Kolkata, 30 April : Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee today ridiculed the demand for a judicial inquiry by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and his party into the "political conspiracy" behind the arms drop in Purulia 16 years ago.
In an obvious reference to the Purulia arms drop case accused Kim Davy, Pranab Mukherjee, the union finance minster, said, "An accused is levelling allegation and a hue and cry is being raised on that basis. Judical inquiry is demanded. Were they sleeping all these years?" he told reporters here before leaving for campaigning in Midnapore.Noting that CBI had investigated the case and submitted its report, he said that the incident had taken place on the midnight of 17-18 December, 1995 and after that there was a non-Congress government in Delhi for eight years.
"Indrajit Gupta of CPI, who hailed from Bengal was union home minister for two years. L K Advani was union home minister for six years. Three (assembly) elections were held in West Bengal since then. This allegation was never raised," he said.
In a statement yesterday, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said that a political conspiracy had been exposed in the media behind the arms drop 16 years ago and demanded a judicial probe.
CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat had also made a similar demand and said the inquiry should be conducted by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. န File Photo : AFP, Times Now Tv Grab
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangladesh Govt makes 'share market probe report' public
UNB, Dhaka, 30 April : Bangladesh government on Saturday made public the much-talked about probe report on recent share market scam.The probe-report, containing 143 pages, was uploaded on the official website of the Ministry of Finance (<http://www.mof.gov.bd>) at about 6 pm today.
Meanwhile, the Finance Minister held a press conference at the Secretariat in the evening detailing the next course of action from the government side to stabilize the capital market.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the government would appoint new chairman and two members of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) within next few days. န File Photo
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arunachal CM Dorje Khandu safe, chopper lands in Bhutan
PTI, Itanagar, 30 April : Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, whose helicopter was feared missing after take off from Tawang, is safe after the chopper made an emergency landing in a place in Bhutan.Chief Minister's office said that Khandu's helicopter had to make an emergency landing due to technical snag near Tawang but inside Bhutanese territory.
Two other passengers accompanying the Chief Minister and two crew members of the Pawan Hans Eurocopter B3 craft are also safe, the CM's office said.
Defence sources in Kolkata said the helicopter landed in Daporijo.
The other passengers are Lamu, a woman relative of the Chief Minister, his security officer Choddak, Captain Babbar and Captain Manik.
Khandu had taken off from Tawang at 9:56 am and was to land at Itanagar at 11:30 am by the chartered Pawan Hans helicopter. Tawang is about 200 kms from here. န File Photo : PTI
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ISRO roped in to trace Arunachal Chief Minister's helicopter
PTI, New Delhi, 30 April : Government tonight alerted the Department of Space and ISRO for help in locating the whereabouts of the missing helicopter carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others.
Union Home Secretary G K Pillai said that Indian satellites have made two passes over the probable area from where the Pawan Hans helicopter went missing 20 minutes after takeoff from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh but has not picked up any signals. Pillai said depending upon the weather tomorrow morning IAF helicopters from Dibrugarh and Jorhat will carry out aerial recee.
PTI, New Delhi, 30 April : Government tonight alerted the Department of Space and ISRO for help in locating the whereabouts of the missing helicopter carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others.
Union Home Secretary G K Pillai said that Indian satellites have made two passes over the probable area from where the Pawan Hans helicopter went missing 20 minutes after takeoff from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh but has not picked up any signals. Pillai said depending upon the weather tomorrow morning IAF helicopters from Dibrugarh and Jorhat will carry out aerial recee.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Want to make Nandigram another Haldia : CM Buddhadeb
Khejuri, 30 April : West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said that he wanted to make Nandigram as developed as Haldia and accused the Trinamool Congress of fomenting trouble there."We want to make Nandigram another Haldia. Haldia is a booming town now. It will continue to flourish. Thousands of people are working there. We have created Haldia. But Trinamool Congress has unleashed false propaganda and created trouble even after the announcement that we will not acquire land in Nandigram," he told an election meeting here, a short distance away from Nandigram.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said, "I had categorically stated that we will not acquire land in Nandigram. But they (TMC) did not stop fomenting trouble there and dug up roads."
