Two MLAs disqualified from UP Assembly
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh MLAs Bajrang Bahadur Singh of BJP and BSP’s Uma Shankar Singh were disqualified by the Governor from state Assembly on Thursday on the recommendation of Lokayukta which indicted them for irregularities. Bajrang Bahadur Singh was elected from Pharenda in Maharajganj and Uma Shankar Singh from Rasra in Ballia district in the 2012 Assembly elections. Lokayukta N K Mehrotra had recommended their disqualification as it was found during probe that they had been working as contractors even after being elected to Uttar Pradesh Assembly.A Raj Bhawan statement said the Governor took the decision on the basis of the Lokayukta recommendation.Governor Ram Naik had sought a report from the Election Commission on Lokayukta’s recommendation to disqualify Bajrang Bahadur Singh from the date he procured government contract after his election on October 15, 2012 and Uma Shankar Singh from the day he became an MLA on March 6, 2012, as he kept doing the job of a contractor even after getting elected, it said. (PTI)
Cong man who took DPCC website down joins AAP
New Delhi:Days after he quit Congress and created a controversy by taking down the website of the party state unit, Sanjey Puri on thursday joined Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) along with scores of Janakpuri block Congress workers. Puri, who was the Computer and Research Department head of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC), was reportedly unhappy over being denied a ticket for the upcoming Assembly elections from the Janakpuri constituency. He formally joined AAP, along with Delhi Mahila Congress secretary Neena Kapoor, during a press conference here on thursday. One councillor each from BJP and BSP joined the party as well. Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh welcomed the leaders into the party fold by presenting them with the trademark party cap. “There’s a groundswell for the party at the moment. The gap between AAP and BJP in terms of support has never been more.(PTI)
Maoists strike again; vandalise NHAI office
Kochi:Suspected Maoists attacked the office of National Highway Authority of India at nearby Kalamassery and vandalised it on Thursday morning, police said.Some files were found strewn on the floor and others found burnt, police said.The incident is said to have occurred at around 9 AM. Some pamphlets of Maoists were also found from the spot.Kochi Police Commissioner K G James, who visited the office, confirmed there was an attack and said they suspected it to be the handiwork of Maoists.A forensic team also visited the office.This is the second attack by Maoists in Kochi after the one on the corporate office of Nitta Gelatin India Ltd at Panampilly Nagar in November last year.Today’s attack comes close on the heels of the attack by maoists on a tourist resort at Wayanad in north Kerala on Jan 25. (PTI)
Mamata’s tribute to army officer killed in Kashmir
Kolkata:West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday offered her condolences to the family of Colonel M.N. Rai who was killed in a gun battle with guerrillas in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Tuesday. “A tweet will not wipe away tears. My condolences to family of Colonel Rai. Salutes to all martyrs who laid down their lives for India,” Banerjee said on Twitter. Colonel Rai, 39, had been awarded the Yudh Seva Medal for gallantry on this year’s Republic Day. His last rites were performed in the national capital Thursday. Head Constable Sanjeevan Singh of the Jammu and Kashmir Police also died in Tuesday’s gunfight in which two guerrillas of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit were killed.(IANS)