Petrol dealers threaten to observe every Monday as off day

New Delhi, May 12 (UNI) Resorting to protest against hike in VAT on diesel, petrol dealers in the city have called for a one-day strike on May 14 and have decided to observe every Monday as an off-day to cut cost.

''We will be observing a protest closure on May 14 on all petrol pumps while every Monday, starting May 24, will be observed as off day. We are doing this as we have been pushed to a very tight corner and have no other option,'' Ajay Bansal, President, Delhi NCR Petrol Dealers Association, said today.

The association had decided to go on a similar strike on May 9 also but on the assurance given by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, it was postponed.

The dealers claimed that despite a massive drop in sales figures of April 2010, no positive response has come from the city government.

They said they have lost substantial business to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh ever since the Delhi government hiked the VAT rate on diesel. While diesel in Haryana is cheaper by Rs 3.50 per litre, it costs 70 paise less in UP.

''Due to this price differential, a huge revenue loss to the tune of Rs 350 crore per annum will be incurred,'' Mr Bansal claimed.

In April 2010, Delhi sold 64,363 kilolitres diesel and VAT collected on this sale amounted to Rs 40.17 crore. In April 2009, Delhi had sold 105,903 kilolitres diesel and VAT collected was Rs 35.6 crore.

Efforts on to strengthen India, Swaziland ties: LS Speaker

New Delhi, May 12 (UNI) As part of India's efforts to strengthen South-South Cooperation, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has assured continued support to Swaziland government in its development efforts.

''Though we are located in different continents, memories of what India and Swaziland have gone through in terms of struggles and hardships of the people bring the two countries closer and create areas of understanding for each other,'' the Speaker said here recently in conversation with the South African nation's Prime
Minister Barnabas Sibusio Dlamini.

The Speaker has visited the country to attend the Executive Committee Meetings of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) called on the Prime Minister of Swaziland on May 10 in Mbabane.

This is her first visit to the landlocked country.

Expressing pleasure over the same, Dr Dlamini said at a time when Swaziland was trying to find an identity in the global scenario, India had extended unstinted support to the country.

He appreciated the fact that trade and commercial ties were being strengthened between the two countries. ''India has offered line of credit (LOC) of 10 million dollar to Swaziland towards establishing a Science and Technology Park in Swaziland. I hope that it would be finalised soon,'' Dr Dlamini said.

During her visit, the Speaker also met the Indian families in Swaziland, mostly from Daman and Diu, who were engaged in business or serving as professors at institutions of higher learning in Mbabane.

BJP leader demands criminal inquiry against Delhi CM

New Delhi, May 11 (UNI) BJP leader Vijender Gupta today demanded that a criminal case be registered against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for alleged misuse of public funds during a year before the Assembly Elections.

The demand comes a day before Lokayukta, Justice Manmohan Sarin, hears arguments in the concerned case tomorrow.

An inquiry was ordered in October last year into allegations of the BJP leader that she spent public money for ''personal image-building'' ahead of 2008-09
Assembly Elections.

Mr Gupta informed mediapersons that in an answer to RTI filed against Information and Publicity Department, ''it has been discovered that almost Rs 30 crore were
blatantly spent on advertisements in the year leading up to Legislative Assembly Elections.''

He referred to a reply given by present Director of Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Ms Alka Diwan, regarding details of the expenditure done by the Delhi Government to set up hoardings during the period 2005-2006 and 2008-2009.

''According to the statement given by her, no hoardings were put up by the city government during 2005-2006. Only four were put up between the years 2006-2007. However, during the election year 2007-2008 and 2008-2009, around 2100 hoardings were erected,'' Mr Gupta said.

The former Standing Committee Chairman added that as per Ms Diwan's statement, ''no funds were spent on hoardings in 2005-2006. On the other hand, in the election
year 2008, Rs 11 crore were spent on hoardings as against Rs 61,475 in year 2006-2007.''

With these allegations, he demanded that a criminal case be registered against Ms Dikshit, under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, for alleged misuse of public funds, during a year before the Assembly Elections.

The BJP leader also showed an article published in a Hindi daily and written by the then Director of Information and Publicity Department Uday Sahay in which he had
explained the Ministry's plan to set up the advertisements.

Mr Gupta stated that as per Mr Sahay's article, ''required evidence has been gathered causing ascertainment of the fact that public funds have been abused and misused by the Chief Minister to lure voters as well as to fuel her political aspirations.''

VHP welcomes Kasab's death sentence, demands immediate execution

New Delhi, May 6 (UNI) The Vishwa Hindu Parishad today welcomed the verdict of death punishment given to lone captured Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab and demanded that he should be hanged to death immediately.

