Posts Tagged ‘Chennai’
Written by admin on 16 May 2012
Chennai, May 16 (IANS) Qualifiers Nitesh Madan and Rishit Jain, both from Delhi, made it to the pre-quarter-finals of the SVS All-India invitational junior snooker tournament, here Wednesday.
Also through to the round of 16 were: Laxman Rawat (DEL), S Shrikrishna (TN), German Girish (KAR), Kabil Badami, Himanshu Jain (AP), E Sundar Raj (TN), M L Lakshman (KAR), Nikhil Pise (KAR), Lalrina Renthlei (MIZ), Ishpreet Singh (MAH), Mundir Sherazi (KAR), Lalit Dahiya (DEL), Peter Paul (TN) and Malkeet Singh (UP).
The results:
Group A: Kabil Badami (MAH) bt Laxman Rawat (DEL) 3-1, Laxman Rawat (DEL) bt K. Rakesh (TN) 3-0, Shrikrishna (TN) bt German Girish (KAR) 3-2, Rakesh bt Varsha Sanjeev (KAR) 3-0, Rawat bt Girish 3-0.
Group B: Lakshman M L (KAR) bt KaavyaBharath (TN) 3-1, Himanshu Jain (AP) bt K Rajan (TN) 3-0, E Sundar Raj (TN) bt Rajan 3-0, Jain bt Lakshman 3-0, Jain bt Nikhil Pise (KAR) 3-0, Pise bt Kaavya 3-0.
Group C: Mundir Sherazi (KAR) bt B Jagadesh (TN) 3-0, Lalrina Renthlei (MIZ) bt Rahul Sachdev (MAH) 3-0, Nitesh Madan (DEL) bt Ishpreet Singh (MAH) 3-0, Sherazi bt Renthlei 3-0.
Group D Rishit Jain (DEl) bt R Subhash (TN) 3-1, Lalit Dahiya (DEl) bt Ashutosh Padhey (ODI) 3-2, Malkeet Singh (UP) bt Peter Paul (TN) 3-1, Malkeet bt Dahiya 3-0, Jain bt Dahiya 3-1.
Tags: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
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Written by admin on 16 May 2012
Chennai, May 16 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Wednesday sought the cooperation of all political parties to develop the state.
Speaking in the assembly on the first anniversary of her AIADMK government, she also appealed for their support to reinforce the state’s rights vis-a-vis the central government.
She thanked both those who praised her government for its achievements in the past one year and others who listed the shortcomings.
Referring to the power situation, Jayalalithaa said her government was taking necessary steps so that Tamil Nadu does not suffer from electricity shortages.
She said when she took office in May 2011, she inherited a government laden with debt and poor administration and finances.
She also faulted what she said was the indifference of the central government to Tamil Nadu.
She said her her government listened to constructive suggestions from the opposition and added that the opposition should not oppose government schemes and policies blindly.
Tags: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
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Written by admin on 16 May 2012
Chennai, May 16 (IANS) A year after she stormed to power in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa still enjoys wide support in the state. But the number of critics is rising too.
Reactions on one year of AIADMK rule varied as Jayalalithaa began her second year in office Wednesday,
It was on this day in 2011 that the actress-turned-politician took the oath of office — for the third time since 1991.
Most of the poor seem happy. The government gives 20 kg of free rice to the poor and 35 kg for the very poor.
Four grams of ‘mangalsutra’ in gold is also given free to the poor besides the Rs.25,000 already provided during weddings.
The pension for the elderly, destitute, widows and differently abled women has been doubled to Rs.1,000. Compensation to fishermen who suffered during a 45-day fishing ban has been hiked.
Other election promises like free laptops for students, free mixers or grinders, fans and induction stoves, free sanitary napkins for rural women, free cattle for the poor and other schemes have been implemented.
“The free cattle scheme has benefited sections of the rural people and kindled the hopes of millions. It is a good scheme,” Communist Party of India leader D. Pandian told IANS.
The middle class is, however, upset that bus fares and milk and power costs have shot up.
“My power bill has doubled and it is pinching. We are now reducing our power consumption,” R. Raghunathan, a retired private sector employee, told IANS.
Power cuts are rampant.
The chief minister’s controversial stand of asking the central government to stop all construction at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) effectively delayed it by six months.
