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ULFA blast kills two, injures 42 near Guwahati market
Bullut (Assam), June 13 (PTI) A powerful bomb explosion triggered by suspected ULFA militants killed two persons and injured 42, including four children, at the weekly wholesale market in this town near Guwahati today.
Police said the bomb, hidden in a bycycle tied to a post of the market's concrete shed, exploded at about one pm, an hour before the market was to open, killing one person on the spot. One of the injured succumbed to his injuries while being taken to hospital.
Of the 42 injured, the condition of 32 was described as serious. Of the four wounded children, a 10-year-old was in a serious condition.
One of the dead was identified as wholesale vegetable dealer Sukur Ali (55), who had come to the market in lower Assam's Kamrup district with a boatful of merchandise.
Most of the injured were small traders and some buyers from Hajo town, seven km from here and 30 km from Guwahati.
The 32 seriously injured people were taken to Gauhati Medical College Hospital and the rest were admitted to local hospitals, police said.
Senior police and civil officials said the toll would have been higher had the blast occurred during the market's working hours.
In 1983, the market had witnessed two powerful bomb explosions that killed several persons.
State Revenue Minister Bhumidhar Barman announced Rs three lakh would be paid as relief to the kin of the dead and Rs 10,000 to the injured. Free medical treatment will be provided to the injured, he said. PTI
MPs can become chief ministers/ministers in state: SC
New Delhi, June 13 (PTI) The Supreme Court today upheld the Constitutional validity of Members of Parliament being appointed as ministers in the state and asserted that there was no necessity for an MP to vacate his/her seat at the time of being made a chief minister or minister.
The requirement mandated by Article 164 (4) on a minister being elected to the legislature within six months of such appointment, applied only to a non-member, but not to an MP, a bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and P P Naolekar said while dismissing a petition seeking disqualification of UP Chief Minister Mayawati and her cabinet colleague S C Mishra, both sitting MPs.
The petition filed by a UP-based advocate Ashok Pandey had challenged the appointment of Mayawati and S C Mishra as being "unconstitutional," since the two, according to the petitioner, were required to vacate their Parliament seats before being appointed as Chief Minister and minister.
Citing its various earlier rulings including the 1997 judgement on the then Prime Minister Deve Gowda, the apex said that there was no embargo on a legislator being made a Prime Minister or an MP becoming a Chief Minister.
In the Deve Gowda case, a person Janak Raj Jai had challenged his appointment to the post of Prime Minister on the ground that he had not resigned his Karnataka Legislative Assembly seat and hence should be disqualified. PTI
Strike by Indian employees creates chaos, govt takes action
New Delhi, Jun 13 (PTI) A strike by employees of state -owned carrier Indian today created chaos in airports across the country, leaving hundreds stranded as flights were cancelled or delayed, even as the government initiated legal action against a union and warned of a lock-out if the stir was not lifted by tonight.
The Indian management moved court in New Delhi and served a legal notice on the Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU), which has a strength of over 12,000 and represents the airline's ground staff and cabin crew.
Official sources said the government would even consider a lock-out if the strike continued beyond tonight, with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel saying that 23 staffers had been served suspension notices.
The employees began a flash strike late last night after walking out of negotiations with the management on key issues like career progression and parity with Air India staff once the two state-run carriers are merged in July.
"We will review the situation. If they do not withdraw their illegal strike by this evening, we will take stern action against them," Patel told reporters here.
He warned that a proposed Rs 267-crore package to clear the arrears of Indian employees "can also be reconsidered" if the strike was not withdrawn.
About 40 per cent of the nationwide services of Indian were disrupted, including cancellation and delays of a large number of flights.
Indian cancelled at least 13 flights from Nedumbassery and Kozhikode in Kerala, Kolkata, Nagpur, Delhi and Chennai. Other flights were delayed by several hours, leaving hundreds stuck in airports. PTI
Presidential election on July 19: Election Commission
New Delhi, Jun 13 (PTI) The Presidential election will be held on July 19, the Election Commission announced today, setting in motion the process to decide the successor to incumbent A P J Abdul Kalam.
Counting of votes for the election to the 13th President is scheduled on July 21, three days before Kalam demits office.
Announcing the poll schedule, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami said that the election shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote and the voting would be by secret ballot.