''Kasab should not be given any further opportunity to appeal or mercy and must be hanged immediately. Otherwise Kasab's bosses in Pakistan may even manipulate the vote bank politics in India and even try to hold the country at ransom once again,'' VHP Secretary General Pravin Togadia said.

He noted since Pakistan's hand in terrorist attacks in India has been fully exposed, ''Indian Government should immediately cut all diplomatic and business ties with Pakistan.''

Dr Togadia further pointed out that the court has also pronounced Pakistani Hafeez Sayeed, Lakhvi and other 18 Pakistani terrorists guilty. ''Therefore, the government should do everything possible to bring them here and get them hanged.''

Convicted for waging war against India and killing 166 innocent people in the November 26, 2008 terrorist attack on the financial hub of the country, Kasab was today sentenced to death by a designated court in Mumbai.

Rejecting the defence plea for a lesser punishment, the designated court Judge M L Tahaliyani said the crime was one of the rarest of the rare and ordered that the Pakistani terrorist should be hanged to death.

IGNOU waives fees for sex workers, wards

New Delhi, May 5 (UNI) The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has decided to waive the course fee for sex workers and their wards enrolled with them.

With this initiative, IGNOU becomes the first University in the country to take such a step towards welfare of the community.

''We aim at helping the sex workers weaning away from such activities towards self development and economic independence in order to bring them into the mainstream of social milieu,'' IGNOU Vice Chancellor V N Rajasekharan Pillai told UNI today.

He said the initiative has been initially taken in Kolkata only.''We are trying to reach to such people in the whole country soon,'' he added.

The University has established a special study centre in Sonagachi in Kolkata to provide educational opportunities to sex workers and their wards. Currently, 11 sex workers have already enrolled under the Bachelor of Preparatory Programme (BPP) at the Centre.

This programme will enable the students to gain eligibility for the degree programmes in the University.

To a question if there were any specific courses these students show interest in, Mr Pillai said, ''Programmes in Social Sciences and Humanities interest them the most.''

Earlier, the University had approved a scheme of fee waiver for the jail inmates also.

Delhi Govt discusses proposal for Delhi Police (Amendment) Bill '10

New Delhi, May 5 (UNI) The Delhi Government today held a conference to evolve a consensus on the Legislative Proposal for the Delhi Police (Amendment) Bill-2010.

The proposal has been made to implement the direction of the Supreme Court in the matter of Prakash Singh and others vs Central Government and others.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit stressed on the need of the police to be a people-friendly force.

''The people must have a sense of confidence with the police,'' she said.

A spokesperson from Chief Minister's Office said there was a broad consensus in the conference on transfer of traffic matters and other non-core functions to the city government, implementation of social legislation by the police, term of police commissioner and others functioning of Screening Committee and Scrutiny Committee, Police Appellate Authority in each district and Thana Committees to be given statutory status.

''It was organised mainly to seek the views of eminent personalities in the field of civil administration, police administration, judiciary system and other groups on the proposal,'' he said.

The conference was attended by a number of Delhi Ministers, MLAs, Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta, Principal Secretary (Home) G S Patnaik, Secretary (Law), Home Secretary, Government of India, Retd Justice of Supreme Court Arijit Pasayat, retired bureaucrats, Head of Departments of Revenue, Transport Department, senior
officers from Civil and Police Organisations, Commissioner of Police Y S
Dadwal and representatives of RWAs.

The views and suggestions of the participants will be compiled and collated and the same will be sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for taking a view on the proposal, the spokesperson added.

Learn French through Hindi now!

New Delhi, May 1 (UNI) English is no more a bar to learn a foreign language.

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has launched its latest programme of learning French via Hindi through distance education. Developed with the support and collaboration of the Embassy of France, the programme will enable all the students who wish to learn the language but are far from the network of the Alliances Franaises.

''A French language tutor has been placed at IGNOU for an year who will assist in the course. In addition, the university has been facilitated with several French learning methods,'' an IGNOU spokesperson said here last night during the programme's launch ceremony here.

The programme was launched by the Ambassador of France, Mr Jerome Bonnafont and IGNOU Vice Chancellor V N Rajasekharan Pillai.

Further, the Government of France also decorated three Indian teachers of the French language with ''Palmes Acadmiques'' for their valuable contribution to the promotion of the language among Indian students. They were Vasanthi Gupta and Padma Natrajan, both teachers at the Alliance Franaise de Delhi and Anuradha Karkun, teacher at the Mother's International School here.

A spokesperson from the Embassy informed UNI that the order of ''Palmes Academiques'', created in 1808, was to honour distinguished personalities from across the world for their intellectual, scientific and artistic contribution towards France and the French language.