Political war of words erupts over Memon's execution

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New Delhi: A political war of words erupted on Thursday over the execution of 1993 Mumbai blast convict Yakub Memon and the issue of terrorism, with a section of opposition leaders speaking against the death sentence and the government hitting back.

The recriminations began when Congress leaders Digvijay Singh, Shashi Tharoor and Mani Shankar Aiyar expressed displeasure over the execution of 1993 Mumbai blasts convict.

Terming Congress leaders' comments on the issue as 'politically influenced and irresponsible', Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi to explain why they were making such statements on the issue related to the country's security.

'Instead of making national security its priority, they (Congress) have made politics their priority... Even on the execution of death sentence given to Yakub Memon, their leaders are speaking in different voices,' the union minister said.

'Mainstream national parties are expected to react in responsible manner and not to show country as a divided house,' Jaitley said.

Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh fired the first salvo, saying that the BJP-led government should show 'similar commitment' in all cases of terror as it showed in the case of Yakub Memon.

'I hope similar commitment of the government and the judiciary would be shown in all cases of terror, irrespective of their caste, creed and religion,' he said in a tweet following Memon's execution in the Nagpur central jail on Thursday morning.

Party colleague and former union minister Shashi Tharoor said he was 'saddened' by Memon's execution.

'Saddened by news that our government has hanged a human being. State-sponsored killing diminishes us all by reducing us to murderers too,' Tharoor tweeted.

'There is no evidence that death penalty serves as a deterrent, to the contrary in fact. All it does is exact retribution, unworthy of a government,' the Thiruvananthapuram parliamentarian said.

'I'm not commenting on the merits of a specific case; that's for the Supreme Court to decide. Problem is death penalty in principle and practice,' he added.

Communist Party of India (CPI) parliamentarian D. Raja, meanwhile, said that the death penalty should be done away with in the country.

'India should say an emphatic no to capital punishment.... It does not mean we do not have sympathy with those (blast victims') families, but by snatching away one life will not bring back all those lives,' Raja said.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader and Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi said the government should ensure death sentence in all similar cases.

'Death sentence should also be given to Babu Bajrangi, Maya Kodnani, Col. Purohit and Swami Aseemanand,' he said.

While Babu Bajrangi and Maya Kodnani are accused in the Gujarat riots, Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit and Swami Aseemanand are accused in the Malegaon blast.

The ruling BJP slammed the leaders opposed to the hanging, Tharoor and Digvijaya Singh were forsaken by the Congress as well, which said it was their 'personal views'.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the views were that of the leaders concerned and not of the Congress.

Former home secretary and BJP parliamentarian R.K. Singh said those making such comments did not have national interests on their minds.

'These people don't think about national interest. Whether he (Yakub) had to be hanged or not was not to be decided by the government but the court, and the president uses his judgement after that,' he said.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said justice had been done.

'Justice has been done; this increased the people's faith in the judicial process. He got two decades to prove his innocence, and he was proven guilty,' he said.

Yakub Abdul Razzak Memon, convicted in the March 12, 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, was hanged till death at Maharashtra's Nagpur central jail on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, the Congress demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi reveal what he discussed on terrorism with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Ufa on July 10 as India continued to suffer terror attacks from across the border.

'The prime minister should make a statement on the issue in parliament,' Congress leader Anand Sharma told the media here, expressing concern over the terror attack in Dinanagar town of Gurdaspur district in Punjab, believed to be carried out by terrorists from Pakistan.

Modi held a meeting with Nawaz Sharif in Ufa, Russia, on July 10 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet.

The Congress leader said that Modi should be present in the house when the issue comes up for discussion.

'There should be no politics on terror. The whole nation is united on issues like these,' he said, adding that the Congress always took a tough stand on terrorism.

IANS

4 Indian teachers allegedly abducted by ISIS militants in Libya

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Four Indian nationals have been kidnapped by militants in Libya, official sources said here on Friday.

The four Indians were teaching in Libya and were abducted in Sirte, the sources said.

The ministry of external affairs is trying to find out more information about the kidnapped Indian teachers.

The kidnapping comes even as the fate of 39 Indians kidnapped in June 2014 from Mosul in Iraq remains unknown. The 39 were kidnapped by the Islamic State militants. The government maintains the men, all labourers from mostly Punjab, are still alive.

The Indian government had last year issued an advisory asking its citizens to leave Libya.

HC raps AG's office again

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Kochi: Hardly a week after it suggested the authorities to wind up the operations of AG's office, the Kerala High Court again showered criticism on the institution.

Justice Alexander Thomas, who earlier censured the office, made the remarks on Friday during the hearing of a case involving the Vigilance registered under the Prevention ofCorruption Act.

The court accused the government of showing lack of interest in dealing with the cases.

He further directed the Chief Secretary to carry out an investigation into the slackness of the AG's office in dealing with four cases. A report should be submitted before the registrar within two weeks sans consultation with the higher ups, it added.

