Latest News Update: Dec 8, 2011

Thursday, December 8, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Ambedkar Bhavan to come up by April

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/11029037.cms

Ambedkar Bhavan to come up by April
TNN | Dec 8, 2011, 10.22AM IST

DHARWAD: The three-decade old dream of Dalit organizations of setting
up of Dr B R Ambedkar Bhavan in Dharwad will come true by April. The
Bhavan will be a three-storey building coming up on 22 gunta land
located on Sanmati Marg.

A total of Rs 3.58 crore is being spent on the project.Revealing this
information at a function to mark the 55th death anniversary of
Ambedkar here on Tuesday, deputy commissioner Darpan Jain said already
fifty per cent of the work had been completed and the building should
be ready by next birth anniversary of Ambedkar slated for April.The DC
said the district administration was making efforts to purchase land
for construction of buildings for Morarji school and hostel.

Noting that several hostels meant for backward classes and minorities
were housed in rented buildings, he said they were facing shortage of
basic amenities.

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[ZESTCaste] PDSN observes anniversary of Dr. Bhimaro Ambedkar in Pakistan

http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/headlinenewsd.php?hnewsid=3189

PDSN observes anniversary of Dr. Bhimaro Ambedkar in Pakistan

Hyderabad: December 8, 2011. (PCP) December 6th is the day to observe
death anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar who fought untiringly for
the downtrodden and credit for making a law and creating the necessary
atmosphere to wipe out ¡¥Untouchability¡¦ from South Asia. He was the
lion-hearted man who fought for equality, justice and humanity biggest
giant like Birhmans and Land lords. A gathering of Dalits was
organized by Pakistan Dalit Solidarity Network to remark the day in
Karachi.

On the occasion Ms. Kalavanti Raja of Pakistan Dalit Solidarity
Network (PDSN) said that ¡§Dr. Ambedkar was a deep scholar and a
determined fighter whose entire life was dedicated to great purpose of
securing justice and equality to those people who are called
¡¥untouchalbes¡¦. No doubt he lived to see ¡¥untouchability¡¦ declared
a crime.¡¨

She further added that ¡§Ambedkar felt that the ¡¥untouchales¡¦ had
lost their individuality for centuries; it was impossible to wake up
such people through speeches and slogans. He decided to revolt against
the blind beliefs of the Caste System and he also argued that to wipe
out casteism, political power was very necessary¡¨.

Ambedkar was born on 14th April 1891, on the 15th of August 1947 he
became the first Minister of Law in independent India, On 29 th August
1947, he was chosen Cahirman of committee to frame the Constitution of
India and On 6th December 1956 he breathed his last.

We warmly salute to thoughtful leaders of society have been trying for
hundreds of years to wipe out ¡¥Untouchability¡¦. Buddha, Kabir,
Chaitanya, and other great men preached that no one is high and no one
is low among God¡¦s children. However, Sayyaji Rao Gaekwad, the
Maharaja of Baroda established a school for the ¡¥untouchables¡¦ in
1883 and Seth Khushi Ram Daryao Mal of Shikarpur dedicated their lives
to the education of the ¡¥untouchables in Sindh in 1950.

In recent history of Sindh Mr. Rasool Bux Palijo has worked very
practically to wipeout caste and religious hatred. He not only
educated them with political theories as well as academic
qualifications but also uplifted them to set on front seats of his
party. Thousands of men and women of scheduled castes are members of
Awami Tahreek. He handed over his offices and house in Hyderabad to
Scheduled castes from Thar as hostels to receive education as well as
he bounded them to cook food for him and other workers as living
charges and Eating cooked food by Dalits he largely hit hard to the
untouchabilty very practically. We also salute the Pakistani great
ladies Ms. Marvi Sirmad, Farzana Bari, Asma Jahangir, Sherry Rehman,
Seema kirmani, Anis Haroon, Mehnaz Rehman, Amar Sindhu, Arfana Mallah
who always stood up in favour of Dalits and minorities.