Lok Sabha Secretary General P D T Achary has been appointed Returning Officer for the election.
According to the schedule, the notification for the election would be issued on June 16, the last date for filing nominations is June 30, scrutiny on July two and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is July four.
776 Members of Parliament, including 543 from Lok Sabha and 4,120 MLAs from various states, including Delhi and Puducherry, constitute the electoral college whose total vote value comes to 10,98,882 votes.
The ruling UPA alliance has got over 5.13 lakh votes while the strength of the opposition NDA is over 3.54 lakh votes and the combination of eight regional parties constituting the third front accounts for 1.05 lakh votes. PTI
An Aussie can be a good coach for India: Ponting
Bangalore, June 13 (PTI) Australian captain Ricky Ponting today said he saw no reason why an Australian coach could not do a good job in India when quite a few of them were doing well with teams around the world.
"I think Tom Moody has done some terrific job in Sri Lanka leading them to the World Cup final and I can't see why an Australian coach could not fit and do a good job here", Ponting, who was here to participate in a training programme for children, told reporters.
On Sunil Gavaskar reportedly being opposed to having an Australian coach for Team India, he said, "it is up to those guys. But if you look around us, you can see a lot Australian coaches doing pretty good job with teams around the world".
On BCCI's efforts to find a coach for Indian team, he said, "it is important that they get a coach on board" and end the current "dilemma" on the issue.
Referring to the current Indian team, Ponting said it was important that all "senior players really make sure that they stick together", leading the way and providing directions to the younger lot.
"That is what has been the Australian strength", he said.
To a question on the role of the coach in a team, he said, "cricket is run by the captain while the coach takes care of the technical side. But with the game getting as hectic as it was at the moment, the coach was important in mapping out programmes well, organising training session and ensuring a happy environment".
"We were lucky to play under some good coaches", he said while naming stalwarts like John Buchanan. "They made the job of the players much easier", he added. PTI
Lara considering return to international cricket
London, Jun 13 (PTI) Within two months of his hastily announced retirement, legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara has realised he did not want to lose touch with the game and is contemplating returning to the international cricket as a player.
Lara, who surprised everyone by calling it quits in the wake of his team's dismal performance in the recent World Cup, could be back playing international cricket in coming months, according to the latest issue of 'The Wisden Cricketer'.
"I think I am going to play cricket again. If I go six or eight months without cricket I would lose it and I don't want to lose it yet," Lara said.
Asked if he meant playing for celebrity team Lashings, he replied: "No, no," leaving county cricket or the proposed new Indian breakaway twenty20 league as intriguing possibilities.
Lara expected and hoped to be playing Test cricket in England this summer but claimed he left the West Indies cricket on his own terms.
"We needed a new direction, someone who was willing to see some sort of change. I was willing to do that. I wanted to come to England but I had also said I wanted to finish with one-dayers. It's not ideal but then how many things in life are?" PTI
Seshaiah defends his findings that Woolmer was murdered
Kingston (Jamaica), June 13 (PTI) Indian born pathologist Dr Ere Seshaiah, whose autopsy report guided the Jamaican police to look at the murder angle after the mysterious death of Bob Woolmer, stuck to his finding that the Pakistan cricket coach was murdered.
A day after the Jamaican police concluded that Woolmer's death was natural and that it was closing the case, Seshaiah said "I am sticking to my findings. He was murdered." "I am confident he was murdered. Woolmer is not a first for me, I have been doing autopsies here since 1995," Seshaiah was quoted as saying by the Jamaica Observer.
Declaring Woolmer's death as natural, after pursuing it as murder for almost three months, Jamaican Constabulary Force (JCF) commissioner Lucius Thomas yesterday said three foreign pathologists and toxicology tests had ruled out any foul play in the death of the Pakistani coach on March 18.
"The JCF accepts these findings and has now closed its investigation into the death of Bob Woolmer," Thomas told a news conference.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Mark Shields, who led the investigation into Woolmer's death refused to step down in the wake of the wrong judgement by the police in treating Woolmer's death as murder.
"I love my job and I love working in this country. I am looking forward to the next two years of my contract. We are not pathologists and if we had not sought other opinions we would have also been criticised," Shields said.
