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VOL: 2 ISSUE 63April 01, 2009
New Delhi, April 01: :
 The Supreme Court onWednesday absolvedTamil Nadu Chief MinisterM Karunanidhi and UnionTransport Minister TRBaalu of the contempt ofcourt charges for allegedviolation of the apex court’sorder – dated September30, 2008 – directing theDMK and its allies not toenforce state-wide bandhon October 1 last year.The SC had onMarch 25 reserved itsverdict in the case whichalso involved four others.A bench ofJustices BN Agarwal andGS Singhvi todaydismissed the petition onthe ground that theAIADMK, which had filedthe contempt petition,failed to establish theallegation.The AIADMK hadfiled a petition alleging thatthe Tamil Nadugovernment organised thebandh on theSethusamudram projectrow despite the apexcourt restraining it fromdoing so.The chargeagainst Baalu was thathe made contemptuousallegations against judges of the SupremeCourt and questionedtheir integrity.The ruling DMKand its allies had given acall for the state-widebandh in support of theirdemand for the speedycompletion of theSetusamudram Project.The project hadhit a road block becauseof the proposeddemolition of the RamSetu, which Hindusbelieve was constructedby Lord Ram to reach SriLanka to free his wifeSita from the captivity ofdemon king Ravana.The apex courthad issued showcausenotices to Karunanidhi,Baalu, State ChiefSecretary LK Tripathi,State DGP, the StateTransport Minister andthe State TransportSecretary for notimplementing thedirections of the apexcourt, issued during aspecial sitting on aSunday.The petitioner – AIADMK chief and formerChief Minister JJayalalithaa – had alsocontended that Tripathihad told media onOctober 1 that only about50 transport buses pliedin the state when it had afleet of about 30,000buses.According to thepetitioner, no action wastaken against theleaders, who enforcedthe bandh causingtremendous hardshipand harassment to thepeople of the state.Loss of severalcrores of rupees wascaused to the stateexchequer and thegovernment connivedwith the organisers of thebandh and no action wastaken against a majorityof the state governmentemployees, whoabstained from work onthat day.Baalu had madederogatory remarksagainst Justice Aggarwalfor passing the orders onSunday.While reservingits verdict, the SC hadreacted to Baalu’sremarks saying, "It showsutter ignorance of the man(Baalu). For the last 50years courts function onSundays also. People whoare governing the systemdon't know its functioning.They are intellectualgiants."The apex courthad also observed that ithad become a practice formany persons holding highpositions to makeinsinuiations against the judiciary.
SC clean chit to Karunanidhi,Baalu in contempt case
Chennai, April 01:
The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu hasappointed rebel MDMK leader L Ganesan (MP), who hadrecently merged his faction of MDMK with the DMK, asparty's Election Works Secretary.Mr Ganesan would sort out problems arising inconnection with the May 13 Lok Sabha elections and thecoming Assembly elections in the state, in coordinationwith the existing election work secretaries, DMK GeneralSecretary K Anbazhagan said.He would receive election related complaintsfrom partymen and sort them out after consulting partyhigh command and office bearers at various levels, MrAnbazhagan said in a release here.Mr Ganesan, the former Presidium Chairmanof the MDMK, was heading a separate faction along withanother rebel MDMK leader Gingee N Ramachandranafter they were expelled from the party.The leaders merged their faction with the DMKin the presence of its President and Chief Minister MKarunanidhi on March 17, marking their homecoming.
LG appointed DMK'sElection Works Secretary
 
Times Chennai E-PaperApril 01, 2009Page 2
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Chennai, April 01:
MsSasikala Sampath, wife ofNanjil Sampath, MDMKPropaganda Secretary,detained under theNational Security Act(NSA) filed a HabeasCorpus Petition (HCP) inthe Madras High Court,challenging the detentionof her husband and soughtthe court to direct the stategovernment to release himimmediately.In her petition, MsSampath submitted thatthe DMK governmentarrested her husband andremanded him to judicialcustody for his politicalspeech in support of LTTEin Tiruppur.''Sampath wasgranted bail by a localcourt, but to prevent hisrelease, the governmentwith a political motivedetained him under NSA,''she said.The petition islikely to come up forhearing on April 2 before adivision bench headed byMr Justice Elipe DharmaRao.MDMK leaderVaiko will appear in thecourt as Ms Sampath'scounsel.MarumalarchiDMK functionary NanjilSampath, who wasarrested on March 7 forspeaking in support of thebanned LTTE, wasdetained under theNational Security Act(NSA) on March 14.The orders wasserved on NanjilSampath at theCoimbatore CentralPrison where he waslodged after he wasarrested on charges ofsedition, by a specialteam from Tiruppur.The Tiruppurpolice registered a caseagainst Sampath, one ofthe main speakers of theOpposition MDMK,based on his speech hemade at a meetingorganised by theStudents Federation ofIndia on the Sri LankanTamils issue on March 1.Sampath was producedbefore a court in Tiruppurand remanded in judicialcustody.He is the thirdprominent person to bedetained under the NSA,after the Tamil NaduGovernment cracked thewhip on Tamil FilmDirector Seeman andPeriyar DravidarKazhagam PresidentKolathur Mani, byinvoking the provisionsof NSA for their 'pro-LTTE' speeches.
