some light over the party's probable future leader.
Meanwhile, rumours are abuzz that a family member could take over the PPP's reins, however, the million dollar question is will the senior party leaders accept.
Asif Zardari, Benazir Bhutto's husband had said:"Benazir Bhutto has left a message for the party and she has left a will and we will make it public on Sunday (Dec 30)." He had further added:"We have called for a meeting and her will and the instructions will be read out there."
The Will according to Zardari will be read out by Bhutto's son Bilawal, perhaps an indication that he could take over the reigns of the party, however, the age does not side Bhutto's 19-year old son, who is still a novice in politics.
The more likely candidate, Bhutto's husband, Asif Zardari, who was the former Interior Minster and is better known as Mr 10 percent has been embroiled in numerous corruption cases. And thus, the PPP might not want a face with a murky past to lead them at this juncture.
We give you a lowdown on the probable Benazir's successor
-- Asif Ali Zardari -- Benazir's husband : The sentiment factor might work in his favor as people might see him as having suffered personally, however, a huge factor that might work against him is the graft charges. The man is infamously referred to as Mr 10 per cent in Pakistani political circles.
-- Makhdoom Amin Fahim : He is the oldest party worker in the running and is seen to be a Bhutto confidante, however, he lacks public persona, and of course, the magical Bhutto family name.
-- Chaudhary Aitzaz Ahsan: He is a prominent lawyer and has been the face of the anti-Musharraf protests. He also enjoys a mass following. However, he was seen defying Benazir's authority during the anti-emergency agitation.
-- Bilawal -- Benazir's son : He is thought to display a political maturity beyond his 19 years but he may still be too young to lead a party of the size of PPP. Moreover, he has not spent much of his life in Pakistan, which might go against him.
-- Fatima Bhutto -- Benazir's niece: Another bearer of the Bhutto family legacy, she is seen to be a politically mature person. However, she had been a staunch critic of Benazir Bhutto in the recent months and is too young to lead the PPP.
-- Sanam Bhutto, Benazir's sister -- She has not evinced an interest in politics till date
Serious questions are being raised over Pakistan government's theory on Benazir Bhutto's assassination. While earlier reports indicated that Benazir Bhutto died of bullet wounds, the Pakistan government hours later denied those reports with Pakistani interior ministry spokesperson Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema said yesterday that "There should be no ambiguity about Benazir's death - there were bullet wounds...It was a jolt after her head hit the vehicle lever."
However a top aide to the slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has rejected the government's explanation of her death as a "pack of lies".
Farooq Naik, Ms Bhutto's top lawyer and a senior official in her Pakistan People's Party, says that the government's claims that Bhutto was not hit by any bullets is completely baseless.
He says:
"Two bullets hit her, one in the abdomen and one in the head. Bhutto's personal secretary Naheed Khan and party official Makhdoom Amin Fahim were in the car and they saw what happened.... they (government) are turning it into a joke with such claims.'"
I bathed her body, saw the bullet wound
A close aide to Benazir Bhutto said today she saw a bullet wound in the Pakistani opposition
leader's head when she bathed her body after her assassination.
Butto's spokeswoman Sherry Rehman, who said she was in the former premier's motorcade at the time of the gun and suicide attack, rejected government claims that the death was caused when Bhutto's head hit her sunroof.
"I was actually part of the party which bathed her body before the funeral," said Rehman, who added that her car was used to transport Bhutto to hospital.
"There was a bullet wound I saw that went in from the back of her head and came out the other side. We could not even wash her properly because the wound was still seeping. She lost a huge amount of blood," she told AFP.
Rehman accused the government of mounting a cover-up over Bhutto's death.
"The hospital was made to change its statement. They never gave a proper report," she said.
"I believe the interior ministry is saying that she died from some concussion that may have taken place against the sunroof.
"This is ridiculous, dangerous nonsense because it is a cover-up of what actually happened."
Benazir raised questions on government link
The question is who is Baitullah Mehsud, the al Qaeda commander the Pakistan government is blaming the assassination on.
Benazir Bhutto, before returning to Pakistan had mentioned that she was receiving threats from him, even indictaing that he had strong links with the Pakistani government.
She said:
"I am not worried about Baitullah Masood. I am worried about the threat within the government. People like Baitullah Masood are just pawns. It is those forces behind him that have presided over the rise of extremism and militancy in my country."