On August 15, 1944, the Qaid-e-Azam held a Press Conference in which
he declared: "I wish to say a word to make the position of the Muslim
League clear. As far as the Scheduled Castes and other minorities are
concerned their just claims will have to be met before any complete
settlement is achieved. I can tell my friends of the Scheduled Castes
that at no time have I overlooked their interests and position and I
may claim that in the past I have done all I could to help them, and I
shall always stand for their protection and safeguard in any future
scheme of constitution for I think that the wrongs and injustices
inflicted on them for centuries should not be allowed to continue
under any civilized form of government."

Quaid-e-Azam Jinnah had assured the Dalits and other minorities that
they would be given much better treatment than that in India and he
appointed a Scheduled Castes politician from East Pakistan Mr.
Jogender Nath Mandal as Pakistan's first Minister of Law and
Parliamentary Affairs in Pakistan. After the Scheduled caste
Declaration Act of 1957, Dalits were given reservations of 6 percent
job quota but same have been transformed into minority reservations in
1997 by the Nawaz Sharif government, resulting into strengthening the
already exploitative elements in the minority community. Presently
Scheduled Castes of Pakistan have no special incentive by government
to uplift them.

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[ZESTCaste] Prez, VP, PM pay homage to Ambedkar

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/wire-news/prez-vp-pm-pay-homage-to-ambedkar_629884.html

Prez, VP, PM pay homage to Ambedkar

Published on Tue, Dec 06, 2011 at 22:06 | Source : PTI

Updated at Wed, Dec 07, 2011 at 14:24

New Delhi, Dec 6 (PTI) President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid
Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today paid homage to Bhim Rao
Ambedkar, father of the Indian constitution, on his 56th death
anniversary. Patil offered floral tributes at the statue of Ambedkar
at Sansad Bhavan Lawns in Parliament House complex. Lok Sabha Speaker
Meira Kumar, UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and
BJP leader L K Advani also also paid floral tributes to him. Among
others who offered tributes were Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,
Social Justice Minister Mukul Wasnik, Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Pawan Kumar Bansal and Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.

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[ZESTCaste] Abducted Dalit girl traced to Ambala

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/abducted-dalit-girl-traced-to-ambala/923290.html

Abducted Dalit girl traced to Ambala
PTI | 03:12 PM,Dec 08,2011

Muzaffarnagar, Dec 8 (PTI) The abduction of a Dalit girl allegedly by
Jat youths has resulted in a confrontation between the two communities
here even as the minor was recovered from the Ambala Railway station
in Punjab, police said. The girl, who was abducted from the Bhokaheri
town in the district, was allegedly kidnapped by four youths from the
area on December six when she was alone in the house. Protesting
against the incident, irate villagers blocked the roads and raised
slogans against the police after which a case was filed against the
four accused on the same day. Members of the Jat community, however,
have opposed the naming of the youth in the case and threatened to ban
the entry of Dalits in their fields to collect grass, they said.
Meanwhile, security has been tightened in the town to avoid disruption
of law and order in the district.

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[ZESTCaste] Uma Bharati challenges to Sonia, Rahul to take action against Mayawati

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Uma-Bharati-challenges-to-Sonia-Rahul-to-take-action-against-Mayawati/articleshow/11032157.cms

Uma Bharati challenges to Sonia, Rahul to take action against Mayawati
Ashish Tripathi, TNN | Dec 8, 2011, 03.57PM IST

LUCKNOW: BJP leader Uma Bharati has shot off letters to Congress
president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi challenging
them to take action against UP chief minister and BSP supremo Mayawati
and her brother Anand Kumar for corruption, in order to clear doubts
of a tacit understanding between Congress and BSP.

Bharti has attached with her letter 'evidences' of alleged corruption
by Mayawati and her brother and asked Congress high command to get the
charges probed through a central agency before taking action. Bharati
has written that BJP national secretary Kirit Somaiya had released a
list of ghost companies run by Anand Kumar on December 5.