HCP filed challenging detentionof Nanjil Sampath under NSA
Chennai, April 01:
 Royal Sundaram todayannounced the launch ofFamily Health InsuranceOnline, a comprehensivehealth insurance policydesigned to protect theinsured and his/herfamily.Customerscould simply log intoRoyal Sundaram'sOnline "InstaBuy" facilityand get instant coveragefor themselves and theirfamily membersincluding spouse,dependent children anddependent parents undera single sum insured.The entry ageband is 18 years to 45years in respect of adultsand 91 days to 21 yearsfor dependent children.Customers can alsorenew online up to theage of 70 years, acompany release said.Nodocumentation ormedical examination wasrequired for buying thepolicy online. Customerscan also avail Income Taxbenefit under section 80D of the IT Act, it said.The insured willalso have access tovalue-added services likecashless treatment(subject to conditions and
Royal Sundaram launches family health insurance
authorisations) at over2,000 networked hospitalsacross India, a 24-hourhelpline and ambulancereferral facility at noadditional cost.It has beendesigned to ensure that theinsured and his family getthe best medical treatmentat any time when they needit. With the inclusion ofFamily Health Insuranceonline, Royal Sundaramnow offers the complete setof health insuranceproducts online, for bothindividual and/or family, itsaid.
New Delhi, April 01:
Theelection season may bewitnessing manycelebrities from the worldof cinema making a jumpinto the electoral arena butSouth Indian superstarKamal Haasan says hedoes not have theinclination or attitude forpolitics.''Joining politics isa matter of personalchoice. However, I don'thave an attitude forpolitics,''Kamal Haasansays.In the capital inconnection with thepromotion of the dubbedHindi version of his SouthIndian hit 'Dashavtaram',Kamal said he hadreceived many offers frompolitical parties to conteston their tickets but he didnot intend to enter thepolitical arena.''There havebeen many offers to enterthe political arena.However, I feelone should not enterpolitics just for the heck ofit. There has to be a strongcommitment attached toone's entry in politics,''theactor-director said.Asked for hisreaction as to whysuperstars from the SouthIndian cinema like N TRama Rao, MKarunanidhi, Jayalalithaand Chiranjeevi hadmanaged big innings inpolitics compared to theircounterparts from NorthIndia, Kamal said,''I donot think much should beseen into this. Perhaps, ithas something to do withthe literacy factor in theSouth.'' He may beaverse to joining politicsbut he admits that intoday's scenario it wasdifficult to be entirelyapolitical in one'sattitude.''I have realisedthat one cannot be totallyapolitical.One has foreither vote in a personone likes or vote out onethey do not like,''theSouth Indian superstarsaid.The actor saidas a person he did havehis own agenda which hequietly put across in hisfilms like 'Nayakan', 'HeyRam', 'Hindustani' and'Dashavtaram'.''I have my ownagenda which I quietlyput into my films.I do not shoutout my message throughmy films but all the sameit is there,''he said.
I don't have an attitudefor politics:Kamal Haasan
 
Times Chennai E-PaperApril 01, 2009Page 3
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New Delhi, April 01:
Ascampaigning picks up forthe Lok Sabha elections,the newly electedPresident of industry bodyCII, Venu Srinivasan, hassaid he will promote atransparent way ofdonations to politicalparties by businesshouses."Companiesshould do it (electionfunding) transparently. If itbecomes transparent it isgood for the polity, good forsociety," Mr. Srinivasantold PTI.He said theConfederation of IndianIndustry (CII) has beenpromoting the idea oftransparency in politicaldonations. In any case, hesaid, it has become difficultfor business houses to dealonly in cash."Companies haveshifted from cashpayments to cheques... thecash (transactions) havebeen reduced in theeconomy considerablysince liberalisation... ithas become difficult todeal with cash," he said.TheGovernment monitoringthrough differenttaxes likeBanking CashTransaction Tax isalso a deterrent tothe casheconomy, Mr.Srinivasan, whois also Chairmanof Chennai-basedTVS MotorCompany Ltd,said.The CII chiefsaid the chamber wouldlike its members toensure that the moneygiven away to politicalparties is properlyaccounted for in theirbooks.Some of thecountry's well-respectedindustrial houses havealready taken lead ingiving political donationsthrough cheques.On the state ofthe economy, he saidwhile the growth hasslowed down, the GDPtrends still remain in thepositive zone.However, heremained cautious aboutfiscal 2009-10 that begantoday. "(The) growth inthe next year may notmeet our aspirations, butI look at the world withcautious optimism," hesaid.Mr. Srinivasansaid the first-half of thefiscal is likely to be poorerbecause of the highgrowth in thecomparative period theprevious year. However,the economy is expectedto pick up in the second-half of the financial year2009-10."We havealready digested therecession...We are stillgrowing," he said.While the bigpicture remains positive,sectors likemanufacturing, exports,handicrafts, textile, gemsand jewellery remainareas of concern.After growingby a robust 30 per cent tillSeptember, exports havebeen shrinking in thesecond half. Thegovernment estimatesdo not project theannualised shipments togrow beyond 3-4 percent.Mr. Srinivasan,who is from theautomobile industry, saidit is early days to see arecovery in the sector.The commercial vehiclessegment is still reelingunder recessionarytrends.