Despite asking the AG's office to verify facts, it failed to deliver. Such attitude amounts to contempt of court. The laxity in executing orders could not be permitted. The AG is keen on certain cases. If the situation prevails, the AG's office needs to be restructured. None of the orders issued by the courts are implemented, the court noted.

If the state of affairs continues, an inspection has to be carried out by appointing a retired Supreme Court judge as amicus curiae, it warned.

Coining of 'Hindu terror' weakened anti-terror fight: Govt

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 New Delhi : Government today hit out at Congress, saying the term 'Hindu terrorism' coined by its previous government had 'weakened' the fight against the scourge by diverting the direction of probe into the incidents of terrorism.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who made a statement on Gurdaspur attack in Lok Sabha a day after his speech on the
issue was disrupted in Rajya Sabha, attacked the opposition for making it appear that Parliament is divided on terrorism.

After making the statement, he raked up a host of issues, including Sharm-el Sheikh fiasco and statements at Havana NAM
Summit besides the 1962 war with China, to underline Congress' alleged failures, adding fuel to fire in the protests.

Singh's statement on the Gurdaspur attack was heard in rapt attention with Congress members suspending their protests
and returning to their seats from the Well after the Leader of the party Mallikarjun Kharge asked him to do so.

But as soon as he concluded his statement, Congress members again stormed the Well and it was a scene of protests
and disruptions in the House as seen from day one of the Monsoon session over the Lalit Modi and Vyapam issues.

This prompted Singh to attack the Congress. 'Terrorism is the biggest challenge facing the country. Neither Parliament
nor the country should appear divided on this... On the one hand, our jawans making the supreme sacrifice while fighting
against terror, on the other we have this noise and disruption. How can the country accept this,' he said.

Expressing readiness to answer any question on the issue if proper notice is given for a discussion, he said, 'Our
government and the Prime Minister are constantly making efforts to deal with the challenge.'

As the protests intensified, he hit back, 'In this House in 2013, the then Home Minister (P Chidambaram) had coined the
new terminology 'Hindu terrorism' in order to change the direction of probe. It weakened our fight. As a consequence,
Hafiz Sayeed (LeT founder) of Pakistan had congratulated the then Home Minister. Our government will never allow such a
shameful situation again.'

Livid Congress members wanted to react but were not allowed by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, prompting angry protests
by the opposition lawmakers, many of whom were seen waving the rule book to make their point.

'This is very unfortunate. You are losing our respect,' Kharge was heard remarking amid the din. Opposiiton members
crowded around her table to draw her attention that she should allow Kharge to speak but in vain.

The Home Minister asserted that terrorism has no caste or religion and 'We all must discuss terrorism with all the seriousness.'

He recited a Hindi poem to target the foreign policy of previous Congress governments', saying 'China snatched India's
rose, Tashkant saw death of Lal Bahadur Shastri and India lost at diplomatic table after winning the war due to its
compromises.'

Despite demands from opposition for having its say, the Speaker moved on to another subject, asking members to make
their submissions on issues to be included in next week's agenda.

Later, she also asked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to present a statement on supplementary demands for grants in
respect of budget 2015-16.

As Opposition members were heard protesting against the way the House was being conducted, Speaker adjourned the House till 1400 hours. PTI

Woman dies of MERS, another infected

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RIYADH: One of two women infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) died here in Riyadh, while the other patient is being treated at a hospital in Al-Kharj, some 60 km from the capital. Since June 2012, the Ministry of Health has reported 1,056 MERS cases in the Kingdom which included 467 deaths, 582 recoveries and seven patients currently receiving treatment in various hospitals.
The deceased was a 60-year-old Saudi woman who was infected with the virus in Riyadh. The person infected is a 44-year-old Saudi woman.
During the past two weeks, an official from the Ministry of Health said that there has been a sharp drop in the number MERS infections in the Kingdom. Since July 15, there were only 10 patients who tested positive for the virus, he added.
Health Ministry spokesman Khalid Al-Mirghalani said the drastic drop in the number of cases was due to the implementation of an integrated health plan to combat the disease. He said that the Ministry of Health deployed a rapid response team which immediately attends to cases and follows up on the detected cases to prevent recurrence.
He said the MoH carries out epidemiological surveillance on a round- the-clock basis, and ensures the commitment of all public and private health facilities to apply infection control procedures as well as coordination with relevant government sectors.

Delhi on alert after Yakub Memon's hanging

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New Delhi : An alert has been sounded here following 1993 Mumbai serial blast convict Yakub Memon's hanging in Nagpur jail on Thursday.

Delhi Police has beefed up security.

Delhi Police PRO Rajan Bhagat told IANS that police personnel are already vigilant and watchful after the terror attack in Punjab and the alert is being maintained.

Additional police and other security personnel have been deployed around key public places, he said.

Memon was hanged after several of his court appeals and clemency petitions were rejected by various courts.