These companies, she said, are used for converting black money earned
through corruption into white. She said that Congress president and
general secretary are in a position to influence UPA government to get
corruption charges probed through a central investigative agency.

The political move is being seen as BJP leader's attempt to kill three
birds with a stone - discrediting Mayawati through charges of
corruption and asking Congress to take a stand on 'Maya corruption'
issue at a time when UPA government is having tough time on the issues
of black money stashed abroad, price hike, corruption and foreign
direct investment in retail sector.

At the same time, the move will help Bharati establish herself in UP
politics after being given charge of campaigning for 2012 state
assembly polls by BJP national president Nitin Gadkari. Bharati, who
is also former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, has been looking for
political ground after being uprooted in her home state.

Bharati has stated in the letter that people in UP have doubts that
Congress and BSP have tacit understanding, although they attack each
other on the issue of corruption in public. While BSP has been
supporting Congress led UPA government at the Centre, the latter has
taken no action against Mayawati and her family despite CBI's claim
that it has ample evidence against BSP chief.

Also, union ministers have been writing letters alleging corruption in
UP in implementation of MNREGA and NRHM but no action has been taken.
Hence, she said, in order to clear the doubts in the mind of people,
Congress president and general secretary should get the charges of
corruption against Mayawati and her family probed and take action.

She has also challenged the Congress high command to take action
against her and Somaiya if evidences on Mayawati's corruption provided
by them are found to be false and fabricated.

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[ZESTCaste] Dalits venture into funding to help community with Rs 500 crore fund

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-12-03/news/30471808_1_dalit-indian-chamber-dalit-entrepreneurs-dalit-businessmen

Dalits venture into funding to help community with Rs 500 crore fund
Biswarup Gooptu, ET Bureau Dec 3, 2011, 03.31am IST

BANGALORE: India's Dalit businessmen are pooling together risk capital
to set up a venture capital fund for their brethren, the first
initiative of its kind in the country. The Rs 500-crore fund, being
championed by the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will
be registered with capital market regulator Sebi by the end of the
year.

It will open for business in the middle of 2012. The initial corpus
for the sector-agnostic fund will come from the community's business
elite, a group which includes Ashok Khade, chief executive of the Rs
500-crore Mumbai-based Das Offshore Engineering, and Rajesh Saraiya,
chief executive of the $400-million (Rs 2,000-crore) UK-based steel
trading firm Steel Mont, who will anchor the fund as Limited Partners,
or LPs.

"The current funding mechanisms are largely collateralbased, which
means they are out of bounds for a number of Dalit entrepreneurs,"
said the chamber's Chairman Milind Kamble, explaining the rationale
for setting up the fund. Dalits number about 200 million, or one-sixth
of India's population, but control only 1% of the country's wealth
because they own very few assets, according to D Shyam Babu, a Dalit
scholar and activist, who is researching the community's economic
progress.

The Dalit business community has traditionally faced major hurdles in
accessing capital despite the creation of government institutions such
as the National Scheduled Caste Finance and Development Corp. "The
amounts disbursed are too small — barely Rs 5 lakh — and even that is
doled out in instalments. There is no denying the government
programmes are designed to help, but they fall short," Babu said.

The fund will be run as a regular risk capital entity but will need to
balance social good with commercial interest as the aim is to broaden
the availability of capital for Dalit businessmen. "But this fund is
not a charity; it will be run as a business," Kamble said.

Prasad Dahapute, MD at Varhad Capital, a boutique investment banking
firm involved in setting up the fund, said they are seeking at least
30 members to contribute Rs 5 crore each. A number of well-known Dalit
businessmen have been asked to contribute to the fund and many have
agreed, he added.

SEEKING SUPPORT FOR FUND

The industry body is seeking institutional support from agriculture
bank Nabard, IDBI and the Asian Development Bank. It is also in talks
with the government to make it an investor. To ensure Dalit
businessmen get added support, fund managers will hold their
investments for 7-10 years before exiting, in contrast to average
holding periods of between three and five years for mainstream VC
funds.