After initially backing local protests against the project, Jayalalithaa gave the green signal in March this year.
The Vision 2023 document released by Jayalalithaa has set a target of making Tamil Nadu one of the top three investment destinations in Asia by 2023.
According to CPI’s Pandian, the Jayalalithaa government’s stand on issues like the Mullaperiyar dam row with Kerala and the situation in Sri Lanka gained the support of all political parties.
The chief minister also wants the death penalty given to three people from Tamil Nadu for the 1991 assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to be converted into life imprisonment.
Politically, however, Jayayalithaa is now a virtual loner. She upset electoral allies by going against one of them, the DMDK.
“The AIADMK thinks it has gained strength and does not need others. This thinking will have serious implications,” Pandian warned.
Jayalalithaa has declared that the AIADMK will play a key role nationally in the times to come.
The government’s decision to crack the whip on land grabbers has received popular backing.
According to the government, following 34,700 complaints, 1,299 people who had grabbed land were arrested and land worth Rs.758 crore was restored to the rightful owners.
Some pet schemes of former chief minister M. Karunanidhi like provision of free colour televisions for ration card holders have been scrapped and some have been re-launched.
More famously, Jayalalithaa has refused to shift the secretariat from Fort St. George to the new assembly and secretariat building. The latter, she said, will be converted into a hospital.
Jayalalithaa also maintains a distance from the central government. She is against some of the latter’s initiatives, saying they encroach upon the states’ autonomy.
(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)
Tags: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
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Written by admin on 15 May 2012
Chennai, May 15 (IANS) The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) leading the protest against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project Tuesday announced its decision of call off its indefinite hunger strike while continuing with the relay fasting.
PMANE’s Struggle Committee in a statement said it was calling off the hunger strike, as requested by former chief justice of Madras and Delhi high courts A.P. Shah and others.
“Although 25 men and 302 women were on indefinite hunger strike from May 1 and May 4, respectively, neither the Government of Tamil Nadu nor the Government of India invited us for talks or any kind of negotiations on our 11 demands,” the statement said.
It said the “central and state governments rushed to talk to Maoists who kidnap and kill officials and politicians. They even grant their demands”.
“But these governments completely dismiss the legitimate demands of our fishermen and farmers who have been waging a peaceful, non-violent and democratic struggle for the past nine months. This is definitely not a healthy trend and it could send wrong messages to our youth and children,” the statement added.
It said that with the termination of the hunger strike, its relay fast protest had resumed.
Tags: Chennai
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Written by admin on 15 May 2012
Chennai, May 15 (IANS) DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi Tuesday expressed his happiness at party leader and former telecom minister A. Raja being freed on bail in the 2G spectrum case, and said the party will stand by him.
“I’m happy at Raja getting bail. The party will stand by him,” Karunanidhi told reporters here.
The DMK president said if an opportunity arose, he would visit Raja in New Delhi.
Raja was lodged in Delhi’s high-security Tihar Jail since February 2011 as an accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case.
Tags: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
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Written by admin on 15 May 2012
Chennai, May 15 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Tuesday said the 2G spectrum allotment scam case seemed to be getting diluted with the bail granted to former communications minister and the main accused A. Raja.
Queried about the bail granted to Raja, she told reporters here: “I am hearing about it from you only now. It definitely looks as though it is (2G case) getting diluted.”
Raja, lodged in the Tihar jail in Delhi since February 2011, was Tuesday granted bail by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special judge O.P. Saini.
When asked about Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s role in the Aircel-Maxis deal, Jayalalithaa said: “It is up to (Janata Party chief ) Subramanian Swamy to substantiate his allegations, and it is up to Minister Chidambaram to defend himself. In a situation like this, the only hope is the Supreme Court.”
Meanwhile, DMK party workers in Perambalur burst crackers and distributed sweets after party MP Raja was granted bail.
As news spread of his release from the Tihar jail, jubilation broke out in Raja’s native town Perambalur, around 300 km from here, police said. However, the celebrations were low key, they added.
The DMK welcomed the court’s decision to free Raja on bail, though he has been barred from visiting Tamil Nadu.
“We are happy. Getting bail is part of the legal process. We are confident that Raja will come out clean in the whole episode,” DMK spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan told IANS over phone from New Delhi.
Tags: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
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