Political parties in Tamil Nadu clamour for clemency to Rajiv Gandhi's killers

CHENNAI: The political parties in Tamil Nadu have raised the pitch in demanding clemency for three men convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assasination. This case moved to Madras high court on Monday. Challenging the rejection of their clemency pleas by president Pratibha Patil. The matter would be taken up today.

The assassins — Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan — are scheduled to be hanged on September 9, following the rejection of their clemency appeals to the President. However, Chief Minister Jayalalitha on Monday said it is not in her powers to reverse the decision after the President has rejected their mercy petitions. 

Chief minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi said the trio had spent nearly 20 years in prison, which is more than life imprisonment. DMK chief M Karunanidhi and other politicians appealed to the central government to cancel the death sentences and requested that they be sentenced to life imprisonment instead. Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa said she had no power to alter the president’s order on clemency.

Anna Hazare ends fast

Anti corruption crusader Anna Hazare breaks his fast after 12day by sipping tender coconut water and honey offered by children at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on sunday. He said the country could be proud of the movement. Mr.Hazare and his team celebrate this victory. They shouted the slogan and enjoyed the happy moment. To celebrate their victory, Team Anna held a march at the Indian Gate in the sunday evening. People in all state celebrated this victory.

Mr. Hazare admitted in a private hospital in Gurgaon for a thorough check-up. He will rest there for two days. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda enquired about his health.

Yeddyurappa's bail plea rejected

Bangalore, Aug 29 (IANS) The Karnataka High Court Monday rejected the anticipatory bail petition of former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa in land scam and graft cases.

Rejecting the bail plea, Justice N. Narayana Swamy directed Yeddyurappa to be present in the Lokayukta (ombudsman) court later in the day in response to the summons issued by its judge N.K. Sudhindra Rao Aug 8.

Though Yeddyurappa was to appear in the trial court Saturday, his counsel pleaded for his exemption as he was suffering from fever.

Rao, however, rejected the counsel's plea and ordered Yeddyurappa to appear before the court Monday.

The twin cases relate to denotification of land near Bangalore in favour of his kin and a Rs.13 crore kickback in awarding a contract work to the highest bidder in the Upper Bhadra irrigation project during his tenure as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) first chief minister in south India.

Rally urges US to strike Iran group from terror blacklist

Supporters of an Iranian opposition group demonstrated en masse Friday in Washington to urge the Obama administration to strike the group from a US terrorism blacklist.

Supporters of the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI), which is also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), said "several thousand" of them took part in the rally after having traveled to the capital from 41 US states.

However, AFP estimated the number at between 1,000 to 2,000 people. Maryam Rajavi -- the leader of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the broad grouping that includes the Mujahedeen -- called for the PMOI to be delisted in a video message to the crowd in Farsi, sparking chants of approval. Rajavi is barred from entering the United States.

The PMOI was originally designated by the US State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on October 8, 1997 during the administration of president Bill Clinton. It has been redesignated in subsequent years, including by the George W. Bush administration, but was removed from the European Union's equivalent blacklist in 2009.

Daniel Benjamin, counter-terrorism coordinator at the State Department, said in May that President Barack Obama's administration would decide in six months on whether to strike the PMOI from the blacklist.

In December, several officials who had served in Bush's administration -- Tom Ridge, John Bolton, Frances Townsend and Michael Mukasey -- backed delisting the PMOI.

The officials said such an approach is needed because the Obama administration's policy of engaging Iran will fail to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is purely peaceful.

The Mujahedeen set up in Iraq during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war and received support from former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime to mount armed attacks against Iran. Following Saddam's overthrow in 2003, they were disarmed by US forces. The United States guaranteed security for their base at Camp Ashraf until handing over authority to Iraqi forces there in 2009.

On April 8, 34 people were killed and dozens wounded when Iraqi forces attacked the camp. In addition to asking for the PMOI to be delisted, protesters also demanded Washington ensure protection of their camp.

Anna Hazarae - Day 11 of Fast

Through the 11th day of the indefinite fast of the anti-corruption, Anna Hazare, Congress party and the BJP reached a pact. This team discuss about the Team Anna Jan Lokpal Bill today at 11a.m. by Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha.

The ruling party hopes that the rare initiative will pave the way for Mr. Hazare calling off his protest. Hazare note in a letter to P.M. Manmohan Singh, the hope that parliment would be considerate to three of his specific suggestions. The three suggestions are lower bureaucracy within the ambit of the lokpal, parallel lokayuktas at the state levels, and a citizen's charter for time bound disposal of public grievances.  He told if there is a consensus on these proposal, then i will break my fast..

Congress M.P. Rahul Gandhi told Lokpal alone cannot root out corruption.

Political parties have pleaded with Hazare to end his fast, but MPs have squabbled over the content of a bill that would create a umbrella agency to probe government corruption, as thousands of supporters gathered at Hazare's fairground protest site and across New Delhi.