Woolmer was found dead in his room of Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on March 18, a day after his team made a premature exit from the World Cup tournament following Pakistan's unexpected loss to Ireland. PTI
2008 Beijing Olympics set to attract four billion TV viewers
Beijing, June 13 (PTI) The 2008 Beijing Olympics is expected to attract four billion television viewers globally, one billion more than in 2004, a top Chinese Olympics broadcasting official has said.
"The figure will be one billion more than that of the 2004 Athens Olympics, and I believe we can achieve that goal," Chief Operation officer of Beijing Olympics Dissemination Corporation Ltd.," Ma Guoli said in Shanghai.
Guoli said they will use about 65 High Definition relay vehicles and 1,000 video cameras, build a broadcasting centre with an area of up to 80,000 square meters, and produce live TV signals of 3,800 hours in 2008.
The company has signed contracts with 45 TV producers and more than 50 equipment suppliers from across the world, he said.
"High Definition signals will be used for TV relays for all 28 Olympics events," he said.
The company has 180 staff members for now, and one third of them are from 15 other countries and regions.
"By 2008, the number will increase to 4,000 and half of them will be from all over the world," he said.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics will be held here from August 8 to 24. PTI
ICICI Bank to raise Rs 8,750 cr through FPO in India
Mumbai, June 13 (PTI) Country's largest private lender ICICI Bank today said it will raise up to Rs 8,750 crore through a Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) in domestic markets.
The bank would issue equity shares of Rs 10 each amounting to Rs 8,750 crore for cash at a price to be determined by book building process, ICICI Bank said in a communique to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
It added that five per cent of the FPO would be reserved for existing shareholders holding shares worth Rs 1 lakh as on today, which is the record date for the issue.
The other details relating to the FPO, including the price band, would be announced by the bank in due course, it said.
The lender plans to mop up a total of Rs 20,125 crore from domestic and international markets, including a green shoe option of 15 per cent, as per the Draft Red Herring Prospectus filed with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India.
Its shares were trading at Rs 914.80, down 0.46 per cent on BSE in afternoon trade. PTI
When directors not around, Mrs Mittal will run steel empire
London, June 13 (PTI) Billionaire Lakshmi Mittal will trust none other than his better half Usha when none of the directors are there to run the world's largest steel company.
The shareholders of Mittal Steel, which acquired its closest rival Arcelor last year for over 33 billion dollars and would soon be renamed as ArcelorMittal, cleared a proposal to designate Usha Mittal to this position by an overwhelming support at an annual general meeting in Amsterdam yesterday.
"The resolution was approved by 97 per cent of votes cast by shareholders," Mittal Steel said in a regulatory filing.
The board had proposed to designate Usha Mittal as the person referred to in "Article 23 of Articles of Association of the Company".
According to the Article of Association, such a person is "temporarily responsible for the management of the company in case all members of the board of directors are prevented from acting or are permanently absent".
The company had said in its proposal placed before the AGM Usha Mittal has more than 15 years experience in steel and related industries and was a director of the company from its inception until March 16, 2001.
According to the company's annual report for 2006, Lakshmi and Usha Mittal owned 87.47 per cent of Mittal Steel's shares, representing 98.32 per cent of its voting rights.
Currently, Mittal Steel's board is headed by Joseph Kinsch as chairman and Lakshmi Mittal is the president of the board. Mittal's daughter Vanisha Mittal is also one of the directors on the board. PTI
Wipro, EMC announce global strategic alliance
Bangalore, June 13 (PTI) Wipro Limited and EMC Corporation today announced a global strategic alliance to address customers' information infrastructure requirements, while expanding both the company's reach in the USD 60 billion worldwide information infrastructure market.
"The alliance unites Wipro's applied innovation framework for developing new solutions and services around EMC's industry-leading information infrastructure technologies to enable more organisations, specifically in targeted growth markets, to optimise their infrastructures, secure and protect their information and leverage them to unlock its full potential", a Wipro statement said.
Wipro and EMC intend to explore collaboration of industry and application specific solutions in key business areas that solve customer needs related to storage management, information management, content management, and information security.
"Wipro and EMC bring together extensive experience and presence to expand relationships with existing customers and acquire new ones in both emerging and developed markets", it said.