Yakub Memon hanged till death in Nagpur jail

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Nagpur: Yakub Memon, convicted in the March 12, 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, was hanged till death at the Nagpur Central Jail in Maharashtra on Thursday morning, officials said.

He was sent to the gallows -- on his 54th birthday on Thursday -- after several of his court appeals and clemency petitions were rejected by various courts, including the Bombay High Court, the Supreme Court, the Maharashtra governor and the president of India.

Memon was hanged at 6.35 a.m. A medical team at the jail pronounced him dead a short while later.

His body was sent for an autopsy by a medical team from a Nagpur government hospital, before being cleared for the last rites.

The last of the legal procedures continued till barely a couple of hours before the execution this morning before sunrise.

Memon was the first -- and only convict out of 100 in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case -- whose hanging was upheld by the Supreme Court.

The death sentence of 11 others was commuted to life.

A Mumbai Special Court had sentenced him to death in July 2007.

The death warrant was issued by a Special TADA Court judge on April 29, scheduling the execution for July 30.

Maharashtra had started preparations for the noose for Memon almost three weeks ago.

Memon filed a fresh appeal in the Supreme Court, followed by a clemency plea with the Maharashtra governor, again a fresh plea in the apex court and a final appeal with the president of India.

He got no relief from any quarters, paving the way for his execution.

The Supreme Court on early Thursday rejected a last ditch attempt by 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon to stall his execution.

Memon had challenged the rejection of his mercy petition by the president.

Past midnight on Thursday, the apex court bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Prafulla C. Pant and Justice Amitava Roy rejected Memon's plea seeking 14 days' time before the execution of his death sentence is carried out.

Kalam laid to rest with full military honours

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Rameswaram : Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was laid to rest on Thursday here with full military honours in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other leaders.

The People's President's body, draped in the Indian tricolour was brought to the burial site at Pei Karumbu in a flower-bedecked gun carriage, escorted by columns of the three armed services.

A gun salute was accorded to the former supreme commander of the armed forces and a military band played the haunting Last Post.

Modi, who arrived here on Thursday morning, paid his last respects to the country's youth icon and most popular president by laying a wreath.

Tamil Nadu Governor K. Rosaiah, union Ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu, Manohar Parrikar and Pon Radhakrishnan, Tamil Nadu ministers like O.Panneerselvam, Natham R. Viswanathan and others also paid their last respects to Kalam.

Kerala Governor P. Sathasivam, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy were also present, as was Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders also paid their last respects to Kalam - also known as India's Missile Man.

Earlier the mortal remains of Kalam were taken to the family mosque for prayers.

His family members also reached here.

'All our relatives have also arrived to attend the last rites,' A.P.J.M.K. Sheik Saleem, the former president's brother's grandson, told IANS.

The Tamil Nadu government declared a public holiday on Thursday under the Negotiable Instruments Act. Banks, insurance companies, schools and colleges are closed throughout the state.

The government has also ordered closure of liquor shops and bars throughout the state.

Around 30,000 jewellery shops would also remain closed, while petrol bunks stopped sales for an hour between 10-11 a.m. as a mark of respect for Kalam.

Movie-theatre owners too have decided to shut down for the day while fishermen have decided not to venture into the sea.

Political parties like the DMK and the AIADMK have cancelled their functions.

Interestingly, the decision of private sector organisations to voluntarily shut shows that Kalam was truly a People's President.

Born in Rameswaram on October 15, 1931, Kalam, as a boy, hawked newspapers to supplement his family's income. His father owned a boat and his mother constantly struggled to keep the family sufficiently fed and clothed.

His sister pawned jewellery with a moneylender so that the studious Kalam could carry Rs.600 when he left Rameswaram to join the Madras Institute of Technology.

No secret pact with Yakub, but we induced him to return: Ex-CBI official

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NEW DELHI: As the suspense over the fate of Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon continues, the controversy over whether he was unfairly treated by the government is also gathering momentum. 

The debate over whether the CBI reneged on its alleged promise to go soft on Yakub in exchange for information on his elder brother 'Tiger' Memon, Dawood Ibrahim and their patrons in the ISI -- the choreographer of the world's first serial terror blasts -- took a new turn with a senior CBI officer denying that the agency had a secret understanding with the younger Memon sibling. 

Shantanu Sen, who led the CBI investigation into the 1993 Mumbai blasts, said no secret deal had been struck, although he said the agency used its contacts in Pakistan to "induce the Memons to believe that their safety lay in India".

Home ministry likely to advise President to reject Yakub Memon's mercy plea

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NEW DELHI: Government is likely to reject the mercy petition of Yakub Memon, who is facing gallows in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, and convey this view to President Pranab Mukherjee.

Hectic consultations were on late in the evening on the issue with law secretary P K Malhotra holding discussions with home secretary L C Goyal apparently on the issue.

Government sources said the home secretary may formally communicate this view to the President who had referred the fresh petition filed by Memon on Wednesday.