He reiterated that to provide employment, industries have to be set up in the state. န Photo : Raghunandan Mallick
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mamata takes dig at Buddhadeb for sharing dais with 'Anil'
Howrah, 30 April : Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today took a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for sharing the dais with CPI(M) leader Anil Basu who had come under fire for making derogatory remarks against her.
"The CPI(M) has a face and a mask to conceal it. While the face is used to abuse, the mask says that it is not proper to be so," Mamata told an election meeting here in Howrah district referring to the Chief Minister asking Anil Basu to apologise for his foul language.
This is the first time that the Chief Minister met Anil Basu yesterday after he censured the former party MP for using intemperate language against Mamata. Anil has been barred from addressing election meetings.
Howrah, 30 April : Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today took a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for sharing the dais with CPI(M) leader Anil Basu who had come under fire for making derogatory remarks against her.
"The CPI(M) has a face and a mask to conceal it. While the face is used to abuse, the mask says that it is not proper to be so," Mamata told an election meeting here in Howrah district referring to the Chief Minister asking Anil Basu to apologise for his foul language.
This is the first time that the Chief Minister met Anil Basu yesterday after he censured the former party MP for using intemperate language against Mamata. Anil has been barred from addressing election meetings.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meghalaya government suspends "Pawan Hans" service
PTI, Shillong, 30 April : The Meghalaya government today suspended the Pawan Hans helicopter services operating in the state with immediate effect, hours after Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu's helicopter went missing and was found later in Bhutan.Transport Minister A T Mondal told PTI that he instructed his office to close down the company's office in Guwahati and not issue any more tickets.
Mondal said the license of Pawan Hans to operate in Meghalaya had expired long ago, but due to requirements of the service it was allowed to operate. The state, he said, would write to the Centre and call for fresh tenders for operating the service.
The lone Pawan Hans helicopter operates from Shillong to Tura via Guwahati and back daily.
"We have not blacklisted Pawan Hans. They can apply (for license) again, but they have to be competent," Mondal said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 Air India flights cancelled from Kolkata NSCB Intl Airport
Kolkata, 30 April : Altogether 12 Air India flights were cancelled till 5 pm today from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here on the fourth day of the strike of the airline's pilots, sources said.
The destinations of the cancelled flights were Mumbai, New Delhi, Guwahati, Gaya and Imphal. Air India sources here said five flights from Kolkata to Silchar, Shillong, Port Blair, Dibrugarh, Bagdogra operated as per schedule.
Kolkata, 30 April : Altogether 12 Air India flights were cancelled till 5 pm today from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here on the fourth day of the strike of the airline's pilots, sources said.
The destinations of the cancelled flights were Mumbai, New Delhi, Guwahati, Gaya and Imphal. Air India sources here said five flights from Kolkata to Silchar, Shillong, Port Blair, Dibrugarh, Bagdogra operated as per schedule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International conference on contemporarising Rabindranath
Akram Hosen Mamun, Dhaka, 30 April : It is widely believed that Rabindranath Tagore, one of the greatest poets of the world, was well ahead of his time. At the major international conference, titled “Contemporarising Tagore and the World” that was inaugurated at the Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Building, University of Dhaka (DU) on 29 April, literary and social science scholars from around the world are contextualising Tagore's works in today's world.Organisers informed that under the broad theme of 'Contemporarising Tagore', the discussants may narrow down their focus on the sub-themes of 'Nationalism, Internationalism and Cosmopolitanism'; 'Crisis in Modern Civilisation'; 'Tagore's Humanism: Life, Gender and Religion'; 'Education and Creativity' and 'Alternative Development Strategies'.
The three-day programme, organised jointly by the Department of International Relations (DU), Visva Bharati (Shantiniketan) and Jamia Millia Islamia (Academy of Third World Studies, New Delhi), began with renditions of Bangladeshi and Indian national anthem (both written by Tagore). Renowned Indian litterateur Mahasweta Devi's inaugural address was interspersed with her childhood memories at Shantiniketan where Tagore spent a considerable part of his life. Academics, cultural personalities and students attending the seminar seemed engrossed in the 86-year-old writer and social activist's nostalgia. န Photo : Mumit M
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------www.bengalnewz.com-----