To further enable this alliance, EMC intends to help certify more than 1,000 Wipro practice resources on EMC technologies to support pre-sales, delivery, and solution development. PTI
Emami to invest Rs 220 cr for expansion in FMCG segment
New Delhi, June 13 (PTI) Emami Group today said it will invest about Rs 220 crore for expansion in the FMCG segment, which includes acquisitions in personal care and healthcare space and product portfolio enhancement through forays into new categories.
The company, which is eyeing over Rs 500 crore of revenue in the next 3-4 years by foraying into new segments like babycare, haircare and expansion in men's grooming categories, has also renewed its advertising contract with Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan for another three years.
"We are actively looking for acquisitions in the personal care and health care segment. About Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for the purpose," Emami Group of companies Director Aditya V Agarwal told PTI.
He, however, added an acquisition was not in the horizon right now, but said the company was "actively looking out for opportunities".
On product portfolio expansion, Agarwal said Emami would launch 18 new products this year in hair care, baby care and men's grooming segments.
He said the company invests Rs 120 crore on brand investments every year, out of which Rs 40 crore would be spent on the new launches.
"We have also renewed our contract with Amitabh Bachchan for endorsing our products for another three years," he said, adding fees for the superstar was over and above its total promotion budget.
Agarwal said the new range of products from Emami would include hair pack, hair dye and shampoo, which is expected to be launched in next five months. PTI
UN puts child labour laws under scanner
New York, Jun 13 (PTI) Three United Nations agencies have joined forces with key international agricultural groups to launch a new landmark global partnership to address the plight of children working in agriculture sector.
The initiative will focus on policies and activities to promote the application of laws on child labour in agriculture, mainstream child labour issues into national agricultural activities, and promote youth employment opportunities in rural areas.
"It is only by mainstreaming child labour issues into mandates and policies and by working together that we can strengthen the worldwide movement to eliminate child labour," International Labour Organisation (ILO) Director-General Juan Somavia said, welcoming the new partnership.
The yesterday's announcement coincided with The World Day Against Child Labour.
ILO estimates that 218 million children worldwide, from 5 to 17 years old, are engaged in some kind of labour, with 126 million engaged in the worst forms of child labour.
The agency noted that worldwide, agriculture is where by far the largest number of working children can be found -- an estimated 70 per cent, of whom 132 million are girls and boys aged 5-14, who often work from dawn to dusk on farms and plantations, planting and harvesting crops, spraying pesticides, and tending livestock.
"These children are helping to produce the food and beverages we consume," said ILO.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization stressed that putting an end to child labour in agriculture must become a political priority, saying it is "simply unacceptable" that 132 million children are forced to work the land under unhealthy and hazardous conditions. PTI
Our mother is still with us: Princes William and Harry
London, June 13 (PTI) Even as a decade has passed since Princess Diana's death, Prince William and Harry feels their mother has been with them and the time has passed "really, really slow".
Terming the death as a tragic accident, Harry said he would "never stop wondering" about what happened in the Paris tunnel on the night his mother died.
"Whatever happened in that tunnel, you know, no one will ever know. And I am sure people will always think about that. I'll never stop wondering," Prince Harry said during an interview filmed at Clarence House in London to mark the tenth anniversary of the princess' death to be screened on US network NBC on Monday.
Speaking of her death, Prince William, 24, said: "There's not a day goes by I don't think about that." The grieving process had been particularly slow for them, he said, because her image was still everywhere.
"There was never that peace and quiet for any of us," the third in line to the British throne, Prince Harry said.
Referring to his mother's desire for him to lead as normal a life as possible, Harry said: "I think she'd be happy in the way that we're going about it but slightly unhappy about the way the other people were going about it, as in saying, 'Look you're not normal so stop trying to be normal', which is very much what we get a lot.
"You know it's like, 'stop trying to be normal'.
"You've got certain responsibilities, which obviously we do, and we know we have certain responsibilities.
"But within our, within our private life and within certain other parts of our life, we want to be as normal as possible". PTI
Bangla peacekeepers found guilty of using excessive force: UN
United Nations, Jun 13 (PTI) A UN investigation has found Bangladeshi peacekeepers, operating in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, guilty of using excessive force against detainees trying to escape from their control and has asked Dhaka to take action against the offenders.
