West Bengal Board of Secondary Education

"Priyanka came  to Amethi on a two day tour to campaign for Rahul," Amethi constituency Lok Sabha incharge Chandrakant Dubey said. According to sources, Priyanka will hold public meetings, meet party workers, besides visiting all the 16 blocks in this constituency. While BJP has fielded Smriti Irani, AAP has fielded Kumar Vishwas against Rahul. Samajwadi Party has not fielded any candidate from Amethi.

"Varun is a Gandhi who has lost his way," Priyanka, who accompanied brother and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi while filing nomination papers in Amethi on Saturday, said during an address to party workers in Sultanpur.Priyanka's attack on Varun in Sultanpur also holds significance as he is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the same constituency. She even went on to ask the Sultanpur electorate to help guide him the right direction. "Please help in bringing my brother back to the right path,"she said.Usually, the younger Gandhis are reported to be sharing a cordial bond and never in the past have they made any negative remarks about each other.

 Also, it was earlier this month that Varun Gandhi praised Rahul's work in his constituency Amethi. Addressing a public meeting, Varun Gandhi said that Sultanpur must replicate the development work done by Rahul. "We require small scale industries, like the ones Rahul Gandhi has set up in Amethi. However, I cannot give that example as I haven't seen the work at the ground level," Varun Gandhi had said.However, Varun's showering of praise did not go down well with his mother and BJP MP Maneka Gandhi as she adviced him to refrain from commenting on things he did not knew about.

India gained its independence and a democratic status in 1947 and the general elections coming ahead in 2014 will mark 67 years of its status. The minds behind the thought of India as a sovereign nation were excellent and had no personal motives while participating in the establishment of a democratic set up.

Corruption was far from their noble thoughts and deeds. The political situation has become highly corrupted and there are flaws in the election process that are beyond estimate. The electoral process is still followed while staging elections in the country so that the government at the Center can be established and can function to run the country.

India has parliamentary constituencies where in Members of Parliament for the Lok Sabha are chosen through voting/election which is done every 5 years. May 31, 2014 marks the end of present constitutional term of the Lok Sabha.Congress had an emphatic victory in 2009 Lok Sabha elections. UPA-2 started on a high by winning almost full majority on its own. However, their second term has been marred with controversies and corruption allegations. Starting with Commonwealth Games scam, every few months saw a new scam coming out like Adarsh Society scam and the biggest of all, the 2G scam. 

Fuel and commodity prices have risen sharply in the past few years adding to the woes of common man. Crusade against black money and corruption by Anna Hazare and to some extent baba Ramdev has only added to the woes of Congress. But Congress is shrewd and knows politics quite well. They know that offense is the best way to defend. For every scam or corruption news that comes out, they bounce back with equally controversial news against rival parties. Their projection of Rahul Gandhi, who has not yet proved any political sense, as a Prime Ministerial candidate may help them in their campaign build up to 2014 polls.[pic][pic]Main opposition party Bhartiya Janata Party was left down and out after the 2009 polls. BJP's arch enemy is not Congress but BJP itself. 

It's leaders have failed to capitalize on core issues of price rise and corruption against the Congress. They should have learned from how Congress and some smaller parties have been able to successfully use the anti-minority tag against the BJP for over two decades now. BJP has also lost a lot of mass appeal leaders over the years. Most popular elader in india Atal Behari Vajpayee has now retired from active politics. Charasmatic leader and face of modern India, Pramod Mahajan was killed in a tragic incident. Stalwarts like Govindacharya and Jaswant Singh were thrown out. Prime Ministerial candidate Murli Manohar Joshi has been made to sit on the sidelines with no influence on national level politics. L K Advani is close to retirement years and firebrand Sushma Swaraj hasn't proved to be a winner yet.

Actor Nagma's debut in electoral politics has been rough. The Congress candidate from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh has been seen on camera being pushed at and manhandled by unruly crowds and even a Congress legislator, though she now denies facing any harassment at all.

Two weeks ago, the legislator, Gajraj Singh, grabbed Nagma's face and allegedly kissed her on the cheek in visuals that went viral online and were repeatedly shown on TV. Nagma was seen removing his hand and walking off, without addressing the crowd.

Last Friday, chaos erupted again at Nagma's public meeting, and she was seen slapping a man who allegedly groped her.

"Neither did anyone try to kiss me nor did I slap anyone," the actor told NDTV on Tuesday. She also denied having said that she would not return to Meerut if it happened again.

Nagma joined the Congress just before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, but had so far only campaigned for the party and its candidates. Her name was discussed in previous elections as a possible Lok Sabha candidate and even for the Rajya Sabha, but she was overlooked each time. 

