Labour Day 2013: Google builds a Doodle for May Day.. – #GoogleDoodle

Google is saluting the workers of the world with a building doodle on the occasion of Labour Day 2013. The doodle features the Google logo in the shape of a building with several workers on their job.

The doodle features an IT professional on her computer, a gardener watering a tree, a painter giving the letter ‘O’ a paint job and a plumber fixing a leak around the letter ‘E’.

There is also a helicopter hovering above the second ‘G’ and a satellite dish, indicative of modern-day communication, perched on the ‘E’.

Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, especially the eight-hour day movement, which urged eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. Labour Day is an annual holiday to mark the celebration of the economic and social achievements of workers. It generally sees organised street demonstrations and marches by labourers and their unions, on this day.

The Labour Day public holiday is fixed by the state and territory governments, and so it varies considerably.

In India, Labour Day is celebrated on May 1 every year. It is an official public holiday. The first May Day celebration in India took place in Madras by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on May 1, 1923

May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries including Bolivia, India, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Uruguay, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Israel, Philippines, Nepal and Pakistan. It is also celebrated unofficially in various other countries.

In the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia, it is celebrated on the first Monday in October. In Canada, Labour Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September.

Though Google had a Labour Day doodle in 2012 it was not posted on the Google India home page.

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Congress has always misused CBI: Hazare

Social activist Anna Hazare on Saturday said it was wrong to presume that the CBI acts of its own volition and alleged that Congress had always “misused” the central investigating agency.

Asked about the CBI raid on DMK leader M K Stalin’s residence immediately after the party withdrew its support to the UPA government,
Mr Hazare told reporters, “Everybody knows that the CBI is under government’s control. If it is brought under the Lokpal’s control, it would help in curbing corruption.”

Mr. Hazare alleged that Congress had always “misused” the agency, even though it has some good officers in its fold.

“It is not that all people with the CBI are bad. But they are subjected to pressure as they have their jobs to protect.

Congress has always misused it,” he alleged.

When asked to comment on the UPA allies leaving Congress, Mr. Hazare said the party was losing the sympathy of the people because of the corruption associated with it.

“Congress is taking wrong steps. People have lost their sympathy for the party as responsible ministers in the government too are involved in scams,” he added.

Referring to the support of Samajwadi Party (SP) to the Congress-led government, Mr. Hazare said, “Regional parties pose a threat to the country as they bring pressure (on the government).”

He said although he had parted ways with his erstwhile colleague Arvind Kejarwal, there was no conflict between them and he wished him well for their cause through political means.

Mr. Hazare said he had not instituted any core committee of his own after breaking away from IAC. “It is difficult to get selfless workers for a cause. I am at present associated with ’Janatantra Morcha’ along with former Army Chief V K Singh, which is a non-political organisation,” he added.

Later, addressing a gathering, the activist said he was confident that the Lokpal would be a reality. “We have seen part one of the Lokpal bill,” he added.

He also noted with satisfaction that the provision of a fine for civil servants, who delayed their work beyond the stipulated period under Citizens’ Charter.

“When the elections are declared, I would be once again be at the Ramlila maidan to press for the demand for Right to Reject as part of electoral reforms to keep anti-social elements out of Parliament and the state legislatures,” Mr. Hazare asserted.

India to downgrade ties with Italy, won’t send ambassador

The orders of the Supreme Court will be complied with by all government agencies

Against the backdrop of airports across India being put on alert to prevent Italian Ambassador Daniele Mancini from leaving the country, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday said the orders of the Supreme Court will be complied with by all government agencies.

Besides downgrading its diplomatic ties with Italy, the government has also asked its ambassador-designate to that country Basant Kumar Gupta, who was scheduled to leave for Rome on Friday, not to proceed. The government, which is reviewing the entire gamut of bilateral ties, has decided to withhold the posting of Gupta, who was expected to take charge by end of next week. The downgrading of ties could affect bilateral economic and social relations between the two nations.

‘The Supreme Court order will be complied with by all government agencies,’ Khurshid told reporters outside Parliament House on Friday in response to questions on the issue. He said the matter will come up before the apex court again on Monday and ‘we will know then exactly what is the next step that should be taken.

Meanwhile, the decision to alert the airports was taken by the Union Home Ministry a day after the apex court restrained the Italian Ambassador from leaving India without its permission.

The court had taken exception to Italian government’s refusal to send back two marines charged with the killing of two Indian fishermen. The two marines were allowed by the court to go to Italy to cast their votes in the elections there after the Italian Ambassador had given an assurance to send them back.

