लालू का खेल, महाराष्ट्र में रह रहे हिन्दी भाषियों की दिककत

लालू का खेल, महाराष्ट्र में रह रहे हिन्दी भाषियों की दिककत

The Rail minister is उसिंग Maharashtra against Bihar for personal gain, and making Raj Thackeray a hero in the process"New Delhi:- There is a disquiet in the top echelons of the Congress and the NCP , the ruling combine in Maharashtra, that Bihar leaders in general and Rail Minister Lalu Prasad in particular, have made the attack on North Indians in Mumbai too much of an 'ego' issue.Leaders of both parties feel Lalu is overplaying the attacks on Biharis as a political card to rebuild lost ground in his home state.They are worried that if he keeps harping on the attacks, it will only help make MNS chief Raj Thackeray a hero.Some Congress ministers, in particular, are alarmed at the attempt to pit Maharashtra against Bihar, as was done at the Union Cabinet meeting on Wednesday."This is dangerous politics. Lalu is pitting Maharashtra against Bihar for the sake of politics," pointed out a concerned Union Minister from the South.Some Congress ministers were surprised when Bihar leaders led by Ram Vilas Paswan sought to raise the issue of attack on North Indians at the Cabinet meeting because the issue was not even on the agenda.Apart from some official business, the Cabinet was to discuss the Assam blasts. But since it had very little information, Bihar leaders hijacked the agenda to Mumbai, observed a Union Minster."The concern of teh Union Cabinet is that regional chauvinism is contained,' said Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy.The NCP did not seem at all comfortable with Lalu's provocative anti-Maharashtra utterances. "Attacks on migrants is unacceptable. But nobody should use provocative language." said NCP General Secretary D P Tripathy.The party also sees a nexus between rebel Congress leader Narayan Rane and Raj Thackeray. "Rane's men were found to be involved in the Kalyan violence," said an NCP Leader.
Posted by Suresh Tripathi at 7:45 AM 0 comments
Railway officials reject charges of exam bias
Mumbai:- Senior railway officials said on Friday that the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) exams were centralised exams with equal oppurtunity for candidatesfrom all across India. They were rejecting charges made by MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who said the RRB exams were being manipulated to favour some candidates.Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) officials ridiculed Thackeray's charge that candidates from Bihar were liberately sent to appear for the exams conducted in Mumbai."There are 19 RRBs across India to cover the 16 zonal railways, workshops and factories, there is no reason why candidates should only prefer RRB, Mumbai. The salary scales and perks of the Indian Railways are the same for everywhere," said an official.Officials pointed out that Bihari, Jharkhnad and Uttar Pradesh have recruitment boards at Muzaffarpur, Patna, Ranchi, Allahabad and Gorakhpur. All these RRBs frequently advertise for vacancies in zones under their jurisdiction, said officials. More often than not, these RRBs do issue advertisements in newspapers published in other places, including Mumbai, added officials. There are RRBs in practically every important city, including Kolkata, Malda, Guwahati, Bhubhaneshwar, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Secundrabad, Thiruvananthapuram and even Srinagar.Another official, himself from Maharashtra, said candidates from the state can easily get forms for the RRB exams in front of any big terminus, like CST or Churchgate in Mumbai. All these ads are routinely printed in the Employment Exchange magazine."They can also go to RRB exams held in other states, just like the north Indians come here for RRB exams. It's similar to an MBA aspirant from the South going for an entrance held at a Delhi or Gurgaon business school," an official reasoned.Asked if RRB, Mumbai, offered more vacancies than other RRBs in the country, senior officials said no. "Northern Railway has many more express and mail train vacancies. Zones covering Bihar, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh have huge freight operaions due to coal reserves. And the Eastern and Southern Railways have subarban as well as outstation operations like CR and WR," an official explained.
Posted by Suresh Tripathi at 6:50 AM 0 comments
I have never opposed Chhat Puja, says Raj
"MNS chief attempts to clear the air before the north Indian festival on Tuesday, says he is only opposed to its politicisation"Worried about every stray incident of violence being attributed to his party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray went on the backfoot on Friday as he declared that he had absolutely no opposition to Chhat Puja if it was not politicised.Thackeray has sought special permission from the police to clear the air ahead of the festival to be celebrated by Biharis on a large scale on Tuesday. There were apprehensions in city that MNS activists would go on a rampage again when north Indians assembled at Juhu Beach on Tuesday. Raj's clarification will allow the festival to continue smoothly as he asked his followers to maintain calm.Raj's arrest last week had sparked violent incidents in the city that included the death of a migrant on a Mumbai train and a shooting of a Patna youth on the BEST bus in Kurla. Rahul Raj, a Bihari youth, had allegedly come to Mumbai to kill Raj Thackeray. Raj activists also smashed several ST buses, BEST buses, taxis and auto rickshaws in protest over their leader's arrestAt the press conference on Friday, however, Raj preached peace. "I have never opposed the Chhat Puja. I have only spoken against the political 'tamasha' (stunts) associated with it. People from Bihar who live here can perform religious rituals according to their customs. My party has never opposed it," he said.This was his first press conference where he did not spit venom against north Indian leaders, nor id he make any provocative statements. However, he did reiterate that his battle for the Marathi manoos would continue.Raj backed the Mumbai police over the killing of Rahul Raj who had allegedly come to Mumbai to kill him."You would have to flayed the police had he shot some commuters. Who knew where this youth had came from?" he asked.Raising questions about downgrading his personal security , he said, "How did they reduced the security so suddenly? The police security review committee decides what security cover to give to people on grounds of threat perception and his importance in public life. Don't forget, people in power change often. What will they do when I come to power?", he asked.
Posted by Suresh Tripathi at 6:15 AM 0 comments
CR okays linking of two FOBs in Thane Thane:- The Central Railway (CR) decision to connect the two foot-over bridges(FOBs) at the Kalyan end of the Thane station has brought good cheer to scores of commuters who have to squeeze their way to the crowded platforms.The CR has also okayed a track revamp plan that will facilitate a halt-free entry of the stations into Thane station. The CR Officials alongwith Shiv Sena MP from Thane Anand Paranjpe and Sena MLA Eknath Shinde inspected the station area to address long-pending issues.Paranjpe has been making the rounds of the railway ministry in Delhi seeking the railway board's intervention for the revamp of Thane station, which is the first station to be built in the country during British rule.The rail authorities have failed to keep pace with the population expansion in and around Thane. With a commuter traffic of more than 5 lakhs per day, Thane is one of the most revenue-generating stations. "Ideally, the station ought to be given a heritage status. However, it has been turned into a disgrace because of negligence by CR officials. Most of the ticket counters do not work. This inconveniences the commuters who have to wait in serpentine queues to buy a ticket, "said S Nandgopal, a regular commuter.He said there are only two FOBs and this makes it difficult to enter or exit the platforms. "Both the FOBs are narrow and it takes nearly 15 minutes to climb up or down the platform during rush hours, "he added.Shinde said, "Most of the commuters avoid the crowded FOB. They risk their lives by crossing the tracks even during peak hours. "He said the railways should also construct a new bridge taking into consideration the growing commuter traffic.