If the surging crowds at her public meetings convert into votes, the 39-year-old should win easily in Meerut. But crowds guarantee a box-office hit, not an election win. 

Nagma failed to make her mark in Hindi films after a blockbuster debut in Baaghi opposite Salman Khan in 1989. She then shifted her attention down south, a move that paid off. She starred in several hits in Tamil and Telugu films, and was called the "Queen of the South''. 

The prolific actor has featured in films in 10 languages so far, most recently in Bhojpuri cinema.

Nagma was born Nandita Morarji, to a Hindu father and a Muslim mother on December 25, 1974. Her parents had already separated by the time she was born and her mother married a film producer. 

Nagma reportedly remained close to her biological father, Arvind Pratapsinh Morarji, who had links with the Jaisalmer royal family.

Toll in Muzaffarnagar violence climbs to 38, curfew continues

               

Curfew remained in force in riot-hit areas of Muzaffarnagar on Tuesday with the army patrolling troubled places as the death toll in the clashes in the district and adjoining towns rose to 38.

Related: Azam Khan blames administration, SP govt

Over 360 people have been arrested in connection with the violence.

Editorial: Communal conflict in UP must be checked

"A total of 38 people have died in various districts of western Uttar Pradesh with 32 deaths in Muzaffarnagar", Home Secretary Kamal Saxena said.

Muzaffarnagar: Packed hospital, empty streets

While two deaths have been reported from Meerut, one each has been reported from Hapur, Baghpat, Saharapur and Shamli, he said, adding that 81 people have been injured in these districts and 366 people have been arrested.

The Home Secretary said no fresh incident has been reported and the situation was under control.

Also read: 'My mother tried to drag us away but they chased us'

Curfew in three police station areas of Muzaffarnagar- Civil Lines, Kotwali and Nai Mandi -- was continuing and army was patrolling the troubled areas in Muzaffarnagar, Shamli and Meerut, Saxena said.

Digvijaya blames SP govt for Muzaffarnagar clashes, says BSP rule was 'better'

Prohibitory orders are being enforced strictly and a strict watch is being maintained on mischievous elements.

FIRs were registered on Monday against BJP legislative party leader Hukum Singh, MLAs Suresh Rana, Bhartendu, Sangeet Som and former Congress MP Harendra Malik among others for violating prohibitory orders and some of the senior leaders who tried to go to Muzaffarnagar, including union minister Ajit Singh.

Muzaffarnagar riots: 4 BJP MLAs, Cong leader booked

The injured are undergoing treatment in various hospitals and the affected people have been shifted to safer places.

                                     

The BSE benchmark Sensex on Thursday regained the 20,000-level by rising over 104 points in early trade on increased buying by funds in healthcare, realty, capital goods and banking stocks amid a mixed Asian trend.

The 30-share barometer rose by 104.12 points, or 0.52 per cent, to trade above 20,000 points level at 20,052.85. The index had gained 97.50 points in the previous session.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty too moved up by 28.25 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 6,001.55.

Brokers said increased buying by funds amid a mixed trend in the Asian region following overnight gains on the U.S. market after U.S. Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said the bank had no plan to wind down its stimulus until the economy was back on track, mainly influenced the trading sentiment here.

Besides, expectations of encouraging earnings from corporates also generated buying activity, they said.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei was up by 0.82 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang seng index was down 0.06 per cent in early trade on Thursday.

The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.12 per cent in Wednesday’s trade.

                              

The rupee on Thursday fell by 40 paise to 59.74 in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market (Forex), weighed down by the US dollar’s gains against other currencies.

Forex dealers said besides dollar’s gain against other currencies overseas after US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said the bank had no plan to wind down its stimulus until the economy was back on track, increased demand for the American currency from importers put pressure on the rupee.

They said, however, a higher opening in the domestic equity market, capped the rupee’s losses.

The rupee had lost three paise to close at 59.34 against the US dollar on Wednesday, failing to sustain gains driven by the easing of FDI norms in various sectors and the RBI’s liquidity-tightening measures.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex regained 20,000-points level by rising 104.12 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 20,052.85 in early trade today.

Monsoon session of Parliament to begin on Aug. 5

                             

The Monsoon session of Parliament will be held from August 5 to 30 during which the ordinance on Food Security Bill will come up for ratification and other import economic legislations like the Land Acquisition and Insurance Bills are expected to be taken up for consideration.

A decision on the 26-day session was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Paliamentary Affairs headed by Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Monday.

The ordinance promulgated recently on the Food Security Bill will be coming up for ratification at the session, which has been delayed this time. The Monsoon session normally starts in the second half of July.