"The exit strategy will be different from that of a regular VC fund,
because there is a larger objective for us," said Arun Khobdagade,
managing director of RAS Frozen Foods and a director of the Dalit
business chamber. The fund will be open only to members of the
chamber, and to raise capital Dalit entrepreneurs will have to produce
caste certificates issued by the social justice and welfare ministry.

"Most government programmes have been set up to promote employment
rather than entrepreneurship. However, the Dalit venture capital fund,
while having a social objective, will focus on returns on
investments," Babu said. Balu, a Bangalore-based Dalit businessman who
makes soldering equipment, welcomed the proposal for a VC fund saying
the benefits are potentially very large.

"Since access to capital has been a major stumbling block for us, we
can now think of scaling up and exploring international markets, which
has been rather difficult for us so far," he said. The fund aims to
build upon a slew of measures recently propagated by the Centre,
including a plan for preferential purchases from micro, small and
medium enterprises, and also from businesses owned by scheduled castes
and scheduled tribes.

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[ZESTCaste] Samajwadi Party accuses BSP for waste of public funds

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/Samajwadi-Party-accuses-BSP-for-waste-of-public-funds/articleshow/11039804.cms

Samajwadi Party accuses BSP for waste of public funds
Ayaskant Das, TNN | Dec 9, 2011, 04.09AM IST

NOIDA: Concluding its three-day Jan Sandesh Cycle rally in Noida, the
Samajwadi Party on Thursday alleged that the Mayawati-led BSP
government in the state has been a den of misgovernance for the past
five years.

The rally, led by SP candidate for Noida assembly constituency, Sunil
Choudhury, began from Noida International School near Garhi Chaukhandi
and terminated at Mamura village near sector 62.

"People remember the welfare schemes taken out by the Mulayam-led SP
government in Uttar Pradesh between 2003 and 2007 when the party was
in power," said Choudhury. "However, Mayawati's government will be
remembered for the number of atrocities it has committed upon farmers
in the name of land acquisition. The government will also remain
infamous in the history of the state for the kind of loot it has
committed from the public exchequer," he added.

The SP member also accused the Mayawati government of spending a
substantial amount of money from the public exchequer towards erecting
stone monuments and parks.

"The plight of Dalits and other backward sections of the society have
further deteriorated due to very little spent in terms of social
welfare measures," said Veer Singh Yadav, Gautam Budh Nagar district
president of SP.

The second phase of election campaigning of the SP in the district
will begin in the next fortnight.

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[ZESTCaste] Uttar Pradesh not safe for women: BJP

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/Uttar-Pradesh-not-safe-for-women-BJP/articleshow/11039865.cms

Uttar Pradesh not safe for women: BJP
Ayaskant Das, TNN | Dec 9, 2011, 04.17AM IST

NOIDA: Accusing the BSP government in Uttar Pradesh for the failing
law order situation in the state, the BJP on Thursday alleged that
chief minister Mayawati has failed to ensure a safe environment for
women, despite being a woman herself.

Addressing a meeting of the BJP Rashtriya Mahila Morcha in Noida,
Rajya Sabha MP Smriti Irani, came down heavily on Mayawati accusing
her government of being a " rapist" government and of having
encouraged crimes against women in the state.

"Despite being a woman herself, the CM has done nothing to clamp down
on crimes against women in the state," said Irani, who is also the
president of the party's Mahila Morcha wing. "Mayawati herself does
not have the compassion and grace of a woman and, hence, has been
unable to protect the interests of women in the state. Several
ministers of her cabinet and MLAs of her party have been accused of
rape charges," added Irani.

In the last few months, at least 10 sitting UP MLAs belonging to the
BSP have been charged with cases of rape. "It was the biggest mistake
for women in the state to have voted for Mayawati in the assembly
polls of 2007," said Irani. "The government lacks all shame and the
only people who have been encouraged in her tenure are 'rapists'," she
added.