"I did not kill her"
Meanwhile Mehsud accused by the Pakistani government on Friday (December 28) of masterminding Bhutto's assasination has completely denied any involvement.
"I strongly deny it. Tribal people have their own customs. We don't strike women," Mehsud's spokesman Maulvi Omar said by telephone from an undisclosed location.
This time it is not the Marxists but the UPA government that has decided that controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen cannot return to her adopted city of Kolkata.
Moreover, Nasreen has been told that if she wants to live in Delhi, she will not be allowed to take part in any public functions.
Speaking exclusively to NDTV's Managing Editor Barkha Dutt, Taslima Nasreen said that the decision had been communicated officially to her by a senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Nasreen also claimed that her security was cited as the reason for the Centre's decision.
The controversial author, who has already withdrawn parts of her writing considered offensive to certain Muslim groups, has been in hiding for the past month.
Breaking down on the telephone, she claimed that she was being made to live under house arrest.
''I appeal to the government to change its mind,'' she said.
Nasreen also asserted that she will leave India if she is refrained from returning to Kolkata.
The author has been in a government safe house since November and has courted trouble over her perceived anti-Islamic writings.
Meanwhile, the CPM, which had sent Taslima off to Jaipur last month, washed its hands off her, saying that this was between Taslima and the government.
''It is between Taslima and the Central government and we have nothing to do with this,'' said Shyamal Chakravarthy, Leader, CPM.
The Congress party too reiterated its earlier stand that no one who is allowed to stay in India can hurt the sentiments of the people
The Union Health Minister -- Anbumani Ramadoss -- is once again shrouded in controversy after he unwittingly targetted the people of Bihar by saying that a doctor from Bihar was the sole cause for Britain de-recognising MBBS degrees.
His comment led to widespread protests in Bihar with even doctors joining in the protests and burning effigies of the Union Health Minister. On the flipside, the doctors under the banner of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) are demanding an unconditional apology from the Minister for hurting the sentiments of all people from Bihar living in India and abroad. The organisation has also approached the Indian Medical Coucil and the central IMA asking them to take action against Ramadoss.
On Friday last week, speaking at a meeting of the American Association of Physicians of Indian origin in New Delhi, the Union Health Minister had reportedly said that "a doctor from Bihar was the sole cause for Britain derecognising MBBS degrees".
TIMES NOW, meanwhile, spoke to IMA President, Dr Ajay Kumar, who said he has been in touch with Indian doctors in the UK. Kumar said that Biharis in his field were working well in the UK, substantially contributing to health services and management. He called Ramadoss' statements a reflection of his "narrow mindednes" and bias against Biharis.
In the past for one reason or another the Union Health Minister has managed to stoke the fires of controversy with some unqualified statements, angering people across various forums. However, an explanation from the man himself is awaited to shed light on this particular controversy.
Earlier this month, the Health Minister, embroiled in a controversy over the removal of AIIMS Director P Venugopal charged the Delhi media with bias against him as he was from the ranks of most backward classes. Dr Ramadoss has also attacked opponents of his proposal to make one year rural service compulsory for MBBS degree, saying they are "enemies of villagers, those who oppose the scheme."
BJP slams Ramadoss:
The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has slammed Health Minister, Ambumani Ramadoss for his comments on Bihari Doctors. Rajiv Pratap Rudy the Party's Spokesperson said, "We take strong exception to the insane remark. Such remarks do not go well with the UPA government. The remark should be immediately withdrawn."
Another BJP leader, Shatrughan Sinha said that the Health Minister should undergo medical examination as he is making one ridiculous comment after another.
Ramadoss clarifies
Meanwhile, the man himself -- Ambumani Ramadoss -- has now come out and said that he has utmost respect for Bihar's doctors.
"I respect Indian doctors and especially doctors from Bihar or Uttar Pradesh or Tamil Nadu doesn’t make any difference to me. I respect everybody and I have been categorically saying that which ever international forum I go, I have always maintained that Indian doctors are the best in the world. I definitely respect Bihar doctors, who have contributed to a large extent not only to Bihar, but also India and globally,” he added.
