Thursday, March 31, 2011

Hearing on Narendra Modi's quizzing by riots panel deferred

e GT Nanavati commission, probing the 2002 riot cases, was on Wednesday deferred till September 7.

Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM), an NGO representing the riot victims, approached the commission afresh after the Gujarat High Court direction on July 23.

The high court asked the riot panel to "look into the matter after taking into consideration facts in their record".

When the matter came up for hearing, advocate Tempton Nanavati, representing the state, sought more time.

Justice GT Nanavati, heading the commission, said that it was not fair to delay the hearing for one reason or the other. He said that the state was given enough time to prepare its statement.

The counsel tendered his apologies and said that he had received these instructions at the last moment.

The NGO has requested the commission to call officials of Modi's office Omprakash Singh, Tanmay Mehta and Sanjay Bhavsar, for cross examination in connection with the 2002 riots.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Narendra Modi calls for making Gujarat malnutriti

Narendra Modi calls for making Gujarat malnutrition-free

Mehsana, Feb 6 : Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi exhorted his ministers and officials to work towards making Gujarat a malnutrition-free state.

Speaking at the concluding session of seventh 'Chintan Shibir' here, Mr Modi said the government will have to take up the challenge of freeing Gujarat from the clutches of malnutrition.

He said to achieve this goal, a healthy competition of growth at the taluka level must be encouraged.

Mr Modi emphasised the need to take up voters awareness campaign in the state to strengthen democratic institutions at the grassroots level.

''The progress made by Gujarat is being discussed and hailed in all over the country. Now it is the responsibility of the Team Gujarat to maintain this reputation,'' he said.

He said a Mission Manglam, launched at the taluka level, will ensure a comprehensive development of poor people in the state.

The concept of holding annual camp of the entire Council of Ministers and senior bureaucrats at different venues, away from the state capital and daily administrative chores, amidst some serene surrounding dawn-to-dusk for several days for introspection, was conceived by the Chief Minister. Mr Modi ensures he himself remains present in as many sessions as possible.

The 'Shibir' ended this evening with Mr Modi felicitating some officials for their good work.

Meanwhile, a report from Palanpur said Mehsana Collector Ajay Bhadu was presented the Best Collector' award.

The award comprised a citation and a purse of Rs 51,000. Apart from that, Rs 20 lakh was granted for taking up new projects in the district.

Mehsana topped the list of the districts in the state for giving plots to poor people, improving delivery of citizen's services and redressal of public grievances.

PM remark on Gujarat minister biggest joke: Narendra Modi

Ahmedabad: A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of adopting a "hostile attitude" towards his government because of action against a Gujarat minister, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi hit back terming his remark as the "biggest joke of 2011".

"The PM's speech yesterday, I think, is the biggest joke of 2011," Modi said here.

"You (PM) are not being able to do anything and you have admitted of your difficulties in public. For this, it is not needed to blame any minister from Gujarat or the government of Gujarat. They try to drag Gujarat's name all the time. I think his remark was very humorous," he added.

In a media interaction Wednesday, the prime minister accused the opposition party of adopting a "hostile attitude" towards the government and blamed it for delaying the introduction of a single goods and service tax (GST) in the country.

Singh said the GST will make India's tax system an "envy of the world".

But, he told the select editors of electronic media invited for tghe interaction, the opposition-led states are not cooperating.

"The reasons that have been given, frankly, I cannot mention it in public. They say because you have taken some decision against a particular person, who was a minister in Gujarat, we must reverse it."

The prime minister was apparently referring to the arrest of Gujarat's former minister of state for home Amit Shah, who was held last year by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the 2005 killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in a staged shootout