"The UN has already conducted a number of inquiries into the allegations of mistreatment, including one by the UN Organisation Mission in the DRC (MONUC) that reached the finding of excessive force," chief spokesperson Michele Montas said.
MONUC chief William Lacy Swing announced last week that he has also asked the UN's Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) to conduct a full probe into all detainees held by the Mission's Ituri Brigade which operated in the region of the same name in the northeast of the vast African country in 2005.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has provided subsequent information that will be shared with the OIOS inquiry, Montas said.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern about the mistreatment by the Bangladeshis.
"As a matter of principle the peacekeepers must stand and work on the basis of the highest level of ethics and work standards," Ban said. "This is the ground principle of the UN, and I am going to closely follow this matter so that this kind of thing will not happen any more." Meanwhile, the UN internal watchdog is expected to finalise shortly the report on the inquiry it conducted into allegations that Pakistani troops serving in peacekeeping operations in the DRC trafficked in arms for gold in and thus helped rearm the militias groups they were expected to disarm. PTI
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran agree to stop drug trafficking
New York, Jun 13 (PTI) Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan have agreed to work closely to stop drug trafficking along their common borders by building more physical barriers, launching joint counter-narcotic operations and improving communication.
The three countries agreed to take steps to improve border management by building more physical barriers, boosting law enforcement capacity, launching joint counter-narcotic operations, improving communication, and increasing intelligence-sharing about trafficking routes, traffickers, suspicious shipments and other activities, United Nations Office for Drug and Crime (UNODC) which hosted the meeting said.
The ministers and officials also agreed to focus not only on trafficking, but on all aspects of the drug economy, the agency said. This includes stopping the diversion and smuggling of precursor chemicals used to make drugs, locating and destroying drug labs, tackling corruption which facilitates the drug business and halting the laundering of drug money.
They also urged countries where opiates are consumed, particularly the European Union and the Russian Federation, to assume their share of responsibility by curbing the demand that is fuelling the opium trade.
In a joint statement, the ministers of public security and counter-narcotics from the three countries expressed their intention to take action to reduce the threat posed by Afghanistan's opium. PTI
UN to start second phase of monitoring of Maoist Army
United Nations, Jun 13 (PTI) The United Nations plans to start later this week the second phase of monitoring of Maoist army personnel in Nepal to ensure that no minors are serving there.
"This is a crucial stage of the implementation of the Agreement on the Monitoring of Arms and Armies," said Ian Martin, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative, announcing that the process will begin tomorrow in eastern Nepal.
Teams led by the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) will individually verify the details of each registered Maoist army member to ensure that they were over the age of 18 before May 25, 2006 and that they joined the Maoist army before this cut-off date.
Child protection officers from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and registration personnel from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) will participate in the effort.
UNMIN teams completed the first phase of registering weapons and personnel in mid-February, when more than 30,850 Maoist personnel were registered and 2,855 weapons were stored under 24-hour UN monitoring.
An equivalent number of weapons of the Nepal Army was also stored under UN-monitoring as part of this process.
The verification process will be undertaken through individual interview with each person registered as a Maoist combatant, and will be done in each of the seven main cantonment sites one after the other, the mission said. PTI
Assam faces acute power crisis
Sukhendu Bhattacharya
Guwahati, Jun 13 (PTI) A drought like situation leading to poor hydro-power generation and a weak distribution network have led to Assam facing the worst ever power crisis prompting the government to approach neighbouring states as well as the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan for power supply.
Already facing a shortage crisis has been compounded with a prolonged dry spell.
Chief minister Tarun Gogoi in an SOS to the centre recently requested for immediate allocation of 400 MW power from ONGC's Tripura based gas project, and also some power from the Tala and Kiruchu hydro electric projects of Bhutan to Assam.
Charging the public sector ONGC and OIL for failing to supply committed gas for power generation in Assam, Gogoi said as a result of that generation in the Namrup thermal power station (TPS) and Lakwa TPS as well as the Kthalguri TPS of North East Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) have suffered badly.
The chief minister has also called for adequate investment in the power distribution segment as there are large gaps in the network in major towns.
Assam power minister Pradyut Bordoloi says that the unprecented power crisis is due to over dependence on thermal projects some of them have become obsolete.