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[ZESTCaste] Lucknow VC wants failed SC/ST medical students promoted (Video news report)

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/lucknow-vice-chancellor-wants-failed-sc-st-medical-students-promoted/217961

Lucknow VC wants failed SC/ST medical students promoted

Published On: December 8, 2011 | Duration: 5 min, 50 sec
email

In what could perhaps re-ignite the debate over whether caste quotas
are justified in higher education, the Vice-Chancellor of the
Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Medical College in Lucknow has recommended
that SC/ST students, who have been failing their supplementary exams,
be promoted to the next year.

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[ZESTCaste] CSMMU wants to give MBBS degrees to failed students

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/up-csmmu-mbbs-degrees-failed-students/1/163401.html

CSMMU wants to give MBBS degrees to failed students
Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University
The university has a huge backlog of students who have been failing for years.

Probably taking a cue from Bollywood blockbuster Munnabhai MBBS,
Lucknow's Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSMMU) has
been contemplating giving doctor's degree to even those students who
despite repeated attempts have failed to clear their examinations.

In a move that could put scores of lives at risk, the vice chancellor
of the university has urged the Medical Council of India (MCI) to
grant degrees to students who have not been able to clear first year
exams even after trying for as long as 15 years.

CSMMU VC Prof D.K. Gupta said, "There is a distance between dangerous
and safe. They will not be academically oriented but anybody who stays
in medical profession for 15 years and continuously reads the subject
obviously cannot be so dumb."

The varsity, however, would offer the special concession only to the
students from scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST)
categories.

"Based on previous performance, let the Medical Council of India allow
the aforementioned students (SC/ST category) to pass the examination,
as they have failed for over many-many years," the VC advocated.

The university has a huge backlog of students who have been failing
for years. The MCI rules allow SC/ST students to appear indefinitely
for exams despite repeated failures.

The MCI was yet to respond to the vice chancellor's suggestion.

The university's proposal has stirred a huge debate. While the
reserved category students were in favour of the move, there were also
those who believed that if the proposal goes through it would deepen
the caste divide.

Students debate the proposal

Medical student Yatindra Yadav said, "Seniors don't want to come
forward. The proposal has gone. If we come in front of the cameras,
university officials would not like it. They will not let us pass."

Another student Raghvendra Singh said, "Something should be done to
get those, who have been struggling for the last 10 years, ahead."

However, opposing the idea, another student Sumit said, "This is
completely useless. What is the purpose of this? Then they should just
stop teaching and hand out degrees just like that."

"Such things create a difference ... and create hatred among students.
It leads to bias in the society," argued another medico Nayak.

IMA rubbishes VC's idea

Reacting to the university's proposal, Indian Medical Association
(IMA) president Dr Vinay Aggarwal said, "It is surprising, rather
laughable that a vice chancellor of a medical university is talking
like this."

"Minimum qualification has to be attained by them before getting an
MBBS registration or registration to practice. If unqualified persons
are passed like this and if they got to the public how many lives will
be put to risk," he asked.

Medical practitioner Dr Mukesh Bhagat said, "I don't understand the
logic behind the suggestion. If a student is not competent enough to
clear exams how do they expect him to work as a qualified doctor?"

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[ZESTCaste] UP Chief Minister considers dissolution of Assembly

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main51.asp?filename=Ws081211MAYAWATI.asp

Posted on 08 December 2011
CURRENT AFFAIRS
MAYAWATI

UP Chief Minister considers dissolution of Assembly

Mayawati wants to avoid elections to municipal bodies before Assembly
polls, fears losing Rajya Sabha seats

Maya rubbishes Opposition allegations of political mileage

UP Cabinet approves Mayawati's 'divide UP' proposal
Divide and Rule. That is Maya's Mantra

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is believed to be considering
dissolution of Assembly after addressing a Tahkur-Vaishya-Muslim rally
here on 18 December where she is expected to explain to voters the
reason for dissolving the House. Mayawati has already organised
rallies of Brahmins, Dalits and Other Backward Classes. The 18
December rally will be the last caste-based gathering before the 2012
Assembly polls.