Gujrat CM #Modi to address India Today Conclave 2013 on 16th March 2013

Shri Modi to address India Today Conclave 2013 on 16th March 2013 at 8 PM

At 8 PM on the evening of Saturday 16^th March 2013 Shri Narendra Modi will address the India Today Conclave 2013. Shri Modi will speak on ‘The NaMo Mantra’ and the talk will be followed by an interactive question and answer session with the audience.

Shri Modi is one of the most anticipated speakers at the Conclave. Both mainstream and social media are eagerly awaiting Shri Modi’s talk at the campaign.

You can watch Shri Modi’s speech LIVE on the website. You can also follow @narendramodi_in for real time Tweets of  Shri Modi’s speech.

Karunanidhi warns of pulling out of UPA over Sri Lanka

DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Friday warned his party will pull out of the UPA government if India does not press for an independent international probe against those responsible for the genocide in Sri Lanka in the US-sponsored resolution in the UNHRC against the island nation.

In a statement issued here late night, Karunanidhi, referring to the US sponsored resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), said: “India should take steps to amend the American resolution to include thatt those war criminals responsible for the genocide in Sri Lanka be identified, hold a free international enquiry against them and take time bound appropriate action.”

“If this request is not heeded, it will be meaningless for the DMK to continue in the central government,” he added.

DMK, with 18 members in the Lok Sabha, is a key constituent in the central United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

IANS

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‘India first’ is my definition of secularism, Narendra Modi tells NRIs

Denied a visa to visit US, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Sunday took to video conferencing to address Indian-American community, saying his idea of secularism is “India first”.

Modi, who often faced questions over the killing of Muslims in the post-Godhra riots in 2002, did not refer to the controversial issue in his nearly an hour-long speech in Hindi.

“My definition of secularism is simple: ‘India first’. Whatever you do, wherever you work, India should be the top priority for all its citizens,” he said.

“Country is above all religions and ideologies,” he argued and asked people to follow the same.

“I agree friends that as an Indian, as a citizen who loves India, you will also agree with my definition…We might do any work or take any decision, India should be supreme,” he said.

“Nothing less than India’s wellbeing should be our goal. And if this happens, secularism will automatically run in our blood,” the Gujarat Chief Minister said.

Modi was denied US visa on the issue of human rights violation.

Last week, the Wharton India Economic Forum cancelled Modi’s keynote address to the prestigious annual event because of opposition from a section of professors and students of the University of Pennsylvania.

But, Modi did not touch upon the controversial Wharton issue. The event organised by the Overseas Friends of BJP was planned much in advance of the Wharton controversy.

Several hundred people gathered at two places – Edison in New Jersey and Chicago – to listen to Modi’s speech.

In his address, Modi emphasised on skilled development of the youth – who now constitute 65 per cent of the total population of the country — and asked the diaspora to help in holistic development of India – tourism being one of them.

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Big Blow to BJP in Karnataka Local Polls

The Congress dealt a massive blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka urban local body elections by winning four major city corporations. The Congress not only made huge gains by winning the highest number of wards across the state, but the party also routed BS Yeddyurappa‘s Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) and ended the rule of Reddy brothers in Bellary by decimating their BSR Congress across central Karnataka.

Former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s KJP failed to make a big splash while the ruling BJP could only secure third place by winning just 876 wards while the Congress was way ahead with 1881 seats. The Janata Dal Secular (JDS) managed to hold on to its strength in the Old Mysore region and managed to win 890 wards to take the second place in the state.

The Karnataka local polls, which have been billed as semi-finals before the state elects a new Assembly in a couple of months, show that the BJP is finding the going tough and has not been fully able to counter the Yeddyurappa effect.

There are a total number of 4976 seats for which counting took place. The Congress won Bellary, Mangalore and Davanagere city corporations. The party is leading in four out of seven city corporations and is also doing very well in Dakshin Kannada.

The BJP is ahead in Hubli-Dharwad while there is close fight between Congress and JDS in Mysore. Yeddyurappa’s party has put up a dismal performance in Shimoga while the BJP has suffered a huge defeat in its stronghold of coastal Karnataka where the Independents have come third. The trends and results show that urban voters have rejected BJP and its offshoots KJP and BSR Congress.

The Bellary brothers, who had launched the BSR Congress, have been routed in their stronghold. The Congress is also leading in areas dominated by the JDS.

The results are crucial since they could be an indicator of what will happen in the state elections coming up in two months. Over 200 municipalities including seven city corporations went to the polls on March 7.

In the last urban local bodies polls in 2007, of the total 5007 wards, the Congress had come first winning 1606, followed by JDS 1502 and BJP 1180.