During the session, Government plans to bring forward a number of important legislations including the Land Acquisition Bill, Insurance Bill, Pension Bill, Companies Bill and the Direct Taxes Code Bill to give a boost to the sluggish economy.

Congress has been accusing the Opposition of blocking the Food Security Bill during the last Parliament session whose major portion was washed away by repeated disruptions over a variety of issues including the demand for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the wake of the coal scam.

Uttarakhand disaster: a month after, 5748 still missing

                           

The deadline for locating 5,748 people still missing in the Uttarakhand disaster ended on Monday, exactly a month after the catastrophe, but Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said they will not be declared dead yet.

Mr. Bahuguna, however, said the process of paying monetary relief of Rs. 5 lakh each to the kin of those dead and missing in the flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains that struck the hill state on June 15 will commence from Tuesday. He also said the mission to trace the missing will continue.

But if the missing persons are found, the family will have to return the relief money, he said at a joint news conference with Union Minister of State for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla.

When asked whether the missing are being presumed dead, Mr. Bahuguna said, “This is hoping against hope but we can’t declare them dead.”

Setting a deadline, the Chief Minister had said last week that those who are still missing will be presumed dead if they remain untraced till July 15.

Out of Rs. 5 lakh to be given to the next of kin of the missing, Rs. 3.5 lakh will be paid by the Centre and the rest by the respective state governments.

“After tabulation of lists of missing persons received from other states and the ones available with us a total of 5,748 persons are missing till date out of which 934 are from Uttarakhand,” he said.

“The mission to find them out will go on as we still hope that the missing surface and return to their homes.”

A fortnight back, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the death toll could be around 900.

Admitting that debris removal at Kedarnath shrine was being badly affected by inclement weather, the chief minister said the NDRF has not been able to drop equipment needed to clear nearly five feet of debris lying in the shrine premises due to incessant rains.

Bodies have also been sighted in Rambada area a few kilometres from the shrine but the team engaged in the exercise has not been able to reach them.

Relief material is being transported by mules and choppers to affected areas whenever the weather permits.

Mr. Bahuguna also said BSNL lines have been restored in all affected villages.

About the formation of a glacial lake at Satopanth beyond Badrinath, the chief minister said the report submitted by a team of experts that visited the area says there is no threat perception as there is no stagnation of water in the lake.

Mr. Bahuguna said a long term plan for infrastructural reconstruction of the ‘char dhams’ is being prepared in consultation with the GSI and environmental experts which will soon be submitted to the Centre.

Special attention will be paid to the seismic vulnerability of the hill regions of the state and flood control measures in view of erosion of the Ganga river and its tributaries in the plan for rehabilitation and reconstruction of the affected areas in Uttarakhand, he said.

Noting that taking relief to flood-hit people and their subsequent rehabilitation are on top of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s agenda, Mr. Shukla said a Cabinet sub committee has been constituted by Dr. Singh for the purpose.

Mr. Shukla who held a meeting with the chief minister and senior state government officials before addressing the press conference, said wide-ranging discussions on methods to speed up relief and rehabilitation process, revival of tourism and restoration of the damaged network of roads were held during the deliberations.

Mr. Shukla said there will be no dearth of funds to carry out relief and rehabilitation operations in the state.

Low visibility conditions continued to affect air relief operations whereas damaged roads also made transportation of relief to affected villages difficult by road, officials said.

The Goepshwar-Chopta road in Rudraparayg is blocked at several places while Rishikesh-Kedarnath NH is open only till Agastyamuni.

Rishikesh Badrinath NH in Chamoli district is blocked by debris near Kameda, Patalganga and Pagalnala.

Bahuguna said opinion of experts will be taken to address the issues of rehabilitation and reconstruction of affected areas.

A meeting of geologists and environmentalists has been convened in this regard on July 21 in Dehradun where a roadmap for redevelopment of rain ravaged areas will be drawn using environment-friendly methods, he told reporters on Sunday.

U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden is asking Russia for asylum, according to legislators and activists who met him at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on Friday.

Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch told the Interfax news agency that Mr. Snowden explained his decision based on the fact that European and North American countries are preventing him from travelling from Russia. “He wants to stay as long as he cannot fly to Latin America,” Ms. Lokshina said.

It would be the second time that Mr. Snowden, who is wanted by the U.S. on espionage charges, applies for asylum in Russia. He retracted a first request last week after President Vladimir Putin demanded that he must stop releasing sensitive U.S. information.

Russian legislator Vyacheslav Nikonov said that Mr. Snowden had agreed “not to further damage U.S interests”, Interfax reported.