The term of the 15th Assembly ends on 20 May. The Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP) government wants Assembly elections in February for several
reasons. The first challenge for the government, according to sources,
is to avoid elections to municipal bodies before Assembly polls as
directed by the Allahabad High Court. The terms of the urban local
bodies ended on 16 November. The state government had appointed
administrators in all urban local bodies. However, the order had to be
withdrawn as the Allahabad High Court (HC) directed that the term
would be counted from the day of the first meeting of the elected
urban local body. In most of urban local bodies, close to 700, that
date has expired as well.

Coming down heavily on the UP government for dilly-dallying over
municip al body elections, the Lucknow bench of the HC on 5 December
had asked the state government to issue notification for holding
elections by 19 December. The HC had also directed that "in case, the
state government did not comply with the order, the UP State Election
Commission would send a report to the Governor, who could proceed to
uphold the Constitution in accordance with the law".

The state government has decided to challenge the HC order and file a
Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court. Recently, a team of
state officials was send to Delhi only to return on 7 December.
Sources said that the team had come back to make "some more
preparations" for the SLP. The UP government is expected to plead for
holding local body polls after Assembly elections as the official
machinery for both is same.

The BSP, which has little support in urban areas, made two amendments
in the UP Municipalities Act last year to hold elections without party
symbols with the objective to conceal its rout in the polls. Later,
the BSP government amended the Act for indirect election of the Mayor
in 14 municipal corporation cities of UP. However, the HC quashed both
the amendments. Currently, the Mayor is elected by direct vote as in
the case of Assembly and Parliament.

Election to 10 Rajya Sabha (RS) seats, due in March, is also worrying
the party. As many as 10 RS members are retiring on 2 April. According
to the Representation of the People Act, the Election Commission (EC)
will complete the election process within March. If the Assembly is
dissolved in March, the EC will have no option but to hold elections
after the 16th Assembly is constituted.

"As per its strength of 220 MLAs in UP Assembly, the BSP can win at
least five RS seats provided all its MLAs give their 'first
preference' vote to the official candidate. Since the BSP has denied
tickets to over 50 sitting MLAs and many more could meet the same
fate, their loyalty cannot be taken for granted. "The ruling party
would never like to face the embarrassment of its candidates losing
the RS polls with Assembly elections underway," said RP Pandey, former
Principal Secretary, UP Assembly.

The RS members retiring on April 2 are Naresh Agarwal, Munkaad Ali,
Ganga Charan Rajput, Rajpal Singh Saini and Pramod Kureel of the BSP;
Kalraj Mishra and Vinay Katiyaar of the BJP; and three others.

BSP sources said that besides helping the party to face mounting
challenges from Mayawati's political opponents, the move to recommend
dissolution of Assembly would also generate sympathy among the
electorate and consolidate the CM's Dalit vote bank. "Mayawati will
continue as the caretaker Chief Minister till elections are completed
and the Opposition's charges of corruption could be easily handled as
another political stunt ahead of polls to malign the Dalit CM and her
party," a political commentator said.

According to a senior BSP leader, the recent allegations of former
Bharatiya Janata Party CM Uma Bharti against Mayawati's brother Anand
Kumar accusing him of money laundering has alarmed the party chief.

Due to the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the
National Rural Health Mission scam and the recent tour of Bundelkhand
by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh
Ahluwalia for on-the-spot verification of utilisation of the Rs 3,000
crore-plus fund granted under a special package sanctioned by the
Centre, Mayawati apprehends that the Central government—particularly
the Congress—could corner and embarrass her government further ahead
of the crucial Assembly polls. "Further embarrassment for the
government could be prevented and opposition parties could be
effectively checkmated if Assembly is dissolved," a ruling party
leader told Tehelka.

Meanwhile, UP's Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha had said that the
"EC will publish the final electoral roll on 1 January and elections
can be held any time within the last six months of the State
Assembly".

virendranathbhatt@gmail.com

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