1400 HRS

3ed may, 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• Lok Sabha adjourned for the day and Rajya Sabha till 2.30 pm on the issues of coal blocks allotment and 1984 riots in Delhi.

• Sarabjit to be cremated with State honours shortly; big crowd at Bhikiwind.

• Pakistani prisoner in Jammu jail attacked; Warden suspended; inquiry on.

• Public campaigning for Karnataka Assembly elections in full swing; to end later today.

• RBI reduces repo rate by 25 basis points; Keeps CRR unchanged. Sensex slips 150 points in afternoon trade.

• Pakistani prosecutor handling 26/11 Mumbai attack and Benazir Bhutto assassination cases shot dead in Islamabad.

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The Lok Sabha has been adjourned for the day and the Rajya Sabha till 2.30 pm today on the issues of coal blocks allotment and 1984 riots in Delhi. Earlier, both the Houses were adjourned for an hour till noon. As soon as the Lok Sabha reassembled at noon, BJP members again trooped into the well, demanding the Prime Minister's resignation on coal blocks allocation issue. The Shiromani Akali Dal members who also rushed to the well, demanded the setting up of a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team to probe the role of the Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the Delhi riots case. The Samajwadi Party members also rushed to the well, protesting against the Chinese incursion in the Ladakh region. This forced Speaker Meira Kumar to adjourn the House for the day. The situation in the Rajya Sabha was no different as the BJP members continued to raise slogans, demanding the Prime Minister's resignation on coal blocks allotments. As the uproar continued, Deputy Chairman Professor P J Kurien adjourned the House till 2.30 pm.

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Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath has said that all efforts will be made to ensure that important Bills are passed before the end of the current session. Talking to reporters outside Parliament, he said, the National Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill are in the interest of the poor and the farmers.

Most political parties who I have talked to, want the house to function properly. Its only one political party which is creating this disturbance, denying the democratic political system to run, denying other political parties. I do hope that over the weekend, more discussions will take place and we will be able to find some convergence.

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Punjab Vidhan Sabha today paid tributes to Sarbjit Singh describing him as a "National Martyr" in a special session. Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal moved a resolution in this regard which was unanimously passed by the State Assembly. In a resolution moved by the Chief Minister, the House requested the Central government to build up international pressure to get the causes of the brutal attack on Sarabjit Singh investigated by an impartial International agency. The Punjab Assembly also requested in the resolution that the Central Government must initiate strong and effective diplomatic efforts to ensure the safety of prisoners belonging to India and of Indian origin, who are lodged in the prisons of Pakistan or other countries. No other business was transacted in the House, as a mark of respect to the departed soul.

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The last rites of Sarabjit Singh are being performed with full state honours at his native place Bhikiwind in Punjab, shortly. A large crowd gathered there to join the funeral procession. Earlier, the body of Sarabjit Singh, who died after a brutal attack by inmates in a Pakistani jail, was last night handed over to his family after the post-mortem. A contingent of Punjab Police led by SSP Tarn-Taran, Raj Jeet Singh handed over Sarabjit's body to his family at Bikhiwind village oin Punjab for a state funeral today.

Now we go over live to our correspondent Rajesh Bali.

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Today is the last day of public campaigning for Karnataka Assembly elections. Our Correspondent reports from Gulbarga that campaigning is in full swing in all the nine Assembly seats of the district.

Despite severe heat , public campaign is on in full swing in Gulbarga city and rural areas. Candidates are using all means of publicity for the campaign. In the Gulbarga city, auto rickshaws, jeeps, cars,and electronic display boards are being used for publicity and whole city is echoing with loudspeakers. In the rural areas of Gulbarga also campaign is going on. At Jewargi BJP candidate organized a road show while in other areas, small public meetings are being organized. There are 131 candidates in the fray for 9 assembly seats of Gulbarga. With Praveen Para, Anurag Vajpeyi, AIR News, Jewargi, Gulbarga.

To ensure free and fair election, the law and order enforcement has been tightened. Over one lakh, 35 thousand security personnel will be deputed for the Assembly election in the state. The Additional Director General of Police, said that 9954 hyper sensitive, 14,209 sensitive and 149 naxal prone polling booths will be provided extra protection. More from our Bangalore correspondent:

The police department has set up 170 border check posts, 130 liquor surveillance squads and 170 police check posts to prevent illegal transport of liquor, cash and other materials. In the naxal affected areas, the Central police Force will be deployed for extra protection. ADG, Police, Bipin Gopalakrishna asked voters in these areas to come out and vote without fear. Sudhindra with Devendra for AIR News, Bangalore.