To improve the situation the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) has been divided into separate companies for generation, transmission and distribution, he said. PTI
Reality shows, now on the internet
New Delhi, Jun 13 (PTI) Reality shows, the latest craze on television are now reaching the cyber world.
Algeka.Com, which describes itself as part singing competition and part online video site, has come up with a singing competition where unsigned singers from around the world can upload their original music video on the website.
Fans from around the globe will cast their votes by downloading the music video of their favorite contestents.
Voting for the competition starts from June 15 and will end by August 15, 2007. The person getting the maximum votes will be the winner and will be awarded $10,000, the website says in a press release issued through AsiaNet.
This competition is a first of its kind online reality show. Algeka.Com is a paid site where $1.99 is charged for every download. However, what is unique about it is that the participants will be paid 20% of the proceeds from their downloads, the release says.
After the competition Algeka.Com will continue as an online music site. At present there are numerous online video sites. Some of them provide downloads for free, while others are paid sites. These online video sites are extremely popular with music lovers as it gives them a chance to listen and also download their favourites.
Online music videos have been there for some time now. But for the first time a website has combined internet with the concept of reality shows and has come up with an online singing competition, the release says. PTI
Housewives to college students, the stock markets are attracting all
Anurag Sharma
New Delhi, Jun 13 (PTI) After the usual gossip and discussions on jewellery and designer clothes, the talks veer around the hitherto uncharted territory of IPOs, demat accounts, BSE and NSE indices and what shares to buy.
As the stock markets boom, housewives and even some college students are taking interest in the markets and some of them are managing their port-folios well too.
"There is a feeling among youth and housewives that they too should invest. Call centre employees, who earn a good salary, easily invest upto Rs 5,000 per month in mutual funds (MFs). Housewives too invest in small if not big amounts," says Dwij Seth, Assistant Vice-President Online, India Bulls.
You can say that housewives have now sharpened their knives to cut their share from the booming stock market pie, he adds.
"You can attribute the awareness among the housewives to channels like NDTV Profit or 'Awaz' or CNBC," says Ravinder Seth, Managing Director, Elite Stock Exchange Ltd.
"If 50 per cent of the housewives watch the saans-bahu soaps on the television, there are 50 per cent watching the programme on the economy," he adds. Agreeing that there is increased interest among women in investments, he says that if three years ago, ten out of 100 queries his company was receiving on investment were from women, the number has gone up to 30 out of 100.
"Housewives have come out of kitchens and engaging themselves in various vacations like direct sales, event management. They are earning money and contributing to the household income," says Raju Vyas, Chartered Accountant. And as they start earning money, they want it to be managed in intelligent way, he says. PTI
Jharkhand Newswletter: Ruing a missed opportunity
Ranchi, Jun 12 (PTI) An opportunity to increase assembly seats was missed when the Bihar Reorganisation, 2000 Act was adopted by Parliament to create Jharkhand, exposing the threat of misunderstanding between peoples following the recomendation by the Delimitation Commission of India (DCI) to cut Scheduled Tribe (ST) reserved seats.
The strong protests ahead of DCI's two-day public hearing from June eight in the backdrop of its recommendation to cut down six assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes had forced chief minister Madhu Koda to hurriedly convene an all-party meeting recently.
Major political parties during the meeting were unanimous in protecting the 28 assembly seats and five Lok Sabha seats reserved for ST and decided to make an earnest plea to prime minister Manmohan Singh for an amendment in the delimitation act.
Following large-scale protests against its proposal to reduce ST seats in Jharkhand, the DCI has postponed its public hearing to a later date.
However, Chief Election Officer (Jharkhand) Debashish Gupta said the decision to postpone the hearing was taken as June nine was the death anniversary of Tribal icon, Birsa Munda.
"A large number of political parties, particularly tribal groups, are indignant on the DCI's recommendation. A delegation cutting across political parties will shortly meet the Prime Minister," the Chief Minister said.
"We will also request the centre to take initiatives in increasing the present 81-member Jharkhand assembly to solve the problem automatically," Koda said amidst Jharkhand Mukti Morch (JMM), a major ally in Koda government, strongly resenting any downsizing of Scheduled Tribe seats. PTI
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