-Agencies
New CII chief to promotepolitical donations by cheque
New Delhi, April 01:
President Pratibha Patil onWednesday inducted thenew state-of-the-art VVIP jets into the Indian AirForce before embarking onits maiden flight to Assamand Arunachal Pradesh.The new jets aredesigned to work as anoffice-in-the sky and alsoas a command centre inevent of an emergency, likea nuclear attack."The trip wouldnow be more business like.We will get more time tostudy, concentrate andapply our minds as flightwill be more smooth," saidMs. Patil at the ribboncutting ceremony.Standing proudon the tarmac, thesparkling white BoeingBusiness Jet has beenpatterned on the USPresident's famous AirForce One aircraft andcomes equipped with awide range of securitycover and latestcommunication devices."The aircraft hassome of the finest hightechnology systems and isequipped with excellentcommunicationsystems," Air ChiefMarshal Pradeep VasantNaik.The aircraft,which can seat upto 60passengers, has foursections with the first onebeing that of Presidentwhich is decorated withlight and dark woodenpanels with six leatherseats.The sectionalso has a bedroom forthe President along withall the majorentertainment andcommunication facilities.The newBoeing 747/700christened as 'Rajdoot' isone of the three suchaircraft that have beenbought by the country tocater to the VVIPs,including the PrimeMinister.The aircraft issaid to be equipped withmodern hi-tech missiledefence system whichincludes a protectionsuite and chaffdispensers to ward offmissile threats besidesother security gadgets.It has a securesatellite basedcommunication systemin addition to VHFcommunication systemwhich helps the travellingdignitary to be in touchwith ground as and whenthe need arises.The jets,powered by two CFM-56engines respectively,manufactured by USGeneral Electric andFrench Snecma, aredesigned to have longrange flights and caneasily pull off 6,000nautical miles (11,100kms) with refueling.The planes canfly at the height of 41,000feet at a speed of 410knots.Upon entering,one encounters luxuriousplush beige leatherinteriors. The aircraft hasbeen speciallycustomised for thePresident, Prime Ministerand special guests andsenior ministers and canaccomodate 60passengers in fourcompartments.
-Agencies
New VVIP jets in IAF
New Delhi, April 01
The National HighwaysAuthority of India (NHAI)expects to exceed its tollrevenue target in the2008-09 fiscal and crossover Rs 1,700 crore onthe back of increasedcollections."We expect atoll collection of morethan Rs 1,700 crore forthe fiscal 2008-09 asagainst a target of Rs1,600 crore," an NHAIofficial, who did not wishto be named, told PTI.Claiming thatthe collection may evensurpass Rs 1,700 crore,the official said collectionof data from variousplazas indicated that thetarget was almostachieved sometime backalthough the final figuresare yet to be compiled.The NHAI haswitnessed increase in tollcollections from existinghighways and itsrevenues have alsoswelled up with theaddition of new tollplazas in fresh highwaystretches, including theGolden Quadrilateral.Enthused bybetter results in tollcollection during fiscal2007-08, the NHAI hadincreased the target for2008-09 to Rs 1,600 crorefrom previous fiscal's Rs1,400 crore, the official saidpointing out that theachievement in 2007-08was Rs 1,415 crore."One of the keyreasons that we couldsurpass the target is thatseveral new stretcheswere added for tollingduring the year," the officialsaid.As per a data,only 6,212 km of the totalnational highway networkof 66,000 km is currentlytolled.
-Agencies
NHAI expects over Rs 1,700-cr toll collection
New Delhi, April 01:
 Beginning today, youneed not have to sweat itout looking for an ATM ofyour own bank as youcan use ATMs of yourchoice without shellingout any extra money.Thanks to anRBI directive, much to therelief of common man,banks have beenprevented from chargingany fee for cashwithdrawals using ATMand debit cards issued byother banks from April 1onwards.However, bankscan still charge extra forservices like cashwithdrawal with the useof credit cards and atATMs located outsideIndia.Last year onMarch 10, the RBI hadcome out with guidelineslimiting the fee chargedby banks for using theirATMs by clients of otherlenders to Rs 20. It hadalso allowed the use ofATM for purposes likebalance enquiry free ofany charge.This was toensure greatertransparency and tofacilitate usage of anyATM installed within thecountry by customerswithout shelling out more,the central bank had said.Till yesterday,banks were charging Rs 20per transaction when acustomer used the cashmachine of any bank otherthan the one in whichhe/she has an accountwith.At the end ofDecember 2007, therewere 32,342 ATMs in thecountry and various bankshave entered into bilateraland multi-lateralarrangements with otherbanks to have inter-bankATM networks.
-Agencies
Free cash withdrawals from allATMs beginning today
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