Much awaited Second Phase of Gujarat Election Signed Off Today :
Few of Exit Poll results Driven by Some of News Agencies are :
Total Voters Turn out : 63 % - 65 %
Gujarat Polls- Phase 1: (86 seats)
BJP-40 (Year 2007),53 (Year 2002)
Congress-43 (Year 2007), 30 (Year 2002)
Others-3 (Year 2007), 3 (Year 2002)
Exit Poll Projection - Saurashtra (58 seats)
BJP-26 (Year 2007), 39 (Year 2002)
Congress-31 (Year 2007), 18 (Year 2002)
Others-1 (Year 2007), 1 (Year 2002)
Exit Poll Projection- South Gujarat (28 seats)
BJP-14 (Year 2007), 14 (Year 2002)
Congress-12 (Year 2007), 12 (Year 2002)
Others-2 (Year 2007), 2 (Year 2002)
Seats projection | |
Party | Seats projected to win |
| BJP | 92-100 |
| Cong + | 77-85 |
| Others | 3-7 |
| Note: Congress+ includes NCP, CPI (M) and LNJP | |
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia): Malaysian authorities arrested five ethnic Indian activists on Thursday under a security law that allows indefinite detention without trial, a lawyer said.
The activists are key officials in the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF), which held a street protest November 25 that drew about 20,000 ethnic Indians complaining about alleged racial discrimination.
''They were told that they're being detained under the ISA,'' lawyer N Surendran said, referring to the Internal Security Act, a law that has occasionally been used by the government to detain suspects regarded as threats to national security.
Two police officials, who declined to be identified, citing protocol, confirmed that several HINDRAF activists had been arrested. They declined to elaborate.
The arrests escalate a government crackdown on HINDRAF since it organised last month's rally - the biggest protest involving ethnic Indians in more than a decade and one that triggered fears of ethnic unrest in this multiracial country.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi earlier this week said the government will not tolerate street demonstrations because they could lead to violence. He warned that if necessary, he would invoke the ISA.
HINDRAF has demanded equality and fair treatment for Indians, saying an affirmative action program that gives preferential treatment to the Muslim Malay majority in business, jobs and education is tantamount to racial discrimination.
The government denies it discriminates against Indians and has accused HINDRAF leaders of trying to create ethnic trouble.
Ethnic Indians make up about 8 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people and are at the bottom of the social and economic scale. Malays make up about 60 percent of the population and control the government. Ethnic Chinese are about a quarter of the population and dominate business.
The Election Commission on Sunday issued a notice to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in connection with the “merchants of death” remark on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Congress leader Digvijay Singh has also been served a notice for violating the moral code of conduct during the Gujarat Assembly elections. Singh had made remarks about the "existence of Hindu terrorism in Gujarat".
Accepting the EC’s move as a vindication for BJP, party Spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told CNN-IBN, “Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi had deliberately provoked Narendra Modi. There have been so many flip-flops in the past by the Congress that it was bordering on being ridiculous.”
Meanwhile, EC sources have told CNN-IBN that legal experts are examining Modi's preliminary reply regarding the "merchants of death" remark.
"Modi's reply requires careful examination. Therefore, no decision has been taken by the EC. His reply would be examined by the Commission," a EC source was quoted by PTI as saying.
On December 3, Sonia had referred to those ruling the state as “liars, dishonest and merchants of fear and death.”
The next day, Modi while speaking at an election rally called the Congress chief “a merchant of death” in return.
However, in his reply to the EC, Modi has denied calling Sonia by such a name. He wrote, “I deny the charge in its entirety. The (newspaper) comments (are) inspired by false imputation. The EC notice is issued on the basis of unverified and false media reports.”
Criticising the Commission, Modi said his speech was a “political response to Mrs Sonia Gandhi referring to me as those who rule the Gujarat as a maut ke saudagar (merchants of death). Surely, it cannot be policy of the Election Commission first to ignore the violation of the Code of Conduct in her statement and then censor my political response to that statement.”
The EC had earlier issued a notice to CM, Narendra Modi for justifying the fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh during an election speech. But the BJP had gone on the offensive saying the Commission must act against Sonia too, if it has to be seen as impartial.
Narendra Modi had filed his reply to the EC notice on Saturday. But the Commission is unlikely to take a decision on it on Sunday.
After the meeting that lasted two hours the EC has now come up with serving notices to both Sonia Gandhi and Digvijay Singh saying that they have violated the model code of conduct under Rule 1 and 3. However, the EC has yet not replied in how many day the congress should reply, though usually it gives 14 days to reply.