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A Pakistani prisoner lodged in high security Kot Bhalwal Central Jail of Jammu, was today attacked by a jail inmate inside the jail. The 60 year old Pak prisoner identified as Sanaullah, received serious injuries and has been admitted to Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu, for treatment. The Jammu and Kashmir Government, while taking serious note of the incident, has suspended jail warden Rajni Sehgal and other staff and has also ordered a probe into the incident. A case of assault has been registered against Vinod Kumar, an ex-serviceman, serving a life term in the Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu. AIR Correspondent quoting Police sources, reports that the Pak prisoner Sanaullah was arrested in April 1999 in connection with five cases related to terror activities and was lodged in the high security Central jail on the outskirts of Jammu City.

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Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has said, an inquiry is on into the attack on a Pakistani prisoner in a Jammu jail. Speaking to newsmen in New Delhi, he said, the incident of attack took place at 8.30 this morning and the inquiry is in progress. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbarrudin said, the injured Pakistan prisoner is receiving medical treatment and once medical arrangements are completed consular access will be provided to Islamabad. Regretting that the incident, Akbaruddin said, the government is ensuring all medical arrangements for treatment of the injured Pakistan prisoner.

What we are doing right now is ensuring the medical arrangements of the injured prisoner. And once those medical arrangements are in place, we will certainly provide counselor access. We are in touch with the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi on the matter.

Mr. Akbaruddin also said, India intends to hold a meeting with Pakistan to discuss the recommendations of the India- Pakistan Judicial committee on prisoners.

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The Reserve Bank of India, RBI, today reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility, LAF, by 25 basis points, from 7.5 per cent to 7.25 per cent with immediate effect. The reverse repo rate under the LAF, also stands adjusted to 6.25 per cent. The Marginal Standing Facility rate and the Bank Rate, both stand adjusted to 8.25 per cent with immediate effect. The cash reserve ratio of scheduled banks has however been retained at 4 per cent of their net demand and time liabilities. The baseline GDP growth has been projected at 5.7 per cent and the WPI inflation is expected to be range-bound around 5.5 per cent during the current fiscal. RBI Governor D Subbarao said that the policy repo rate has been reduced to facilitate growth.

Today's decision to further cut the repo-rate carries forward the measures put in place since January last year towards supporting growth in the face of gradual moderation of headline inflation. The recent monetary policy action by itself can not receive growth. It needs to be supplemented by efforts towards easing the supply bottlenecks, improving governance and stepping up public investment.

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A senior prosecutor, handling the 26/11 Mumbai attack case and Benazir Bhutto assassination case, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad today. Police said, gunmen riding a motorcycle fired at the car of Federal Investigation Agency prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali in the busy commercial area of Karachi Company at 7.30 am. Ali, who was driving, was hit by several bullets and lost control of the car. The vehicle hit a woman crossing the road and she too died later in hospital. Ali's bodyguard was injured in the attack. The gunmen escaped after the brazen shooting. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

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President Pranab Mukherjee will confer the 60th National Film awards at a glittering function in New Delhi this evening. Bollywood movie Pan Singh Tomar is the Best film and its lead actor Irfan Khan shares the best actor honour with Vikram Gokhale for the Marathi movie Anumati. The best actress award goes to Ms Usha Jadhav for her performance in Marathi movie Dhag. Anu Kapoor has won the best supporting actor award for Vicky Donor while the award for the best male playback singer was bagged by Shankar Mahadevan for the song Bolo Na from the movie Chittagong. Lyricist Prasoon Joshi has won the best lyrics award for the same song. Sujoy Ghosh won the best screen play writer award for Kahaani. The award for the best choreography has been conferred on Pt. Birju Maharaj for Tamil film Vishwaroopam. In the feature film category, 38 films from 14 languages have been selected for the National Awards.

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The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange fell 84 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 19,652 in opening trade, this morning, as funds and investors sold stocks ahead of the Reserve Bank's credit policy announcement. Later, after the RBI's policy announcement, the Sensex lost considerably more ground, to stand 150 points, or 0.8 percent in negative territory, at 19,586 in afternoon trade, a short while ago. The Sensex had gained almost 450 points in the previous three trading sessions. But stock markets in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea had gained between 0.1 percent and 1.8 percent, today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average had ended 0.9 per cent higher in yesterday's trade.

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The three-day annual governing body meet of the Vice Chancellors of Indian Universities, began in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh today. The State Governor and Chancellor of all State Universities, Mr. B L Joshi inaugurated the meet. Delivering the keynote address, the Chairman of University Grants Commission, Professor Ved Prakash said that the Higher Education Scenario across the globe is changing and Indian Universities should come up with a comprehensive plan to meet the challenges and demands of the future