Godhra train carnage: 2 more get life sentence, 3 acquitted
Ahmedabad: Two more accused in the 2002 Godhra train carnage incident were awarded life imprisonment by a special SIT court here on Monday, taking the total number of convictions in the case to 33. Fifty-nine ‘karsevaks’ were killed in the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002, triggering the worst communal riots in the history of Gujarat in which over 1,000 people, mostly belonging to the minority community, were killed. Special judge H C Vora convicted Farooq Bhana and Imran Sheru and awarded them life sentence after the prosecution established their role as conspirators in the burning of two coaches of the Sabarmati Express. The court also acquitted three other accused, identified as Hussain Suleman Mohan, Kasam Bhamedi and Faruk Dhantiya. These five men were apprehended in 2015-2016 and the trial was held at a special court set up at the Sabarmati Central Jail here.Eight accused in the case are still absconding. (PTI)
Party getting maximum seats will claim PM post: Pawar
Mumbai: Stating that he was “happy” that Rahul Gandhi has made it clear he was not driven by prime ministerial ambitions, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Monday the party getting the maximum number of seats after 2019 polls would claim the post. “Let elections take place, remove these people (BJP) from power. We will sit together. Whichever party has got more seats can claim the prime minister’s post,” Pawar, 78, said. “And I am happy that the Congress leader (Rahul Gandhi) has also said he is not in the race for the prime minister’s post,” he said at a party meeting in Mumbai. His remarks has come a day after the Congress president said he was not driven by an ambition to become prime minister. At the Mumbai meeting, Pawar reminded NCP leaders that the United Progressive Alliance, formed after the 2004 general election, had dislodged the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, formed in 1998. He said he will “try to go to each state and make regional parties which are not with the BJP to join us (the opposition alliance)”. “Congress is strong in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati-Akhilesh are there. Situation is different in each state. Hence, we will have to get along with parties which are strong in each state,” the former Union minister said. (PTI)
Kumaraswamy acquitted in land de-notification case
Bengaluru: A special Lokayukta court acquitted Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday in a case of alleged illegal de-notification of a government land in 2007, when he headed the JD(S)-BJP coalition government. In his order, judge D B Patil said he did not find any proof to establish Kumaraswamy’s guilt in the case. Kumaraswamy, who now leads a Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government, had filed a petition seeking dismissal of the case contending that there was no proof to establish that he had de-notified the land. The court also discharged three others, including retired IAS officer K Jothiramalingam, who were also named as an accused. Complainant Mahadevswamy had alleged that Kumaraswamy as the chief minister in October 2007 de-notified 3.8 acres of land in Thanisandra village, which had been acquired by the Bangalore Development Authority for formation of residential sites in Arkavathy Layout. Kumaraswamy’s action was in violation of rules, the complainant had alleged and sought action against the accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act. (PTI)
Sharad Yadav wants paper ballots in elections
New Delhi: Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) patron Sharad Yadav on Monday demanded that the general elections be held through the ballot paper as there were doubts about the electronic voting machines in the minds of the voters. “There are doubts over the EVMs in the minds of the people. And despite the Supreme Court order of May, 2017 the Commission has not fulfilled its promise over the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT),” he told a press conference here. Yadav said that many people might not participate in elections because of their apprehensions over the voting machines which would be very dangerous. “So the elections should be done through ballot paper,” he said. “The Commission must take some robust step to clear the doubts of the voters. And I shall soon hold a rally in Delhi named ‘Vote bachao, Desh bachao’ (save vote, save country),” he said adding many developed countries are using the ballot paper now a days. He said that he was not in favour of the idea of one nation, one election. Yadav also attacked the Narendra Modi government accusing it of not helping Kerala. “Following the devastating floods, the Kerala government demanded Rs 20,000 crore from the centre, but the central government gave only Rs 600 crore. And when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) tried to help Kerala, then it was rejected by the central government,” he said. (IANS)