A day after Malaysia charged the protesting ethnic Indians with links to terror groups, the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office has specifically said that the RSS and the LTTE had links with the organisers of the protests.
On Friday, Minister for Works Samy Vellu alleged that some Indian groups were behind the protests by ethnic Indians in the country, a protest that was led by Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).
Immediately after the Malaysian government said that the protesters had links with terror groups, New Delhi had distanced itself from the issue.
Daring the Malaysian government to produce evidence of Hindraf alleged links with LTTE or other terror groups, an ethnic Indian lawyer from the outfit on Saturday filed a police complaint against the country's premier and other senior officials who have threatened to put its members behind bars under a draconian law.
"I have never met anyone from LTTE in my life. They have gone overboard when they say we have links with terrorism. They are trying to divert the issue," said P Uttayakumar, the founder member of Hindraf, reported PTI.
  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today accused Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi government of misguiding the people over the state's progress and said the BJP government has done "nothing" for Gujarat's progress. "Gujarat can be one of the best states in the country. Gujaratis are famous for their hard working skills but the situation in the state is not good as shown", he said at a public meeting here. The people of Gujarat are being misguided over the state's progress achieved in the last ten years under the BJP government but the state has started progressing since 1960, Singh said. "I have come here to get mandate (Janadesh) for serving the people of the state and to make Gujarat one of the best states in the country," Singh said. The Modi-led government has been thriving on "false claims" of achievements and giving "false hopes" to the people, he said adding progress could not be achieved by spending lakhs of rupees on advertisement. (Agencies) |
The Madras High Court on Thursday upheld a Salem court’s sentences to 28 convicts, including the three awarded death penalty, in the Dharmapuri bus burning case.
The Salem court had held three AIADMK functionaries and 25 other people guilty in the bus burning incident of 2000 in which three students of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University had been burnt alive in a mob violence following the conviction of AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa in the Kodaikanal Pleasant Stay Hotel case.
There were a total of 31 accused in the case. While two were acquitted, one person died during the trial.
A near 30-minute video clipping of the bus burning incident shot by a Dharmapuri-based private photographer was one of prime piece of evidence that established the prosecution's case at the court of the Salem First Additional District Sessions Judge D Krishna Raja.
The clipping showed the burning bus and the girls crying for help and their friends' frantic efforts to save them. It also showed a white police jeep that did not stop while passing through the spot.
The verdict in the case came after a seven-year-long trial. In 2003, the Madras High Court had scrapped the on-going trial in a Krishnagiri court and ordered a retrial in a Salem court following a petition that said the sensational bus burning case was going the Best Bakery way at the Krishnagiri court.
Recently, one of the victim's father had filed a petition seeking to enhance the sentence of seven years awarded to the 25 accused.
After hearing elaborate arguments from both sides, a division bench of Justice D Murugesan and Justice V Periya Karuppiah had reserved orders without mentioning any dates on the appeals and the petition.
For More Details SEARCH in End of the Page :
Nandigram issue,
Top cop BB.mohanty On run,
DharmaPuri Burning case,
Shrobbuddin Fake encounter charge,
Rizwanur Suicide........these are the samples ...
see the actual figures Below:
Thousands of CORRUPTION Charges
Lakhs Of CRIMINAL cases
Over 58,000 Rape Cases
Madras High Court (406,958 pending cases)
Bombay High Court (362,949)
Sikkim is the lowest with just 51 pending cases
Uttar Pradesh again topped the number of pending cases (4.6 million),
Maharashtra (4.1 million),
Gujarat (3.9 million),
West Bengal (1.9 million),
Bihar (1.2 million),
Karnataka (1.06 million),
Rajasthan (1.05 million),
Orissa (1 million),
Andhra Pradesh (900,000).
Over three million cases are pending in India's 21 high courts, and an astounding 26.3 million cases are pending in subordinate courts across the country.
No One can Predict When these Cases Will be Solved out.....
But One Thing Is Sure
" DELAYED JUSTICE ALWAYS EQUALS THE DENIED JUSTICE "
Until the Law And Order Of OUR Beloved INDIA Become More powerful,
Even GOD Cant Help " INDIA "
The words What WE say proudly " RISING INDIA " --- > RISING Will Denote "CRIMINALS"
Let We Youth Of India Take An Pledge that
" WE Will Make OUR MOTHER country As A Holy Place TO Live Along "
" JAIHINDH "
With the first phase of Gujarat polls just a week away, Chief Minister Narendra Modi has once again adopted the communal angle as an election issue and has chucked development plank. Addressing a massive rally in Mangrol in Southern Gujarat, it wasn't just his campaign slogan of 'Gujarat Jeetega' that the Chief Minister was seen mouthing. Modi, who is hopeful of a 3rd term in office, spoke on the controversial Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, justifying the encounter, and saying: "Sohrabuddin had got what he deserved".