                               

India may not have had the momentum going into the tri-series final as they did in the Champions Trophy. They also did not had the invincible aura they had created at the Champions Trophy. Add to this two humiliating defeats at the start of the series, and it becomes apparent why India’s triumph is well-earned. The Sri Lankan side is no pushover. They are a formidable side infamous for not sparing any opportunity to topple its opponents. With the two sides going head to head in the final, a moment of weakness was all that the Lankans needed to demolish Team India. From the toss of the coin to the 298th legitimate ball in India's innings which Dhoni sent flying past the boundary, India battled for a chance at victory even when defeat loomed large. In the end, five crucial events became the lynchpins for India’s success:

Morale boost from Dhoni’s return: In the first match against West Indies, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni suffered a hamstring injury and was declared out of the series. This demoralised the Indian players that led to one of the most humiliating defeats in the next match against Sri Lanka. While Virat Kohli managed to uplift the team and lead them to victory in the next game against West Indies, whether he would’ve been able to lead the team to victory in the final is questionable.

Dhoni’s return couldn't have come at a better time. Sri Lanka is a team that even the best fear to face on a regular day. At the final, it is fearsome tenfold. With Dhoni by its side, the Indian team had both the skills to defeat the Lankans as well as the courage to face the islanders head on.

Crumbling of Lankan batting: Both teams had less than impressive batting sessions. But of the two sides, the Lankans’ resembled more of a house of cards on a breezy afternoon than India’s. Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne were the only two to get some runs, with Sangakkara contributing 71 and Thirimanne adding 46 to the total. Every other Lankan was an utter disappointment with the bat. The remaining nine batsmen could manage a meagre 61 runs on the board. To put that in comparison, Sangakkara contributed 10 more runs than the scores of nine of his teammates put together. And at the end of the day, the lack of stability in the Sri Lankan batting line-up worked fantastically in India’s favour.

Partnership between Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina: Nothing frustrates bowlers more than batsmen who refuse to make mistakes. The frustration generally leads to bowlers committing errors. This is what the partnership between Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina was able to achieve. While their partnership of 62 runs is small compared to the Sangakkara-Thirimanne partnership of 122 runs, the Sharma-Raina duo utilised just 49 balls and the latter used 148 balls. This means Sharma-Raina partnership had a run rate of 7.59, while Sangakkara-Thirimanne partnership had a run rate of 4.94. The quick runs added the necessary momentum to India's innings. Had it not been the quick runs taken during this partnership, Dhoni would have had to play a much different game when he came out to bat.

Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni playing anchor: Indian batting session was better than the Lankan by a narrow margin. Both sides saw the tailenders walk back to the pavilion without making much impact on the scoreboard. Where India outdid the Lankans, however, was in their show of stability. Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were able to hold up the Indian batting line-up well enough to take them to victory. Even when wickets kept falling all around, both Sharma and Dhoni were able to keep their cool and add runs to their tally. This meant that though the battle for the trophy went down to the wire, they ensured that victory was never too far away. They played the anchor role to perfection.

Dhoni’s heavier bat: At the end of the 49th over, Dhoni changed his bat. The Lankans would probably have had no idea at that time the difference a heavier bat can make. From the brink of winning the match, the Lankans were made mute spectators to see their downfall in front of their eyes. Of the four deliveries in the last over, three were quickly sent off to the boundary. Dhoni proved yet again why the tag of ‘Captain Cool’ has been bestowed on him. While most players would panic or give up, Dhoni, knowing he had to pull off a few epic shots, calmly asked for a different bat. Just like a golfer uses different clubs for different shots, Dhoni uses different bats for different scenarios. With a much heavier bat than before, sending the balls flying over the boundary was a piece of cake for the 'Iceman'.

                                   

Ian Bell was 56 not out as England reached 230-6 at tea on the third day of the opening Ashes test against Australia on Friday, notching up a lead of 165 runs following a fluctuating afternoon session.

Though Bell successfully survived an lbw decision from Shane Watson’s bowling due to a successful referral, the test remains perfectly balanced due to the loss of two English wickets before and after lunch.

Ashton Agar, who earlier claimed his first test wicket when he had Alastair Cook caught for 50, removed Jonny Bairstow for 15, taking his figures to 2-53.

Peter Siddle then dismissed Matt Prior for 31, leaving Stuart Broad on 1 not out at tea.

The rupee on Friday lost 18 paise to 59.85 against the dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to appreciation of the US currency against the euro and yen overseas.

Forex dealers said increased demand for the dollar from importers also put pressure on the rupee.

The rupee had closed two paise lower at 59.67 a dollar in Thursday’s trade on fresh demand for the American currency.