[Exclusive] AgustaWestland scam: Setback for SP Tyagi, CBI to file FIR against the former Air Chief and kin

In a development which could spell bad news for the Former Air Chief Marshall (retd) SP Tyagi, CBI has decided to file an FIR against him and his cousins in the AgustaWestland chopper scam. According to sources in the CBI, SP Tyagi, his cousins Julie and Docsa, Gautam Khaitan and Parveen Bakshi will be booked under charges of bribery and cheating.

Sources say that CBI’s investigation is pointing towards the fact that SP Tyagi has accepted a bribe from his cousins to help AugustaWestland in the now infamous VVIP Chopper scam. The kickbacks in excess of 350 crores were allegedly routed through fake engineering contracts and paid to Tyagi brothers.

In another development, Satish Bagordia was also questioned by the CBI in the VVIP chopper scam. Satish Bagrodia is the younger brother of former MOS Coal, Santosh Bagrodia, and is a director in Chandigarh based IDS Infotech Ltd, which Italian investigators are alleging, was used to route bribe money in India.

The scam in the 4,000 crore helicopter deal would have gone unnoticed if Italian investigators had not arrested Giuseppe Orsi, CEO of Finmeccanica, parent company of AgustaWestland, to be guilty of having paid kickbacks to seal the helicopter deal in India. The Italian report had named cousins of former Indian Air Force Chief S P Tyagi – Julie and Docsa alias Rajiv Tyagi – as having received cash through middlemen and companies in London,Tunisia, Switzerland and Mauritius. The said helicopters (three out of 12 have already been delivered) were meant for VIPs like the Prime Minister.

As TEHELKA had reported earlier, a 64-page prosecution report filed by the Italian authorities, had detailed how Italian nationals Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa and UK-based consultant Christian Michel connived to push the deal through nefarious means. Bribes amounting to 51 million euros were paid and fictitious orders were raised through IT companies in Chandigarh. Junk helicopters were bought in order to mask the money trail. The bombshell in the report was the part where it said that middleman Haschke admitted that he had met former Indian Air Force chief SP Tyagi six-seven times and that Tyagi’s three cousins were instrumental in swinging the deal.

In a factsheet put up on the PIB website, the defence ministry admitted that in “November 2012, a letter was received in MoD from the director, income tax investigations, regarding allegations against Indians possibly involved in the deal as middlemen and seeking information about them”. After sitting on this information for two months, the MoD wrote to the Income Tax (IT) department that “it had no such details and if the IT has any such credible information, it should share with them”.

BRIJESH PANDEY – TEHELKA

Kerala confirms Bitti Mohanty’s arrest

The Kerala Police has confirmed the arrest of Bitti Mohanty, son of a former top police officer, convicted for raping a German national in 2006 in Rajasthan and then jumping parole.

N. Shankar Reddy, additional director general of police told IANS that it would be the Rajasthan Police will have to confirm through finger printing that the arrested person is Mohanty.

“As far as Kerala Police is concerned we have arrested him for impersonation because his real identity was concealed. We expect the arrival of the Rajasthan Police any time,” said Reddy.

According to Rahul R. Nair, the Kannur district superintendent of police, Mohanty was picked up by the police and was questioned based on a complaint from the head office of State Bank of Travancore (SBT), who requested the police to confirm his identity.

He baffled the police by showing his passport and an electoral identity card with the name Raghava Rajan.

Mohanty, for the past seven months, has been working as a probationary officer with the SBT and early this week, the SBT officials, based on an anonymous letter, approached the police to ascertain the real identity of Raghava Rajan.

The police have done the customary medical check up on Mohanty and will produce him before a court here for his remanded. Mohanty is the son of a former top police officer from Odisha. He was convicted, along with a friend, of raping a German tourist in Rajasthan.

The trial was completed quickly and Mohanty was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment on rape charges. In November 2006, he secured parole to meet his ailing mother. Since then, his whereabouts are unknown.

His father, B.B. Mohanty, served as director general home guards and fire services, Odisha, at the Bitti Mohanty committed the crime, and was accused of aiding his son’s escape.

B.B. Mohanty was suspended from work for coming to his son’s aid, but later reinstated. He retired from service in 2012.

I’m not interested in becoming PM: Rahul Gandhi

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he was not interested in becoming the prime minister and wants to focus on his party instead.

“The party is my priority. I believe in long-term politics,” Gandhi was quoted by TV channels as saying in Delhi.

“I am not interested in becoming the prime minister,” he was quoted as saying.

Gandhi, who is the second-in-command in the Congress, told reporters there was a need to end the “high command culture” in the party.

The Congress party has not announced a prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, but Gandhi is a clear favourite.

Gandhi has been working on improving the party’s grasroots and has convened a meeting of all general secretaries and central leaders in charge of states on March 6.

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