Hyderabad: Junior doctors of a leading children's hospital here continued their strike for the fourth day Wednesday, demanding action against a legislator who allegedly attacked medicos even as healthcare services remained paralysed and one more child died, taking the toll since Sunday to 16.
The stalemate continued with the Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors Association (APJDA) sticking to its demands for booking a case of attempt to murder against Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) legislator Afsar Khan, his suspension from the assembly and a law to prevent attacks on doctors. The state government has rejected the demands.
Read More :
http://ibnlive.com/news/16-kids-die-in-fourday-strike-at-hyderabad-hospital/53657-3.html
Kandy: Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan claimed his 709th wicket in the first Test against England on Monday to become Test cricket's most successful bowler.
The off-spinner, playing his 116th Test, bowled Paul Collingwood to grab his fifth wicket in the innings and surpass retired Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne's world record tally of 708 wickets in 145 matches.
Muralitharan, 35, achieved the landmark in his home town of Kandy watched by about 6,000 joyous fans at the Asgiriya stadium, including his parents and Indian wife Madhimalan.
The feat marks a new high in the 15-year career of one of the most celebrated bowlers of the modern game whose controversial bent-arm action was questioned in the past by umpires.
Muralitharan's 61st five-wicket haul made England 266-8 in reply to Sri Lanka's modest first innings total of 188.
WATCH OUT WHOLE ACTION IN INDIAN CRICKET LEAGUE
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| Vikram Pandit in line for top job at Citigroup |
While India is slogging out against Pakistan in a cricket Test match in Kolkata, another face-off is tipped to be developing here between two bankers with origins in the two countries -- that for the position of CEO at worlds largest bank Citigroup.
The list of contenders for this job include Vikram S Pandit, currently Citigroup's investment banking head and a former Morgan Stanley investment banker, and Shaukat Aziz, formerly the bank's global private banking business head and most recently the prime minister of Pakistan, according to various media reports.
Meanwhile, reports have been surfacing in the US and international media that Aziz, who resigned as Pakistan's Prime Minister last month, could also be a potential candidate and has already sent his feelers to Citigroup board. Queries sent on the candidature of Pandit and Aziz to Citigroup spokesperson Christina Pretto remained unanswered.
The CEO position fell vacant after Charles Prince resigned as Citigroup's Chairman and CEO at an emergency board meet on November 4 on the back of losses worth billions of dollars suffered by Citigroup in the subprime crisis.
After Prince's departure, Citigroup named its Europe Chairman Win Bischoff as an acting CEO and its Executive Committee Chairman and former US Treasury Secretary Robert E Rubin as Chairman on interim basis. Rubin is also part of a search committee for the new Chairman and CEO and this committee has been reviewing candidates from both inside and outside the bank.
New Delhi: In a statement reflective of the growing tension in Malaysia over ethnic clashes, the country’s Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi on Sunday offered to resign if the allegation of ethnic cleansing of Indian Tamils was proved.
Outraged at the allegations levelled against his government by a local Hindu group, Badawi said the statements were aimed at dividing Malaysia.
"I rarely get angry but this time I am very angry and this is something I cannot accept," Abdullah was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.
He condemned the Hindu Indian Rights Front for trying to lobby Britain for an emergency resolution in the United Nations condemning the incidents in the country.
He said Hindraf was making baseless allegations and wanted the UK to move an emergency UN resolution condemning ethnic cleansing in Malaysia.
“Tell me do you believe there is ethnic cleansing in Malaysia? Is there ethnic cleansing, tell me? If this happened I will resign," the paper quoted him as saying.
He said Malaysians would not believe it and even the Indians who are Hindus did not believe it.
"Ethnic cleansing was perpetrated in Bosnia where the Serbs attacked the Bosnians to chase them out and make them non-existent. It was backed by the state. We do not do this here."
Tension has spiralled in Malaysia since last Sunday when close to 10,000 Tamils protesting alleged discrimination were attacked by the country's police.
